Page 84 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

I’m horrified at the very prospect. “Wait, I’ll go with you,” I tell him as he turns to make his way into the main chamber.

“Go where?” The prince’s broken voice sounds from the bed.

I’m not sure if going to the dungeons and seeing Greythorne and his gang of killers is the best thing for him right now, but I don’t have the heart to tell him another falsehood. I’m done keeping the truth from him. “Something woke Aaran and I, a presence, and we’re going to check on Greythorne and the other prisoners.”

He’s off the bed in an instant. “I’m coming with you,” he declares. “I want that blackhearted knave to tell me himself that my brother paid him to kill my family.”

I nod my agreement even though I’m aware this could end with the prince running Greythorne through with his sword. However, this is something I can’t deny him.

When we enter the main chamber, Barra is standing by the fire. “Count me in,” he announces as he strides across the room. I grab a lantern and lead the way, a feeling of dread suddenly weighing me down as I move through the shadows.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The moment I see the first body lying bloodied on the ground, I know Greythorne and his collaborators are gone. Aaran, Barra, the prince and I push further into the gloom of the dungeons and find all six of the jailers dead and the head of the chief jailer impaled on a spear that has been driven into the dungeon floor. This is alarming enough in itself, but what really catches my attention and gives me cause for concern is a strange symbol seared into his forehead. It consists of a circle with a half circle sitting on top of it and what looks like an arrow or spear protruding from the bottom left side.

I’ve never seen such a symbol before, but it causes a ripple of fear to run through me and I feel a chill in my blood. A dark energy radiates from it, and an image of a powerful, horned beast brandishing a spear and glaring at me with his fathomless eyes flashes into my mind. The feeling of dread I’ve had since leaving my chamber intensifies and a wave of nausea moves through me.

Aaran quickly peers into the shadows of each of the cells to see if any prisoners remain and Barra and the prince check to see if any of the jailers are still breathing. They aren’t, and the prince clenches his fists and utters a curse in Bawnish before noticing how I am transfixed by the head on the spear.

“Elinor,” he asks, “what is it? What causes you to pay such attention to the unfortunate soul’s head?”

I can’t find the appropriate words to reply and simply point to the poor man’s forehead. By this time the prince and Barra are standing beside me.

“By the gods,” the prince whispers as a look of concern passes between him and Barra. I’m about to ask what it means when Aaran approaches and, spotting the symbol, declares, “We must get Queen Elinor out of here now.”

He moves behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Come, My Queen,” he commands, “we need to get you to safety.” The prince and Barra raise their swords and fall into a tight guard formation in front of me. They all start walking but my mind and feet haven’t caught up with their sense of danger and I don’t move. This results in me feeling the hard planes of Aaran’s body along my own as he collides with me. His arm immediately comes around me to prevent me from falling.

“Elinor,” he whispers into my ear, “we must go now.” His voice is rough with frustration. The prince and Barra turn to see what’s happening.

“Elinor, what is it?” the prince demands. “We must go now. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that if Aaran says there is a threat, then it’s time to go.” He extends his hand for me to take it.

“What does the symbol mean?” I ask, my voice shaky but determined.

The prince’s hand falls away as he lets out a resigned sigh. He knows I’m not going anywhere until I know what that symbol represents.

“We know it as the symbol of Jawal, you probably have a different name for it here, possibly the symbol of the Dark Lord. It represents evil and power and its presence here is meant as a warning.” He pauses and extends his hand to me again. “It looks like Greythorne and his shit-eating friends have a powerful ally and might be part of a bigger threat. So, please, take my hand, Elinor, and let us get you to safety.”

I place my hand in his and the four of us move swiftly back to my chambers.

Chapter Thirty

I immediately summon Kes and then the captain of the guard before standing in front of the fire to try to ward off the chill that has taken up residence in my bones. The prince pours some whiskey and Aaran comes and stands beside me, the red and orange of the flames reflected in his crystalline eyes.

“I ask that this time you won’t deny me what I need to do,” he says in a soft but steely voice. I close my eyes, knowing what he is going to say.

“I’m leaving immediately, Elinor,” he whispers, as his fingers brush lightly against my own and I feel a pang of fear and longing move through me. I don’t want him to leave but I instinctively know there is no stopping him. I turn to look at him, my eyes saying all that my mouth can’t. He looks away for a fleeting second and then turns back to face me and I can see him steeling himself with fresh resolve.

“The bodies in the dungeon were still warm and Greystone’s scent is on the wind,” he declares. “If I leave now, I will pick up their trail with ease.”

His words strike fear into my heart. He, the prince and Barra have come to mean so much to me that I’d be heartbroken if anything happened to any of them, and the sense of connection and destiny I share with Aaran is something I can’t deny.

“What will you do when you find them?” I ask, as I desperately try to keep the tremble of fear from my voice. “They are too many for you to handle on your own.”

He gives me a small smile. “I don’t plan on killing them just yet. However, there is more going on here than we know. I sense dark forces at work, and I intend to track them and discover who helped them escape and who else is part of all this.”

The prince comes up beside me and places a glass of whiskey into my hand. “You look like you could do with this, Elinor,” he declares.

I nod and gratefully accept the glass as Barra comes back into the room. He’d insisted on doing a quick check of my chambers to make sure nobody had snuck in when we were out.

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