Page 58 of A Fury Of Shadows

“I’m much better, thank you,” he replied, his voice composed.

Vedran closed the distance to him, his intense gaze never wavering. Nikolai couldn’t help but feel like an insect being carefully dissected under his scrutiny. He realized he did feel something in his father’s presence then.

Dread.

“Come, join us for dinner.” Vedran laid a hand on his shoulder, unaware of the ice forming in the pit of Nikolai’s stomach. “It won’t do you any good brooding in the shadows, my son.”

A denial tore through Nikolai’s mind. The same denial he’d screamed in his nightmare.

I am not your son!

He bit the inside of his cheek and squashed the protest bubbling up his throat. He glanced at Rose’s figure where she lurked in the background.

“The demon is joining us for dinner?”

Barquiel did not respond to his taunt. If anything, he was watching Nikolai with the same intensity as the Sorcerer King, as if he were attempting to unravel a puzzle he could not decipher.

“Yes,” Vedran said. “So is your brother.”

A pain that was new and yet terrifyingly familiar seared Nikolai’s back at his words, nearly robbing him of breath. His fingers clenched on his knees as he buried a gasp.

Alastair pressed against him, body shivering slightly.

How could I not remember my scar?!

The old wound burned his back, the puckered length of skin throbbing angrily as it crossed his spine. It took everything he had to maintain a neutral expression as he rose and accompanied the Sorcerer King and the demon.

It was as if his body were intent on punishing him for everything he had forgotten.

Or been made to forget.

That notion made his shoulders knot.

To his surprise, Vedran led them to his private quarters. It was an area of the castle no one was allowed access to bar his personal attendants and Barquiel. By the time they reached it, the stinging on Nikolai’s flesh had faded to a dull ache.

Though larger, the suite was just as austere as his and Oscar’s accommodations. A dining table with candelabras had been set up by a pair of French doors overlooking a terrace. Beyond it, mountains rose like soldiers against a darkening horizon.

A man and two women dressed in the livery of the Sorcerer King’s retainers stood beside the serving carts next to the table.

The light from the candles cast eldritch shadows on Oscar’s pale face where he was already seated at the table. He raised the glass of wine he had just been served to his lips, only to falter when he saw them.

CHAPTER22

Nikolai suppressedan instinctive shudder of distaste when he met his brother’s pale gaze.

“It’s good to see you up and about,” he greeted Oscar calmly as he made his way to the table with Rose and the Sorcerer King.

A muscle twitched in Oscar’s cheek. He forced a smile. “Likewise.”

Nikolai caught the faint frown Vedran flashed at Oscar. He took the seat his father indicated, his senses on alert. Alastair straightened on his shoulder, just as vigilant.

One of the servants uncorked a bottle and poured him some wine.

“It’s your favorite,” Vedran said when Nikolai looked quizzically at the half-empty bottle on the table. “It shouldn’t interfere with the medication you took earlier.”

Nikolai’s stomach tightened.So he knows I’ve been up for a few hours.

He reached for the glass. His fingers stilled fractionally on the stem before closing around it.

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