Page 160 of The Queen’s Shadow

I entered the stadium, and the roar of the crowd was so loud the ground shook. The stands were filled with thousands of daemons, and I could barely see them beyond the blaring white lights that lit the stadium.

Trenton’s voice boomed through the space as I entered.

“Here he is! The daemon of the hour!” He bellowed, and the crowd went wild. The audience began to shower me with roses as the slavery bond forced me to step deeper into the ring. My boots flattened the red flowers into the sand as I walked. In parallel, I worked to crush the piece of my soul that made me decent. I might survive this If I could kill the part of me that felt empathy, and kindness.

My eyes adjusted to the lights and I could make out Ash Nevra, Kieran and Trenton, where they sat ringside. All three of them were watching me with evil smirks on their faces. I didn’t feel angry. I didn’t feel desperate, sad or guilty. I didn’t feel anything, anymore. I couldn’t afford to.

Nytara came to stand next to me. Together, we stared at the evil queen and her disciples before she turned to face me. Her dark gaze fell to the triquetra around my neck, and I knew what was coming before Trenton announced it to the audience.

“Now, The Siren will remove the Shadow’s triquetra, so that the False Queen may enjoy the show as well!” Trenton’s voice echoed through the chamber and the crowd roared again in excitement.

I felt numb. There was nothing I could do to stop this. I was going to torture and kill innocent daemons, and my mate was going to watch me do it. I had truly hoped she would never see me like this. I had stupidly believed I would be able to hide this side of myself from her, and she would never see me for what I truly was. I should have known Ash Nevra would never allow that to happen.

“I am sorry, Prince Amon.” Nytara said, as she reached forward, and gently unclasped the triquetra from around my neck. I stared at her for a moment, and she held my gaze. I realized I believed her. She truly was sorry.

“I forgive you.” I told her quietly, echoing the last words her brother had said to her, before Ash Nevra had forced her to slit his throat in front of her dark court. For a moment, The Siren allowed me to see true pain in her eyes, before leaving me alone in the center of the arena.

Raven

Rycon and Meredith stayed back with Kasha while the rest of us went to the Restructium Shoppe to see Kael. I shadow walked our group and we materialized on the bustling mountain village street. The storefront was bright and cheery and directly contrasted with my foul mood.

I met Kael’s eyes as soon as we entered, to find that I wasn’t the only one in less than high spirits. She looked pale and there were dark bags under her eyes.

“Still nothing from Sabel?” I asked with concern. Kael shook her head. She reached under the counter and pulled out two bundles wrapped in lamb skin and handed them to Dossidian.

“Your sabers.” She said. Dossidian took them from her, unwrapping them with a pleased look on his face. The wickedly curved blades were now coated in the midnight black shadowstone and seemed to eat up the air around them. Kael grinned at Dossidian’s clear approval of her work before she leaned down again and pulled out a large black box.

“I have also been working on a new restructium suit for Kasha. I assumed she would need one. They likely pawned hers off.” Kael said gruffly, and Dossidian took the box from her gratefully, before magicking it away. I assumed to the palace.

“You always think of everything, Kael.” Dossidian smiled at her, and Kael chuckled.

“It was Sabel’s idea.” She said fondly. I didn’t miss how her brow creased with worry, at the mention of her mate.

I wanted to ask Kael about her inability to track Sabel through the trace, but her eyes fell on Prince Zayne and Cerenah and she didn’t give me the opportunity to speak. She bowed respectfully, dropping her gaze to the floor, and I scowled at Zayne as he looked down at her.

“Prince Zayne. Welcome to my humble shop.” She greeted him, and he looked down his nose at her.

“You may rise.” He said lazily, and the entitlement that dripped from his tone made me scowl. He was such an asshole.

“I have some options for you and Cerenah in the back.” Kael said, leading us to the forge. Conrad and Jeremy looked around with interest. I realized neither of them had been to the shop before and they both examined Kael’s work while the restructium smith showed the team the shadowstone options.

Jeremy looked at all the options with interest but refused to take one.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with it.” He said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can’t really feel the auras you guys always talk about.”

I nodded. That made sense. I doubted he would be able to use it to sever a bond if he couldn’t sense magick at all.

Dossidian chose a delicate knife for Meredith. It was a pretty weapon, with vines cast in the hilt that dripped down onto the blade. I debated choosing a weapon for Kasha, but decided she could choose one for herself when she returned from Olkuyrbe.

I wasn’t sure what kind of blade she would prefer and wanted to allow her to make that choice for herself. It felt symbolic, and important, that she be the one to choose a weapon that would sever slavery bonds.

Zayne, predictably, gravitated toward a shadowstone sword. It reminded me of Bond Breaker, and my heart cracked in my chest. Looking closer at his choice, I took in the inlaid skull in the pommel, and bit back a snort. Of course, The Bone Prince would choose a sword with a skull on it.

Cerenah, to my surprise, chose a sword as well. Hers was slimmer, but no less deadly. It had a large citrine stone set into the crossbar, and it seemed to hum with power in her hand.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, peeking over her shoulder at it. She smiled down at the blade and rolled her wrist, cutting it expertly through the air before her.

“Ash Nevra’s father, King Aiko, used to teach us how to spar.” She looked sad for a moment. “He was not perfect, but he was kind to me, despite knowing I was not his blood.” She told me softly. Zayne smirked at Cerenah, and I waited for him to say something cruel, but he didn’t.