Page 105 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘Perhaps.’ Silence lingered for a moment. ‘Did you know Talemir could do… whatever it is he did back there?’
Drue’s gaze was unfocused, the sound of his name like a lance to her heart. She carved her fingers through her hair, holding it up before releasing it. ‘No.’
‘What even was that?’ Adrienne shook her head.
‘Shadow magic.’
‘But… He hid us from all of them. He cloakedusin darkness andflew usout of there… All three of us. I mean,is that what happened?’
‘I don’t know. It felt like falling to me…’ Drue murmured. ‘Not that it matters.’
Adrienne read the dismissal in her last comment. She did not want to talk about Talemir. Not for a long time. If ever —
The flap of the tent fluttered and suddenly, Terrence was flapping his wings before her, darting about the canvas wildly, distraught.
‘What is it?’ Drue asked, trying to gauge what was wrong.
He delivered a sharp peck to her shoulder – he never did that. Drue leapt to her feet and as soon as she did, the hawk shot out of the tent.
‘I’m going after him,’ she said to Adrienne, following.
Adrienne was close behind, and as they left, the commotion of the camp became clear. There was shouting nearby, a fight —
Drue and Adrienne launched themselves towards it. Their forces had been warned to keep noise and fires to a minimum so close to the wraiths’ lair, but when the women came upon them, the Naarvians were so incensed with whatever was going on that they paid the pair no heed.
‘What the —’ Drue’s words died on her lips as she saw what lay at the heart of their mob.
They had captured a wraith.
The small thing writhed against the ropes that bound it, the men hitting it with spears, archers with arrows nocked to their bows taking aim —
Drue blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the winged creature restrained with lengths of rope. But there was no leathery flesh or horns, no claws tearing at the binds. Beneath the mud and tattered clothing, beyond the weak ribbons of shadow drifting outward, was a familiar form.
Her heart surged, and Drue threw herself into the chaos, leaping in front of the wraith.
‘Stop!’ she yelled. ‘Stop! It’s Gus!’
‘Have you lost your mind?’ someone called. ‘That’s not Gus!’
There was a roar of agreement.
‘That’s not the boy who was taken from us —’
‘That’s a damn shadow wraith, it’s one of them —’
But Drue didn’t move. She faced down the arrows, the spears and the angry rangers.
Soon, Adrienne was at her side, her eyes wide as she took in the creature Drue’s body shielded.
‘Itishim, you fucking idiots!’ she told the others.
The crowd surged around them, anger and violence blazing in their eyes.
‘That’s not Angus Castemont, I tell you,’ another deep voice boomed.
A heavy silence followed before —
‘Yes I fucking am,’ a youthful voice shouted over the rest.
