Page 51 of Bartered by the Shadow Prince (Bargain with the Shadow Prince #3)

Flight

DAMIEN

E loise is still sleeping when I slip from our cabin.

She needs the rest. We collapsed into bed the second we reached our dwelling, our bodies drained from our ordeal on the shadowpath.

I have many questions about Eloise’s heartbeat and whether her magic has returned with it, but she needs to recover first. Nothing good can come of rushing things.

I use the opportunity to seek out my mother and Karyl in their cottage. The conversation I need to have with them is, perhaps, well overdue, but given our trajectory, it is imperative we have it now.

Mother pulls me into her arms the moment she sees me and drags me inside, out of the cold. “Catarina said you were back but that you were not to be disturbed. I’m so relieved you made it. But where is Eloise?”

“Sleeping. Recovering.”

“Did it work? Have her powers returned?”

I draw my thumb over the side of my jaw. “We think so. It was clear that Thanesia blessed her, but she was too weak to attempt magic after we revived.”

“Blessed her with what?”

“Her heart now beats like a shade’s.”

My mother’s gaze turns sharp. “Is she now a shade?”

“We don’t know. It’s too soon.”

“And what about you? You walked the road. Did Thanesia bless you?”

“As fas as I’m concerned, my gift is having Eloise back alive. Both of us back alive.”

“Then your journey was truly a success.” She offers me a seat at the table.

Karyl strides in from the kitchen with a plate of vegetables for snacking. “Welcome back, brother.”

I stand and hug my sister. “Since we are all together, I have an announcement to make. Eloise isn’t just my mate. She’s my bride. Catarina married us before we descended.”

They both gasp in surprise, then Karyl pulls me into another tighter hug. “Your wife and your mate! Princess Eloise,” she says. “I always wanted a sister.”

“What would you think of Queen Eloise?”

They both study me intently. “What are you saying, Damien?” Mother asks.

“You’ve asked me time and again if I would step up to lead the resistance. You said I was our best chance of taking back the kingdom. Is that still true?”

She releases a deep breath and exchanges looks with Karyl. “It is. Not just our best chance. Our only chance. Aurora’s prophecy left no room for interpretation with regard to this.”

“But Father named Karyl as his successor, didn’t he?”

Karyl’s eyes go wide. “How could you have known that?”

“The Darklands hold more secrets than most will ever know.”

“He only named me because you were gone, Damien,” Karyl says, tucking a loose strand of hair into her braid. “Believe me. If I thought I had a chance of success, I would have retaliated against New Stygarde decades ago.”

I take her hands in mine. “You’re strong, Karyl. If you want me to lead, I will lead, but I will need your help if we are to succeed. Father believed in you, and I do too.”

She snorts. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I would rather not. I have no aspirations to the throne. You were born for this Damien. It should be you.”

“Then send a bird to Tempest and tell her to bring the leaders of the resistance as soon as they are able. I will meet with them, and if they will have me, I will rise to lead their cause.”

Mother grabs my hand. “You won’t regret this. Stygarde needs you. I’d dare say that Tenebris needs you, too.”

I stare at my hands. I’m feeling anxious and dissatisfied, but I can’t pinpoint the cause.

But when I look into my mother’s and Karyl’s eyes, so like my own, I understand.

“We will have to kill him. Brahm will not survive the coming war. Not after what he’s done.

He will likely be killed in battle, but if he is captured, he will be executed,” I say.

She winces at the thought, as I expected she would. All this time, she’s tried to convince me to save the kingdom, to take back Stygarde, but she rarely mentions Brahm by name. I must make sure she’s on board with the reality that this war won’t be over until Brahm and Nevina are dead.

“We could capture him. Imprison him,” she says, her blue eyes flaring with light.

I shake my head. “There is no other way for him but death. He killed Father. He stole other shade’s children.

The people must know that we are not, and never have been, in alignment with him or Nevina.

Only his death and hers will allow our citizens to feel safe again.

If I do this, Mother, Brahm will die. You must know this, and you both must accept it. ”

Her gaze seeks out Karyl’s, and then my mother raises her chin like the queen she is. “It must be so.”

Karyl leans her head against her fist. “And this is why it must be you and not me, brother. I could not do it, and you are right. There is no other way.”

Mother stands. “I’ll go to the aviary and have them send a raven.”

But when she opens the door, screams reach our ears from the normally quiet village. I rush out into the street, drawing my sword and running for Eloise, even before I gather what’s going on. I draw up short when I see three mages in the middle of the village, casting a red dome over Dimhollow.

Catarina and Eloise race toward me. I sheathe Dawnbreaker and catch Eloise in my arms. “What is happening?”

“The elves have found us and have breached the guardians at the border,” Catarina says. “Stygarde’s troops are attacking. Our battle mages will hold them off while the rest of us migrate north, above the tree line, where we can lay new wards. I’m sorry, Damien. This is where we must part ways.”

“Part ways?” Eloise asks. “You want us to leave Dimhollow?”

“I’m sorry. I have to protect my people. The witches of Dimhollow are on your side and will come to your aid if you request it, but we can’t protect you from your destiny. Your future is out there. Your future is in Stygarde.”

Eloise blinks at me as witches use spells to deconstruct their cottages and load them onto carts pulled by rabble beasts. A young boy leads Borus and Romulus to us from the stables.

“I haven’t attempted my magic yet, Damien. I’m not ready to use it against an army,” Eloise says breathlessly.

“Take her out the way my mother showed you, and go directly to Mount Damocles. The mountain dwellers are sympathetic to our cause, and New Stygarde’s young troops will be reluctant to follow you there.” Catarina hugs Eloise and then me. “Until we meet again.” She runs toward her cottage.

It’s wise advice. Mount Damocles is the one place that the elves won’t go.

It’s too hot for their delicate skin, and the sulfur in the air burns their lungs.

Shades are impervious to the heat and the air quality, but even they find it uncomfortable.

Only the mountain dwellers, the shade artisans who craft their weapons in the fiery belly of the mountain, call that place home.

But they are the master craftsmen who create Stygian steel weapons.

The mountain dwellers have a bottomless arsenal, and they can be violent and unpredictable, a reality we, too, will have to face.

“What’s wrong? Do you not want to go to Mount Damocles?” Eloise asks.

“No. She’s right. That’s exactly where we need to go. Pack your things.” An arrow strikes the shield above our heads. “Quickly.”

I follow her to our cottage and throw our few remaining possessions into the saddlebags we arrived with.

I have them loaded on the beasts in minutes.

It can’t be fast enough for my tastes. The mages are already grunting with the effort of holding the shield.

We mount our beasts and kick them into a run.

“This way,” I say to her, navigating around the migrating witches and straight up the wind-sheared mountain.

She pulls up the hood on her riding cloak and turns her face to me. “Everyone else is going around the side.” She has to yell as the wind picks up and the snow starts to fall. “Why are we heading for the peak?”

“Although it seems counterintuitive, the passageway we’re taking leads away from the mountain. The witches are going to a settlement at a higher elevation east of Dimhollow.”

Eloise cringes as another gust of wind blows straight through both of us. “Fuck everything and the stars above it all, that is frigid. Damien, please tell me this passageway is close!”

In answer, I guide my horse around the snowy outcropping that conceals the narrow cave entrance Aurora once showed me, and Eloise follows me inside. She shivers, as does her rabble beast, but soon, we begin to warm up in the small space.

“Thank the goddess. I couldn’t have lasted long in that cold.”

“That’s by design,” I say. “No one who comes this way would find this place on their own. It’s too cold and too well hidden.”

“So, this is what Catarina was referring to. This is the passageway out of the mountain?”

“We’ll have to descend in the dark.” I tug Borus’s reins and turn in the saddle to look back at her.

We can still see each other clearly by the light of the moon streaming through the entrance, but she needs to know what we are in for.

“This passageway is enchanted. Aurora and her people made it, just as they made the wraiths that guard the border, to protect themselves from invasion. Their defenses are deadly.”

“Considering they are protecting themselves from shades who could drink them dry and elves with their dark magic, I think their response has merit.”

“Good, then you’ll understand when I explain to you that the only way through this passageway is in total silence.”

“What now?” Silence?

“I had the same reaction when Aurora told me what to expect. The passageway is designed to spark fear in you. It is intentionally narrow so that your beast can’t turn around without injuring itself, and if one dismounts and tries to return to this point, even in shadow form, the magic will shred them. ”

“Wonderful.” She curses.

“We can only go one way, and we cannot scream. Not a peep, understand? No matter what you see or feel or hear, you must remember that it is only the magic. The beasts will be unaffected. As long as you don’t tug on the reins or redirect them, they will lead us safely out.”

“Can I close my eyes?”

“You won’t need to. As soon as we turn the corner, the passageway will go dark.”

“But I can see in the dark.”

“Not in this dark.”

“Seriously?” She spreads her hands in annoyance. “We survive the horrors of the shadowpath and facing the goddess, only to face yet another trial? Motherfucker of all the magical cuntwaffles in the universe! God damn you, Aurora!” she screams toward the roof of the cavern.

“It’s best to get it out now,” I say evenly. “If you do that inside the passageway, we are well and truly dead.”

“Been dead before. Three times, actually. Lived to tell the tale.” She crosses her arms.

“Ready?”

Her penetrating stare never leaves mine.

“It’s either this or face the elf army.”

“I’m thinking.”

“Little bird.”

“How long does it take to move through?”

“A few hours, but it will feel longer.”

She reaches for her canteen and takes a swig of water. “Fine. I’m Ready. Let’s go.”