Page 40 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
Scoffing, Thalen crossed his arms. “The High Aureline Council should be at the palace when we return. I’m sure they’dloveto learn what happened here.”
Colm’s entire body stiffened. He glanced between Vad and Scar Eye. “The prince is correct. He should punish her as he sees fit. Release her, and we’ll step outside while he deals with her insolence.”
My fingers dug into my palms as the guards grunted and released their hold on me. The shadow tendril retreated from Scar Eye's arm. He shook it out and gripped it to his chest.
My heart galloped painfully. I still couldn’t comprehend Vad hurting me willingly. Worse, his believing so readily that I’d killed his father made me want to scream into the void.
“Want us to bind her to the wall?” Claw Tattoo’s fingers pinched my arm even harder.
“Not unless the prince commands it,” Colm responded.
“No. If she harms me, I deserve it.” Vad scoffed and looked at me.
I froze as his gaze raked over me. Heat coiled in my stomach while pain strangled me. The way his eyes drank me in still set me ablaze, and I hated myself for that. Except…that shadow of his still held on to my leg, hidden from sight, caressing me. My stomach knotted. Was he playing games with me?
Claw Tattoo and Scar Eye exchanged a look and then released me. Scar Eye shoved me in the back, causing my hips and knees to unlock as my balance shifted. Panic surged through me, and I started to fall.
The cold, slick shadow on my leg curled tighter and slid higher along my calf. Still hidden by my ragged, stained skirt, his shadow supported me enough to help me regain my balance without anyone seeing.
My heart raced faster as I straightened and held my bound wrists before myself. Maybe he was saving me so he could have the pleasure of destroying me more thoroughly himself. Could it be that horrifically simple? The fae worked like that, but I’d thought Vad was different.
My wolf whined as if she didn’t believe that. I wasn’t sure I did either, but doubt clung to me, cold and as uncomfortable as my clothing.
The guards strode away in a column, and Colm moved toward the door as well. “If you require aid, please do not hesitate to call out, Your Highness. We will be just beyond the door.” He inclined his head forward.
I kept my eyes fixed on Vad, but he remained focused on the door, as did Thalen. Vad’s hands stayed braced on his belt, his index finger tapping against the leather.
Thalen’s hands twitched at his sides, and he spread his silver-white wings. He gave a grim nod in Colm’s direction, though Colm didn’t seem to notice.
The heavy door clicked shut behind Colm. The guards’ footsteps echoed their departure, heavy and deliberate. The airseemed to thicken with the horrible smells of rot, sweat, mold, and blood.
Vad said nothing. Part of me wanted to die, and yet I also wanted to hear him tell me to my face that he didn’t believe me and that he believed I murdered his father. I wanted to experience the real man behind his princely facade.
The tendril around my calf pulsed with a soft energy. I looked down and tried to lift my foot. The shadow moved, not holding me prisoner but simply flowing with me.
Nothing made sense anymore.
The temperature in the room dropped, and my breath frosted. The darkness in the shadows intensified. I looked back up in time to see the ghost of a cocky smile on Thalen’s lips as he turned his hands palms up, and then a blur of pure darkness as Vad lunged at me. His shadows ripped up beneath me and lifted me off the filthy stone.
I yanked at my rope, needing to fight. But my wrists were still tied tightly. My wolf snarled, determined that I not die at the hands of the man I loved without being able to fight back.
A panicked cry slipped out before Vad thrust me against the wall, one hand at my throat and the other over my mouth. I kicked and flailed as best I could amidst the tangle of his cold shadows, and I braced myself for bone-jarring agony. But the shadows rose with me, cradling my legs and holding me up. They even swept under my feet to keep me from striking my bruised toes and heels against the wall.
What was this? What was he doing? Was this some mind game?
His claws pressed on my skin as he leaned against me, his warm, smoky leather scent filling my senses and almost overpowering the horrid stench of this place.
The pressure should have knocked the breath from my lungs or cracked something, but instead, the darkness underneath mekept me cushioned, strangely buoyant, so that my dignity took the brunt of the hit. My heels dangled a few inches above the ground, my toes wrapped in his shadows and kept immobile. The icy grip of his fingers dug in, careful but unyielding.
“I–” I started, but before I could say more, he placed his mouth against my ear and whispered huskily, “Don’t be afraid, Briar. I love you, and I know you didn’t do this. None of this is your fault. I’m sorry I can’t save you yet, but I will. The plan is already in motion, and we will kill anyone who does or has done you harm.”
My heart raced faster, and I cut my eyes to him. His own storm-gray eyes softened, though there was something desperate and wild in them.
He loved me? That was the last thing I’d expected to hear during this encounter.
For a moment, the world consisted solely of the warmth of his lips at my ear and the trembling thrill of his body caging mine. If I focused on his scent, everything else faded away.
My mouth fell open against his fingers, and I whispered, “Vad?”
