Page 70 of Ties of Shadow

I scratched at his fuzzy cheek. “You worried me, you silly bat.”

“I flew the whole way here to warn the master. The manor attack was just a ruse.”He took in the scene before us.“The princeling should be out here fighting anyway. This is an absolute mess. I mean, look at it. The curtains will need to be cleaned twelve times to get all that smoke and dust out of there.”

“Yes. The curtains,” I said dryly. My focus returned to the Shade as he sprinted around the outside edge of the castle yard. I worried my lip, wishing again I had any magic of my own. The wolves and badger clambered over the crumbled wall, heading off the spyrings that had made it into the fray. The monsters were closing in now. I grabbed a broken curtain rod in my free hand. At least if they made it up here, I could whack them.

“So you’ve returned.” The low voice made me jump, and I sprang back toward Uncle Koll. King Regent Harold came to stand beside me, his two galer guards tucked beside him, arms at the ready to defend and protect their leader.

“Not for you.” My boldness surprised us both. His eyebrows flew upward, lost in his graying hair. I continued, “We brought new potions for the queen. And we stayed to save her and the people.”

The king regent frowned and slowly turned to take in the scene before me. “The Shade and the Savior working together.”

Jamison hissed at him from his perch on my finger. I tensed, ready to grab him should he try to attack.

“Certainly, you mean to imply that the Shade is saving your other son and your castle, and not something else,” I answered drily. The king regent flinched. I watched as the Shade lifted up a wolf to toss himonto the worm’s back, biting at the hide that seemed impenetrable. “He’s doing more than you are.” I curtsied with no little sarcasm. “Your Royal Highness.”

A sneer curled the king regent’s lip as he stepped closer. At first, I thought he was going to threaten me, but then I realized his frown was mere curiosity. “I liked you better when you were quiet.”

“My time with the Shade has been enlightening. I found my voice. I found a place I belonged.”

“You always belonged here, Aelia. You are your father’s daughter, a noblewoman.”

I scoffed at the idea. “Magicless, I had no place here.”

The worm dove, striking the upper side of the castle again, which jolted the whole structure. We stumbled. When we regained our footing, we both stepped back a few paces from the collapsing edge. Leon and the other guards were showing signs of fatigue, but nothing seemed to do much more than thwart the creature. “Your sons need you, Your Highness.”

“I-I can’t.”

“You won’t.”

He tilted his head back and forth before he held his palm between us. Thin, hazy black shadows filled it and spilled over like fading black steam to the ground. “I have”—he swallowed hard—“weak and sinister magic.”

I blinked, shock freezing my muscles in an icy bath. “You have shadow magic?” His cheeks flushed, and he looked guilty. “I thought you were a galer!” I stepped closer, gesturing wildly to the courtyard. “You abandoned your sonwho was a childwho has the same magic?”

“Wind magic is an easier ruse when we all act together. Who can tell who is doing what with that invisible magic?” He pulled at his collar. “And certainly, the people could never know aboutthe shadows…”

My jaw dropped farther. “You lead a kingdom who believes that the more powers someone has, the higher their rank and standing. You abandoned him.” He nodded slowly. “You let me believe I was an aberration and an embarrassment.”

“Iamembarrassed, Aelia. The nation’s leaders should be the strongest of all.”

“One’s strength doesn’t come from magic powers, Your Highness.”

He shrugged and looked before him. “Certainly, magic is needed here today, to fight this creature.”

The mountains and caverns seemed to belch more black clouds, obscuring the early dawn. More spyrings—as well as those awful translucent rats—flooded out of the cavern and were met by the mammals and guards. But our side was becoming overwhelmed. The worm belched projectiles of rocks that slammed into the castle’s walls. The king regent and his galers as one raised their arms to block any from striking us inside. They moved together perfectly—such a coordinated deception.

A seer began to wail the prophecy from the street. Her words were broken in the cacophony of the battle. “The ruin of kingdoms from weak ones come…lest the deep reject the vile ones…the stars and sun turn black as pitch and light must fight to cure that…dark decay. Still, love must reign and find a way.”

King Regent Harold regarded my disdainful expression. “The people needed to see me as a strong leader—when Gemaline got so sick, and I needed to step into the role of the king. When I married her, especially since it had been a love match, I had a certain expectation to fulfill. The opinion of the masses has toppled better rulers than I. And I must maintain peace and ensure their compliance even if it’s throughomission, Aelia.”

“I have respected you my whole life, sir. I have been grateful for the roof over my head, my friendship with Leon, and access to education. Because of that education, I know that this stance will lead to your downfall. The people will find out. They’ll also find out about the Shade and his parentage. But unless you do something right now to stop that beast, you won’t have a kingdom to rule.”

He held up his hands in a posture of surrender. “What could one person do against a beast like that?”

Uncle Koll patted my shoulder. “We are better together.”

The king regent looked over at his…brother-in-law. “Koll.”

“Harold.” Uncle Koll had never appeared more tense.

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