Page 129 of The Queen’s Shadow

Kasha made a sniffing sound and buried deeper into Rycon’s chest. I watched as his entire focus shifted from me, back to her. His pupils dilated at the sound, and he cuddled her closer. Something was different.

I reached forward to get Kasha’s attention, but Rycon took a step back, his lip curling in a violent snarl. I blinked. It took a moment for me to realize that he was snarling at me.

“Rycon,” I frowned, “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Of course she’s not okay!” He snapped, though I knew the rage wasn’t meant for me. “I need to get her out of here. She needs a healer.”

I felt my frown deepen, but I just nodded. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” I said, and his eyes softened. He glanced around us, eyes scanning the ruined brothel, before giving me one of the most serious looks I had ever seen on his face.

“Burn it the fuck down.” He growled, before turning on his heel and carrying Kasha out into the night.

Cerenah

“Surely we need to free more than this,” I frowned, eyeing the thirty-six soldiers Zayne had lined up before me. After Raven left with Rycon and Jeremy, Zayne had taken me to the wall that bordered the city. He had shown me an entrance that led to the interior of the thick sandstone wall.

The wall that surrounded Midasara was more than just a toll barrier. It also acted as a defense against enemy invasions and had not been breached in over a thousand years. Hidden within the wall were several battlements that could be armed by members of The Court of Greed’s army. There were small, subtle slots carved into the wall in these spaces where defensive magick could be cast onto invading forces. Magickal wards and shields prevented outside threats from flying over the wall, while also preventing citizens and visitors from escaping. The only way in or out of the city was through the front gate.

The interior of the wall was so spacious, that it felt more like a fort. There were hallways, stairs and dugouts for soldiers and guards that led to each of the battlements. Zayne had taken me through several of these internal hallways until we came to stand in one of the battlements built next to the front gate of the city. The entrance that Raven, Rycon and Jeremy and I had paid to come through one short week ago.

“There are thirty-six battlements, each only needs a single daemon to man it.” Zayne explained, his tone impatient. “We don’t have time to free more.”

His soldiers were trained well, and they did not flinch at the way he discussed their impending freedom so callously before them. I knew if I had been in their position, it would have been difficult not to react. When Raven had told me she was going to free me, I remembered feeling as if I might faint from shock.

“I don’t know why I expected you to make an effort to do more than the bare minimum for your people.” I spat, electricity sparking at my fingertips. I almost immediately regretted my words, as Zayne cut a deadly look in my direction.

Before I knew what was happening, my entire skeleton locked up and he threw me against the wall. Suddenly he was touching me, and I shuddered in fear and revulsion. His hand ran up the back of my neck, and his fingers curled in my hair as he sneered so close to my mouth I could almost taste the kiss of mint on his breath.

“You have no idea what I have sacrificed for my people. What I have sacrificed for you.” He snarled, his scarred nose brushing against mine. I was frozen in terror and shock. Even if he did not have me completely at his mercy and pinned with his magick, I wouldn’t have been able to move. He had come at me so swiftly and so viciously. His touch triggered a flurry of unwanted memories and dark moments that I had been forced to share with him when he had more or less owned me.

“Now, stop arguing with me and free these soldiers, so that we can eliminate the immediate threat. Then, we can free the rest of my court.” He glanced down at my mouth, and I closed my eyes and held my breath, waiting for him to force himself on me, as he had countless times before.

Instead, he let out an exasperated burst of air and threw himself away from me.

“Stop cowering, Cerenah.” He snapped. “You’re a lightning keeper. Act like it.” He released his magick’s hold on me, and I was able to step away from the wall, unable to stop the slight tremor in my hands.

He was right. His osteomancy did not affect my powers. I could have electrocuted him for trapping me like that, but I had frozen and reflexively fallen back into the role of helpless victim.

“You first!” Zayne ordered one of the guards forward before coming to stand next to me. After feeling his hands on me, his proximity made me uncomfortable. I eyed The Bone Prince and tried to stop myself from shaking. Every fiber of my being told me to take a step away from him, but I forced myself to stay and hold my head up high.

The guard was tall and stocky. He had a military haircut and dark brown eyes that I knew had seen too much. I wondered briefly what horrific things he had been forced to do during his sentence. Just because he didn’t serve as a sex slave, didn’t mean he hadn’t suffered in other ways. We were all at Ash Nevra’s mercy, in one form or another.

“This might hurt a little.” I warned the guard. He just cocked his head to the side, clearly confused as to why I had bothered to warn him at all. We had all just come to expect pain. Even small examples of kindness were alien and new.

Sighing, I reached out with my aura and hooked it through the guard’s slavery bond, passing Raven’s blade through the chain of magick making a quick, clean cut. I braced myself immediately for the explosion of energy that I knew would be released, and I felt Zayne do the same next to me.

The guard’s eyes widened, and a gasp escaped his mouth as he fell to his knees before me. I remembered that feeling. The feeling of being able to stretch and use limbs that had been cramped and confined in a tight prison for far too long. He was looking at me as if I were an angel sent to earth and my chest clenched at the sight of the tears that welled in his eyes.

Zayne’s aura roiled ominously next to me as the guard crawled forward, reaching out a hand as if he were aching to pull me into an embrace. He needed to hold someone, the way I had, when I had been freed.

“Thank you…” he whispered as he came forward, when suddenly, Zayne’s aura lashed out and snapped onto the guard, tearing him off the ground and tossing him away from me. He held the guard against the far wall with his magick, his face tight with fury.

“Did I say you could touch her?” He snarled, stepping toward the guard who was looking at The Bone Prince with a horrified expression on his face.

“My Prince, no. I am sorry. I just wasn’t expecting…”

“Shut up. I don’t have time for your pathetic excuses. How can I trust you to man your battlements when you’ve just displayed such weakness?”

“Zayne.” I warned, but he ignored me, stepping closer to the daemon.