Page 65 of Shadowbound

I don’t trust these men, I think—especially not the one on the throne. He reminds me of Kraven somehow. Of course, they look nothing alike but there’s an air about the GodKing—a feeling that he’s hungry for power and has been for his whole life. I get the feeling he’d do anything to get it and to keep it and I can’t forget what Kraven said about the quest for The Heart being a pretext to get rid of Alaric altogether.

But my Paladin doesn’t want to believe such things about his ruler. He loves the GodKing almost as much as I love my Queen and of course, his loyalty is beyond reproach. He will serve the old man on the golden throne no matter what the GodKing orders him to do. His whole identity is tied up in being a Holy Warrior who does his liege lord’s bidding.

So I simply wait and watch, allowing Alaric to do the talking.

“Do you really have The Heart of the Eclipse?” the GodKing asks skeptically. “And who is this NightBorn witch you brought with you?” he adds, glaring at me.

“That is no witch—she is the Lady Sylvanna,” Alaric tells him, frowning. “She helped me in the quest for The Heart. Without her, I never would have been able to get to it.”

The GodKing’s councilors seem surprised by this. They murmur among themselves and stare at me speculatively.

But the GodKing clearly doesn’t like it. He makes a sour face and stares at me distrustfully for a long moment before turning his attention back to Alaric.

“Well, if you’ve really got The Heart then bring it here, boy! Bring it here!”

Alaric ascends the steps to the golden throne, carrying the small chest. Only with the help of his Drake could he lift such a heavy treasure, but he makes it look easy.

He opens the chest and holds it out to the GodKing, who reaches for it eagerly, a greedy light in his pale blue eyes.

“Be careful, my Lord!” Alaric sounds uneasy. “Don’t try to lift it—it’s much too heavy.”

“Nonsense, boy! It’s mine—I’ll lift it if I wish!”

The GodKing grabs for The Heart and I hold my breath, wondering what it will choose to do with him. Some magical artifacts have a mind of their own and it’s impossible to predict how they’ll react to different people.

But when he touches it…nothing happens. It doesn’t glow any brighter—indeed, it almost seems to dim a bit. But other than that, nothing. Well, other than the fact that the GodKing clearly cannot lift it, which is no surprise. The fact that it doesn’t seem to be reacting to him at all, however, is.

I stare at the scene, perplexed and I can see that Alaric is watching anxiously—no doubt wondering if The Heart can give his liege lord back his youth, as it did to my Queen.

I have my doubts about that—the Queen’s youth was stolen by magic and The Heart merely restored it when it helped break her addiction. With the GodKing, I have no doubt that his life has already been magically extended so there is nothing to restore—his youth was spent in the greedy pursuit of wealth and power and it’s gone now, lost in the annals of time.

“What’s wrong with the blasted thing?” the GodKing demands, at last giving up his attempt to lift it from its chest. “Why is it so damn heavy?”

“That’s just the way it is—part of its magic,” Alaric explains. “Only I can lift it, my Lord. I’m very sorry.”

“Only you, eh?” The GodKing gives him a suspicious look.

“Yes, but I brought it to you as you asked,” Alaric reminds him. “The prophecy promises The Heart will make all things right,” he adds.

“Yes, indeed. So it does.” The GodKing’s expression changes to one of crafty greed. “Which means I can finally destroy our enemies! Nocturna shall be no more!”

“Nocturna is not our enemy,” Alaric corrects him, frowning. “They are our neighbor. And they used to be our most valuable trading partner before you decided to go to war with them.”

“What’s that? How dare you speak to your GodKing in that way, boy?” the old man demands, glaring up at Alaric. “Just for that, I’ll start with the witch!”

He slaps his hand down on the glittering surface of The Heart and points his other hand at me.

“Heart, kill the witch!” he commands. “Let her be the first of her kind to die! And after that, I want you to destroy all of Nocturna!”

“No!” Alaric jerks the chest away, his eyes wide with shock. “No, you can’t kill her! I love her!”

I move not an inch—I am not worried. I’ve touched The Heart of the Eclipse and it knows my inner heart. It won’t kill me.

And indeed, nothing happens.

The GodKing scowls and glares up at Alaric.

“What’s this useless trinket you’ve brought me, then? It can’t be The Heart of the Eclipse—it refuses to do my bidding!”

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