Page 21 of Taken By the Shadow Prince

I turn to Halle as she comes back with a tray that holds water, three cups, and a plate of cinnamon bread. It smells so good that I want to snatch the whole loaf up and swallow it whole, but I force myself to sit on my hands instead. I’m not sure those sorts of manners would convince people to risk their lives for you.

“You’ve still got a few years,” Armin tells her after a moment. “Sorry if I got your hopes up.” He tries on a smile. “You look on edge. Relax, will you?”

Halle laughs lightly. “What makes you think I could possibly relax when I’ve got you sitting right in front of me? It’s never good when a demon shows up at your door, you know.”

Armin frowns slightly. “You know me, Halle. If it was your death I wanted, I’d have had it by now.”

True enough. I didn’t doubt that for one minute.

Halle doesn’t answer as she pours the glasses of water and slides them toward us, then cuts the bread with a serrated knife and pushes it to the middle of the table. I quickly pick up a piece. “Thank you,” I say quietly, then take a large bite.

It’s. So. Good. Lillian would kill for this recipe, I’m sure.

Halle nods in return before settling her eyes on Armin again. “Do you plan on telling me what it is you want soon? Or are you trying to create suspense to torture me?”

Armin chuckles. “No, I’d say you’ve suffered enough. I just wasn’t sure how to tell you how greatly appreciative my friend and I would be if you decided you might want to kick some fae ass here shortly.”

Friend. What a false word to describe us. I don’t call him on it though, and continue to nibble on the bread.

“I’m sorry?”

He waves a hand through the air, then says, “I forget how much you don’t know about the world around you. Here’s a brief explanation, Halle: The prior Queen of Aligris set out to exterminate witches. Now that her daughter is on the throne, she’s trying to undo all of that miserable nonsense. However, the citizens of this fair country aren’t having it, and a lovely little war is brewing. We need you to fight.”

Halle laughs. “No, thank you. There’s nothing in it for me.”

Armin stares at her for a long moment, then says, “There could be.”

Her eyes flash. “What do you mean by that?”

He shrugs, leans back in his chair. “I mean, we could renegotiate your solitude if you’d like. Fight for this country, fight for the witches, and we’ll shed those last few years of your bargain. You’ll be free to do what you wish, when you wish it, and talk to whomever you’d like while you do it. No more loneliness, yeah?”

So, I’d been wrong. It wasn’t death she was waiting for—but rather for the hourglass to stop finally, for the chance to return to the world once more.

She’d bargained for something in exchange for seclusion. Isolation.

Somehow, that feels even worse than simply having so many years before your death. And... and Armin had felt the need to explain to Halle that witches had been hunted, before Mair took to the throne, and that law was set in place a little over a decade now.

How long has she been out here, then?

Halle sits up straighter in her chair. “You’re lying to me.”

Armin gives her a flat look. “You wound me. Lying is unimaginative and boring. I speak only the truth, Halle, I assure you.”

She stands up and paces the room, shaking her head furiously. “Prince, I—”

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, Halle,” Armin sings, a smile in his voice. “It’s far more generous than I’m used to being, at least. You will not get a better deal than this.”

Halle looks up at him. There are tears in her eyes now, and she says, “I did not know itgotbetter.” Her eyes move to me. “You two are the first people I’ve seen in twenty years. I’m half convinced you’re hallucinations.”

Armin grins at her. “Oh, come now. You truly think your mind is capable of dreaming up my beauty to perfection after so many years have passed?”

Those tears slide down her cheeks. “Okay,” she breathes, nodding. “Okay. If this is real, then I will go. And if it isn’t... then I will wake up, and nothing will have changed. I suppose I’ll find out soon, right?”

Armin snatches a piece of the cinnamon bread and bites it nearly in half. He chews, swallows, then says, “If this is all a dream, Halle, then I fear I will be disappointed, too.”

What doesthatmean?

I turn to him and almost ask, but he doesn’t even look back at me. It feels pointed. It feels like he doesn’twantto hear my question, much less answer it.

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