Page 21 of Heart of the Shadow King

My lip curls. “And did you drink together?”

Rath blinks several times. “Yes.” He nods at last. “The prince called forkrilgeto be served. I remember he said we needed something to brace our nerves following—”

I do not wait for the rest. I turn and storm from the room, rage once more overcoming all thought. I mount the steps of the infirmary, push the door open, and emerge in the stone passage, my head down like a morleth ready to charge.

“Your Majesty!”

I stop. Shoulders hunched, I turn slowly, look back at Hael. She stands in the infirmary doorway, staring after me. “I thought I told you not to take your eyes off her,” I growl.

Hael holds herself straight and still. “Tell me where you’re going. Tell me what—”

“I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago. But I was too much of a coward.”

Hael’s lips pinch. “You’re going to see Sul.”

“I am.”

Her face has gone a terrible shade of gray, her soft skin the same color as thedorgaragmalformations which mar her neck and cheek. “Let me come with you.”

“No. Stay and watch over Faraine.”

Her jaw hardens. “Please, my King. Let me come with you.”

I want to command her to get back in there. To roar at her, to make her remember where her duty lies. And she will obey. She is that loyal. But I cannot ignore what I see in her: the cracks in her spirit, the fragility. She is on the verge of breaking. I guided her brother’s soul to rest but a few short hours ago. She is a warrior, one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. But a loss like that will test the mettle of the greatest heart.

“You will not like what is to come,” I say, my voice hard.

“No,” she acknowledges. “But I must be there.”

I hold her gaze for a long, silent moment. Then: “Very well. Find Lur and Wrag. Tell them to stand watch over the queen. I will wait for you here and guard her myself until you return.”

Hael salutes and hastens to obey. So, I am left waiting in the corridor outside the infirmary, resenting every second that creeps by. Now is not the time for standing and thinking. Now is not the time for contemplating what I must and will do. Action is better. Let the impulse of the moment carry me through to the inevitable end. Instead, the gods have willed that I must stand here and consider the deeds before me. How I must look into my brother’s eye and ask him one last time if he is the traitor I already know him to be.

This time Sul will answer truthfully.

I reach into the pocket of the ceremonial robe I wear, withdraw the object hidden there. It’s the crystal. The one my mother gave to me: brighturzul, stained dark in its center.

“A life for a life,” I whisper. It had seemed a fair enough bargain at the time. My own life, or so I’d believed. But what if the price is more? What if it’s a price I’m unwilling to pay? I’d thought no price too great, no sacrifice too dire for the chance to save her. Was I wrong? Will there come a day when I will look back and realize I’ve gone too far?

Footsteps approach down the hall. I slip the stone back into my pocket just as Hael and two of her fellow guards appear. Lur and Wrag salute me, their faces grave. Hael barks commands, and they take up position outside the infirmary door. “You are to let no one in on pain of death,” Hael reminds them before turning to face me. Her complexion is gray, her pale eyes several shades darker than usual. But she says only, “Now, my King.”

I nod silently and turn to lead the way.

“Open in the name of the king!”

The pounding of Hael’s fist against the door echoes down the corridor, and her voice rings among the stalactites overhead. We say nothing, neither of us looking at the other. We don’t even know for certain that Sul is here, returned to his private chambers following the ceremony.For all I know, he’s out among my ministers, spreading either calm or dissension, gathering information, collecting intrigue. All for some ultimate purpose I cannot fathom.

The silence lasts no more than a few breaths. But it feels like an age. The door opens at last, however, and my brother’s face appears. “A moment, my darlings!” he calls over his shoulder, pulling a robe around his broad bare torso. “I’ll be back in your luscious arms momentarily.” Gods on high, has he dived headfirst into carousing between now and the disastrous end of the ceremony? Only Sul could be so brash. He smooths back his disarrayed hair, a smile on his lips as he turns to face Hael, standing in the doorway. His expression freezes. “Hael!” He tries to recover his smile. “Isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”

My silent captain merely steps aside, revealing me standing behind her. The luminous glow drains from Sul’s cheeks. “Vor,” he breathes. “I trust all is well with your—”

I push into the room. “Out,” I growl to the two beauties lying tumbled in Sul’s bed. They gasp, scrambling for blankets to wrap around their naked flesh, and scurry from the room, right under Hael’s nose. She stands like a pillar of granite just inside the door, her face immobile.

“Really, Vor,” Sul says, drawing his robe a little tighter, “I do wish you’d send word of your coming in advance. A man does like a little heads-up when he’s, well, you know, heads u—”

“I’ve spoken to Lord Rath.”

Sul stops. His whole being seems to shutter. Then, very softly: “Ah.” With that and nothing more, he turns away, marching to the fireplace where a moonfire blaze dances brightly. It highlights the side of his face. I study the lines of his brow, the sharpness of his cheek and jaw, searching for signs of guilt or sorrow or anger. But I cannot read my brother as I used to. I might as well be looking at the face of a stranger.

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