Page 39 of Song of the Shadow Prince
After crossingthe island and traveling past its many guards in the daytime, I realized how heavily guarded Damien was. The island was small, but there were no less than a hundred guards surrounding the area. It seemed excessive. I wondered what exactly the third prince did to warrant such intensive security.
Royal Prince Bai led the way to a small wooden rowboat waiting for us on the shore. He handed a guard three gold leaves as payment before we climbed in. The guard pushed us into the water and we were off.
Royal Prince Bai rowed toward the mainland, which was five, maybe six miles away. If it had been me rowing this dingy little boat, I’d be tired as hell by the time we reached the mainland.
Salt-tinged air gusted, driving the waves against the hull with each pull of the oars. Water droplets splashed my face, but I ignored them as I scrutinized the prince in front of me.
“You couldn’t tell one of those guards to row us to the mainland?” I looked at the old man skeptically. “You gotta be in your eighties.”
He guffawed. “Eighties? Child, I’m pushing a thousand.”
I choked on a cough. “What?” I shrieked. “I think I misheard or misunderstood you; I’m talking about yourage.”
“As am I.” He smirked. “We dragons live long lives compared to humans, Lady Arya.”
I gulped. “I can see that.” Leaning back against the hull, I sized him up and down. “Your Highness looks very good for his, uh… age,” I said with a toothy smile.
He peered over at me and grinned. “What about you, Lady Arya? How old are you?”
My eyes widened. I didn’t know how old Arya was; I never bothered to ask. I knew I – Cat –was twenty-seven, but I had no clue if Arya and I were the same age. I assumed so, but you know what they say about assumptions... Besides that, she and Gianna were still unmarried, and during this archaic time period, girls were married young. By that rationale, she was probably younger than me. I straightened and smirked. “Your Highness, isn’t it improper to ask a lady her age?” I said with a quirked brow. “Just know I am of marriageable age, but I’m not looking.”
“Oh?” He raised a bushy white brow. “Interesting,” he mused knowingly.
I wondered if there was something he knew about Arya that I didn’t…. Damn, I hated being in the dark. I needed Maeve, but as recent events had shown, even Maeve didn’t know everything about Arya.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s interesting,” I mumbled. “But I’ve always thought the life of a spinster suited me best.” I grinned awkwardly, knowing damn well I was ruining this girl’s future. Frankly, she needed it. No man in his right mind would want to marry this she-devil.
The Prince laughed. “Well, I hope you were sincere about keeping Damien’s secret, Lady Arya. His life would be at risk if you didn’t.”
He continued to row in silence, but I was bursting at the seams with questions. Huddling closer within my cloak against the chilly air, I leaned forward. “What is his problem, anyway? I thought the dragons were a big deal around here? Why does he have to hide?”
An annoyed flicker passed across his face before he shook his head and sighed. “You probably forgot the story due to your accident.”
“Nothing like getting the information straight from the horse’s mouth!” I said with a smirk.
He sighed and continued to row. “My brother… the emperor, is married to many women with whom he has many children.”
“Okay… Elaria’s version of Nick Cannon,” I mumbled, but he ignored me.
“However, the emperor had a favorite among his women… which was the empress. She was Damien’s mother,” he said, lost in the memory. “They loved each other fiercely. So much so that for a long time, the emperor didn’t visit any of his other consorts and spent all his free time with the empress. She wasfertile, and gave birth to the first, second, and third princes in quick succession. But her pregnancy with the third prince was difficult,” he whispered.
I didn’t like where this story was headed. “What happened?”
He winced. “It was a complicated pregnancy. She was confined to bed rest for most of it because she hemorrhaged during the first five months. We didn’t understand what went wrong. The emperor hired every doctor from humans to witches, even bringing on the fae to cure her, but no one could discern her ailment.”
He rowed in silence for several minutes. I looked out into the distance and saw the mainland getting closer.
“When she went into labor, it was brutal. She didn’t last very long. She gave her life in exchange for Damien’s,” he whispered. “And in doing so… she damned him.”
I frowned. “How?”
“Because to the emperor, there was no bigger crime than to kill one’s own kin.” The prince’s eyes met mine. “As soon as Damien was born, he was exiled to the island of Obsidian Reach. When he came of age at twenty and was about to complete his first shift into his dragon form, his father came to see him for the first time since his birth. However, the only reason the emperor came was to extract Damien’s dragon bones so he could never become a dragon.”
Indignant, I exploded, “Talk about father of the year. That’s horrible! It’s not like it was Damien’s fault that his mother died!”
The prince nodded knowingly. “Many others know that, Lady Arya. But the emperor still grieves the one he loves and can’t seem to forgive his son for his part.”
I scoffed and looked away. “If I was Damien,Iwouldn’t forgivehim. Fuck that.” I turned back to look at Royal Prince Bai, who tried to bite down on a smile. “So, I’m guessing Damiengot his bones back when he wasn’t supposed to?” His uncle nodded. “Good for him. I hope the emperor—”
