Page 7 of Vow of the Shadow King

Instead, I step from the room and stand a moment in the outer chamber, oddly disoriented and uncertain. I close my eyes, lean my back against the door. Stepping out of Faraine’s presence is like leaving behind both light and air. My chest feels oddly tight and uncomfortable, and I struggle to draw a full breath.

“Your Majesty?”

I look up. Hael stands by the door. The sight of her drawn face is enough to make me pull myself upright. “Well?” I demand.

She salutes smartly, her face severe. “We found Lord Rath.”

“Rath?” I repeat, confused. Lord Rath is my minister of tradition, as slimy an eel as was ever dressed in ministerial robes. What he has to do with recent events is beyond me.

Hael shifts on her feet. “He was discovered unconscious not far from the holding cells, clad in a cloak and hood.” She pauses then holds up an object. “He had this on him.”

It’s a knife. A small dagger with a handle carved in the shape of a dragon’s head. The edge of the blade boasts a red stain.

I stare at that stain.

Then rage explodes inside my chest.“Where is he?”I demand, my voice a barely-subdued roar.

“In his chambers, Your Majesty. We thought it best if—”

I don’t wait to hear the rest. I push past Hael, out into the passage, and storm from the royal wing. I don’t pause until I reach the region of the palace where my ministers live in ostentatious apartments. Though we pass others, I see no faces, hear no voices. My mind has tunneled into a single purpose which leads me straight to Rath’s door.

The latch resists when I put my hand to it. With a single vicious turn, I break the lock and slam the door wide. Rath’s wife and members of his household are gathered in the front room. Lady Rath screams at the sight of me and faints into someone’s arms. I ignore her, I ignore all of them. I pass through their midst without pause and burst into Rath’s bed chamber. He lies on the bed, his skin white as polished marble. His eyes are open but unseeing. I’d think he was dead save for the ratcheting rise and fall of his chest.

Hael appears beside me. She reaches out as though to grab my arm but stops herself. Part of me wishes she would. Part of me suspects I need to be restrained before I do something irrevocably terrible. Red mist films my vision. I blink it back, draw a deep, steadying breath.

Then I march to the bed, stand over my minister. “Why did you do it?” I demand, my voice cold as a cavern. “Why did you try to kill her?”

He stares up at the ceiling. His mouth moves. Opens. Shuts. His eyelids flicker, but don’t quite blink.

“Answer me, Rath,” I snarl. “Answer me, or by the Deeper Dark, I swear I will—”

“Your Majesty! Please!”

The shout in my ear brings me back to myself. I turn to find Yok, Hael’s brother, gripping me by one arm. Hael is on my other side, her strong hands latched onto my shoulder. When I look down, I find I’m squeezing Rath’s throat. His eyes goggle and his tongue protrudes between his lips, thick and purple.

With a gasp, I let go. Yok and Hael drag me back. I sag in their holds. Gods above and below, what came over me? One moment, I was standing there, talking to the man, and the next . . . I don’t remember.

“Unhand me!” I cry. “At once, you fools!”

“You can’t murder him, Your Majesty,” Hael says, her hand still firmly locked on my shoulder. “Not even you are above the law.”

I turn sharply, catch her eye. “Let go of me, Captain. You’ve failed me one time too many.”

My words strike Hael like blows. She drops her hold on me and backs away. “We must question him, Your Majesty,” she says, pulling herself straight. “We must learn what he was attempting. Had he simply wanted to assassinate the princess, he would have sent a proxy.”

I nod. My breath is hard and heavy in my lungs. I can’t bring myself to look at the stricken lord again for fear another murderous rage will overtake me. I run my hands through my hair, push it back from my face. “You’re right. There’s something more afoot here. Have him carried to Madame Ar’s infirmary as soon as possible. Set a watch around him. Only your best men, Captain. Let no one near. I want him alive, do you understand me? If something happens to him, it will be on your head.”

Hael swallows hard, the muscles in her throat constricting. But she offers a crisp salute.

I turn from her, step toward the open door. There I pause and shoot a last look back at the man on the bed. He looks so pathetic, so small. My eyes narrow. “Tell Madame Ar, I want him tested as well.”

“Tested for what?” Yok asks quietly.

I pull my lips back, showing my teeth. “Raogpoison.”

3

FARAINE

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