Page 18 of Stone Sentinels (Shadow Guardians #6)

EILISH

The Veil

I look around the battlefield, at the bodies of Unseelie soldiers scattered across the ground. It pains my heart to see so many lives lost because Theren couldn’t set aside his pride.

No, I remind myself— not Theren .

The Unseelie King is a prisoner within his own mind. Maybe that’s why I feel so drawn to him. We’re both slaves to the magic that holds us hostage. Regardless, his people don’t deserve to die like this. Harpies, spirits, and now demons lay waste to everything in sight.

The dragon releases another breath of electricity as the rain douses the flames. I tilt my head back and cup my hands to call for a retreat, but Wynroth’s emerald eyes blink twice and flood with white fog. Suddenly, the eyes of the Guardian of The Veil stare back at me. I turn and see Pyre walking through the throng of fighters, glowing as he wields the power of The Veil. Before I know what’s happening, my feet take me to him.

My dagger rips through the armor of the demons and spirits from the mountain, and I sidestep a harpy as it lunges for me. It crashes into a group of soldiers, opening an opportunity to reach Pyre’s side.

“Can you defend me, Eilish? I must concentrate and I can’t do so if I’m busy fighting,” Pyre shouts above the sounds of war. I nod my head once and follow as the ball of roiling magic builds between his hands. It’s as though all the light within The Veil has come to its master.

The creatures of this world shrink back. Wynroth takes to the sky and spirits run for the trees, but it’s too late. Pyre punches the ground as I stab my dagger into the heart of a demon and an explosion of power hits me. I can’t control the way my own swell of energy is triggered by the blast. All I feel is searing pain before a blinding light fills my vision, blocking everything else out. Sounds fade... the smell of the forest and burning wood is no more…

I am young, but not stupid. I know he’s the prince.

He hides in the trees surrounding the grove just as I sneak into the city to see the vibrant colors the fae cherish so much. Or at least that’s what I tell my mother I’m going to see. If mother knew that it was him, Theren, who draws me to the city, I’d be in trouble. She warns me to be wary of males and I try to listen, but I’ve never seen anyone with hair such as his or eyes I’d swear were made of honey.

But Theren isn’t sweet. He burns with a passion that calls to something within me.

“What are you doing here, little one?” he asks.

Those honey eyes flicker in the shade of the canopy. He once told me that his father disapproved of his love for the forest, often telling Theren he wasn’t welcome in his brother’s domain.

But he adores the way the leaves change in the autumn and the way the wind always smells like crisp apples.

“I asked you a question,” he says.

“And I will answer it when I please.”

He emerges slowly from the shadows, his beautiful, sharp features coming into the light to steal my breath away, like always.

“You’re not like the others,” he says as he eyes me with interest. “Even Aima, my friend, is more timid than you. How is it that you’re so fierce?”

I shrug. “I’m my sister’s protector.”

“And what do you protect her against?” he laughs down at me.

“At the moment? An Unseelie male of a reputable family, such as your own, who has offered my mother a sizable sum for Solya’s hand, but my mother refuses.”

“The male is a fool if he doesn’t see that he’s chosen the wrong sister.” Theren comes closer, jumping from the branch to land before me. He takes my jaw in his hand and tilts my head back. I feel the brush of his thumb against my bottom lip.

“He chose the right sister, Theren,” I insist, with a smile.

“Tell me, Ellie, why were you not chosen? Surely, there must be some imperfection I fail to see…”

“He doesn’t know I exist. I’m a secret well hidden within a world I will never truly experience in its entirety.”

“All the best treasures are.”

His lips press to mine, stealing my gasp, and I melt like snow at the first sign of spring. Theren’s kiss tastes of pine and smoke, fresh and earthy, but so tantalizing, I yearn for more. He pulls away, eyes darkened with need.

“So, this is why you’re so dangerous,” he whispers. “If the world knew what you are, I fear it would take you from me. And I’m not ready to give you up.”

“You assume I’m yours.”

“My assumptions are correct, for I’ve seen the truth in the mystical glass.” Theren tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “But there’s much danger in your future. Some of it, I can’t protect you from.” His expression colors with a scowl. “No matter how I try to change things, the outcome always seems the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your mother is right, Ellie. You shouldn’t trust men. They’ll bring you nothing but pain and suffering.” He steps away from me and runs a hand through his hair. “I came to tell you I won’t be returning to the glade anymore.”

“What? Won’t be returning?” I demand.

He nods. “This is goodbye.”

Theren disappears as though he was never there. I bring my hand up to brush my lips with the tips of my fingers, where his kiss still lingers. If this truly is goodbye, then I hope it’s not forever.

Whether we meet again as friends or as lovers, I will cherish our bond always.

***

CAMBION

The Veil

“Wake up!” Aima says as she kicks my leg.

I open my eyes to see her staring between the bars at the markings on the wall. She points to the swirling symbols and looks at me expectantly.

“Well? What the hell is that? My sister’s magic was used to reinforce the wards and spells used in Theren and Variant’s palaces, but this... I’ve never seen this.”

“I have. In Pyre’s library,” I reply. “They’re blood runes.”

“So?”

“So, only the blood that was used to create them can undo them, and seeing as how neither of us were awake at the time these were created, I imagine finding that individual will be next to impossible.”

“Can you use that blood in the runes to track the host?” Aima quirks a slender brow and cocks her hip.

“I suppose so.”

“All we would need is a sample, right? Well, that’s a pretty fucking big sample.”

“We would have to get out of the cell—and if we could get out of the cell, the blood runes wouldn’t be very effective, would they?”

Aima ignores me and continues staring at the runes.

I try to decipher the cryptic riddle written in congealed blood, but it’s no use. The door to the dungeon swings open. Aima and I stand at the ready, even though we’re severely injured. Unseelie guards tap the bars three times and we’re forced to the ground with the same form of magic used in Variant’s dungeon. It pains me to think that I’ve been wrong about Theren all along.

The guards clap me in irons and separate me from Aima. She strains against the spell, vulgarly vowing to shove one of the guards inside the other guard’s rectum. Her colorful language causes my nose to scrunch in distaste as the vivid flavor of bile stings the back of my throat.

The Unseelie guide me through the corridors silently. I resist the urge to speak to them, to try and appeal to their better nature. I know my kind. They aren’t all evil or corrupt by power like Theren and the members of the court but they’re under his orders, all the same.

Grey wood stands in stark contrast to the black marble of the walls and braziers. Beautiful ornate columns tower over everything in sight as I’m led to the throne room. I remember the glistening obsidian floors well. Deep purple curtains, in the color of the royal family, drape from the ceiling, and sitting on stone chairs is the hierarchy of the Unseelie Court. Their pale faces stare back at me as though I’m not welcome in the realm of my father.

My eyes turn to the throne of onyx, where my brother sits. Variant stands before the throne with a disgruntled look on his face.

“He will be taken to the palace and imprisoned for his actions against the crown!” the false king demands.

“No,” Theren returns.

Variant further glares at him. “Cambion may be your brother, but he’s a traitor and a thief. My people demand justice. He must answer for his crimes.”

“Cambion may be a war criminal, but he’s also a member of the royal bloodline.”

“So you’d allow him to escape punishment?” Variant presses, causing several members of the court to glare in my direction. He’s trying to turn the Unseelie against their king. He knows our politics well. “I find it hard to believe that a man of honor, such as yourself, would permit Cambion to turn his back on his people in time of need just to pursue a pointless crusade against us. That isn’t what’s happening, is it?”

“No. I merely insist that he face trial in Oronrel by way of the court, not at the hands of a king who uses intimidation and the fear of death to rule his kingdom.” Theren stands up from his throne and the Unseelie kneel. Even those who sit on their chairs slide to the floor to bow before him. Variant has never been shown that sort of devotion here, and I can see the anger in his eyes.

“Cambion is my prisoner. He comes with me,” Variant insists.

I can't take it anymore. I leap toward the bastard who took everything from me, but the guards catch me. My brother orders them to remove me from the throne room until I can be taught some manners. I get thrown into the corridor. Fists rain down on me even as I’m hurled down the hall toward the dungeons once more. However, instead of taking me to Aima’s cell, like before, I’m pulled into a scarcely lit room just beside the armory. This room wasn’t here when I lived in Oronrel as a boy.

One of the guards lights the torches. Mechanisms of torture line the walls and fill the narrow space. My stomach drops. The Unseelie push me to the floor and tear my boots off before removing my clothing, one piece at a time. Bare as the day I was born, my punishment begins.

The minutes fade into hours and hours into days. Pain has always been part of my existence, but this... this is something far worse than any criminal deserves. But I must be strong.

Kolvar endured the same and he didn’t break. I won’t defile the sacrifice of my companion by being weaker than he.

When the pain begins to become something different, some form of numb escape from my own thoughts, I hear the telltale sound of Aima’s screams. They startle me back into the place where my pain is bright and it sears me to the bone.

“Call my brother in here,” I slur through bruised and battered lips. “I need to speak to him.”

The guards laugh in my face, but even so, one goes to fetch the king.

Variant accompanies Theren into the room and I see something flash in my brother’s eyes. I’m not sure what it is.

“What is it?” he asks, sounding just as menacing and impassive as before.

“Aima’s punishment... I... will take it in... her stead.”

He appears to think on this for a while. “I’ll allow it, but don’t think of this as your repentance, Brother. Your punishment is far from over.”