Page 33 of Taken By the Shadow Prince

Mavey

the reunion

Armin and I have been making our way through all of Aligris for two weeks now, finishing what we started with the demon witches.

It’s been rather easy for him to convince these people to fight for their freedom. Not because they’re particularly concerned about the state of the country, but because they cannot turn down what Armin offers them—a halting of whatever price it is they previously paid for his bargains.

Part of me is surprised that there are so many demon witches out there that are indebted to him, that have made deals with him, but I suppose that, if you know that demons exist and that they can make your greatest wish come true for what seems like a comparatively small price at the time, you just might be willing to summon them and strike a deal that’s usually quite unfair.

I would know—I did the same thing.

Not that I regret it. Even if five years is a long ass time to spend in an entirely different realm, I know that it’ll be worth it. It was a noble sacrifice, I think. Though, honestly, Atheya is nowhere near as bad as I feared it would be. Part of that might be because I was hidden away in my rooms most of the time and never really faced the subtle cruelties of his subjects, but also... it’s beautiful, really. I sort of expected mass graves and cobwebs—not glorious sunsets, cottage-like homes, and a near-constant aroma of baking bread.

No, Atheya is not a place of poverty. Even the servants I see wandering around wore large gems around their necks or had them hanging from their ears. Clothes were made of quality material and were free from stains or holes.

It’s more than I can say about Aligris—not that it’s Mair’s fault. I don’t see how it could be, when she’s only just now risen to the throne. Hell, it’s not even Queen Lethe’s fault, either. The poor have been poor in Aligris for centuries, and the rich have been rich for just as long, too. It’s something that needs to be changed, sure, but it’s the kind of change that’s so slow going, that takes so much effort to truly be right that most rulers don’t bother with it—or, considering they’ve been rich their whole lives, don’t even realize it really is a problem.

Besides, it’s a risky thing. What if, in trying to balance the scales, you simply made things worse? What if the poor ended up starving and on the streets and the rich had so much money even their hiding places in the floor overflowed?

Nonetheless, I have faith that Mair will do her best to fix it—especially after hearing stories of Auley when he was growing up, coming from a family so piss poor that he spent a few years living in abandoned houses and praying that it didn’t snow so the wood they collected would stay dry enough to burn for warmth.

Armin clears his throat from atop his horse, right beside me. “You’re being awfully quiet. It’s so unlike you,” he teases.

I toss him a look before turning my eyes back to the road. “I was thinking.”

“As you always seem to do,” he replies. “I’d much prefer you pay attention to me.”

I scowl. “Don’t be such a child.”

He lets out a laugh that has birds scattering from the nearby trees. “Come on, Mavey. Don’t pretend you aren’t having fun with me.”

I raise an eyebrow and cast him a quick glance. “What about this is fun to you? I’m incredibly bored, actually.”

“And here I was, thinking you’d come to enjoy my presence.”

I ignore that particular sentence and say, “Fine then. If you want to talk—tell me how you plan to have us explain away your presence when we get to the castle.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that there’s no way in hell we’re telling anyone that you’re a demon prince—or a demon at all, for that matter. Most people still don’t know they exist. Besides, all the demon witches we collected were contacted in secret. No one can know that they’re anything more than witches.”

“And why is that?”

I shrug. “Queen’s orders. Also, it would sort of give away the fact that demons are real, right?” I pause. “That, and she doesn’t want anyone else knowing that we’ve brought such powerful beings to fight—just in case. So you keep your mouth shut about that, too.”

“So demanding for such a little mortal,” Armin comments. “I have to admit that I rather like it.”

His words send heat to my core, but I merely frown and ignore him. We haven’t had sex since that first time—not because I don’t want to, and certainly not becausehedoesn’t from the many dirty jokes he sends my way—but because there’s hardly any time to waste, especially since we need to be in the castle before the end of the week. That, and I’m either too exhausted when we camp at night or I feel far too dirty.

Perhaps soon, though. Maybe when we’re in the capital again, when the weight of responsibility has eased off my shoulders a bit. No doubt I’d want a distraction with such a full castle, with war looming on the horizon and very little to do about it until we get there. I ask Armin, “How close are we? I don’t want to be late getting back to the castle.”

“We won’t,” he promises. “We should find Teren tomorrow.”

I nearly choke on my own spit. “Tomorrow? We’ve only got three days to be in the castle. I don’t think that timeline is working out, Armin.”

He waves a hand through the air. “I’ll shiftstep us there.”

“How? You don’t know where the castle is—you’ve never been there before.” I couldn’t say exactly how shiftstepping works, since it’s not a specialty I possess and any information I’ve learned about it has been inconsistent at best, but I do know that you have to have been to the location you’re shiftstepping to at least once before in order to successfully make it there.

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