Page 19 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #2)
Chapter Eight
Vad
“ F irellan’s Spine?” I demanded. It was the smallest of the prisons but the most vicious, the one where they sent political dissidents, hardened criminals, and vicious traitors. The tortures and punishments they inflicted in that place?—
I snapped my shadows back and released Deln. He dropped as low as he could in the seat, his limbs bruised and his fingers twitching as he spluttered. Blood dripped from his cheeks and covered his shirt.
Only a small measure of satisfaction pulsed within me to see it.
Nothing would compare to when Briar was back in my arms and the true murderers of my father were punished along with anyone who had dared to lay a hand on her.
The chill that spread within me urged me to resolve this swiftly so that I could go to her.
“What do we do with him now?” Thalen asked, though his tone suggested he knew what would ultimately happen and simply wondered about the method. He dissolved the tiny wind blades and straightened, but his face had gone paler than usual, likely because he, too, knew what that prison meant.
My eyes narrowed at the gasping wretch. “One more question.” I held up a finger as I stepped toward him. “Did you enjoy hurting Briar?”
His gaze lifted to mine, and his face twisted in response, blood trickling from his mouth as he whimpered.
He wanted to lie. I could practically see the rusted gears of his mind spinning as he tried to come to an answer that would be true and yet not reveal this.
But there was none. I let the silence sit, my shadows and wings bristling.
His silence was as good as a confession.
My shadows shot out once more with only one internal command: tear. With stunning precision, they shot into him and pierced his heart and lungs. He convulsed and spasmed, blood spilling like water onto the stone.
My shadows drew back, but the hollowness in me remained.
This wretch’s death had done little to sate me.
Urgency coiled tighter in my chest as I straightened my shoulders.
“Deal with his body. Make sure no one finds him. We’ll deal with the second one later, when his disappearance won’t be as likely to be noticed. ”
Thalen swiped his hand through the air. The previously invisible circle around the chair and Deln flared into view, and then the lines binding it thickened.
“I know nothing is going to keep you from going to Firellan’s Spine, but as sure as the void is dark, you aren’t going in there alone.
The body won’t go anywhere. We mask the door, and I go with you. ”
My chest tightened, a mixture of irritation and gratitude cutting through me.
For all his goofiness and ridiculousness, Thalen was a relentless ally.
“If you can keep up, fine. Not wasting time arguing with you.” I strode toward the door, my boots splashing in the blood.
The room spun for a moment, but there was no stopping what happened next.
Hold on, Briar , I’m coming for you.
Thalen followed half a step behind me. By taking the back halls in the palace, we avoided risking more delays.
Most of the servants, attendants, and others who would be awake at this time were in other corridors.
We moved toward the Hall of Receiving, knowing that we needed to use the hallways to get to the prison fast. I couldn’t show weakness until I returned, or I’d risk all the kingdoms learning of my dire situation.
We entered the Receiving Hall, a chamber where each kingdom’s sigils glowed in the walls.
The large shadow beast sigil set into the center of the floor was second in size only to the one in the throne room.
Six tall, narrow stone arches stood at the back of the enormous room, each with a set of three marble stairs and a small platform leading up to it and flanked by the banners of the kingdom the archway allowed access to.
A pair of Shadow guards stood on either side of each entrance, with a single messenger from each kingdom represented on the right.
The guards stood at attention, postures rigid and halberds or spears clasped firmly in their right hands.
The messengers were alert but more casual in their poses, at least until they noticed me.
Clad in dark gray robes with a multi-colored belt fastened at his waist, Buldan the Shadow messenger on duty stiffened.
Panic flashed in his purple eyes, as if he thought he’d been caught failing in a task.
His peaked cap almost slid off his slick, dark hair before he straightened his shoulders.
He crossed to me, drove his arm across his chest, and bowed his head.
“Your Highness, the traditional notices have already been sent, but the leaders have not had time to organize their response beyond the initial extension of regrets.”
I brushed that aside, not caring about the gifts or words the other leaders would send. “Hold your station, Buldan. That’s not why I’m here. Stay alert.” I spoke harshly, with no hint of weakness.
They all stared at me, the guards still at attention but waiting for any command I might utter.
The Ignis messenger looked as if she were considering saying something, and the Aquen messenger’s brow furrowed before he schooled his expression into neutrality like the Sylvan and Terran faes.
The Aureline messenger, a young woman I did not recall seeing before, studied me with sharp yet hooded slate eyes, her arms clasped at the back of her pale gray robe.
My footsteps echoed in the hall as I strode toward her. She stepped to the bottom of the three stairs that led up to her archway.
She bowed her head with deliberate slowness, her long hazel braid sliding over her shoulder with the movement. “Your Highness, how may the Aureline serve you?” When she straightened, she folded her hands before her, her fingers in perfect alignment.
Did this woman know the truth of what her people had done? No guilt shone in her eyes, and the deliberate slowness of her movements might simply be from anxiety in trying to perform to perfection. “I have business to conduct in Firellan’s Spine,” I said firmly.
Thalen stopped to the right of me, one hand resting on the dagger at his side.
The messenger hesitated for a breath, then bowed at the waist. “Of course. We are eager to serve. May I inquire what business this might be?”
“You may not. Either grant me access, or provide a reason that it cannot be done.” My wings twitched, and I suppressed the urge to growl. Glaring would have to suffice. Now that I was out here again, I had to project the same controlled but stern demeanor that was essential.
Her fingers curled into her palms before she nodded and stepped back.
She turned to the archway and approached it.
Though I couldn’t see anything through the archway beyond the shimmering light that gave the space between an effect similar to frosted glass, she could hear whoever was on the other side.
They spoke in hushed tones for a moment before she pressed her fingertips to the right side of the archway and drew a runic pattern.
The archway shimmered, and she stepped away.
I turned to look at my own guards and the other messengers who were present. “If I have not returned within two hours time from the perspective of this hall, follow inquiry and retrieval protocols.”
Time sometimes passed at different rates in these places. Prisons often had distortions, which made it easier for them to torture prisoners and keep them unbalanced. But if the Aurelines tried to pull any dirty tricks on me, they’d have to deal with my people making matters far worse for them.
Passing through the archway was as simple as passing through any doorway except for the slight rushing sensation that made my stomach spin and my knees wobble for half a step.
The brightness surrounded me, harder to see through than the darkness, and when I emerged and blinked it away, I found myself in the cold, dark halls of Firellan’s Spine.
My boots scraped uncomfortably against the coarse, dark floor, and a horrid stench of decomposing plant matter, old blood, fresh blood, and spoiled food surrounded me.
Low screams and throaty cries cut through my ears, searing into my soul.
I wanted to vomit, and bile crept up my throat.
None of those voices was Briar’s, thank whatever sliver of mercy Fate had for that.
But what soured my stomach even more was that Briar was here, and I had no way of knowing how long it had been from her perspective, if they had altered her awareness of time.
Thalen braced his hands on his waist. His white wings spread out as if searching for any hint of danger or of Briar.
Two Aureline guards stood at attention on either side of the archway, their pale gray armor glistening in the low torchlight.
They stared straight ahead without acknowledging me, but a slim man whom I had almost missed in the shadows stepped forward.
He bowed his head. “Your Highness, how may I be of service?”
“I wish to speak with Chief Interrogator Colm Ainle regarding the prisoner Briar in the matter of my father’s assassination.
” I fixed the smaller male with a sharp gaze and gave a dismissive wave of my hand, not allowing him to ask further questions.
Thalen stopped just behind me and folded his arms, his expression stoic.