Page 28 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
They all stared at me, the guards still at attention but waiting for any command I might utter. The Ignis messenger looked as if she were considering saying something, and the Aquen messenger’s brow furrowed before he schooled his expression into neutrality like the Sylvan and Terran faes. The Aureline messenger, a young woman I did not recall seeing before, studied me with sharp yet hooded slate eyes, her arms clasped at the back of her pale gray robe.
My footsteps echoed in the hall as I strode toward her. She stepped to the bottom of the three stairs that led up to her archway.
She bowed her head with deliberate slowness, her long hazel braid sliding over her shoulder with the movement. “Your Highness, how may the Aureline serve you?” When she straightened, she folded her hands before her, her fingers in perfect alignment.
Did this woman know the truth of what her people had done? No guilt shone in her eyes, and the deliberate slowness of her movements might simply be from anxiety in trying to perform to perfection. “I have business to conduct in Firellan’s Spine,” I said firmly.
Thalen stopped to the right of me, one hand resting on the dagger at his side.
The messenger hesitated for a breath, then bowed at the waist. “Of course. We are eager to serve. May I inquire what business this might be?”
“You may not. Either grant me access, or provide a reason that it cannot be done.” My wings twitched, and I suppressed the urge to growl. Glaring would have to suffice. Now that I was out here again, I had to project the same controlled but stern demeanor that was essential.
Her fingers curled into her palms before she nodded and stepped back. She turned to the archway and approached it. Though I couldn’t see anything through the archway beyond the shimmering light that gave the space between an effect similar to frosted glass, she could hear whoever was on the other side. They spoke in hushed tones for a moment before she pressed her fingertips to the right side of the archway and drew a runic pattern. The archway shimmered, and she stepped away.
I turned to look at my own guards and the other messengers who were present. “If I have not returned within two hours time from the perspective of this hall, follow inquiry and retrieval protocols.”
Time sometimes passed at different rates in these places. Prisons often had distortions, which made it easier for them to torture prisoners and keep them unbalanced. But if the Aurelines tried to pull any dirty tricks on me, they’d have to deal with my people making matters far worse for them.
Passing through the archway was as simple as passing through any doorway except for the slight rushing sensation that made my stomach spin and my knees wobble for half a step. The brightness surrounded me, harder to see through than the darkness, and when I emerged and blinked it away, I found myself in the cold, dark halls of Firellan’s Spine.
My boots scraped uncomfortably against the coarse, dark floor, and a horrid stench of decomposing plant matter, old blood, fresh blood, and spoiled food surrounded me. Low screams and throaty cries cut through my ears, searing into my soul. I wanted to vomit, and bile crept up my throat. None of those voices was Briar’s, thank whatever sliver of mercy Fate had for that. But what soured my stomach even more was that Briar was here, and I had no way of knowing how long it had been from her perspective, if they had altered her awareness of time.
Thalen braced his hands on his waist. His white wings spread out as if searching for any hint of danger or of Briar.
Two Aureline guards stood at attention on either side of the archway, their pale gray armor glistening in the low torchlight. They stared straight ahead without acknowledging me, but a slim man whom I had almost missed in the shadows stepped forward. He bowed his head. “Your Highness, how may I be of service?”
“I wish to speak with Chief Interrogator Colm Ainle regarding the prisoner Briar in the matter of my father’s assassination.” I fixed the smaller male with a sharp gaze and gave a dismissive wave of my hand, not allowing him to ask further questions. Thalen stopped just behind me and folded his arms, his expression stoic.
The messenger opened his mouth to question me, but I glared at him and arched an eyebrow. He fell back, bowed, and then scuttled away. Within minutes, the soft, steady footsteps of another individual reached my ears. Colm, if I were to guess. He carried with him a particular stench that made my nostrils flare. As he rounded the corner, he at once inclined his head in the minimal showing of respect. Blood stained the coarse fabric of his gray robes.Briar’s blood. I recognized her scent at once, the ginger and cinnamon notes especially strong in the murk of this place.
My insides lurched, and fire spiked within me. As my shadows tensed, I restrained them. Adrenaline pumped through my body, pushing away the physical fatigue left from the vesting ceremony.
Patience.
Calm.
I had to remain in control, evaluate the situation, and determine an appropriate response that would get Briar out of here without dooming her and plunging us into war. I resistedthe urge to curl my hands into fists and kept my claws sheathed. It was getting harder now that my shadow magic had intensified and my self-control had frayed, but for Briar, I could do this. There would be plenty of time for vengeance later.
Colm stopped before me, hands laced before himself. “Your Highness, what an unexpected surprise, especially after the events of this night. My sincere condolences for the untimely and vicious loss of your father. Is there some manner in which I may be of service?”
I met his gaze with the same iciness. “I have come to speak with the assassin.” The words curdled on my tongue, sickening as I forced them out.
His brows rose sharply, and his eyes widened. “Your Highness, this is most unusual?—”
“It is my right under the shared law to confront the alleged killer of my father.” As I spoke, I took care to keep my words clipped and cold, not permitting any trace of passion to rise. Yet just saying them made me burn and ache with the need to destroy those who had dared take Briar from me. This man almost assuredly had something to do with it and had harmed her. I’d heard rumors about him. Though he was one of the heads of the prison itself, he was also its primary interrogator, and someone who enjoyed torture.
I couldn’t wait to end him publicly and with Briar's help.
Men like him made my skin crawl, and my claws itched to rip out his throat as much as my shadows longed to tear him apart. Thalen shifted his weight back, and though he remained as stoic as Silus in this moment, I knew he felt the same way.
Colm inclined his head once more, and he forced a far too thin smile. “Of course, though one might wonder how it is that you believed it was appropriate to come here.”
“Was her location supposed to be a secret?” I feigned ignorance. “Curious. Regardless of whatever lapses there are inyour customs, I am here now. It is my right to see her. I know she is here. I smell her blood on you.”
His jaw clicked as he clenched his teeth. The flash of a grimace vanished in an instant. I could tell he was weighing the risks of lies and refusal, and though my guts churned and every feeling part of me screamed against it, I had to play the part of the cold Shadow ruler to perfection.
I canted my head, looked him in the eye unblinking, and allowed my wings to flex. “I am certain you have done your due diligence in extracting answers from her recalcitrant little mouth.” Each word was bitter, a poison within my soul. I wanted to vomit, and the acid that burned along the back of my throat made it all the worse. But I would lie, cheat, murder, and steal to get her back. “I’ve heard praise of your work and skill over the years. I am certain it was well earned.”
