Page 5 of Bartered by the Shadow Prince (Bargain with the Shadow Prince #3)

Sacrifice of Blood

DAMIEN

A fter a brief stop in the royal orchard, I shoot across the gardens surrounding Stygarde Castle until I reach the meticulously groomed border of the family cemetery.

The entrance is arched and in full bloom, vines of amethyst roses and red ivy welcoming me inside.

Here, the graves of my ancestors are marked with life-sized stone sculptures by artists from the kingdom who tried to capture their personalities.

My great-great-great grandfather greets me with crossed arms, a heavily bearded face, and a mischievous smile.

His wife, buried behind him to indicate a later date of death, is depicted with her arms laden with bread and a glass of wine in her hands.

Visiting this cemetery and walking the path commemorating my family’s lives and deaths almost seems like a more apt welcome home than the one that occurred within the castle.

Despite Eloise’s unwaveringly kind response to the situation, I want better for her than a hovel in the mountains.

And the truth is, I’m not convinced of the benevolence of our hosts or of the story Brahm told me about how he and his dark elf mate rose to the throne.

My teeth grind and my stomach clenches at the thought of my family’s untimely deaths.

Something is off here. I just need time to figure out what.

I find my father’s grave near the back of the cemetery.

He’s depicted in the regalia of his royal position, his sword strapped to his side and his hands on his hips.

This is not the father I remember. If I had been here when this was commissioned, I would have suggested he have one hand on his sword and the other outstretched in warm greeting.

My father was a strong warrior, but he was first and foremost a leader who loved his people.

He didn’t rule from above but side by side with the citizens of Stygarde. It’s why he was so beloved.

That love is apparent by the fresh flowers left at the statue’s feet. Someone is visiting this grave regularly by the looks of things. I glance sideways toward the castle. Could it be Brahm? If it is, he’s changed so much as to be almost unrecognizable.

The memory of the day we buried my grandmother comes back to me.

“Why do we have to make sacrifices?” Brahm cried to my mother. “She’s dead! It’s not like she can use any of this.”

What was he, sixteen at the time? Old enough to know better.

“Brahm, stop acting like a child,” my mother said. “Set your sacrifice on the grave and then go to Thanesia with your dagger.”

I’d stood with my hands folded, dressed in my finest suit and staring up at the commemorative statue that marked her grave.

My younger sister Karyl took my hand, giving it a supportive squeeze.

We’d already made our sacrifices, both of goods and of blood, and I only wished to have some quiet to contemplate my memories of Grandma Clarinya.

I’d enjoyed her company until the end and felt deeply for my father, who had lost his mother in her death.

I gave Karyl’s hand an answering squeeze, noting the shine of tears in her eyes. She’d been grandma’s favorite.

But Brahm refused to follow my mother’s instructions.

He looked her directly in the eye, plucked an apple from my grandmother’s grave, and sank his teeth into it, right in front of her.

Juice ran down his chin as my mother gaped at him, her shoulders and arms shifting with her fury. But it was my father who acted.

He’d been quietly praying beside my grandmother’s grave, but he swept Brahm off his feet so fast, the bitten apple fell from his mouth and rolled into my mother’s shoe. In the blink of an eye, Brahm landed on the sacrificial table in front of Thanesia, my father’s blade slicing across his throat.

“Moooom,” Brahm cried, but my mother was busy burying the ruined sacrifice of the apple as prescribed by our law. She made no move to save her son from Father’s punishment.

Brahm’s blood dribbled along his throat and onto the stained altar.

The cut had not been deep enough to truly injure my brother, but the Stygian steel in my father’s sword had kept him from shifting for a time.

When father allowed him to squirm from his grip, his hand clutching his throat, there was no remorse in Brahm’s expression.

He sneered at all of us and raced for the castle.

“I guess his sacrifice is made,” Karyl said from my side. “One way or another.”

I gave her a weak smile. Ignoring my brother’s absence, Mother moved closer to us. After a few moments, Father did too, a glossy golden apple in his hands. He placed the perfect fruit on top of the grave, replacing the one Brahm ruined.

There are no apples on my father’s grave tonight, only flowers and stalks of grain.

I place one of the golden apples I picked on top, then move to my mother’s statue.

Her grave is similarly adorned. I top the sacrifices with another apple.

My tears don’t start until I reach Karyl’s.

She is depicted smiling at a bird that rests in her palm.

There’s a childlike quality to the sculpture, even though she was a fully grown shade when she passed.

I leave the final apple near her feet.

It takes me a while to get my feelings under control. The urge to take out my frustration and pain on my brother is almost too much to suppress. Did he even try to protect them? My sadness turns to anger and suspicion.

Something is wrong here. I will uncover the truth.

I follow the path to the sculpture of Thanesia, pick up the blade that rests on the blood-stained altar, and slice across my forearm.

Blood splashes stone. I return the blade to the altar and watch my flesh heal, knowing I’ve honored my family’s memory tonight.

“I’m late,” I say to the goddess, “but I’m here.

” Her stone eyes stare down at me, betraying nothing of the goddess’s true feelings on the matter.

I bow low and then head toward the exit and Eloise.

“I guessed you’d be here,” Brahm says as I pass through the archway.

He’s walking toward me from the direction of the castle with a smile that tells me he feels my actions are both silly and predictable.

“Nevina thought you might wait until morning, but I told her, ‘not my virtuous and dutiful brother.’ I knew you wouldn’t sleep until you observed the old ways. ”

“Old ways? Have the traditions changed since I left Stygarde?”

“I think you’ll find that New Stygarde is much less invested in tradition and more focused on the future.

” I fall into step beside my brother, noticing a royal guard watching us from a distance with his hand on his sword.

“Don’t mind Banias,” Brahm says. “My master of the guard is rarely far from my side. You get used to it after a while.”

I frown and pretend not to notice him. “Those aren’t two mutually exclusive things. I think people can observe meaningful traditions and still support progress.”

Brahm laughs. “Personally, I always found worship of the goddess to be a waste of time, but it’s still an option for those with the inclination.”

“You didn’t come down here to jest about my spiritual practices, though, did you?”

He scoffs. “No. I came to tell you that I found a position for you in the kingdom.” He raises his chin. “You will be New Stygarde’s stable manager.”

I halt outside the back entrance. Did I hear him right? “Stable manager?”

“It’s what we need right now,” Brahm says, and I catch something wicked flash through his expression. “The only opening in the castle. It’s honest work, although I can understand if you’re too proud.”

“Hmm?” I step in closer to him. What is his angle here?

“I can have Banias escort you from the property if the position is distasteful to you. If you were expecting more after all this time, I can’t help you.

You may have been a prince once, but I hope you can accept that this is a new kingdom.

Those days are gone.” We’re so close, our noses almost touch.

Our gazes wrestle for dominance. I glance in the direction of the guard, who is a great deal closer now.

A lightly veiled threat, then. One born out of fear that I might try some claim to the throne, if I were to guess.

“I am not too proud, brother. I will be your stable manager.”

Brahm jolts as if surprised. “Uh, excellent. You’ll start tomorrow.”

I bow. “If there’s nothing else, it is late and I’ve come a long way.”

Brahm shakes his head slowly.

I break apart and head for the forest. I need to hunt before I return to Eloise.