Page 123 of The Queen’s Shadow

“No.” Sofia said, pulling the extra robe around herself and brushing Meredith off. My eyebrows shot up and I turned to her in shock.

“What yuh mean no?” I asked, anger flaring in my chest again. She cut me a sharp look as she straightened up, quickly returning to her usual imposing self.

“The Board’s verdict forbade any members from involving themselves in the upcoming war. That order still stands until another meeting is held. We will of course need to reconvene, considering the events of today. However, we cannot just make that decision here, amongst ourselves. Our democratic process is what sets us apart from The Dominion and the shifters. You know this, Honorable Conrad Brown. This is what you signed up for.”

I slammed my hand into the desk and stood up abruptly.

“Dis is not what mi sign up for! Yuh really expect mi to just stand by and wait for another week or more for Di Board to make di wrong decision again?”

Sofia held my gaze without flinching. “If you value your position on this Board and want the access you have been granted to the archives, then yes. I do expect you to wait, however long it takes, for us to go through the proper protocols.”

My fists clenched at my sides, and I slammed my mouth shut. Everyone watched me, waiting to hear what I would say in response.

Suddenly, the room shook so violently, several books fell off the shelves that lined the stone walls behind Sofia’s desk.

“Wha’ di rass -” I glanced around in confusion, when suddenly there was another rumble and the room shook again. A crack spread up the large arched windows that looked out to the Dolomites and dust rained down from the stone ceiling above us.

“That was an explosion.” Dossidian said matter of factly. “From beneath us.”

Sofia’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open, just as another explosion sounded off beneath our feet. Meredith and I exchanged a horrified look, and Mr. Abbey looked as if he were going to be sick.

“Di archives.” I breathed.

And then, we were running.

It took several minutes to get to the bottom of the long, spiraling staircase that led to the underground collection of artifacts and texts.

We arrived at the small antechamber that led into the archives, and I could feel the heat on my skin through the closed door and stone walls. The desk where the clerk who guarded the door normally sat was empty. I glanced down at the ground and took in the dark pool of blood that was seeping out from under the desk and hissed.

They had killed the clerk.

I kicked open the door, already knowing what I would see. I nearly fell to my knees when my worst nightmares were confirmed.

I stood on the stone platform overlooking the massive, cavernous space that held rows and rows of stone shelves. Hundreds of years of artifacts, ancient texts and knowledge burned before my eyes.

I gripped the stone railing overlooking the underground inferno, ignoring the singe of the stone against my palms. My heart was breaking in my chest. So much knowledge was lost. My people’s history, our culture, our magick, all gone in one brutal act of war from one of our own.

I had never known such pain, such rage. I watched everything I had ever known and believed in burn before me, and I could do nothing to stop it. There wasn’t even enough water in the air for me to call to extinguish the blaze. I was helpless. I had failed.

I felt a large hand close over my shoulder, and I looked up to see Dossidian looking down at me, his dark eyes filled with sorrow and empathy.

“I am sorry, Obeah Man.” He said softly. I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by Sofia’s devastated scream. She threw herself against the railing and I grabbed her by the robe and pulled her back.

“It done, Sofia.” I growled. “It gone. Yuh cya’an do anything now. Yuh too late.” I hoped she heard the insinuation in my tone. Maybe I had failed, but she was to blame. None of this would have ever happened if Sofia had just listened to me. She was the Sorcerer General. If she had not been so blinded by process and tradition and had recognized this as the emergency situation it was, maybe we wouldn’t be standing here now. Watching the history of our people burn to the ground before our eyes.

“It can’t be gone.” She whispered. I had never heard her sound so broken, so vulnerable, as she looked out over the raging inferno. I didn’t have it in me to feel even an ounce of sympathy for her.

“It is.” I said, and I slid my ring off my finger, before pressing it into her hand, closing her fingers around it firmly. “And mi gone now too.”

Her head snapped away from the horrific scene before us, and her gaze met mine in disbelief.

“Goodbye, Sofia.” I said, allowing her to hear the blame and disappointment in my tone, before turning away and leaving her to watch The Board’s archives burn.

Raven

“Time’s up.” Rycon snarled, and I tore my gaze away from the army lined up at the border of Midasara and wished more than anything Amon was here to help guide me. He wasn’t here though, I was on my own. Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. I looked down at Zayne, where he remained kneeling before me, waiting for me to tell him he could rise. I had an ally, reluctant and petulant as he might be. He seemed to want to free his court and I doubted he wanted to watch it burn to the ground.

“Get up.” I said, and Zayne rose smoothly to his feet. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he looked out at the army in the distance. Elektraz soared high overhead, the Titan’s screech echoing throughout the distance as it circled the impending army.