Page 161 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

By the time she headbutted him back onto the ground, an entire crowd had gathered, cheering her on.

But Mal was not paying attention to them. Her eyes found Ash, watching her from amidst the onlookers, his lips curled into the faintest of smiles. And she felt it—the weight of his pride, heavy and all-encompassing, wrapping around her like something tangible, something real. It was an intoxicating feeling. To be looked at like that, to be cherished in such a way.

He was light. And she—she was something darker, something woven from the shadows he had unknowingly begun to chase away.

None of the drakonians watching seemed to care that she fought like one of their own. Perhaps they had grown used to the strange ways of the wyverians, or perhaps they simply did not care what their future queen did—so long as their own women did not follow suit.

A shadow cut across the courtyard, and Mal’s gaze snapped upward just in time to see Kage’s bird circling above. Its caw echoed like an omen, a warning.

The distraction cost her.

Hagan’s elbow slammed into her chin, sending her stumbling backward. She turned, searching, her eyes locking onto the archway where Kage stood, his face carved into something unreadable. A shiver danced along her spine. She had seen that look before.

It made her nervous.

The moment of hesitation was enough. Hagan’s sword was at her throat before she could fully regain her stance, the steel pressing against her skin just enough to draw a single ink stained bead of blood.

‘You ought to yield, your highness,’ he said, his voice laced with quiet amusement.

Mal tilted her head ever so slightly, letting the blade graze her skin a fraction deeper. A single trickle of black slid down the curve of her throat.

‘Perhapsyouought to yield, guard.’

She arched an eyebrow, glancing downward.

Hagan followed her gaze—his breath hitching the moment he realised what he had failed to notice.

The small dagger she kept hidden beneath her skirts was now pressed precariously close to his cock.

He swallowed hard.

Something shadowed in his brown eyes—something Mal couldn’t quite place. But before she could analyse it further, it was gone, replaced by an easy laugh as he stepped back, bowing deeply.

‘You fought well, as usual, your highness,’ he said, but there was something else beneath the words. Something unspoken.

Mal only nodded in return, offering a small bow before turning away, her steps carrying her towards her brother.

She ignored the weight of Ash’s gaze lingering on her back, the silent question woven into the way he watched her—wondering why, after everything, she was not in his arms.

‘We need to talk,’ Kage said, his head dipping low, his lips grazing the shell of her ear as he whispered, ‘Wren had a vision.’

A cold breath of foreboding curled around Mal’s spine, but she nodded, following her brother through the dimly litcorridors of the castle. He did not lead her towards his chambers as she had expected but instead guided her towards the small courtyard she recognised as the place where she had first spoken to the queen alone.

The scent of roses lingered thick in the warm air, their petals fully unfurled, burning crimson beneath the dying light. She ran her fingers absentmindedly over the silken blossoms as they passed, finding herself distracted by their beauty despite the weight that pressed against her chest.

‘Kage, where are we going?’ she asked, but he did not answer. Instead, he led her to a door—one carved from dark, ancient wood, hidden within the castle’s labyrinthine depths. Mal knew what lay beyond it. The tunnels beneath the keep. Darkness greeted them as they stepped inside, thick and consuming, but to wyverians, the abyss was a welcome companion. They did not fear the silence of the deep nor the shadows that clung to their skin like whispers of forgotten gods.

They walked deeper, their footfalls echoing against the blood-red stone walls. And then, just before they reached the winding caverns that led to the dragon dens below, Kage stopped.

‘Wren saw what would happen if the curse is not broken,’ he said, voice low, barely above a whisper, as if speaking it too loudly might make it real. ‘We will all fall into an eternal sleep. Every last one of us.’ He turned to her then, and though she could not see his face fully in the darkness, she felt the weight of his gaze, of his certainty, settle upon her like a storm about to break.

‘All except for one,’ he finished. ‘Your husband.’

‘But why him?’ she rasped. ‘Why would the rest of the world fade into silence while he remains—’ Her throat closed around the thought, her lips pressing together to keep them fromtrembling. ‘So, if I stab Ash, I break the curse but condemn him to death. If I do nothing, the curse falls upon us all, and he will wander the ruins of the world alone.’

Kage inclined his head, the movement slow, almost sorrowful.

‘I can’t…’

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