Page 28 of Heart of the Shadow King

“Good night, Faraine,” I answer, turning to go. Wrag and Lur stand at the end of the passage, their faces shadowed, their eyes downcast. I take three paces toward them, commands on my lips, ready to be spoken.

“Vor!”

I stop. Turn. Look back to the open doorway and the figure of my wife standing there.

“Vor, I . . . I love you.”

My face breaks into a smile. I cannot speak, not even to return the words. I’d thought I’d reached the very heights of heaven when her naked body was entwined with mine in the waters of the shining lake. Yet not one of those pleasures could equal this. In this moment, I could tear apart the whole world and make it fresh and new. Just for her. Just for us.

She feels the sudden burst of my love rippling out from me. Her gods-gift receives it, and her face lights up in an otherworldly glow shining from her strange, bi-colored eyes. How long we stand there, gazing at each other, I cannot guess. It might be minutes. It might be hours.

In the end, she backs up, shuts her door. And I turn to face the world once more, flames of triumph burning bright in my chest.

“But whereisPrince Sul?”

Lady Parh, my minister of war, pounds a fist on the stone table, sending hairline cracks running across its surface. My other ministers and their deputies fix their gazes on me, awaiting my answer. I found them minutes earlier congregated in my council hall, discussing the events of theVulug Ugdthin heated tones. The moment I entered, their voices silenced. They rose from their seats and watched me cross the room and take my place at the head of the table.

“Good,” I said. “You’re all gathered. We have much to discuss.”

Some had protested my brother’s absence. While several of the members present make no secret of their outright loathing for Sul, his position as prince and my right hand is uncontested in court. I know exactly which of them were part of the initial insurrection that sought to place him on my throne following our father’s death. I keep them close, seated at this table with me. So long as they feel their voices are heard, perhaps they will keep their words of rebellion to mere whispers.

Lady Parh’s voice still rings against the crystals hung from the ceiling, and her eyes snap in thelorstglow. I face her calmly. “The Prince will not be joining us thisdimness.”

“And why not?” Parh persists. “Because you banished him?”

A sharp intake of breath from several members present. Lady Sha places a hand against her parted lips, blinking fast.

I hold my minister of war’s gaze. “As I said, the prince will not be joining us. He has taken leave of Mythanar for the foreseeable future.”

“Then it is true,” Lord Gol mutters, running a hand down his face.

“What is true?” Lord Brug crosses his arms across his vast chest and leans back in his seat. “Can someone please speak in plain troldish? Is the prince banished or not?”

I would have preferred to control the manner in which this information leaked. Most likely one of Sul’s lovely paramours stood outside the door of his chamber and listened in, knowing she could make a tidy profit for knowledge gleaned from keyholes. I should have made Hael stand outside to protect our privacy.

I rise to address the gathering, taking care to measure my tone. “Prince Sul has been proven guilty of treason against the crown on the testimony of Lord Rath.” My ministers exchange wary glances. Even Parh looks unsettled. “He has been banished forthwith and will not return to the Under Realm.”

“Has the queen been informed?” Lady Sha asks.

It takes me a breath to realize she’s referring to my stepmother, the dowager. My jaw hardens. “She has not. I will speak to her myself comelusterling.”

“That’ll be a pretty sight,” Lord Brug rumbles, shaking his heavy head. “She’ll have those damned Children of Arraog up in arms by lunch!” The others murmur and mutter, afraid to speak out loud and yet unable to hold their tongues.

I raise a hand.“Gurat!”I growl. Instant silence falls. Slowly, I look around the table, meeting each of their gazes in turn. “Sul is my brother. My blood. It is my right and duty as king to pass sentence on members of my own house.”

Lady Parh mutters something low. My eyes fasten on her stony face. “Would you like to say that again, Parh? Louder this time, so the rest can hear you.”

She looks up, lips drawn back from her teeth in a snarl. “He should have had his day in court. He should have been given a chance to make his defense.”

I open my mouth to speak, but Brug interrupts. “Morar-juk!Are you mad, woman? That would be playing into the rebels’ hands! They’d make a hero out of him, a martyr. With the city in the state it’s in, something like that would be just the tool needed to tip us all over the chasm’s edge.”

None of them argue. Regardless of their true loyalties, they all know what such violence would mean for Mythanar. We cannot afford to be reckless.

“Brug is right,” I say at last. “We must do everything we can to unite Mythanar and the Under Realm at this time. Lord Gol?” My minister raises his head. He looks older, more stone-hardened than before. “In your estimation, was theVulug Ugdthreceived well by the people?”

He draws a deep breath before answering. “It remains to be seen, Your Majesty. The preliminary results are, I would say . . . interesting.”

“Interesting how?”

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