Page 88 of The Shadowbound King

His brow furrowed as he appeared to think it over. “I don’t know. Itfeelslike it should be a secret.”

The doors flew open, and Elodie rushed in. “Ginhad! Oh, thank the gods, I found you.”

“What is it?” he asked, jumping to his feet and rushing to her. “Did Lord Rane return?”

“No. Lord Lerendyl and Lord Sartris never stopped drinking last night. Now they’re in the armory sword fighting.”

Ginhad opened his mouth.

“Actual swords,” she said quickly.

“Oh my.” Ginhad looked at me.

“Go,” I told him. “I’ll be all right here.”

He flashed a grateful smile before hurrying from the chamber with Elodie on his heels. As the doors swung shut behind them, a heavy silence fell.

And my fears returned.Whywould Rane leave the Embervale? He knew Andrin would worry—and possibly follow.

Whirling, I went to the bedchamber and threw open the doors to the balcony. The seething blackness of the Edelfen smeared over the meadow like oil. The stretch of rolling landI’d crossed the day Rane stole me from the Covenant was gone, its bright leaves and green grass buried under impenetrable shadow.

I gripped the balcony railing as I gazed over the roiling black landscape. There wasn’t enough unspoiled land left for Andrin to cast an illusion. Valina, Yendorn, and Finian were truly housebound.

But I could change it. My heart sped up. If I bonded with Rane, I could lead him through the shadows to Purecliff and help him search for the Kree. But could I trust him to release the bond once we found it?

Immediately, the memory of the chain winding around his wrist formed in my mind.Of courseI could trust him. I’d seen his enslavement through his eyes. Had felt the lash on my back. If I bonded with him, he’d let me go.

The only question was, did I want him to? And if he did, where would I go? Not to Purecliff. But I couldn’t stay in Ishulum, either. Even if Andrin and Rane wanted me to remain, I was mortal—and they were not. I would grow old while they stayed the same, their bodies tall and strong.

A gust of wind whipped across the balcony, rattling the doors behind me. A second later, a massive crow swooped through the air with a loudcaw.

Relief coursed through me, and I leaned over the railing. Before I could call out to Rane, a second large crow dove from the sky. Claws out, it slammed into the first crow. They tumbled through the sky, spinning and pecking at each other in a flurry of feathers.

My heart seized in my chest as the crows battled in the air. They screamed, clashing over and over. Blood spurted from their wounds, droplets raining onto the balcony.

The sound of the main chamber’s doors opening made me spin around. It was Ginhad or Andrin. Grabbing my skirts, I rushed through the bedchamber.

“Help!” I cried, running through the doorway. Confusion brought me to a sudden halt. Rane stood a short distance away, his hair tangled around his shoulders. His clothes were ripped, his face pale.

And his eyes were solid black.

“You would take him from me,” he said through clenched teeth.

Fear sank icy claws into my skin. Heart thumping, I swallowed against a dry throat. “What happened, Rane?”

“You,” he snarled. He advanced slowly, moving with a fluid elegance at odds with the hatred twisting his features. “Andrin is mine. He hasalwaysbeen mine.”

“I-I know,” I said, easing back. But it didn’t matter where I went. He blocked the path to the door. I lifted my hands. “Let’s just talk, and?—”

The room blurred and then my back slammed into the wall. My head bounced off the stone, and dizziness swept me. He’d moved so quickly. And he had me now, his fingers biting into my arms and his teeth bared in my face.

“Look at me,” he barked, a thousand voices rippling from his throat. Black eyes bored into mine as he tightened his grip. “This land is mine. You should have stayed away.”

“Rane, please,” I whispered, cold spreading down my arms. “This isn’t you.”

He slammed me into the wall, forcing a grunt from me. My skirts fluttered around my ankles. Something blunt slapped gently against my thigh.

My knife. True to his word, Ginhad had kept silent about it, and I’d taken to tucking it into my pocket every morning.

---