Page 57 of Crown of Briars
I scrutinized him. His dark eyes were full of caution and concern. His expression was taut, as if he were restraining himself.
Restraining from doing what?
“Can you be more specific?” I asked. “How does my blood affect the shadows?”
“You recall how I told you that the presence of humans keeps the poisonous shadows at bay?”
“Yes.”
“The deadly shadows are called Necro Shadows. They are lethal even to my kind. Over the years, we have tried many things to prevent them from spreading. The Umbra Mist is channeled from the earth, but it is only effective at night.”
“Except for in my court,” I blurted without thinking.
Varius blinked at me. “What?”
“There was Umbra Mist surrounding the carriage whenClermont arrived,” I said, vividly remembering the way it had surrounded the carriage like smoke. “It was daytime.”
“Ah, yes. We have discovered that certain toxins in the Necro Shadows are drawn out by sunlight. These specific toxins chase away the Umbra Mist. But since the Necro Shadows are only confined to the Shadow Court, the Umbra Mist is free to roam during the daytime in the Earthen Court.”
I fell silent, frowning as I processed this. The Necro Shadows hadn’t reached my court…yet.But once they did, the Umbra Mist wouldn’t be able to help anyone. Not during the day.
Varius went on, “As I was saying, we have tried many things. The Umbra Mist helps, and the Lumen from my own shadow magic is also a deterrent. But the only thing that seems to truly push the shadows back is human blood.”
I blinked, finally registering that he had conveniently kept this tidbit to himself when he’d explained why my presence was necessary. Not once did he mention it requiredblood.
Then again, we had only just met. I couldn’t blame him for it.
Even now, we were still essentially strangers… despite how much more comfortable I felt in his presence.
“How much blood?” I asked.
Varius rubbed his wrists and lowered his gaze. “Tonight, I only need a vial. Tislora will use it to make an elixir. With her magic, it will push back the shadows.”
“Tonight,” I repeated. “But you will need more later?”
He grimaced. “I am not sure. It’s likely I will need more later, but I will always ask first. I willnevertake your blood without your permission. I swear it.”
This did not assure me in the slightest. I swallowed hard, my fear rising up in place of my curiosity. Would he drain me of all my blood? Was this how the previous human brides died?
“Why will you need more, if my blood will help push theshadows back?” I asked, fingering one of the gold-trimmed curtains to distract myself from the growing terror inside me.
“It is only temporary. Eventually, the shadows creep forward again. But this will buy us enough time to evacuate the people in the lower towns.”
My gaze snapped to his. “The shadows have reached the villages?”
He nodded, his mouth set in a thin line.
“And… the shadows are toxic to your people as well?”
Again, he nodded. “Depending on how concentrated the shadows are, they can… leave a certain mark.” He slid down the collar of his shirt, exposing his left shoulder.
My breath caught in my throat. A black scorch mark marred his crimson skin, with jagged lines protruding from it like a spiderweb.
“Most of the shadows are poisonous when inhaled,” Varius continued, rolling his tunic back into place. “But when they gather enough strength, sometimes they can burn. I barely escaped with my life.”
Stones.My pulse quickened, and I found myself staring at that spot on his shoulder, even though it was now covered. I had assumed that, as shadow fae, they were immune—particularly the king. But the unseelie fae were just as helpless as my own people. I remembered the horror of seeing the shadows creep toward the border of the Earthen Court. The soldiers at the border had been killed by getting too close.
I couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to have the shadows overtake my own city, destroying my people.
