Page 44 of Stone Sentinels

The Unseelie guide me through the corridors silently. I resist the urge to speak to them, to try and appeal to their better nature. I know my kind. They aren’t all evil or corrupt by power like Theren and the members of the court but they’re under his orders, all the same.

Grey wood stands in stark contrast to the black marble of the walls and braziers. Beautiful ornate columns tower over everything in sight as I’m led to the throne room. I remember the glistening obsidian floors well. Deep purple curtains, in the color of the royal family, drape from the ceiling, and sitting on stone chairs is the hierarchy of the Unseelie Court. Their pale faces stare back at me as though I’m not welcome in the realm of my father.

My eyes turn to the throne of onyx, where my brother sits. Variant stands before the throne with a disgruntled look on his face.

“He will be taken to the palace and imprisoned for his actions against the crown!” the false king demands.

“No,” Theren returns.

Variant further glares at him. “Cambion may be your brother, but he’s a traitor and a thief. My people demand justice. He must answer for his crimes.”

“Cambion may be a war criminal, but he’s also a member of the royal bloodline.”

“So you’d allow him to escape punishment?” Variant presses, causing several members of the court to glare in my direction. He’s trying to turn the Unseelie against their king. He knows our politics well. “I find it hard to believe that a man of honor, such as yourself, would permit Cambion to turn his back on his people in time of need just to pursue a pointless crusade against us. Thatisn’twhat’s happening, is it?”

“No. I merely insist that he face trial in Oronrel by way of the court, not at the hands of a king who uses intimidation and the fear of death to rule his kingdom.” Theren stands up from his throne and the Unseelie kneel. Even those who sit on their chairs slide to the floor to bow before him. Variant has never been shown that sort of devotion here, and I can see the anger in his eyes.

“Cambion is my prisoner. He comes with me,” Variant insists.

I can't take it anymore. I leap toward the bastard who took everything from me, but the guards catch me. My brother orders them to remove me from the throne room until I can be taught some manners. I get thrown into the corridor. Fists rain down on me even as I’m hurled down the hall toward the dungeons once more. However, instead of taking me to Aima’s cell, like before, I’m pulled into a scarcely lit room just beside the armory. This room wasn’t here when I lived in Oronrel as a boy.

One of the guards lights the torches. Mechanisms of torture line the walls and fill the narrow space. My stomach drops. The Unseelie push me to the floor and tear my boots off before removing my clothing, one piece at a time. Bare as the day I was born, my punishment begins.

The minutes fade into hours and hours into days. Pain has always been part of my existence, but this... this is something far worse than any criminal deserves. But I must be strong.

Kolvar endured the same and he didn’t break. I won’t defile the sacrifice of my companion by being weaker than he.

When the pain begins to become something different, some form of numb escape from my own thoughts, I hear the telltale sound of Aima’s screams. They startle me back into the place where my pain is bright and it sears me to the bone.

“Call my brother in here,” I slur through bruised and battered lips. “I need to speak to him.”

The guards laugh in my face, but even so, one goes to fetch the king.

Variant accompanies Theren into the room and I see something flash in my brother’s eyes. I’m not sure what it is.

“What is it?” he asks, sounding just as menacing and impassive as before.

“Aima’s punishment... I... will take it in... her stead.”

He appears to think on this for a while. “I’ll allow it, but don’t think of this as your repentance, Brother. Your punishment is far from over.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

BARON

The Veil

The hall is empty and cold. This is the place... the place where my life ended, but my journey began. Chilling tendrils of air coil around me as I walk through the shadows of my memories. This is it... this is the last of my memories that I hadn’t been able to unlock until this moment.

The ice beneath my feet is so smooth and clear that, at first glance, it looks like marble. Steam flows steadily from my mouth as ornate columns of white tower above me, reaching high toward the lofted ceilings. The enchanted mural depicts a balance of light and shadow ruling beside one another. A rainbow of colors bleeds through the stained-glass windows, causing fractals of light to dance around the chamber as I venture deeper into the cavernous space.

My footsteps echoing between the walls, I approach the throne of ice and place my hand on the rods. It’s beautiful, but the palace hasn’t looked like this for quite some time. The door at the far end of the throne room opens and Variant walks inside, his vibrant robes billowing behind him as he marches toward the center of the chamber. Another door opens and I see myself. My eyes widen as I drink in the image of pride and arrogance that I once was.

“Where is Morrigan?” I hear myself ask. “Isn’t she interested in what you have to say about this so-called traitor in our midst?”

“Morrigan was the one who foresaw this day, not I. She’ll arrive when she intends to.”

But Variant and I are not alone... I sense another presence in the chamber with us. Not Morrigan, no—something else, something more powerful.

---