Page 25 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #1)

Vad

I paced outside the Ascension Hall. The two remaining hours of the ball had passed with infuriating slowness and ever-increasing discomfort, but now I was here, and Briar wasn’t.

Where was she? My boots squeaked on the marble each time I turned. My stomach churned, and my chest tightened, a strange fever descending upon me.

It had to be nerves. There was no reason for them though.

Briar would keep her word. If she were delayed, there would be a good reason. I paused as a cold fear cut through me and stiffened my spine. What if she’d changed her mind?

No . I shook that thought off and steadied myself, my hands fisting at my sides.

The way she’d looked at me set me alight all over. I could smell her cinnamon ginger scent already, and soon she’d be back in my arms. There had been no doubt in her response. Maybe she had fallen asleep?

That seemed likely.

But what if she were in trouble?

My wings itched, and my skin crawled as if insects were burrowing beneath my flesh. What was wrong with me?

I'd seen her to the guest hall myself, and all the guards had been present. But Kaylen might not have heeded my warning to leave her alone. One of the other contestants might have taken matters into her own hands too.

The tension in my gut twisted. I needed answers, and I needed to see her.

I started toward the guest hall, and then a scream tore through my heart and soul. Briar . But the scream hadn’t come from the direction of the guest hall. From the garden? My mother's garden?

I spun around and surged forward, but a wave of nausea and disorientation crashed over me. I gagged and struggled to keep my feet, my wings drooping as if the ligaments had been cut. What was happening?

"Briar!" I called and lurched forward, grabbing onto the wall and fighting for balance. The world tilted and spun around me, and I wanted to vomit.

"Help!" Briar screamed. "The king needs help!"

Something was wrong with her voice. Her words sounded slurred.

Adrenaline pumped through me and helped me regain my footing. I stumbled down the hall and flung open the doors to the garden. Heavy footsteps sounded ahead of me. The guards were already here. The air smelled of blood, flowers, and something acrid and unsettling.

My boots scraped the black and gold mosaic-tiled path as I rushed to follow. Black lilies, lavender peonies, and silver roses intermingled beneath the paper-barked trees under the waning moon. Up ahead lay the fountain with the sculpture of the shadow beast and her cubs playing in the water. A dark form lay beside the pale stone, and two guards were hauling Briar to her feet. She was barefoot, and her elegant gown was covered in blood, the red streaking boldly across ivory and violet. Her hands dripped with red liquid as she trembled, her gaze fixed on the king. A bloody dagger lay at her feet beside—beside my father.

"Save him," she sobbed. "Someone stabbed him. His heart is weakening. Save him, please!"

Another wave of nausea cut through me. I looked at my father, his pale face streaked with a line of liquid red and his tunic punctured and soaked with blood. A dark pool formed beneath him, filling the cracks and grooves of the marble.

He was gone.

I couldn't breathe. I lifted my gaze to Briar. The guards were taking her away. "Stop!" I shouted; then another wave of nausea struck me. I stumbled forward and fell to my knees. "Stop, let her go. Briar! Guards, unhand her now. Let her speak. Briar, what happened?"

The guards didn't stop though, and Briar's terrified gaze fell on me.

A Shadow Fae council member and an Aureline council member stepped out of the shadows of the trees in front of me, their dark gray and light gray robes looking eerily immaculate in the chaos and devastation.

The young-voiced Aureline councilor placed a hand on my shoulder. "The contestant has murdered a member of the royal family. Justice must be served, but not by you. This matter is out of your hands."

Rage boiled within me. I'd just lost my father. I wouldn't let them take Briar too. I roared and surged forward. If I had to set the world on fire and shatter their councils to get her back, I would. I was done complying with their rules. Fate be damned.