Page 62 of Devour the Dark

As is traditional for Darkland coat of arms, there’s a knight’s helm at the top, one of the medieval kind with a slit for the eyes, and a giant black plume rising from the crown. Behind the helm is a red and black flourish. Beneath is the shield with the crescent moon and two stars, flanked by the standard two supporting figures: a raven and a skeleton.

The family motto is beneath in old darkish:viere magnar, mori melius.

Live great, die better.

The presence of the coat of arms confirms my earlier suspicions.

Winnie catches my hesitation. “You coming?”

Vane follows my line of sight and scowls when he sees what I see.

“Should we be worried?” I ask.

Vane’s scowl deepens. “About what?”

“Yeah.” Winnie glances between us. “About what?”

“That family crest,” I say, more to her than to Vane, because he clearly knows what it means. “It belongs to the Corbeld family. The matriarchal line of Vane and Roc’s family.”

“Your mother?” Winnie echoes and the way Vane tenses up tells us all we need to know.

“And after the Lorne family, the Corbelds were next in line for the throne. Making Roc?—”

Vane is swift, grabbing Winnie first, then me, ushering us into the shadows of the bushes that line the front of the house. “We were stripped of our titles,” he says quickly. “Maybe at one point, Roc was fifth in line for the throne, but he is no longer. Our father’s actions made sure of that.”

Winnie crosses her arms over her chest, listening intently.

“It was the Lorne family that took your standing from you and the Lornes are no longer in charge. Do you think the Myths couldn’t make a case for Roc if that was what they wanted?”

Vane grumbles, but the sound hums between his teeth.

Winnie catches on quickly because she’s smart and not clouded by eons of family baggage. At least not when it comes to the Maddred family.

“You think the Myths are trying to install Roc on the Darkland throne?” she asks.

“Yes,” is my answer.

“They would need to control him…”

“Yes,” I say. “Ask Vane if that’s possible. If when you devour something powerful enough, it can hijack your body.”

“It’s unprecedented,” he says quickly.

“But not impossible?” Winnie asks.

He finally breaks his scowl. “Not impossible.”

“That’s why you’ve pulled away from me.” Winnie steps in front of him, forcing him to look down at her. “I thought it was because you were focusing on the mission. I thought you were pulling the shadow to you and because of it, the connection between us weakened. But no, you’re purposefully keeping me out because you’re afraid.”

“I am not afraid.”

“Then open the connection.”

I wait, unsure of how this connection works and whether or not I’ll know once it’s open. It’s fascinating watching them communicate and interact with the shadow. They seem to have an almost telepathic connection. I’m not interested so much in science, or the study of the supernatural in the Seven Isles, but the archivist in me is curious about any overlap in the well-documented history of the Isles. A connection like this could not only be a weakness but an incredible strength. It explains why Neverland’s standing in the Isles is slowly gaining groundagain. Pan has always been a prominent figure, but some of his influence waned when he lost his shadow. Now that they have both Neverland shadows, they’ve defeated Hook and the Fae Queen, the rest of the Isles are going to think twice about crossing Pan.

I’m getting off track.

Focus, Ash.

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