Page 91 of The Shadow Heir

I did not blink. “An homage to the kings of old.”

My father cocked me a merciless grin, then lifted his hands and placed them on either side of my head.

I stiffened as he pulled my head down toward his.

I hadn’t even kissed Zara goodbye.

“Was it worth it, son?” he snarled, not bothering to keep his voice low.

I jerked my head from his grip, ready for his attack. “Every bit,” I shot back, ripping off my suit jacket and plucking at the buttons on my sleeves. I’d watched my father kill two of my siblings and read the accounts of all the others. If there was one commonality in how Rykar killed his heirs, it was that he preferred not to use magic until the very end and always started with a showcase of his incredible skill with a blade. He was a fan of blood.

He sniffed. “The pain wasn’t a good motivator, then,” he declared, flicking away an invisible piece of fuzz from his jacket sleeve. “It never quite seems to do the trick with any of my children. Pity.”

“No, it’s you I pity,” I said, and before he could say anything else, I turned my back to him. Several murmurs pulsed through the crowd as I grabbed Zara’s face and kissed her once more.

“Then I shall have to think of something else,” my father growled from behind me. “If my son has found a way to deceive me.”

I turned to face him once more. The last dose of my antidote was wearing thin against the fierceness of his anger. “You’ve taught me nothing but deception. Like any loving father, you should be proud.”

My father’s fist was on my collar, choking me. Rykar hissed in my ear. “We do not love, son. The shadow heart is black. There is nothing inside of it but power. Love weakens. Power strengthens.” With a shove, he let go of my shirt, and I stumbled forward. “The moment that you love is the moment that you become powerless.”

He brushed past me, pushing my shoulder hard. At first, I thought he’d attacked, and my hands balled into fists.

But he hadn’t been aiming for me.

His hand reached out and clamped around Zara’s chin. She stumbled in his grip.

“Let her go!” I shouted. Magic sizzled off my father’s frame as he swallowed the two of them in a shield enchantment. No magic could make him let go now. Rykar chuckled, a sound that drew needles into my veins.

Rage blazed through me. I should never have kissed her, never given my father a reason to hurt her. He would use her to prove his point, that love made us weak.

Rykar’s fingers squeezed, drawing a small moan from Zara. “This mortal was not supposed to be alive,” he growled. “I thought I made myself clear.” Zara’s cheeks had turned white where his fingers dug in, but she didn’t make another sound.“However, it will be more fun to punish her now, so my son can see what his choices have done.”

A few goblets rattled against the tables. My father shoved Zara’s face away, nearly knocking her to the floor. As I lurched forward, he peered over at me. “And then you will die.”

40

Zara

My shoes clacked as I stumbled away from the Shadow King. His fingernails had left indentations on my face that still burned.

“Touch her, and it will be the last thing you do,” Cas growled to his father.

In answer, the king drew his sword. The sound of it unsheathing lifted the hairs on my arms.

But then Cas had one too, as the weapon simply materialized in his lifted hand.

My heart stumbled. Time was running out. I glanced at the wide windows, wondering if my plan would work.

The clash of steel broke my hope to shards. My stomach knotted as Cas and his father dueled so fast I couldn’t track their movements. But Cas had said Rykar would use steel first. We weren’t out of time yet.

Hurrying toward the windows, I hurled a prayer to the First and Last, a god Ivy had said could hear prayers. If this god cared enough about the creatures he’d made to listen to them, he was better than any I’d ever heard of.

“Please let them come,” I said. “Please let this work.”

At the window, I braced against the casing and leaned out. I gave my hair a shake in the freezing air for good measure. Maybe, despite my dancing and twirling and waving about, there were too many smells in this room for the dragons to smellme.

Blades rang out faster than the snap of castanets. The fae were backed against the walls to allow room for the battle between the king and the heir. I’d thought Cas and Alba fought quickly, but this was like trying to watch hummingbirds in flight.

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