Page 81 of Shadows and Roses

She’d commanded the legions to engage, not simply defend. They were not to hold any ground they gained, but to kill, raid, and destroy was an escalation she had never wanted. Retreating back behind their borders every day did not make this any less violent.

The rescue was in motion. While she trusted Thakris’ skills, her mind wouldn't stop conjuring all the ways everything could fall apart.

Lost messengers.

Betrayal.

Accidents, stupidity.

Nadraken moved him again.

The infiltrators would be caught.

He was already dead.

Jerome's blade slipped past her guard and nearly sliced her leg. He stepped back with a scowl. "Damn it! This is why I don't spar with you. I'm supposed to protect you, not cut you up. My Queen."

She sighed. "It’s my fault. I know better than to let my mind wander. Forgive me, Jerome. But you're right, I need a break." She replaced the practice blade and stretched her tense muscles.

"How are you and Madeline?" she asked.

His expression cleared, turning a touch nervous perhaps. "Well enough, I think. She… speaks her mind."

"Good." As she should. Madeline had a quiet and gentle nature, but Anais' mother nurtured an iron spine into both of them. Survival in the court demanded nothing less.

Her captain was fidgeting uncharacteristically with his blade. She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I—ahem." He stared straight ahead. She clenched her jaw to keep her lips from curving in amusement.

"May I take an afternoon with her?" The words tumbled out of his mouth, then he went as still as a statue.

He may as well have asked to leave her service as an Escort. She took pity on him.

"Of course, Jerome. I don't need you by my side every day. Take a few days, I insist. You wouldn’t want to disappoint my best friend."

His eyes widened, then he frowned. He was a fixture at her side, only rarely absent for brieffamily visits and never for any other personal reasons. She wondered if he would actually protest the light command in her words.

"Thank you," he managed.

Good man. She thought she'd have to talk to Madeline about him for a moment there.

At least one thing was going to plan.

Chapter 22

Castien

Nadraken was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. Memory became a questionable affair, sometimes so sharp and clear that he screamed at the images in his mind, other times he forgot where he was, who he was.

He knew pain. Everything hurt, every inch of his body a dull ache even when he was left alone. It was better when he forgot. When his heart didn't ache as much as his body.

Time became even more meaningless.

Flashes, fragments of reality, memory, nightmare—he couldn't tell the difference.

Her face, though, always her face.

The Queen of Nadraken. High cheekbones, large amber eyes like pools of gold. He might find her beautiful if her lips weren't always twisted in cruel smiles and laughter. His Mistress, his lady, the center of his shattered world.

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