Page 98 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘Let her go,’ Adrienne hissed. ‘She’s the best ranger in all of Naarva. She knows how to track, how to not be seen… She doesn’t need your hulking mass lumbering after her and blowing her cover. Trust her.’
Shadows prickled at his skin and the song of darkness grew louder as panic seized him. He felt it unfurling inside him, creeping along his veins. The tips of his fingers tingled, talons threatening to shoot out at any moment. The centre of his back burned —
Is this where I lose control?Even the thought itself was tinged with a darkening haze.
But Talemir heeded Adrienne’s warning, as much as his instincts screamed against it. The image of Drue in their hands, the notion of those talons piercing through her chest —
‘Psst,’ came her voice from a mass of rubble. Then the top of her head appeared, those red streaks in her hair glinting in the weak sunlight. She gestured to the band of wraiths pacing before them. ‘They’re in front of the entrance,’ she whispered. ‘There’s a cave… Their true lair…’
Adrienne blanched. ‘Right.Nowwe should go back. We have no idea what we’re walking into. It was impossible odds before, but now…’
‘We should burn it to the ground.’ The words left Talemir’s lips laced with hatred.
Drue gaped at him. ‘Not a chance,’ she said. ‘Gus and the others, our people, must be in there.’
‘Then it’s too late for them,’ Talemir replied.
‘It might not be.’
‘How long have they been in the wraiths’ clutches, Drue?’ Talemir’s voice was hard, cold, even cruel. But he had to make her understand. ‘If they are alive, they are no longer who they once were. It would be a mercy to end them.’
‘A mercy?’ Drue’s nostrils flared, her eyes filling with fire. ‘You can’t mean that. Not after everything you’ve been through, after everything you’ve —’
‘What’s she fucking talking about, Talemir?’ Wilder interjected.
Talemir ignored him, training his gaze on Drue and Drue alone, letting the darkness cloud his gaze, just for a moment. ‘That’sexactlyhow I know it would be a mercy.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Drue ground out, her grip tightening around her sword.
The threat hung between them, as vicious and dangerous as the power that stalked beneath his skin.
Adrienne cleared her throat, and Wilder stepped between them.
‘So we get closer,’ he said. ‘Get the wraiths’ numbers, find your friends and assess. One battle at a time. Agreed?’
Gods, Talemir could have clobbered him. Wilder’s guilt and grief made him more reckless by the minute, but if he knew what awaited them in that cave… If he could feel the force of power that Talemir could feel, not even he would throw himself so willingly into that danger.
‘Agreed,’ Drue replied instantly, already turning on her heel.
A stream of protests on his lips, Talemir’s hand shot out, gripping her arm. ‘I go first,’ he told her, forcing her to look at him.
She glared at him. That soft, vulnerable side of her from their night together was gone. She jerked out of his hold. But after considering for a second, she let him pass.
Talemir took the lead once more. If anything were to happen, he could buy her and the others some time. Inside him, the darkness vibrated as though in answer, as though it would relish the opportunity to be free of its shackles. Talemir fought it back down and moved behind the rocks, following Drue’s clipped directions.
He now had herandWilder’s rage to contend with, but it didn’t matter – not if he could keep them safe, not if he could save them from a horrific fate. Though Talemir didn’t fancy their chances as he spotted the access to the true lair up ahead.
The stench of burnt hair was overpowering.
He heard Adrienne dry-retch from the rear of the group. He didn’t blame her; the smell was repulsive. It coated the back of his throat and stung his nasal cavity with every inhalation.
Talemir led them up a slight incline to the mouth of the cave, careful to stay hidden from the wraiths below. His skin hadn’t ceased crawling, his shadows singing as he grew closer, singing in recognition.
Brethren.
Home.
Talemir struggled to swallow, struggled to fight that inner nature clawing at his insides. It had never been this bad, this close to the surface…
