Page 52 of The Shadow of Polaris

The man bowed to me, his beard pooling on the dirty stone floor.

“King Zecharius, my goddess,” he whispered to me.

The council, wide eyed and silent, followed his lead and lowered their heads in my direction. A flurry of guards poured into the chamber, their swords pointing at me in ambush.

“Stop!” Zecharius ordered, raising his hands up to halt the swarm. In a symphony of clanking armor, they stopped in their tracks and awaited their King’s orders. He stalked forward, the grey fibers of his beard collecting dust in his path.

“Goddess, what message do you have for our patron God?” he asked.

“We need his support. As we speak, Tethys is prepping her army for an invasion of the mortal realms. We mean to stop her before she has the chance, but we can’t do it alone,” Aryx said, sheathing his sword. Nodding, the mortal king laced his fingers behind his back.

He leaned beside the white-haired Lord seated to the right of his vacant head chair. The Lord nodded promptly at the king’s unheard command and hurried into the shadows of the dark passageway across from us. Steps echoed down the cavern, stopping short as the creak of an unseen door opened, then slammed shut.

Arcturas growled deep in her chest, her eyes low and back arched. Something didn’t feel right. Tingles curled my toes and rushed up my legs, flexing the muscles of my thighs. My stomach tightened as the King turned back around to face us.

“Unfortunately for you, Goddess, the Elders have already notified me of your treasonous plans. You think your treachery can fool Canissa and its king?” He snapped his fingers, and the guards marched a step forward, tightening their circle around us.

“No, the Elders are under Tethys’s manipulation! They cannot be trusted,” I cried, reaching for the hilt of my dagger.

Aryx slid toward me, his fists knuckle-white at his sides.

“Why should I believe the Queen Slayer over my most trusted emissary?” Zecharius snapped his fingers again.

The synchronized stomp of 12 leather boots echoed through the great hall as the guards closed in on us.

“You are a fool if you don’t listen to us,” Aryx hissed.

The king snapped his fingers again. “Seize them.”

The guards lunged forward, plunging their blades at us.

A blur of black zipped across the room. Snapping armor and the crunch of bones filled the silent hall as blood sprayed across its grey stone walls. A guard leapt for me, sword raised above his head. I dodged the blow just as the iron blade swung across my cheek. Sparks flicked from its contact with the stone floor.

“Elpis. Behind you,” Aryx called.

Swirling around, I slit the throat of the guard towering over me, his ruby blood spurting across my brow. A tug on my braid jerked my head back.

The guard pulled me into a headlock, forcing the dagger from my hand. Tingles ignited across my arms as my shadows wrapped themselves between his shoulders, squeezing tightly until arteries collapsed and blood vessels popped from his neck.

Aryx pulled his bow from his shoulder, jabbing the grip into the face of an unsuspecting guard. The lords and ladies of the court shrieked and cowered in a corner, watching the fight play out with horrified expressions.

Leaping into action with newfound strength, the King whipped his staff through the air. Its sharp point cracked against my kneecap, forcing me to my knees. Agony erupted through my bones as I shielded my face from the King’s impending attack. An arrow whizzed by my ear, slicing my skin in its path. The point pierced the king’s shoulder, just above his heart.

“You touch her again. Next time, my arrow won’t miss,” Aryx growled. Grit laced with the threat on his tongue.

The guards retreated, rushing to the aid of their wounded king. I struggled to my feet, careful to shift my weight off the crippled joint. Long locks of hair fell across my face as I tipped my chin up to face the court.

What was once a kernel of power within me now roared with the flames of a thousand pyres. The tingles rushed to my broken kneecap. The muscle fibers stitched themselves back together beneath the skin. Serpents of shadows wriggled through my veins, slithering through my chest. Dust fell from the ceiling as the ground vibrated around us, sending pebbles bouncing across the stone tiles. My heart pounded like a battering ram. Invisible strands of energy pulled up on my feet as I prowled toward the King. His sunken eyes were now wide in his skull. His throat bobbed. He was going to regret this. Red flooded my vision as I imagined my hands gripped around his throat, his life spurting out of him with each gurgling choke.

“Touch me again, and an arrow is the least of your concern.”

The voice was not my own. While mine was quiet and cold, this voice was malicious and hot. My wolf strutted to my side with a smoldering ferocity. The King retreated, his limp steps slow and terrified.

I could feel his heart fluttering like a hummingbird enclosed in his brittle bone. I wanted to rip the organ from his ribs and claw it to shreds. My nostrils flared at the thought of the blood that would pour from his wounds.

“Goddess, please, please spare me. Think of my people,” he pleaded, tripping over the train of his robes and falling to his knees.

I took another step. The taste of his death licked across my lips.

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