Page 104 of The Shadowbound King

“Not yet. I thought maybe you’d like to do it.”

Dark humor drifted through me. Andrin’s idea of intimacy was me sharing a bath with him. Rane invited me to execute someone.

“I love you,” I said, looking between them. “Both of you.” The numbness spread to my lips, and I had to try a couple of times before more words would come. “Sorry I didn’t…say it before.”

Andrin kissed my fingers. “You’ll say it again. You’ll tell us tomorrow.”

It was hard to smile. But maybe they could see it in my eyes. More leaves fell, red and gold spinning. The Edeloak’s branches swayed above me as the breeze picked up.

“Save it,” I whispered, finding Andrin’s eyes. “Save Autumn. It’s what I want.”

A tear streaked down his cheek and into his beard. “But…we’ve only just found you.”

Ginhad’s face appeared in my mind, followed by Elodie’s and Nerissa’s. Little Finian and Valina and Yendorn. Vivia with diamonds in her hair. Thraxos and Kassander. Lord Lerendyl with his smiling eyes and questionable clothing choices.

I’d never had friends until I came to Autumn. Now, I had a chance to save them. The children would grow up, their lives unburdened by shadow.

Cold spread through me. My teeth began to chatter. We were running out of time. I drew a ragged breath?—

Othor appeared over Andrin’s shoulder. Eyes blazing, he spoke in a twisting, foreign tongue. Shadowy ropes streaked from his hands, wrapping around Andrin and Rane’s throats and jerking them backward.

“No!” I screamed, the sound lost amid the men’s shouts. Andrin surged to his feet, swinging at Othor. Rane clawed at his neck, his eyes bulging as the ropes wrapped more tightly around his throat. He fell to his knees, his face turning red. Othor was killing him.

With the last of my strength, I rolled to my side. The knife shifted in my chest, sending agony blazing through me. My vision swam as I rose to my knees, pain stealing my breath.Golden blood splattered the ground. It spread around me, shimmering with a million tiny lights. Panting, I tried to stand. My foot slipped from under me, and I went down.

The knife struck the ground first, the blade twisting and thumping to the grass. My mouth stretched on a soundless scream as more golden blood gushed over the ground. Light flooded my vision. Above me, the Edeloak appeared to sway, its leaves shivering.

Rane flopped onto his side, his face purple. Behind him, Othor shot a shadow rope at Andrin’s ankles, then yanked his arm backward, jerking Andrin off his feet.

Fury scorched my veins. Othor thought he deserved to be king. But he was nothing but a thief and a coward.

Rising on numb legs, I stumbled forward, my gaze on Othor. I had no weapons, no magic. But I’d be damned if I let him win. I staggered forward, my toe striking something on the ground.

Othor’s staff lay in the grass, the wood half obscured by dead leaves.

Bellowing, Andrin jerked free of Othor’s ropes. He buried his fist in Othor’s stomach, sending him coughing and gasping to the ground.

I picked up the staff. Magic whispered around me. The Edeloak’s leaves rustled. Gold coated my hands…and seeped into the wood under my fingers.

Hauling his foot back, Andrin kicked the high priest in the shoulder. Othor flopped onto his back.

Rane gagged, his body twitching on the ground. Andrin rushed to him and fell to his knees. He tugged at the ropes, trying to rip them away, but the shadows held.

Wheezing, Othor rolled to his side. “You should have studied harder, Andrin,” he coughed, a vicious smile curving his lips.

Magic built under my hands. Light spread over the staff, power building…building.

“She’s awerek,”Rane’s voice said in my memories. Andrin’s voice followed.

“It’s a rare gift. You can see through the eyes of others.”

Heat surged in my veins, and I closed my eyes. Visions flashed in my mind, years and centuries passing in a blur. Elves singing and dancing. Leaves spinning through the air. A great battle between men and elves. Power rising—and a great barrier forming, its blue light dividing the realm in two.

A woman with eyes like amber. Kings with crowns nestled among their flowing hair. Children laughing as they raced among the trees. Shadows dappling the ground. Leaves tumbling.

So beautiful.

My heart stuttered—and then thundered in my ears. The visions sped up, a thousand years passing in a blink. Faces sped through my memory, lives forming and flashing and winking out. But they endured, each one spreading through the tree.

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