Page 134 of Crown of Storm and Silence
"Lord Kaan, please consider?—"
"I said no." My shadows surge toward her, stopping just short of her throat. "My wife will not be monitored like some experiment. My child will not be studied like a specimen. They are under my protection, and that is absolute."
General Altin, who has been silent since I revealed my conquests, finally speaks. "Then you leave us no choice. If you won't see reason?—"
"Reason?" I laugh again, darker this time. "You invaded my territory during my wedding. You demand my wife and unborn child. You speak of reason while plotting kidnapping and possibly murder. The only reason I haven't killed everyone in this tent is that I'm enjoying watching you realize how thoroughly you've lost."
"We haven't lost," he insists, though his voice lacks conviction. "The Light Court's full might?—"
"Will shatter against my shadows," I finish. "I am the son of Erlik himself. I have walked in darkness for 856 years. I've studied magics that would drive you mad to glimpse. And you think your pretty light magic frightens me?"
To emphasize my point, I let my true power unfurl—not just shadows, but the deep, primordial darkness I learned in the depths of Karanlik. The tent disintegrates around us, simply ceasing to exist. The sun above dims as my power reaches toward it, and for a moment, day becomes night.
"This is what you're threatening," I say softly, as they cower before the display. "This is what protects my wife and child. Consider carefully if you want to test it further."
That's when the pain hits.
It crashes through the bond like lightning made of terror and agony. Nesilhan's fear floods my senses—not the ordinary concern of pregnancy or palace intrigue, but pure, desperate terror that makes every protective instinct I possess scream in alarm.
Kaan!Her mental voice is high with panic.Something's wrong! Someone's here—the baby!
The images that flood through our connection make my blood freeze. Nesilhan backing away from a figure, her handspressed protectively to her belly while golden light flickers weakly around her. Dark stone walls frame the scene but I can't place where she is—only that she's somewhere inside, somewhere that should be safe. The intruder moves with predatory grace, their face obscured by swirling shadows and light that shouldn't exist together.
I'm coming,I send back, already dissolving into shadow.Hold on, beloved. Whatever's happening, hold on.
"It seems your summit was even more poorly timed than I thought," I snarl at General Altin. "If anything happens to my wife while I'm dealing with your stupidity?—"
"We don't know what you're?—"
"SILENCE!" The word carries enough power to drive them all to their knees. "This meeting is over. If you're wise, you'll retreat to your borders and pray I'm too busy to pursue you. If you're foolish enough to remain..."
I don't finish the threat. I'm already racing through shadow toward home, toward Nesilhan, while her terror continues to pour through our bond. The attack is happening now—someone is threatening my pregnant wife in what should be the most secure part of my realm.
And when I find them, whoever they are, I'm going to make today's killings look like mercy.
45
The Betrayal's Blade
Nesilhan
The library'safternoon light filters through crystal windows in patterns that should be soothing, but something cold has been growing in my chest since Kaan left for the neutral territories. Through our bond, I can feel him, his patience fraying like rope under strain as he deals with whatever demands they're making, but it's not his anger that unsettles me.
It's the silence.
For the past hour, as I've been researching additional prophecy texts that Banu insisted we examine together, my friend has grown increasingly quiet. Gone is her usual stream of commentary, her irreverent observations about ancient seers and their dramatic writing styles. Instead, she sits across from me with an intensity I've never seen before, her green eyes fixed on passages about binding rituals and blood magic as if they hold secrets meant only for her.
From her position by the window, Elcin shifts slightly, her hand never straying far from her sword hilt. She's been my constant shadow since Kaan left, taking her protection dutiesseriously despite her occasional dry observations about being "the realm's most overqualified babysitter."
"Banu," I say carefully, noting how still she's become. "Are you feeling all right? You seem... different."
"Just concentrating," she replies without looking up from the ancient tome spread between us. "These passages about the darkest hour—there's something here we're missing. Something important about timing."
Her voice carries the same musical quality it always has, but underneath it, I catch something that makes my magical senses prickle with unease. A discordant note, like a familiar song played slightly off-key.
"Perhaps we should take a break," Elcin suggests from her post. "You've both been at this for hours. Even prophecies need proper digestion time."
"No," Banu says quickly—too quickly. "We're close to understanding something crucial."
