Page 10 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
I'd love to make both disappear. But restraint was essential. If I didn't hold myself together, I'd lose everything. "One. And only if you can ensure no one notices he'll be missed. This can't come back on us. We don't want to raise suspicions. But if you find both, learn whatever you can. They’ll be dealt with in time."
Thalen cracked his knuckles and winked at me. His wings twitched as if they were in on the joke. "No one will suspect athing. I'll have a servant bring you black currant wine as soon as I find one and get him down in the onyx cellar."
"Good. No one can know we're doing this though," I reminded him sternly.
"I'll be as silent as a shadow. Well, a real shadow. Not yours when they're going insane." Thalen tapped his hand to his brow and darted away.
I sighed and continued to walk in silence down the black marble hall, my footsteps growing heavier and heavier. The gold embellishments now seemed dull, the delicate painting of the portraits faded. Color was no longer bright. Everything was miserable, and I balanced on a knife's edge of self-control. Even as I forced myself to stay calm, the storm that brimmed within me intensified, wild and ferocious, craving the blood of my enemies and longing to hold my Briar. My shadows prickled within my consciousness, begging me to unleash them and let them feast on the blood of anyone who hurt her.
What were those fiends doing to her? If they hurt her—feck, they'd taken her from me. They were all dead men walking. But if they hurt her beyond taking her from me, I'd make sure they suffered ten times as much as she had. My fingers twitched at my sides.
I passed the juncture of the hall and turned toward Elara’s rooms. Was she even awake? My stomach sank as I imagined tears welling in her dark-blue eyes, which were so like Father's. The hour was late, and she tired easily. Maybe she’d already gone to bed. Part of me just wanted to get it over with, but my dread grew. This would shatter her world.
The faintest line of light shone beneath the dark embossed door, likely from one of the lamps that was always lit in case of an emergency. Over the years, she had endured many.
Her bedroom door clicked open, and my other best friend, Silus, stepped out.
My brow arched, and my spine stiffened.
His charcoal surcoat was straight but slightly mussed, the fine black fabric rumpled near the collar. The deep cobalt cravat had been loosened, and the top button of his shirt was undone.
His brow lifted like a mirror of mine when he saw me approaching. "Physician Tai just departed a few minutes ago." He stood with his arms at his sides, but his posture was unusually tense. His throat bobbed. "Elara began to feel quite ill, but she’s resting now. She managed to get through one of the dances before she was too exhausted and had to leave the ball. Her condition is worsening. Physician Morlo will examine her in the morning unless there’s an emergency in the night."
His words struck like blows to my heart. “How long has she been ill tonight? How bad is it?” I braced my hands against my belt. Had Father’s passing made it worse?
“It started shortly after you left.”
He didn’t mention Briar, and I narrowed my eyes.
“She was fine and wanted to dance, but then she started feeling worse and couldn’t draw strength from the shadows. She tried to come back alone, but I insisted on escorting her. By the time we got here, she was struggling to breathe, and her glamour had faltered, so I sent for the physician. Physician Tai saw to her. She said Elara’s condition is worsening but rest is the best thing for her. After Tai gave her a draught, she seemed to calm and remained peaceful.”
The timeline didn’t match up with Father’s death and the removal of his power, and the resulting instability of our kingdom’s power, to be the sole source of her decline. Had someone tried to hurt Elara, or was it bad timing or connected in another way? “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?” I demanded, taking a step forward.
“You were with Briar.” Though he said the words in that quiet tone, his jaw tightened. I could guess what he was implying.
I lifted my chin, the muscles clenching and ticking beneath my skin. “You should have informed me. Is she sleeping now?”
As he nodded, his arms remained straight at his sides, and he did not move from the door. A small frown creased his brow. His polished boots bunched the thick gold and black rug that ran the length of the hallway until he smoothed it back in place with his right foot. “Yes. And she should continue to rest. Physician Tai ensured the nightmares would not trouble her, but if you wake her, she won’t be able to rest at all. Why…what’s happened?”
The question hung in the air like a door blade poised to drop. I couldn't avoid it any longer, though speaking it aloud would make it real in a way that threatened to shatter what little control I'd managed to claw back.
"Father is dead." The words came out flat, emotionless. It was the only way I could say them without my voice cracking. "Murdered in the garden.”
Silus’s throat bobbed, but his lips stayed pressed in a tight line. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "How?"
"A dagger to the heart. His personal guard was slaughtered, and the guards in the guest wing were enchanted." I forced myself to continue despite my throat trying to close. "Briar was found beside his body. The Aureline Council has taken her into custody and is claiming jurisdiction."
His expression shifted from shock to something harder. His dark, feathered wings tensed as if preparing to unfurl. "She was found beside his body?" His voice dropped low, dangerous. "Of course she was. An outsider who can turn into a shadow beast—" he spat the words as his lips curled "—who appears from nowhere, and now the king—your father—is dead? And you can't see what's right in front of you?"
The accusation slammed into me like a physical blow. My shadows erupted without warning, coiling around my arms andspreading across the floor like spilled ink. "Be careful how you speak of my beloved and your future queen, Silus."
"No." He stepped forward, away from Elara's door, his usual calm shattered. "I warned you this would happen. That she was unpredictable and dangerous. Your father lies dead, and you defend this woman? She bewitched you, made you weak, made you blind?—"
"Enough!" The word tore from my chest as my wings flared and my shadows lashed out, scoring deep grooves in the marble walls. The temperature in the corridor plummeted, frost spreading from where I stood as my magic surged and waned, then surged again. Nausea cut into my stomach like blades. I was losing control, and I didn’t care. "You dare accuse her?”
Silus's wings snapped fully open, the charcoal feathers catching what little light remained in the corridor. His face had tightened into cold calculation mixed with barely restrained fury. "I dare speak the truth you refuse to see," he growled. "Even if she didn't wield the blade herself, your father is dead because of her. Because of what she represents. Because of what you were planning to do for her. And now Elara suffers because of her as well."
My spine locked. "What are you implying?" My shadows coiled and spiraled, threatening to explode out again. “Speak plainly.”
