Page 74 of Shadows and Flames (Twin Blades #2)

Epilogue

I didn’t bother keeping my steps silent. Not even quiet.

The rain battering the windows and facade of the Well drowned them out, anyway. My own rage, pulsing behind my eyelids, was louder.

Ever since I had been overruled, the quiet darkness of the Well was no longer comforting.

It was menacing, with traitors and fools lurking in every corner.

I’d assured my brothers that the others with seats at the Elders’ table were reasonable.

Now, I spat on the stone floor, twice for my siblings who blatantly assured me that Varus’s proposal would not stand then proceeded to vote against me.

The Shadows no longer held sovereignty. The Shadows no longer stood on their own.

My fist banged on the heavy wooden door, painted black for as long as the Well stood.

The chandeliers fitted with small candles lit the room, warded for only sitting Elders and invited Shadows to pass through.

The hot taste of my blood bloomed in my mouth as I took in those seated at the long table, constructed from the first tree felled in construction of the Well.

Did they want to burn that too? Take an axe to it and set it aflame like the rest of our sacred ways?

I’d run away from the Trylas, from my responsibilities at birth and the dangers awaiting. I’d found a home , a family, and a profession that felt truer to me than my own name.

“Master Noruh. Thank you for joining us.”

Varus drawled from the head of the table as the senior member of the Elders, a position held by the oldest sitting Shadow on our governing body. And one for head puppeteer, it seemed.

“Who the fuck is this?” I demanded, stopping behind my designated seat and eyeing the two unfamiliar faces. They should not have been permitted to enter, neither of them Shadows and neither of them Elders. Hell, one of them wasn’t even Lylithan.

“Watch your tone, Master Noruh.”

“And you can go to hell, Varus. All of you.” I made a point to meet each and every gaze of my fellow Shadows who voted for this.

Trenton. Yara. Forrest. Since that night, all Shadow activity had been halted, all members were called back to the Well, and all communication channels paused until we could assess.

It was protocol that had not been enacted in over a century, not since the Killings when we had to protect ourselves and our kind.

“Enough. We vote democratically amongst our peers, and the vote was sound, as you witnessed.”

I pointed my finger right between the midnight blue eyes staring back at me from across this surface that was supposed to be sacred . “And you’ve given us over to this tyrant. He should not even be here .”

“Master Noruh. I assure you that my collaboration with The Shadows will benefit us both tremendously.” His posture was straight, relaxed, and his voice was as smooth as poisoned wine.

Krisla may have held the largest Lylithan population in the world, and he may have a seat on the Lylithan Council, but I held no illusion this decision would have negative ramifications for generations to come.

I thought of Marco, hidden away in the acolyte wing with the others I would shield from this as best I could.

They were the most vulnerable of us all, and if it meant my dying breath, they would be safe.

My Shadow vow, a slithering, pulsing companion who had walked with me since my twentieth year, demanded it.

I’d no idea what happened to the others’. How had they corrupted us all?

“I have allies who will ensure our race not only survives but prospers .” He gestured to the white-haired one beside him with pointed ears. Some sort of elven fellow whose cloying perfume was only making me angrier.

“Sit, Master Noruh,” Varus bade me again, indignant flush beginning to bleed into the orange strands at the base of his neck.

I’d once took comfort in his presence, his appearance that reminded me of my mother and sister back in the highlands.

“We will begin discussing the future of The Shadows and our work with the King of Krisla.”

I wanted so badly to scream. To shake my siblings who were convinced that this was the path to take.

But, instead, I drew a breath. Reasoning that I would not be able to fight them if I were thrown from the room. At the table, I could do my best to steer us away from total destruction. Here, I could take as much information as I could and warn my brothers.

My seat, one I’d been proud to occupy just a few days ago, scraped against the carpet beneath. And I sat.