Page 82 of Shadows and Roses

He fled into the darkness to escape her, until sleep or unconsciousness claimed him.

Sweet darkness, his only friend.

Flashes.

"The spineless bitch is attacking? Truly? Did you hear that, my darling toy?"

Faces that were not the Queen, so he did not care. They were familiar, somehow, in a way that brought intolerable pain to his heart. He shut them out.

"Castien? Oh, deargods. Can you walk? No… Jerrl! He needs—"

The ground rushed by. Too quickly. He was going somewhere? Why? Pain stirred nausea, and the world spun darker and darker.

"You must eat. Drink. Stubborn man…"

A cool, swift breeze. He was outside? He hadn’t been outside in… Time and memory fractured.

"Almost there. Hold on, my friend."

Green eyes full of tears. Why were they so familiar? How strange.

Roses.

Chapter 23

Anais

The late autumn sun was bright, the winds calm, the air cool but not too chill. The Queen turned in the menagerie, stepping toward her newly procured hawk. She’d set a guard on the bird this time. Every damned thing needed to be guarded these days.

"My Queen. A word, if I may."

Anais glanced toward that voice, changing directions and extending her fingers. "Lady Satryani. Please."

They stepped into an alcove.

The duchess settled on a bench, straight-backed and proper. "I hear we are doing well on the southern border. We should press our advantage."

Her Great-Aunt was never one for meaningless talk. It was one quality Anais appreciated. Possibly the only one.

The Queen stroked the length of her claws, one at a time. "That’s a conversation for the council, my lady."

"Is it? The path is clear. Reinforce our legions, drive into the heart of Nadraken, reunite our two nations into one."

Anais returned the lady’s hard stare. "As usual, you forget the other nations. We have already lost land to the north. If we refocus to the south, do you truly believe Delia would not also presstheiradvantage? Akerami?"

Satryani leaned back, a faint frown on her wrinkled brow. "You and your mother have always been… different. I wonder sometimes how my sister would react to the Drantar you’ve built."

"Queen Silvana knew only war and chaos. We would be no better than Nadraken if she still ruled. Do you deny the stability, wealth, and strength that we have now?"

She smiled. "Of course not, my Queen. But what purpose all of that if not to conquer? Are we not well-prepared to squash Nadraken, perhaps more?"

"Duchess." Anais’ smile was just as sharp. "If I remember my mother’s tales correctly, your fields once burnt to the ground, hmm, fifty years ago, during one of your sister’s wars. Many of your family were lost. Was it Nadraken or Akerami that managed to reach so far into our nation then?"

The duchess’ fervent love for her family was well-known. She would do anything to protect them. Yet the Gamuth family fell into the duchess’ circle three years ago, as soon as the banishment was announced. Right before her declawing, Crescelia Gamuth had been one of Satryani’s newest sycophants. Anais had no proof of her great-aunt’s involvement, nothing more than suspicion and bias.

The lady’s lips thinned. "Nadraken, as you well know."

"Yes. I understand your desire for vengeance. You will have it."

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