Page 110 of A Shattered Kingdom of Steel

When I’d started to consider my calling as a warrior, I’d asked my father for something to train with. This dummy was only ever meant to be a temporary solution, but I’d taken such a liking to it that I’d insisted on keeping it. Into my pre-teen years, I’d developed many aliases for this sorry heap of wood. An evil troll one sparring session, or a cold-hearted stone giant the other. My imagination was endless.

Now, I visualize my sources of stress, and project them onto the dummy. Slashing my blades, I swipe steel across the wood, careful not to sever the thing in half. It won’t be of much use to me if I go and break it. Still, I go at it with all I have. After all, it has persisted this long. It’s probably seen worse, anyhow.

I jab and side-step and bring my swords straight down from the top. The dummy absorbs each of my blows like a good sport, and I increase my speed until I’m panting. Pushing myself harder and harder and harder still, I repeat this dance until my core is burning from the exertion.

Stabbing both of my swords into the ground, so they stand upright, I place my hands on my hips to even out my breathing. Perhaps now that I’ve thoroughly exhausted myself, I’ll be able to rest for an hour, maybe two if I’m lucky, before the sun rises.

A presence sends shivers tingling down my spine.

Adrenaline surges through me, my blood pounding in my ears. Swiftly, I clasp the hilts of my blades and raise them in front of my chest, assuming a defensive stance. Turning my back to the wooden dummy, I orient myself toward the unwelcome visitor.

Red-eyes shine in the moonlight. Without his hood, Tanyl’s head of rich brown hair, so much like Myrdin’s, comes into view. His ebony-feathered wings spread from his back, massive in size.

I clench my jaw, dread coiling in my stomach.

Stalking me slowly like a beast trailing its prey, Tanyl takes another step forward, stopping about ten to fifteen paces before from me.

“You,” I breathe, taking in the sight before me. “I knew it.”

“Me?” Tanyl asks, a bit too innocently. “My, my, whatever do you mean?”

“Drop the act,” I snarl, baring my teeth. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

The mask falls from his expression instantly, a harsh, disturbing shift. “Finally. It has been exhausting having to play the part of the meek, soft-spoken fae lord.”

“Why go through all this effort? Killing the king. Starting a war?” I blurt out, “Is it because of Azalinah’s death?”

The late High King’s curse hadn’t just poisoned the land. It brought death to his beloved wife, Azalinah, Tanyl’s sister.

“No.” Tanyl’s mouth curves with unsettling rage, like the ungodly villains from one of my father’s stories. “For that, I blame the disgraced goddess whose curse took her life.”

My eyes widen, something still settling into my bones. “Goddess?”

It was a goddess that cursed Vorr all those years ago?

But Tanyl ignores me. “Noble fae are blinded by their arrogance, unable to see the truth. We hold no power in this world. Long before my stupid brother-in-law invoked the wrath of a goddess, I learned how to obtain true power. By earning the favor of any god that would listen.” A self-satisfied smirk spreads across his mouth. “Alleviana has given me that power.”

It takes me a moment to recognize that name. I’d encountered it only once during my studies, and I’m slow to make the connection.

But when I do, my blood runs cold.

Alleviana.

The Old Goddess of Avarice and Conquest. The queen of the Old Gods, and the cruelest of them all.

“If you haven’t realized by now that she’s only using you as a means to an end,” I scoff with pretend bravado, “then you truly are stupider than I thought.”

“You have fallen victim to the lies taught to you by your parents.” Tanyl’s tone is grating, sharp with abhorrence. “They are afraid of what they cannot control, and so they lock it away, instead of learning how to use it to their own advantage.”

He angles his head to me, eyes wild. “But I have. And in time, they will all cower before the power I now possess.” He parts his lips and unfurls his impressive wings. “You almost ruined everything,” he continues, taking on a more sing-song tone. “Meeting with your mother, letting her see that you are alive and well. You have given me more work to do, you see?” He inhales through his nose, leaning his head back when he does. “But alas, I have found a way to ensure that my plans remain intact.”

Nausea roils in my abdomen. Sweat slicks my palms. “Your plans?”

His smile makes my blood run cold. “I suppose I can share some details with you since you have shaped them a great deal.”

Gods, I don’t like the sound of that.

Fear colors my thoughts, imploring me to run. To get as far away from him as I can.

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