Page 95 of The Sorrow of Shadows

“We did,” she sighs. “There’s some kind of shield around his body that wouldn’t let anyone pass through. It didn’t protect him from the elements or animals, but no person could reach him.”

I hadn’t heard of any shields like that before. “I don’t understand,” I say, furrowing my brows.

She walks up to his body and reaches a hand toward him. Before she can touch him, her hand just stops. It’s as if there’s an invisible barrier that she can’t pass through. “I don’t understand either, but we all experienced the same thing when we tried.

I reach out a hand to see if I get the same resistance. My hand passes through whatever barrier is there and meets his body. As soon as I make contact, a burning sensation races up my fingertips, causing me to jerk back and cry out in pain.

“What the fuck was that?” I hiss out, shaking my hand. Aurelius grabs it tenderly, turning it over and looking for signs of injury. There’s nothing there, and the burning has receded to a slight tingling sensation.

“Is your hand okay?” Nameah asks. “I swear that didn’t happen to any of us that tried before.”

“It’s like it was meant for only you. Like it was waiting for you to touch his body,” Aurelius muses. “I wonder...” His voice trails off as he reaches his hand out toward Julian’s body.

Like mine, his hand passes through the invisible barrier,allowing him to touch Julian. As soon as he makes contact, he grunts and pulls his hand back just as I had done with mine.

“There’s something there,” Nameah says. I find where her eyes are pinned and notice a piece of parchment nailed to his chest, right above where his heart would be.

“That wasn’t there before...” My voice trails off as I reach for the note. Careful not to make contact with his body again, I rip the parchment free.

Written in elegant script are the words:

The Crimson Prince and Queen of Shadows will fall.

“What the—” My words are cut short by the whistling of an arrow as it flies by inches from my face.

“Get down, Princess. We’re under attack!” Aurelius roars as he draws his sword.

I roll my eyes. “I’m the fucking general, this is just another Thursday.” I pull my own sword, dragging Nameah behind me. She’s untrained, and I refuse to have her blood on my hands.

Four males surround us, seeming to have appeared out of thin air. There’s no way they would have escaped the notice of both Aurelius and I, so they must have been cloaked somehow. They’re all dressed in leathers identical to each other, red cloaks pinned to their shoulders, and all armed to the teeth. All four males tower over us, even exceeding Aurelius's height by a few inches. I stare down the one who shot the arrow at me, studying his features.

His red hood is pulled high over his head to hide his hair and obscure his features. His eyes are a shade of red I’ve never seen before. It’s unnatural and unsettling. I can’t make out anything else on his face as a black cloth covers the bottom half.

The group remains silent as they continue circling and closing in on us.

“What do you want?” I demand, using the voice that always has my soldiers falling into line.

“You are attacking the General and Princess of Rimor andthe Royal Emissary. I suggest you carefully consider your next move. You wouldn’t want a war on your hands.” Aurelius speaks in a way that would make lesser males quake.

Still, our assailants say nothing, but I hear a few muffled snickers. These males have no fear.

The one I was studying finally speaks, his voice low and smooth like liquid velvet wrapping around my senses. “War is coming for you whether anyone wants it or not,” he says pointedly before finally attacking.

He swings his sword straight for me, and I raise my own to meet his at the last possible second. He’s fast. They’re all incredibly fast. Aurelius and I work to fend them off, keeping our backs together and Nameah between us.

Except she’s not between us anymore. From my peripherals I catch sight of her engaging one of the males not currently attacking Aurelius and me. She has a dagger in her hand, and while she has very little range, she can at least stand a fighting chance if he chooses to attack.

My attention snaps back to the two males charging me. I meet the first, fending off his blow and pushing him back, then swing right as the second thrusts his blade at me. I narrowly miss his attack and manage to make one of my own, my sword slicing through the air where he stood just a moment ago.

These males are skilled, obviously highly trained, and clearly just toying with us. If they wanted to kill us, they’d be trying harder.

Aurelius grunts from somewhere close by, his sword clashing with the male currently attacking him.

When it’s clear I’m not taking any ground against my assailants, I change tactics. Instead of thrusting my sword at him, I wait until he charges me. I twist out of his path, then use my shadows to create a blindfold around his eyes. I have a feeling it won’t hold for long, so I take my shot while Ican, slamming my heel into the center of his back. He stumbles into his companion and lets out a startled grunt.

They clearly didn’t expect that move, and they’re unhappy about being outmaneuvered.

I hear Nameah struggling against her attacker, but she’s doing better than I expected. She’s still alive, which is more than I could have hoped for at this point. I cast shadows in her direction, doing what I can to lend her the strength of my Gifts without leaving myself vulnerable.

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