Page 113 of The Sorrow of Shadows

“I wouldn’t want to...” Elijah’s voicetrails off as he bends over, dry heaving. Luckily, nothing comes up, but I can tell it’s a fight to keep it down.

We move toward the bedrooms at the back of the small house. I push open the door and reach for the wall to balance. The sight that greets us has my heart sinking. “I think it’s safe to say we found the Howard family. But we weren’t the first...” I sigh.

A male and female I assume to be Delilah’s parents lay in bed, their throats slit and eyes closed. From the looks of it, they were probably slaughtered in their sleep, completely unaware they were being hunted. Red soaks the sheets below them, the blood long dried. Flies buzz around their bodies, the skin bloated.

I move onto the next room with Elijah and Aurelius behind me. This room belongs to the Howard children. The body of a teenage female lies on the floor, eyes open and staring at the wall. It appears she was not as lucky as her parents.

"She saw her death coming, and from the looks of it she tried to fight. Her throat isn’t slit cleanly like her parents. There are stab wounds in her chest and crimson blood has pooled down her nightgown and on the floor beneath her body.” I nearly choke on the words.

Moving further into the room, I lose the battle to keep my breakfast down. The contents of my stomach reappear on the floor before me. I’m bent over, heaving as tears stream down my face.

“My gods...” Aurelius’s voice trails off in horror.

“They slaughtered them all in their sleep, even...” Elijah starts, but can’t seem to finish his sentence. The contents of his stomach join my own on the floor.

“Even the babes,” I whisper through sobs as I stare down at the body of a female infant and male toddler in their beds.

“Who would do this?” Elijah asks, his voice full of dismay. “What could they possibly have known or done that would put a target like this on their backs?”

“I doubt there is anything that could ever justify this.” My voice is quiet as tears continue streaming down my cheeks.

Aurelius pulls me into his chest, turning my face away from the scene before us. Silent sobs wrack my body, and I mourn for the lost lives of my people. His hands trail up and down my back in a soothing motion.

We say nothing more until we’re back outside the house. “Who do you think is responsible, Breyla?” Elijah asks.

“Who I think is responsible and who actually wielded the blade are two different things.” I chew my bottom lip as I work to puzzle it all out. “We need proof before we can accuse Lord Seamus of this, but I need to pay a visit to a certain king. This wasn’t carried out by soldiers. This is the work of mercenaries. Of that, I am sure.”

CHAPTER FORTY

OPHELIA

It’s nearly midnight when I hear the door to my father’s chambers creak open and a click as the door shuts again. Elijah behind me, I slip out of my own room to face the young female exiting his room. Her hair is disheveled, and she looks exhausted, but I see no physical injuries.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly, and she nods.

“He didn’t hurt you?” I ask just to be sure.

“No, not really. He was rough, but the sedative in the wine took hold of him before he could do any real damage. I ensured he drank plenty, so he will think it was just too much wine that knocked him out.” She straightens her hair, wrapping a cloak around her shoulders. I had paid her an exorbitant amount to drug my father under the ruse of sleeping with him. I had paid her even more for her silence in the matter.

“Good,” I say, nodding. “Thank you so much for your help. Speak of this to no one.”

She visibly shudders. “Please, I would never tell a soul I bedded Lord Seamus. I’d like to forget it myself.”

Elijah stifles a laugh behind me, and I dig my elbow into his ribs. I drop the last half of the coins into her hand and watch her leave the castle.

Once she’s gone, Elijah nips my ear and whispers, “Clever minx. I can’t believe you pulled this off on such short notice.”

I lean into his touch and respond, “I almost didn’t. I was hoping I could just sneak in when he left the palace, but the bastard has been hiding in his study almost all day. This was my last resort.”

“Either way, you still pulled it off. You’re brilliant, O. Now, let’s go break into his study.” Elijah pats my side, then leads me into my father’s rooms. I can hear him snoring heavily from his bed and know that he’ll be out until morning. Still, it’s best to keep as quiet as possible.

We move from the sitting room to his study, and I reach for the handle.

“Shit,” I mumble when the handle refuses to budge. “It’s locked. I’m going to have to sneak into his bedroom and look for the key.” I nearly groan at the thought.

“Not to worry,” Elijah whispers. He pulls an iron key from his pants pocket and kisses my forehead. He slides it into the lock and turns it until it clicks open. We step into the study, shutting and locking the door behind us.

“How did you get a master key to the castle?” I ask.

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