Page 6 of Bartered by the Shadow Prince (Bargain with the Shadow Prince #3)

A Visit from the Queen

ELOISE

M y head feels like there’s an ax in it.

In hindsight, I should have rested before trying my magic again.

But with Damien gone and nothing else to do, I couldn’t resist giving it a go.

I tried calling Phantom first. That ended in me collapsing to my knees and clutching my pounding skull.

After that, I found a candle and figured I’d start at the beginning.

Producing a flame is something I can do in my sleep, one of the first spells I learned from Maeve. God, I miss Maeve .

Only, the wick doesn’t light. I try all the tips and tricks Maeve taught me, all the relaxation techniques. Nothing works. Every time I focus my intention on the wick, it feels like a railroad spike is being hammered into my skull.

“Fuuuuck!” I say quietly, bringing my forehead to the dark wood floor. I’d scream if I knew that no one would hear me, but the way this room is designed, open to the night air, I’m afraid every servant in the place would come running.

I raise my fingers to my nose, and they come away covered in blood. Great. I’ve officially overused my magic without using it at all. With a huff, I abandon the candle and find the bathroom.

For being a different world, some things here are exactly what I’m used to.

The decor, in general, reminds me of a luxury rustic vibe, with roughhewn ceiling beams, wrought-iron fixtures, and horns and tusks strategically used in the chandeliers and wall art.

The only difference is that the grain of the wood is like nothing I’ve ever seen.

The metal fixtures look human enough, but the antlers and tusks are not from any earthly animal.

Still, the bathroom, thank all that is holy, resembles the human version enough that I can find what I need to wash my face and hands. I guess there are only so many ways to accommodate humanoid anatomy, and thank the gods, shades and elves have two legs and two arms.

I have a small towel shoved halfway up my gushing nostril when a knock comes from the main room.

My eyes narrow. Who could that be? I decide not to answer it.

Damien literally threw himself over the railing to exit the castle.

Certainly, he’ll return the same way, right?

Only, what if there was some kind of one-way magic at play?

What if he had to use the door because he couldn’t come back the way he left?

Would he know about such a change? Not after being gone so long, I assume.

The knock comes again.

I drop the towel on the counter and splash water on my face. The bleeding’s stopped. After double-checking that my hands and face are clean, I make my way to the door, smoothing my sweater as I go. There’s no peephole, so I open it carefully.

Nevina stands on the other side, a copper-haired servant laden down with a pile of fabric at her side. I’ve only cracked the door, but the elf pushes it the rest of the way open.

She’s holding a small silver platter in her opposite hand. Thrusting it toward me, she demands something that sounds like “ wimpersail. ”

Confused, I look down at the tray. There’s a purple, jelly-like candy the size and shape of a gumdrop at the center of its polished diameter. “Wimpersail?”

Nodding vigorously, Nevina stretches her mouth into a smile.

She points at the gumdrop and then at her mouth, then again at the gumdrop and at my mouth.

I have no idea what wimpersail means, but it’s pretty clear she wants me to eat the candy.

I get the sense this is not a request but a demand from the queen.

Only problem is, I don’t eat. I’m a vampire.

I don’t exactly know what will happen if I eat regular food.

I never asked anyone in Night Haven if they’d tried it before.

Will it hurt me in some way? Will I become ill until I’ve purged it from my system? Will I be able to swallow it at all?

Nevina is waiting, making the hand motion and saying the word louder, as if that will make me suddenly understand the language. Damien made it clear that we’ll have to rely on Brahm’s and her hospitality, at least for the short term. I don’t want to piss her off on our first night here.

Fuck . If she wants me to eat the candy, I’ll eat the candy. Consequences be damned. After all, it’s small. How bad could it be?

I grab the gumdrop and shove it into my mouth. Surprisingly, it tastes good. Sort of like a mixture of grape and pomegranate. Once I swallow it, I suffer a distinctive medicinal aftertaste. Herbal-berry-cough-drop flavored.

“Finally,” Nevina says. “I thought you’d never oblige me.”

I do a double take, realizing I can understand her perfectly now, even though I’m sure she’s still speaking her native language.

“You fed me a translation spell?” My brows lift. In hindsight, I remember that elves can do magic, but I hadn’t expected to be on the receiving end.

“Well, we couldn’t have you bumbling about the castle without any way to communicate.” She gives a haughty laugh, as if my bumbling would be both embarrassing and inconvenient. “It’s simple enough magic. Now we can get to know each other properly.”

Great. Just what I wanted, to get to know the dark elf queen on my first day in the kingdom with no knowledge or understanding of Stygarde society or standards of etiquette.

It feels like I’m stepping into a minefield, but fine.

I’m a big girl. I can handle this. I clear my throat, which feels slick like I’ve swallowed a shot of olive oil.

“Uhhh, thank you. How long does the spell last?”

“Forever,” she says as if that should be obvious, but then her brow sinks. “Although I don’t know anything about your species specifically. Damien said you were a vamp-eye-ehr.” She pronounces the word in three distinct syllables.

“A vampire, yes,” I say, subtly correcting her pronunciation. “Not unlike a shade.”

She purses her lips. “I’m just happy to have another woman staying in the castle. You can’t imagine how lonely it’s been with only Brahm for regular companionship.”

That comment throws me. Surely she must have made some friends here by now.

Even if she was isolated in the castle for some reason, she’s surrounded by servants.

I’ve personally seen two different women working in the castle whom she could befriend.

Perhaps the social norms here don’t allow royalty to hobnob with the help, but surely there are others in the ruling class she could spend time with?

Then again, maybe she’s simply being self-deprecating to put me at ease.

I give her the benefit of the doubt and smile warmly at her. “I could use a friend. Everything in this world is new to me.”

“Good, because I brought you something else.” She gestures toward her servant, who remains as silent as a shadow. “I couldn’t help but notice tonight that your clothing was in disrepair. I brought you some dresses of mine to tide you over until we can fit you in with the royal tailor.”

So that’s why she’d been staring at me earlier. “May I?” I ask the servant. The girl looks to be sixteen, but then, I can’t gauge the age of shades like I can humans.

“Yes, ma’am,” she says softly.

“Thank you.” I take the pile of fabric from her and spread each item out on the bed so I can see it fully.

There’s a silky nightgown and a few dresses with full, ankle-length skirts like Nevina is wearing.

But the colors are all wrong for me. Pale pastels.

They’ll clash with my fiery red hair and make me look terribly washed out.

They’re also built for a much narrower, flatter physique.

My time in Night Haven changed my body composition to be far more muscular and curvier than before.

Nevina is positively waifish. I’ll be lucky to wedge myself into one of these using magic and kitchen grease.

“Nevina, your kindness is much appreciated,” I say and mean it. I will need something to wear, and after all, it’s not her fault she’s thinner and has a different skin tone than I do. “It’s incredibly generous of you to lend me these. I’ll take good care of them.”

She waves a hand dismissively. “Consider them yours. They’re from last season. Nothing the queen can be seen in again.” She sighs.

Without knowing her well, I can’t figure out if the idea of disposing of them is annoying to her or if she’s simply being matter-of-fact.

“Thank you anyway. I do appreciate it.” I wait, but she makes no move to leave the room.

After a short eternity passes in awkward silence, I say, “If you’ll excuse me, I should probably get some rest. It’s been an exhausting journey. ”

“How did you do it?” she asks, her hands landing on her hips. “Damien said you traveled between worlds. No shade is capable of that. You must have used magic.”

I take stock of my choices. Lying to her seems like a perfect way to ruin my chances of staying in her good graces, but I don’t know her well enough to trust her with my secrets. I settle on a simple truth. “Yes, it was me. I created the spell that brought us here.”

“Then you vamp-eye-ehrs have magic like elves?” She tucks her chin as if she finds the idea unsettling.

“Not usually. On my planet, there were some things I could do, but none of them has worked for me since we arrived on Tenebris. I think there’s something different about this world. I can’t perform even the simplest of spells here.”

Her lashes flutter. Is that relief I see on her face?

“How odd.” She studies me, tapping her chin.

I shrug. “But not altogether surprising, is it? This is an entirely different world with a different place in the universe, different energy, different rules.”

“True.” She clasps her hands in front of her hips and looks around the room. “Damien has gone?”

“He went to pay his respects to his family in the cemetery. Something about an offering to Thanesia.”