Page 10 of Ties of Shadow

“What is the meaning of this?” he barked.

The shadows darkened and writhed like dogs at the end of a leash. The Shade leaned back on his heel, his voice rumbling like a distant thunder. “I came to return your property. I found them on mine.”

A flame lit in the prince’s palm. “You have made a mistake coming here, murdering good guards.” From behind the prince, a group of armored men swept behind him, arms up, gusts ready. The galers prepared to battle.

But the Shade simply chuckled. The sound vibrated through my core. From the prickling of my scalp to the tingling of my toes, I felt every word of his husky, low voice. “It is not I who is mistaken.” Dark green eyes flicked to mine and back. “Do not mistake this warning as mercy.”

“Now!” the prince shouted. Flames curled from the prince’s palm, and magicked wind blew it toward the Shade. Nobles and ladies screamed as they tucked into the corners behind the tables and pillars and each other.

Time slowed. A ball of flame, hot and angry, boiled in the air as it barreled toward the Shade. I was off to the side, but not far enough. The consuming fire decimated a table, burst the linens into flame, and destroyed the flowers as they burned before me. Ash held the stem and the petals in suspension for a moment before it crumbled into dust. The writhing heat coiled, churning closer like cream swirling in hot water. Beautifully. Horribly. My life would end in fire. I saw the prince’s expression as he realized I stood too close to the flame. At least he looked adequately conflicted that I was about to be killed at his hand.

Then I was yanked away, a pressure squeezing around my waist as I fell backward, my face to the ceiling. My vision went black. Strange. I’d expected see light from the flames as the fire killed me. But something caught my head before it hit the floor, and warmth curled behind me. My hands grasped fabric. A collar. Death wasn’t painful at all. I realized a moment later…Death breathed.

I ducked my chin to meet the brightest eyes, like spring leaves not yet darkened by the sun, studying my face. Gone was the murderous glint of his expression. Instead, the gaze of the Shade held…something else. I inhaled, expecting Death to smell like peat, but he smelled of pine and forests and evenings in fall and midnight in winter. He held me backward, like the end of a dangerous dance. His eyes seared my skin as they regarded me, and his thumb tilted my chin as he took in the mark on my neck with a furrowed brow. He brushed it softly. My skin prickled in goosebumps as that shock raced through my system again.

Above us, the shadows behind his head lightened and swirled, backlit as the fire raged above it all, passing us by. The shadows danced and flickered like smoke in a sunset. The roar of the flame was mutedin our dark cocoon. The shadows were a misty window to the inferno around us.

“Beautiful,” I whispered, before I realized I had said that out loud. Wide-eyed, I glanced down at the Shade, who only raised his brow. The flames stopped, and everything went dark again. His palm brushed my cheek, I felt stone behind my head, and all at once, the smoke swirled and disappeared.

I was lying on the warm stone floor. Above me, tapestries and curtains crackled with fire, and dark gray smoke drifted hazily through the room from the charred walls and doors. My once-silver gown was rumpled but not stained, though the hem closest to the room’s center was singed. I was unharmed, uninjured. But the guards by the entrance hadn’t made it. Despite being farther from the Shade and hiding behind a column, both the columns and the men were charred beyond recognition. I scrambled away, trembling. My back hit the wall.

“He’s gone! What a coward!” the prince began, his regal voice back in place. “Forgive the rude interruption, my honored guests and our bonding pair. Let us take the ceremony to the gardens.” He clapped twice, and the room emptied with loud chatter as everyone escaped through the back doors. His voice lowered as he spoke to a washer on his way out behind the crowd. “Clean this up. The next bonding ball is in a week. Get the unfortunate lady to a healer.” Prince Leon cast a worried look at me, our eyes connecting for a moment, before he turned his back and spoke to a seer. He said something else, but the sounds were warbling.

A face crouched before me. Chef.

She gathered my hands in hers and lifted me from the ground to unsteady feet. Her lips were moving, but the sounds were mushy. Despite my lack of response, she tucked me beside her and swept medown the servant’s hall. Then I was in the bath, her gentle hands washing me. Still in a daze, I was taken to my bed. Chef’s palm pressed against my cheek, tender as always when she was treating me for one wound or another. Her eyes widened as she looked at my jaw. She pulled my hair forward and patted it twice.

Then I fell once again into darkness, but at least this darkness was sleep.

Chapter seven

Hide Yourself

Birds chirped merrily from my window as bright sunshine landed on my pillow. My eyes were crusted and aching, and dried tear tracks lined my cheeks. I brushed the evidence away hastily. Surely, last night wasn’t real.

“You’re awake.”

I sat up with a start. “L—My prince.” I dipped my head, unable to curtsy, and tried to smile as I raked my fingers through my knotted hair. “I apologize, I didn’t know to expect… I didn’t know you were here.”

Leon leaned back in my dressing chair, arms crossed and his face deeply lined with concern. “You gave us quite a scare, Aelia.”

“I’m sorry.”

I startled when the king pushed off the wall he had been leaning against behind me. His arms were crossed, the harsh flat line of his lips underscoring the irritation of his eyes. “Quite.”

Prince Leon continued. “I felt horrible having to attack that monster with you so near. My very chest was split in agony with the weight of the crown.”

“But he had to take him out. You understand, don’t you?” King Harold asked. His presence filled the room, powerful and merciless.

“Yes, I-I understand.” My mind rushed through the events of the evening with a thunderclap of emotions—the Shade, the fire…the guards. “I’m so sorry I was…in the way. The guards, did any of them…?”

“All dead,” Prince Leon said.

My gaze fell to my hands. “I’m sorry.”

The prince unfurled his arms and leaned forward. “As am I.” He studied my face, and my hands twitched to cover it. “How are you alive?”

“What?”

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