Page 34 of Shadows of Fate

He wasn’t lying, it was a library in every sense of the word. The smell of books permeated the air, and it brought a small smile to my face. The room was one giant square. Bookshelves stacked from the floor up two levels worth of wall. I assumed this was the back of the manor because of the high ceilings. The shelves took up both lengths of the wall to my left and right, and continued behind me, only ending where the doorway was. A few ladders intermingled throughout to help those of us without wings reach the higher shelves. There were two long rectangular wooden tables that each seated eight chairs on either side of the doorway. Beyond that, the high-back chairs where Bastian retreated were strewn throughout the rest of the library, with small wooden tables beside each. However, what gave me pause were the floor-to-ceiling windows opposite the door I was standing in.

There was no fireplace in this room, which made sense given the contents. Instead, there were eight evenly spaced windows. Shaped in long rectangles, they were as wide as two of me. I slowly walked over to one of them and peered outside. Finding I was correct about the location, because instead of the city lights of Darkmoor lighting up the streets below, it was a view of the sprawling rose gardens that led up to the dense woods that surrounded Raiden’s property.

Raiden’s shadows had already left the back of the house since the sun was setting toward the front of the manor, so you could see the colors playing out in the cloudy sky above the forest.

I let out a small breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. It had been so long since I’d even dared to look outside while the sun was setting, let alone anywhere as beautiful.

The gardens below were filled with wild blood-red roses that sprawled along the small cobblestone walkways. They were the same ones that crawled up the walls of the manor. I imagined they were stunning in the middle of the day when the sun peeked through the dark clouds.

While I was busy trying to take in every single view I could, while the sun was still up, I began tofeelhis presence before I heard him, as usual since we met. Shoving down all of the emotions I was feeling, I prepared for the mental battle I was sure was about to ensue.

Chapter18

Wild, Beautiful, and Vicious

Raiden

Sleep had eluded me most of the day, which was unfortunate. At my age, sleep wasn’t truly required. I could get by with a quarter or less of the day every couple of days. Even so, I felt like it gave my mind time to shut off—not that it had been doing much of that since my ice queen showed up in my life. My dreams had been purely haunted by nothing but how her hair shined under the moonlight as she was covered in another male’s blood.

Taking a moment, I pushed my mind back on to what I had to do, instead of what I wished I was doing. I slid into a pair of black trousers and a loose-fitting black shirt that cut down my chest to the middle of my sternum. Part of me hoped she would enjoy the small bit of my tattoos she’d be able to see beneath my shirt. Smiling to myself, I put on my black boots and set out from my chambers.

I’d already sent Bastian a note when I’d risen to show Silvana to the library, and Micah would bring Allie. I wasn’t fully sure what to expect from this evening. It would either be the perfect storm of all our minds coming together and working fluidly, or half my library would end up frozen from the temper I knew boiled under Silvana’s ivory skin.

No better time than now to find out, though.

I walked toward the library, asking one of my housekeepers to bring us four glasses of blood and some food for Allie. Maybe the tension would be lower if everyone was well-fed.

Walking into my favorite place inside the manor, I wasn’t shocked to find Bastian in a chair reviewing some of the files I’d made up for him. I was shocked to find so much emotion exuding from Silvana, though. I walked toward where she was standing beside one of the windows overlooking the Forest of Feronia.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked. She glanced over toward me before looking back out the window. “It reminds me of you—the forest here. Wild, beautiful, and vicious.” A small smile graced her face.

“Did you know Feronia means untamed in the old language?” I asked.

She looked up at me then. “No, I didn’t.” She looked out the window for another moment before looking back up at me. “So, My Lord, what exactly is the plan? Why am I here, instead of out there killing the useless males of your court?” she asked. She didn’t sound sarcastic or angry, but the way she said ‘My Lord’ made me want to force her to her knees for the inherent sass she was intent on using to build a wall between us.

Deciding space may be my best bet for now, before I acted on those wishes in front of my inner circle, I walked over to one of the long tables. Unpacking my notes, I laid them out on the table so I could make sure I didn’t miss anything. I made copies for everyone here so they could go over them again later.

Micah and Allie walked in as I was unpacking—Micah holding the tray full of blood and Allie her food. “Alina caught us on our way down. Food was good thinking, Raiden,” Micah stated.

He handed me a crystal goblet filled with blood, and I nodded my thanks to him. He quickly passed out the others to Bastian and Silvana, while Allie sat across from me at the table with her plate of food.

Silvana grabbed the high-back chair next to Bastian, while Micah sat down at the long table next to Allie.

I looked around at everyone. “Introductions are needed, I believe. Silvana, Bastian, you’ve met already. In case he didn’t tell you, he’s my third-in-command, as well as the general to my Shadow Brigade.”

She nodded, staring at him. “Yeah, that fits.”

I chuckled under my breath and then gestured toward Micah. “Next to Allie is Micah. He’s my second-in-command. He does… well, everything.” I shrugged. “You already know Allie.”

“Okay, Raiden. Now that that’s finished, lay it all out,” Bastian stated from his seat, notes in one hand and glass in the other. He took a long sip and then looked at me, clearly anticipating what I was about to dive into.

I took a deep breath and looked around the room, only partially ready to divulge my theory. I knew this first part wasn’t going to go over well. I looked over at my ice queen. Her white-blonde hair was in a loose braid today, thrown over her shoulder, and it hung down against her chest. Her crystal blue eyes were staring at me expectantly and there was a tint of red in her lips and cheeks that only increased as she drank from her glass.

“Silvana, who turned you?” I asked plainly. Might as well jump into the fire there.

Her eyes widened for a moment and she set her glass down on the table next to her. “Is that where we’re starting, My Lord? A history lesson on the new girl?” Anger permeated her voice.

I looked down at the table for a moment to attempt to gather my thoughts better so I could explain.

---