Page 46 of Shadowbound

I put my arms around her frail shoulders and hug her gently. Inside I feel like my heart is breaking. I never should have left her! But I was so close to death after Kraven’s attack, I barely got away. I hate to admit cowardice, but I haven’t felt able to come back until now.

“It’s good to see you again,” I say to her.

She smiles at me and I see the ghost of the ruler she once was. But then her eyes stray back to the silver glass clutched in her bony hands.

“It’s good to see you too, but I mustn’t talk for long—I can’t miss what happens next,” she tells me. “Duke told Sylvia that he loves her but she’s married to his half-brother, Alex. And then their stepmother found out and?—”

She’s already putting the Glass to her eye again and I see that I’m losing her attention.

“No, wait!” I beg. “Please, my Queen—put it down for just a little while. Let us go walk in the Royal Gardens as we used to do and catch up. After all, I haven’t seen you in three long years!”

“But my stories!” she protests, her grip tightening on the Glass until her bony knuckles turn white. “I cannot miss them! How will I know what happens if I look away?”

“These stories are about people you’ve never met—you don’t know them. Why should you care about their lives?” I ask her. “You have a country to run, my Queen. Your people miss you.”

“Don’t listen to her, Your Majesty! Attend to your stories—you don’t want to miss a single moment.”

The smooth, purring voice behind me sends an icy finger down my spine. I whirl around to see Kraven standing there. He’s as handsome as ever—his long black beard braided with a Cord of Persuasion—a magical artifact which makes the speech of the one who wears it sweet and believable. It makes everyone who hears his words agree with him—everyone but me, that is. After what he tried to do to me, I’m immune to his wiles.

I feel a sick mixture of emotions wash over me—fear, rage, betrayal, disgust. He used me to get close to the Queen—he swore his love before the Royal Court in a public ceremony and then he tried to take my power—to Drain me of both my magic and my blood.

I hate him with my whole heart.

“Kraven,” I say, lifting my chin. “I see you’re still here.”

“Why of course, my love,” he says smoothly. “Where else would I be? I’m the Royal Sorcerer now, after all.”

I suck in a breath. This is the worst news I could hear. To know that Kraven—who was nothing but a minor Noble before his Blood-Oath with me elevated him to the topmost ranks of the High Born—is now the Queen’s closest advisor and by extension, the one closest to the Throne should anything happen to her… No, it’s too much.

“You bastard!” I say in a low voice. “How did you insinuate yourself into the Queen’s good graces?” But I already know the answer—it was Kraven who gifted the Glass of Distraction to the Queen in the first place. He must have done it on purpose—knowing that she would get addicted and leave the running of the Court to him.

I remember how he presented the Glass to her.

“Just a charming little bauble I happened to find during my research, Your Majesty,” he’d said, handing it over on a velvet cushion. “A toy really, but I thought you might find some amusement in it.”

“You did this,” I say to him now, pointing at the Queen. “You gave her an artifact you knew would drive her mad so you could rule the Court and the country in her name!”

“Careful, my love.” His purring voice is filled with menace now. “Don’t you know it’s a grave offense to speak slightingly to the Royal Sorcerer? I could have you thrown into the dungeons for those insulting accusations.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” I shoot back. “Or maybe you would—you’ve already proved how shameless you are!”

“Ah yes, well—one does what one must.” A slow smile curves the corners of his mouth. “How are you feeling, my darling Blood-Partner? You looked a bit pale and peaked the last time we were together.”

“Because of what you did!” I accuse him. “And look what you’ve done to the Queen! Just look at her—she’s near to Fading!”

Indeed, my old friend looks almost translucent to me—the moonbeams coming from the skylights above seem to almost shine through her frail frame.

“Her Majesty is perfectly fine and quite content to follow her ‘stories’ I assure you,” Kraven says coolly. “You, on the other hand, are about to face judgment for your ridiculous accusations!”

He takes a step towards me, his hands raised when Alaric is suddenly between us.

“You’re not touching a hair on Sylvanna’s head,” he growls, glaring down at Kraven, who’s a head shorter than my tall Paladin.

“My, my—aren’t you a large specimen of a DayBorn,” Kraven remarks, sounding amused. “Wherever did my ex-Blood-Partner find you, barbarian?”

“It doesn’t matter where she found me—what matters is you’re going to find your fucking self on the floor if you take one more step in my Mistress’s direction,” Alaric growls.

I’m close enough to feel the Celestial Fire rising in my Paladin’s blood—the air around him fairly crackles with power and his eyes…his eyes have flames in them again. They don’t look human anymore—not a bit.

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