Page 102 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Charming.” He scoffed, giving me a disgusted look.

Amon’s anger curled through my body. His rage was so different from mine. When I was angry, it was red hot, and so overpowering that it sometimes made it difficult for me to even see straight. Amon’s rage was cold, calculated and calm. If he had been here, I was confident that Zayne would be dead, just for looking at me like that.

Luckily for Zayne, people had looked at me like that my entire life. If he was trying to hurt my feelings with a dirty look, he was going to need to try harder.

Like the rest of the palace, the dining room was open, and made up of white marble and rows of large colonnades. As the sun began its descent, the city of Midasara was slowly beginning to light up around us in a breathtaking display. The dining room itself was filled with white candles. Some floated lazily through the air, some burned in clusters on the floor, and the elegant dining table was covered in them.

The table was long enough to seat well over twenty people, however, there were only three places set. The chair at the head of the table, and the seats to either side of it. Zayne gestured for me to take the seat to the left of the tall, backed chair that I assumed Vespara would be occupying, before seating himself to the right.

Just as I was tucking in, Amon’s voice cut through my mind.

‘Fuck.’ He snarled, and I forced myself not to outwardly jump.

‘What? What’s happening?’ I asked, suddenly worried.

‘I have to go.’ He said abruptly. ‘Do not promise Vespara anything tonight. No matter what she offers, tell her you need a day or two to think about it, and consult with your team.’

‘What do you mean you have to go? What’s happening over there? Don’t you dare leave here without saying anything again.’

‘I’m sorry, my love, but I need to go. I will come back as soon as I am able.’ Then, he was gone. It took everything in me not to scream in frustration.

I was left alone with Zayne, who was glaring at me suspiciously from across the table.

“Whoever you had rattling about in that skull of yours better be gone. You’re going to need your wits about you.” He warned as he leaned back in his seat, draping his arm over the empty chair that sat to his right.

“Don’t worry about me.” I hissed. “Worry about your damn self.”

He sneered at me. “Trust me. I am. If you fuck this up you’re messing with my freedom. So, use that brilliant mind of yours that I keep hearing about and make it through this dinner alive.”

I rolled my eyes. “If anyone dies tonight, I can promise you it won’t be me.”

Just then, Vespara materialized at the head of the table, her manic eyes glistening in the candlelight. Zayne raised an eyebrow at me, his face stony.

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” He asked darkly, as several more Vesparas appeared and began to seat themselves in the empty chairs around the table. I forced myself not to outwardly flinch at her intentional display of power.

I wasn’t just outnumbered.

I was drastically overwhelmed.

Rycon

Iwatched Raven leave with that cocky fuck and debated following them. Jeremy and I exchanged a look, but Cerenah shook her head.

“You need to trust her.” She told us, reading the looks on our faces. “You can’t go after her. Vespara will use it as an excuse to truly lock us up, and you will lose your chance at getting any information on Kasha.”

I growled. She was right. Though if that bitch touched one hair on Raven’s head, I would be the first person to light her the fuck up. Well, maybe the second. The way Jeremy was clutching his Carbine made me think maybe he did have a backbone afterall. Apparently, all it took was a threat to his daughter to bring it out.

“Fine. I’m going to look around.” I said. Cerenah pursed her lips.

“Be careful. This place is full of dangerous secrets.” She warned.

I remembered the large carving in the center of the floor of the megaron and nodded. It smelled of ozone and melted flesh. Every fiber of my being had told me to avoid it at all costs.

“Don’t worry about me, Sparks. I’m pretty difficult to kill.” I said, before heading out the door. I ignored the burn of Jeremy’s gaze on my back as I went. If I was going to be locked in this palace until dawn, I might as well squeeze in some conditioning.

I had forced myself to make significant progress over the last week in my efforts to be able to shift multiple times. Every night, after Raven and friends had gone to bed, I went out to cross some more names off my list. Then before sunrise, I usually tried to get in a few hours of conditioning.

I was down to a hundred and fifty-four names, and up to nearly four consecutive shifts before I needed to take the hemoglo. Tonight, I wanted to get up to seven shifts. That was the number I had been forced through the night I had lost Kasha. It was a big milestone. I hadn’t heard of another shifter in history who could shift that many times in a row. If I could pull this off, it would be a significant step in overcoming the power of The Flute.