Page 47 of In The Shadows

I step carefully along the rocky bank to the gravel walkway. I allow my thoughts to wander as I make my way back to my quarters and hope tonight the nightmares of her stay away.

Chapter 11

Lily

Heat licks my cheeks as the burial pyres reach their peak of burning. The crackle of wood tears apart my heart with each snap. Four more Lux guards have been laid to rest in our soil, joining the five before them in the newly created cemetery.

We wrapped each one in the finest burial cloth of indigo, blue, and silver—custom-made by my weavers to honor the warriors' sacrifices. Knowing Lux traditions has come in handy over the past month. It would be disrespectful to bury their dead in anything other than their kingdom’s colors.

Even though they are being sent to their deaths by their king, fueled by the idea of destroying Umbra or becoming martyrs, we make sure to treat them with honor and respect. Retrieving their lifeless bodies from the haunted forest and burying them with dignity is the only thing we can do.

The wood crackles again, and I shudder. After nine burials, you’d think my nerves would get used to such sounds. The smell of burning flesh and fabric is suffocating. I hope I never get used to it. I’ll never let myself become so callous that I no longer feel pain from this.

My eyes trail along the ten headstones made from their shields and weapons. I try to swallow the lump in my throat but can’t. Tears moisten my eyes as I watch the last of the fires burn out.

Only one guard doesn’t lie with the others, Creepy Gate Guard Jonathan. Lucky for him, he made it out of the haunted forest. Unlucky for him, he sprinted right into one of the pools surrounding The Keep, thinking the Cypres couldn’t enter the water, which resulted in him being promptly eaten by a nobu. A fitting end for him to become fodder for my beasts.

I wipe away the stray tear rolling down my cheek while saying one last plea to the gods. If any of them remain, none are listening. I turn away from the pyres and head back to The Keep, my long, black dress dragging on the ground, gathering leaves and flowers as I walk. I don’t have the energy to care. All this death and no way of stopping it has worn me down.

The first group of guards entered under the guise of a meeting with King Asher. The second group, however, beat my guard unconscious to enter through our portal. But even if we wanted to prevent them from entering, we couldn’t stop them.

Leopold would view us halting them as a sign of weakness. Oren always said death is a sacrifice one must make to gain control. The greedy asshole murdered his own Amari chasing after that thirst for power.

Leopold isn’t much different from Oren. His moves are predictable, as easy to read as a children’s storybook. He’s searching for cracks in our foundation to carry out whatever ridiculous plan he conjured up in his puny little mind. What he will find is monsters lurking in the shadows, ready to unleash years of pent-up rage, finally getting revenge so richly deserved.

The sounds of gravel crunching under my boots and birds singing from the tree branches above provide a calming background for my walk back, but my mind still races.

Nyx follows a few steps behind, bow loaded and pulled tight. He has been on high alert since the Lux guards started arriving, convinced one is going to make it out of the haunted forest and attack when we least expect. But no one makes it through the trees, the Cypres make sure of it. Only those they believe are worthy survive.

The smell of burning overpowers the freshness in the air and clings to my senses and clothing. A rustling along the path has me squinting to get a better look, but Nyx steps in front of me, his bow ready to shoot.

A little, gray rabbit hops along the path perpendicular to us, and Nyx follows it with his arrow. Once it’s safely on the other side, he lowers his bow but remains on alert.

“Oh, no! Help me, great General Davey! A rabbit is plotting to kill me!” I flail my arms above my head to emphasize my placating tone.

His eyes shoot daggers at me over his shoulder.

“No one is going to attack me in my own kingdom, Nyx. You can stand down.”

As I pass, I jab him in the shoulder with my finger, which is met with rock hard muscle. Damn him and his chiseled physique. I can’t even poke him properly.

He responds with an annoyed purse of his lips and returns a jab with the end of his bow. I dart out of the way, lessening the impact, and jog ahead. I catch him throwing his head back and shaking it with irritation before racing after me.

I slow as I approach the secret entrance to The Keep. To any outsider, it looks like a mass of vines cascading down the black stone brink with varying streams of waterfalls. At a glance, one might think the rocks in the small creek that flows to the back door are spaced at random, but they actually form a path leading the way home.

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