Page 88 of Path of the Dark
“Slut!” A man’s rough voice echoed toward them.
Ryana favored the servant with a bright smile. “You’d better let me in,” she greeted the woman, raising her right hand to reveal the Star of Darkness.
Elias walked from the throne room in a daze.
That was it. He’d been disowned, stripped of rank and honor. He was no longer Prince Elias of Anthor. He was a grunt, just one of the many soldiers who’d give up their lives to defend the city during the initial siege.
As the shock settled over him, another emotion surfaced.
Relief.
He was a condemned man—and yet his father had just unwittingly set him free. He’d felt a similar sensation upon fleeing The Royal City, but it was stronger now.
He was no longer welcome in the keep. Tonight he would be expected to sleep in the barracks with the other soldiers. He no longer mattered. He was invisible.
To his surprise, Elias realized he wasn’t upset about that. Years of responsibility sloughed away. For the first time in his life, his duties were straight-forward. He no longer carried his father’s expectations upon his shoulders.
Elias descended the graceful spiral stairwell that led down to the bottom level of The Swallow Keep. High windows let in the daylight. An overcast day that had followed thunderstorms was merging into an equally grey dusk. Servants were moving up the stairwells, lighting banks of candles. They ignored Elias as he passed.
Emerging from the keep, he halted on the top step for a moment. From here he had a view of the inner bailey, the walls, and the sea of roofs beyond.
Elias drew in a deep breath. He wondered how Ryana was getting on. Had she tracked Gael down? Had she killed him?
He’d been planning on warning his father about Gael, to tell him not to trust him. However, things had gotten out of hand in there. If he’d pushed Reoul any further, he really would have thrown the dagger at him.
And if Ryana had succeeded in killing Gael, it wouldn’t matter.
Elias’s gaze swept right, to the roof of a long, low-slung building: The Swallow Guard barracks. Before it was a high-walled yard, where training was taking place. Elias studied the figures, who appeared to be going through drills. A plume of fire roared up into the air, causing Elias to draw back in surprise.
That wasn’t sword practice.
The enchanters were here, inside the keep’s walls.
Elias frowned. Was Gael amongst them? His gaze searched the crowd below, settling upon a tall, dark-haired figure in their midst. The man, dressed in a charcoal robe, was shouting out instructions, his commanding voice ricocheting off the surrounding stone. “Stronger!” he roared. “Show me what you’re capable of!”
Elias’s mouth thinned. He needed no introduction. That man was Gael, he knew it.
Breathing a curse, Elias continued down the steps. He needed to find Ryana.
