Page 62 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King

Vad

The gray stone walls closed in on me as I watched Briar once again lift Rhielle so the fae could slide her discs into her container. The leathers fell from Rhielle’s hands. My own hands clamped onto the stone table that held three crystal seeing-orbs showing three different points of the labyrinth.

My veins burned with rage that intensified with each second, and my entire concentration homed in on the orb that made it possible to view Briar. My wings were spread wide, tense beside me. I could feel Silus's disapproval, but I didn’t give a feck. He could go jump in the void.

Every ounce of my control was consumed by forcing myself to remain in this safe, protected room in the palace, watching the woman who’d captivated me fight for not only her life but the lives of others. I should be beside her, protecting her and shunning Fate for this abomination of a competition.

At this point, there was no denying my feelings, inexplicable and frankly impossible as they were. Within mere days, this strange, human beast-woman had barged into my life and made me question every choice I’d made. Watching Briar almost die so many damn times had made my feelings clear.

Elara stood next to me, and the tip of my wing curled around her. She glanced at me with a concerned expression, but thankfully, Father was engrossed in the trial itself, a deep-set scowl upon his face.

At least, we agreed the trials were utterly barbaric.

“I wish you would’ve allowed us to eat and drink this time.” Thalen edged around the table to Briar’s orb, though his attention seemed to flicker to another orb where the woman with honey-gold locs kept appearing, even though she was still on the starting platform. He pointed at Briar. “I feel drained and famished just watching my girl.”

My girl. I snarled, wanting to choke the airy bastard.

Thalen glanced at me with a wicked grin. “What’s wrong, Vad? Did I say something that upset you?”

“Enough, Thalen,” Silus warned, snagging him by the arm and dragging him behind Father, Elara, and me again.

“Rhielle already behaves like a queen,” one of the Shadow Council members stated. “She’s injured and yet finished second in the entire competition. She keeps finding ways to outshine the others while appearing regal.”

My hands fisted. I wanted to punch the scaffing life out of him. The only reason Rhielle had finished at all was because of Briar, but they were diminishing Briar and her sacrifices. What was wrong with these councilors?

An Aureline Council member gestured to the same orb. “But she succeeded only because she received aid. Look at Kaylen. She embodied true cleverness and resilience. No one helped her. She showed discretion in her interactions with the others as well.”

Kaylen jumped over the top of the column and raced to her container. I needed her to put her fecking discs in. Not because I wanted her to be one of the winners but because I needed this trial finished so I could get to Briar. As soon as Kaylen slid in her discs, the snake on top of her container attacked her, and an explosion went off. I turned and marched to the door with as controlled a stride as possible.

“Prince V—” one of the council members called, but I ignored them. I had stood there during the entire trial, listening to them insult Briar and praise the others without saying a word. The trial was over, and so was my obligation to them for the time being.

Hands fisted at my sides, I raced to the Ascension Hall, my mind spinning. My heart pounded and my legs grew heavy, so I flew the rest of the way there.

The guards were just opening the doors to the hall when I reached them. I thrust by and finished shoving them open, the edges catching on my bracers. My bristling wings clipped the door, but none of that mattered. The damn tugging took hold.

Aching need pulsed through me, underscored with desperation.Where is she?

Everything blurred in a haze of black and gold walls as I scanned the gathered women. Soft murmurs of surprise from the platform indicated the councilors were gathering there. They probably weren’t pleased with my arrival on the hall floor. But as far as I was concerned, they could jump into the scaffing pit of leeches themselves if they disapproved so much.

Kaylen clutched her face, still wailing from her well-deserved snakebite. Ceana hunched in the back of the group, her deep violet hair hanging in stringy sweaty strands and sticking to her face, while Siray pointedly avoided looking at anyone, her burgundy dress ragged and soaked with slime.

The rest had gathered together in the center, most of them sitting or crouching. Briar’s little group that she’d fought for and protected gathered around her. And my heart damn near lurched from my chest.

There Briar was, sitting with her legs apart and the ragged pieces of her dress skirt tied around her thighs, her shoulders slumped as if she wanted to collapse on the floor. A filthy makeshift bandage wrapped around her lower leg had turned all shades of green, black, and brown, with some shades of crimson from fresh blood. She was pale and bruised, with glistening raw patches on her wrists from the leather straps of the discs.

My rage burned hotter. How dare those scratches and bruises mar her beautiful porcelain skin. The desire to fall to my knees and kiss each one filled me, but there was no justification I could offer for that.

The women in the group scattered or drew back as I approached, and Briar’s eyes widened.

I knelt beside her and lifted her ankle to inspect the wound on her leg. As soon as our skin touched, a jolt of energy cut through me and vibrated into my bones. An urge to take a guard’s sword and kill the councilors filled me, but that would result in all of Nytharia turning against us.

My vision blurred, and I blinked. Scaffing void, had there ever been a more beautiful leg and ankle that had been forced to endure such suffering? Hatred boiled in my soul that Fate would ever ask her to endure these trials to prove she was worthy. There was no doubt she was the most worthy to stand at my side, and I’d prove to her that I was worthy of her affection.

“How badly does it hurt, Briar?” I rasped, my throat thick with emotion and all the things I wanted to say but couldn’t.

Her full lips parted, and her delicate tongue darted over them. My blood heated to a fever, urging me to kiss her here right against the shadow-beast sigil. The awkwardness of our position and some shred of sanity held me in place though. I cradled her ankle in one palm and rested the other beneath her calf, my fingers carefully positioned to not touch any of the redness on the bandage where the wound was likely situated.

“I’m fine.” She started to draw her leg back, her toes curling as she wriggled. But she didn’t fully pull away.

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