Page 91 of The Queen’s Shadow

He was wearing a leather waistcoat and a white shirt which was rolled up over his forearms. His trousers, made of the same soft brown leather, were tailored to perfection and tucked into knee-high boots covered in straps and brass buckles. His dark brown hair fell in a mop over his hazel eyes, and his chiseled jaw was covered in dark stubble. Most noticeable, however, was the deep scar that ran diagonally across his face.

It started at the right side of his jaw, slicing across the bridge of his nose and over his left eye, before disappearing into his thick, wavy hairline. It was as if someone had attempted to cleave his entire face in half with a blade. How he had survived something like that was beyond me.

‘Fuck.’ Amon whispered in my mind. ‘I was wondering when one of them would show up.’

‘I’m assuming he has something to do with the fact that I can’t move?’ I asked darkly. I felt Amon’s metaphysical nod.

‘Zayne is an Osteomancer. His powers allow him to control bones.’

‘Zayne as in, Prince Zayne?’

‘Yes, or as he’s more commonly known, Zayne, The Bone Prince.’

Raven

Based on the lack of movement behind me, I assumed that Zayne had control over everyone else’s body as well. Frustrated that he had gotten the drop on us, I called my shadows forward and was pleasantly surprised to find I still had full control over my own powers. Unlike the magick of The Flute, Zayne’s influence did not extend to my aura.

His eyes flashed and a smile quirked on his lips as my shadows rushed forward.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He drawled, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “All it would take is a thought, and I could break the necks of everyone here.”

My shadows froze and he watched my darkness recede, before pushing off the door frame.

“I’ve been waiting for one of you to do something interesting.” He continued, stepping into the wrecked tavern. As he took in the devastated state of our surroundings, his gaze fell on what was left of Venrin.

“Ruthless.” He murmured before glancing back up at me. “This is your handiwork I presume, considering you’re here with a shifter, a human and -” his relaxed demeanor shifted the moment his eyes fell on Cerenah.

I felt his bone-chilling aura expand in anger at the sight of her, before pulling back in close to himself. His lip curled in disgust, and I felt my hackles rise.

“Well, I didn’t expect to find you here, my little Lightning Bug.” He sneered.

Cerenah’s terror was palpable. It grated across my aura and gave me an unnerving sense of déja vu. This situation was too similar to the one I had been in when I had lost Amon and Kasha. I would not lose Cerenah the same way. I would tear this entire city down before I allowed this to happen again.

Fuck this.

My midnight aura exploded around me, feeling for the marionette-like strings of power that Zayne had wrapped around my bones. My energy caught onto the threads like wildfire, traveling down them to find where he had ensnared my friends.

I ripped his power away from us as if it were made of cobwebs. The moment I had agency over my body again, I was on him. My shadows billowed around me and my blades were drawn. His eyes widened as my darkness slammed him into the wall. I was airborne and had a blade against his throat before he could react.

“Touch her and I’ll fucking gut you right here.”

He had seen what I had done to Venrin. He knew I would do it. My shadows churned around us, holding him in place against the wall. Physically, he should have been able to overpower me. He was nearly as tall as Rycon, with a similar build. His tawny forearms were corded with muscle, but when it came to raw power, there weren’t many who could come against me.

Even Ash Nevra had needed the help of The Flute to get an edge on me. I had the blood of The Origin running through my veins, it was about time I showed the world what that meant.

I glanced back at my team. Rycon hadn’t moved from where he was crouched over Raek. Jeremy had stepped in front of Cerenah and had his gun trained on Zayne, though he didn’t have a clear shot with me hovering between them.

“My lord!” Raek cried from beneath Rycon’s boot. “These are traitors to the crown! They attacked us without cause. The False Queen killed my colleague in cold blood!”

Zayne looked over my shoulder to where Raek lay, still completely at Rycon’s mercy.

Rycon huffed a laugh. “I’ll kill you as well if you don’t tell me where the chameleon is. Then I’ll kill your little fucking prince too.” He snarled, shoving the barrel of his gun into Raek’s neck, to punctuate his threat.

Zayne frowned at Rycon, seemingly unconcerned with the knife I had trained on his throat. “It’s the chameleon you’re looking for? You’re wasting your time with him then.” He said, nodding his head towards Raek. “Even if he has tickets, which I highly doubt, he won’t know the location until he’s summoned.”

I glanced back at Rycon, and from the look on his face, I knew Zayne was telling the truth.

“Bye Raek.” Rycon said before tapping the trigger to the machine gun. The daemon’s head exploded beneath a spray of bullets, and Zayne looked thoroughly unimpressed at the mist of blood and brain matter that splattered across his face.