Page 1 of Queen of the Night
Prologue
Four hundred years ago…
The king treads warily into a cavern of shadows so deep the torch in his hand hardly lights the ground beneath his feet. To his knowledge, no one has yet attempted to approach Gloam, the god of shadows. The rush of pride that he will be the first, mixed with desperation, propels him onward. The shadows grow so thick the flame flickers violently, the chill air numbing his fingers… and then before him sits a man so dark that shadows seep from within him in writhing black tendrils.
Renton immediately drops to a knee before the black stone throne where the man sits, the silence deafening.
“Rise,” Gloam drawls. “What can I possibly do for ahuman?”
The king grips the torch tighter. “My name is Renton, and my throne has been stolen by my twin brother, who plans toexile me and all those who know I truly deserve to be king into a land filled with tainted water and too barren to grow crops, where we’ll be left to die. In the fight to regain my rightful place, my soldiers are dying so quickly that soon I’ll no longer have an army to fight with.”
Gloam’s brow rises in interest. “Go on.”
“Then my brother,” he spits, “had the gall to approach Lucentia, and she blessed the vile man withmagic. I stand no chance without your help.”
Gloam’s eyes seem to darken even further. “What do you expectmeto do?”
Renton squares his shoulders. “Are you not Lucentia’s brother?”
Gloam sneers. “Unfortunately.”
“Then I ask for magic. Just as she gifted my brother, Ricard, with hers, I ask you to gift us with yours, to give me a chance to retake my rightful place as king and provide a better life for my people.”
Renton shifts uncomfortably as Gloam appraises him with one arched brow, aware that the god of shadows could merely kill him on the spot, as it appears he’s considering to do based on the steely glint in his dark eyes.
“I have one condition,” Gloam says slowly.
“Anything,” Renton rasps.
“You have heard of the Black Tulips Lucentia forced on the king of Moneyre?”
Renton nods, confusion causing his brows to furrow.
“I believe they are her weakness. There is no other reason she would force the king to protect them the way he does.” He says it as if he’s already considered it many times.
“Must I kill them?” Renton asks, more than willing.
Gloam chuckles. “So quick to violence, king.” A slow smile spreads across his face. “No. You must bridge with one.”
Renton’s brow furrows. “Bridge?”
Gloam smiles. “Yes, connect the magic I gift you with one of Lucentia’s Tulips. My dear sister, in her compassion for mere humans, has put a piece of her very magic within those women, creating a weakness I plan to take advantage of.”
“Why would bridging with a human be dangerous for Lucentia?” Renton asks doubtfully.
Gloam’s shadows grow so dark, encompassing his body until only his eyes glow from within, and Renton instinctively shrinks back. “Trust me when I say that even one piece of her power destroyed will dim her light enough for me to destroy her the moment you bridge.”
“And if I’m not able to find one of these… Tulips?”
“Bridge with a Black Tulip and you will rule forever. Fail… and disappear as if you never existed.”
Renton nods firmly, and immediately shadows engulf him until it would seem that a man had never stood there.
Chapter 1
Vera
I’ve heard Moneyre is a beautiful city—too bad it’s the home of the high king and I’ll be stuck there for the next two days.
