Page 35 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
The pungent odor of healing salve and the slick streaks on her arms and legs told me they had treated her, which meant her condition had likely been far worse than it was now. Mud and slime clung to her limbs and clothes. Her dress was ragged and stained, not a trace of white remaining, and there was a split in her chin as if she’d been hit. They'd bound her wrists together with rope, and I knew that made the way they were holding her arms especially uncomfortable.
Who had done this to her?
I would kill them all slowly and wretchedly, watching their magic drain into oblivion with a huge smile on my face.
My shadows flared out as if to separate her from the bastards restraining her, but I pulled them back and braced my stance. A few shadowy tendrils brushed her feet. It was the only way I could touch her and show some sort of affection.
Her legs shifted a little, like she’d felt it, but the guards held her still.
Never in my life had I understood how being within a few feet of someone could still feel like there was an entire realm between us. Knowing that I couldn’t help Briar right now had my blood thawing and my rage pulsing.
Her shoulders tightened, and she drew back as if caught between alarm, confusion, and caution. The guards gripped her arms even more tightly, at awkward angles.
“Don’t struggle,” one of them snarled. “Or I’ll draw the ropes so tight that they’ll fracture your bones, and we'll hold you at the breaks.”
My hands clenched at my sides. Thalen inched forward too, his gaze cold and calculating as it was when he was preparing to eliminate threats.
Briar closed her eyes, and her face tensed for a second before she opened them and looked right at me.
Azingpulsed into me. My lungs froze, and my back straightened. My entire body burned with the need to crush her to me and shield her with my wings. I wanted to take her to safety, clean her in a warm tub, mend her wounds, then lie down beside her and kiss her lips softly while drinking in her ginger and cinnamon scent.
But no.
Despite being the Shadow king, I had to stand here like some daft fool, playing politics and setting the pieces of her eventual rescue in motion while she wavered before me, barely able to stand. I narrowed my eyes and examined her, wanting to document every mark, bruise, and injury that had been inflicted upon her bythem.
A fire beast mark marred her cheek, along with a small half-imprint of what looked like a chalice.
Insignia markings.
Someone had struck her in the face, and they had not held back, given the blows had left such deep imprints. The red of the cut in her chin was darker than some of the others, suggesting that it had happened earlier.
All those who had harmed her and killed my father would be served a death ten times worse than what they’d inflicted. I’d cut them to pieces and let the life drain from them as my queen watched. She could join me in their execution if she liked. Theone who’d marked her face would be left for the end, to show everyone what happened when they touch my beloved.
The stench of this place filled my nostrils, and the hollow ache within my chest expanded.
Colm appeared, stepping forward with his arms clasped behind his back, and barked out, “What are you doing here, Selvan? You and Oathfeln weren’t paired for duty. There are protocols to be followed.” The claws on his fingertips twitched.
The guard with the dull orange marker on his glove bowed but still held Briar tight, his metal fingers digging into her flesh. He shook her. “This one bit Elr’s nose off. He needed treatment.”
Pride flared through me as I fought to keep the corners of my lips from lifting. That was my Briar. Not backing down even in a void-cursed place like this. She had the spirit of a shadow beast. But what would they do to her? Men like Colm didn’t like to be shown up, and these guards needed little reason to be cruel.
A chill cut through me as I realized that, if Briar had bitten through the guard’s nose, he hadn’t been wearing his mask. And if he wasn’t wearing his mask, it meant either her guards had become exceptionally sloppy in their protocols, or they believed she would die before leaving the prison.
A muscle in my jaw jumped as I ground my teeth. I would make this work. I was already searching for the solution. Everyone had a weakness, including Colm.
Thalen shifted beside me. Though I did not look at him, I had no doubt he had the same concern.
Colm’s breath hissed through his teeth. “A wretched little human bit off Elr’s nose?” He shook his head. “I am disappointed that he was so lax that he permitted that to happen. His punishment will be swift and severe.”
Briar’s upper lip curled with contempt, and her hands remained balled into fists, fingers pressed over slick red cuts that were probably not bleeding because of the salve.
Colm faced me and canted his head. His murky eyes glinted as he offered a faint smile. “Perhaps Your Highness would like to see how we handle a prisoner's insolence?”
My shadows stretched farther along the mottled walls, aching and thrumming within me as the flame of the oil lamp sputtered and hissed. Beating this man’s face in and shattering every bone in his body would send us hurtling into open war with the other kingdoms. I was okay with that if I could get Briar out safely, but this wasn’t my kingdom. I didn’t have the manpower to do it, but I’d be fecking damned if I was going to stand by and actuallywatchthem torture my beloved.
I narrowed my eyes and sneered. “Do you think I care that a prisoner harmed one of your guards? If he was so careless as to allow a wounded and smaller female to get the upper hand, he was being more than a little careless and deserved it. This is so disappointing. I thought you only employed the best.”
“Perhaps…” Colm’s brow furrowed. “But such conduct cannot go unpunished on either side.”
