Page 147 of The Queen’s Shadow

“I thought you would have known, my Queen.” Kieran said calmly. “You can normally feel when the bonds have been severed. I am sorry this has come as such a shock.”

“I can feel when she severs the bonds, but she has been doing it so frequently lately I have stopped checking to see who they belong to. It’s usually low life whores. I did not expect her to be so bold as to kill a monarch.” She seethed. “Where is she now? Tell me you have succeeded in at least capturing her?”

As close to death as I was, the thought of her getting her hands on Raven made my blood boil. Raven could never come here. She could never do to Raven what she was doing to me. I would sooner die than allow that to happen.

The slavery bond caressed my darkness, as if it were mocking me.

What could you do to save her, Dark Prince? You can’t even save yourself.

“No, my Queen. She was able to escape. Her human father is not affected by The Flute, and it seems that the panther shifter she has bonded with has found a way to survive multiple shifts. Nytara and I intercepted them on their way out of Midasara, but they were able to get away.”

My heart sang with joy at this news. She was safe. She had gotten away. Had she managed to save Kasha too?

“You let her escape?!” Ash Nevra screeched, and I heard her whip crack again, but I barely felt it this time as it cut into me. I couldn’t feel much of anything anymore. I was falling into a state of numbness, and my mind was beginning to cloud.

“Heal him! You useless cow!” She snarled, I assumed she was speaking to the witch who had fled from my side when she had taken her rage out on my back. I felt the warm, soothing wash of healing magick roll over me. I wondered if the witch was too late, as another roll of darkness threatened to take over. It would be so easy to just let myself rest…

“Facing The Bone Prince was not an obstacle we expected, my Queen. And Cerenah… your sister - “

“Half-sister!” She hissed and Kieran calmly corrected himself.

“Your half-sister… She is a lightning keeper. She seemed to have had the help of a lightning Titan as well. Between the two of them, nearly all ten thousand of the soldiers we took with us were wiped out. We need more power.”

“It is your job to get me more power, Kieran. She is winning! I assume this means we also lost the chameleon? What of the shadowstone weapons?”

I smiled into the sand as the witch healed me.

Raven was fucking incredible. I was so proud of her. I once again asked the universe why it had decided to pair me with someone who deserved so much more than what I could give them.

She was winning.

My fingers twitched with the unquenchable need to run them through her dark hair. I wanted to reward her for being so strong, and so fierce. Even with my entire body broken and bloody, I craved the feel of her skin on mine, as if her touch alone would be enough to heal the damage I had endured.

“We will have another opportunity. She will not stay in The Court of Pride for long. She needs to build allies. My guess is she will head to Wrath next, considering Prince Sirocco’s son is her general.”

“I don’t want to wait for another opportunity. Burn her court to the ground.”

“My Queen, you know how difficult it is to invade Pride. The mountain range is too treacherous to move an army through effectively. It will just be another Midasara, and we will lose more troops. It would be wise to catch her when she is travelling and unprotected.

Suddenly, Ash Nevra barked at the witch who had been slowly healing my wounds.

“That’s enough!” Ash Nevra screamed abruptly, and the witch immediately pulled her healing magick away. “He’s healed enough. I want him bleeding.”

I heard her approach from behind. She kicked me in the ribs with her pointed shoe and I hissed in pain, unable to keep myself from jerking away. The movement caused sand to fly into the wounds on my back and I failed to stop myself from letting out another sharp hiss.

“Get up!” She snapped at me. Despite how weak I felt, I was forced to get to my feet. It took longer than I cared to admit, and I felt more blood slide down my back as I finally was able to stand upright.

The witch had healed me enough that I was no longer on the brink of death. However, I was still in so much pain I could barely think straight.

“Put this on.” She threw my shirt at me and I shrugged into it, fighting off the need to wince as the fabric rubbed against my raw back. She smiled at the grunt of pain that escaped my lips as she watched me do up the buttons with shaking fingers. I glanced back at Kieran, who was looking grave. Trenton had approached from where he lounged in the empty audience, watching me get flogged nearly to death as if it was his favorite pastime. Even Nytara was here, watching me quietly with dark, empty eyes.

I forced myself not to smirk at them. The last thing I needed was to be thrown back on the post, but Origin, did it feel good to know that they had failed so miserably in overtaking Raven. Ash Nevra continued to underestimate her again and again, and it was starting to negatively affect their advantage. Despite my personal feelings about Zayne, having Greed as an ally was a massive fucking win.

“I would wipe that smug look off your face, my little Shadow.” She said, stalking towards me, her anger literally heating the air around us.

“You think you’re in pain now? This was just the opening act. In a couple of hours, every single one of these seats will be filled, and you will be tonight’s entertainment.” She reached forward, curling her fingers in the front of my shirt, before yanking me closer to her. The shirt rubbed the sand that had stuck to the blood in my wounds, and it felt as if someone had scraped sandpaper over the raw, bleeding mess of my back.

“Fuck!” I snarled, and she used my outburst as an opportunity to thrust her tongue into my mouth. I contemplated biting down but figured it would be smarter to avoid pissing her off any more than she already was. I could barely stand. As good as it would have felt, the consequences wouldn’t have been worth the moment of satisfaction.