Page 96 of The Sorrow of Shadows

A realization dawns when my shadows reach her, and the next second, she disappears.There we go, little mouse. That’s thinking on your feet.

I turn my focus back to my fight, my attackers having fully recovered from my last trick. The warrior on the right raises his sword and steps toward me, but then freezes. His eyes drop down, and I follow their path to see the tip of a blade sticking out the front of his chest just below his heart.

The warrior on my left bellows in rage, swinging his sword wide and thrashing at the enemy he can’t see. His sword makes contact, and I hear Nameah’s pained gasp, followed by the flickering form of her body coming back into view.

The remaining three warriors halt their attack and retreat from us. They lay hands on their fallen comrade as their forms start to waver and disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Just before they disappear completely, I hear, “The prince sends his regards.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

OPHELIA

“Ithought I’d find you here.” Layne’s voice startles me out of the world I was in reading my latest romance novel. It’s about a female scholar living in a world so unlike our own, caught between two lifetimes; an ancient civilization drowned by the gods, and a love story that follows her through the lifetimes.

“You know me well, brother.” I smile and scoot over on the settee to make room for him.

“Whenever we played hide and seek as children, I found you in the library. You were incredibly predictable.” He laughs softly as he recounts the memory.

I close the book in my lap, noting what page I’m on. “Fictional worlds were always far better than our own reality.”

A saccharine smile crosses Layne’s face and he sighs. “I have something for you.”

“A gift?” I perk up in interest.

“Just a little something I found at a local market in my latesttravels.” He winks at me and pulls a package from behind him. It’s wrapped in brown paper, twine tied into a bow on top.

I unwrap the paper carefully and grin. It’s a leatherbound book, with pages lined in gold. I examine the title and flip open the cover.

“No way,” I gasp. It’s my favorite book; one that I’ve read a dozen times over.

“Yes way.” He smiles at me. “Flip to the next page.”

I do as he suggests and squeal, “It’s signed by the author!”

“And it’s a first edition print. The edges were hand painted by a local artist. It’s one of a kind, for my one-of-a-kind sister.” He’s grinning widely at me now, his blue eyes sparkling.

The tears pool in the corners of my eyes, and I whisper, “Thank you, Layne. It means more than you know.”

He pulls me into his arm and hugs me tight, his apple and sage scent wrapping around me. Layne is all the family I’ve had for so long, the only one who truly cared about me until recently. I relax into the embrace that feels like home.

After a few more moments, Layne finally releases me and says, “So, tell me what I’ve missed out on during my time away from court.”

“I don’t know where to begin; you’ve missed a lot.” I contemplate what to tell him first.

“Let’s start at the beginning. Last we spoke, Father had commanded you to get close to Princess Breyla for his own gain. How is that going?”

“It should come as no surprise, but Breyla saw right through that. She knew from the start that he sent me. So we formed our own agreement instead, and I feed him false information, just close enough to the truth to not be obvious. In return I tell Breyla what I can about his movements. Breyla and I have come to form a friendship.”

Layne looks contemplative as he says, “I still don’t know that I trust her, Ophelia.” I open my mouth to defend her, but heholds his hand up to stop me. “But I trust Father even less. So, please just be careful. I don’t want to see anything happen to you. I can’t stand seeing you hurt.”

“Yeah, well, I’m used to the pain. I’ll be okay, Layne. I know you don’t trust Breyla, but I do. Neither she nor Elijah will let anything happen to me.” I do my best to reassure him.

“Lord Elijah? I wasn’t aware you were close with him.” Layne raises a brow at me.

I fight the blush claiming my cheeks, thinking about just howcloseElijah and I have become. “He’s Breyla’s best friend, so we’ve spent considerable time together. They’re kind of a package deal most days.” I pray to the gods that the explanation is enough to let him drop it.

“Uh huh, I see,” he hums in disbelief. “So, you and Elijah haven’t spent any time together outside of when you’re both with the princess?”

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