Page 99 of The Shadow Prince's Ruin
Tristan shakes his head. “What’s it matter? If the Sunwolf is feral, he needs to be put down, andhewill not do that.” He points to me, and this is the one comment I can’t let go.
I may not even reach his shoulder, but Iwillstand my ground for Hawk either way. I approach and shove his chest, putting my whole shadow into the push. It might not be much, but Tristan wasn’t expecting the attack and is forced to take a step back.
“You will not touch a hair on his body! The only way you’re getting to him is through me.”
Tristan sighs theatrically, and before I can stop him, pats my cheek with his massive hand. “Go on, cousin. Get your man.”
Blood boils in my veins and only Kyran’s level stare stops me from unleashing my claws on Tristan’s mocking smile. It doesn’t matter.
As the guards part to make room for me to reach the stairs, Kyran speaks.
“Remember that you shouldn’t even be back in the Nightmare Realm. Officially, you are a fugitive with a price on your head. But collar him or kill him to get me the Sunwolf Crown, and you will have a place at my court.”
I don’t acknowledge his words, but they ring in my head like I’m inside a giant bell. I don’t want a position at the Nocturne Court if it comes at Hawk’s expense.
What matters is that I came to these ruins for Hawk and now that I’m here, nothing can stop our reunion. I sense many eyes on me as I walk up the moss-covered steps, but I hold my head high, because I shall come back out holding my Companion’s hand. The future remains murky, subject to Lord Kyran’s whims, but nothing will be impossible once I’m reunited with my love.
I’m worried about slipping and embarrassing myself in front of all the soldiers, but the burden inside doesn’t ease once I’m out of their sight, because Hawk still feels distant, even though his heartbeat has slowed to a more manageable pace.
Bats fly above my head in erratic patterns, but I pay them no mind and descend the stairs with a swamplight torch in one hand and the collar in the other. The Umlaris Band is knownfor its beauty, but while I sense the engravings on its surface with my fingertips, I only care about what it can do for my Companion. My mouth dries when I approach the circular door on the lowest level of the castle, because this is my final trial. I can put the collar on Hawk and preserve his sanity, or die, ripped to shreds by sharp teeth, my shadow devoured like a juicy delicacy.
There is no other path.
The lightheadedness I was feeling since my foot stepped inside this cold, drafty building makes my vision blur, so when I face the entrance to the dungeon, I initially don’t want to believe what I’m seeing, but dread coils inside me as the swamplight reveals the machinery I used to lock my love inside.
It is now painfully clear why I could not feel him in close proximity.
The thick vault door has been ripped off its hinges and hangs half-open.
I know what it means, but I deny it and step inside, hugging the collar to my chest.
“Hawk?” I call out into the empty dungeon, but I’m answered only by the echo of my own voice and the sound of dripping water.
Hope is still a bright presence in my heart when I approach the pool at the very back, but it dims, the closer I get.
Empty.
Hawk’s gone, and the long grooves on the door tell me he didn’t leave this place a human.
Chapter 41
Sylvan
Ididn’t spend much time in the dungeon, but every wall reminds me of the moments my beloved and I have stolen here. I should run upstairs and warn the shadow-wielders that the beast is on the loose, but my feet first take me to the pool. I dip in both my hands, hoping that some of Hawk’s essence still lingers.
But he is gone, and unless I reach him first, Kyran will have his soldiers hunt down my husband as if he’s a rabid animal.
My chest overflows with fear and grief. Soon, so do my eyes, but I cannot waste precious time feeling sorry for myself. Hawk is somewhere out there, frantic and hurting, and each passing moment lessens the chances that the man I fell in love with is still asleep somewhere within the Sunwolf.
I force my legs to move despite wishing to cry as I curl into a ball. The winding stairs make me dizzy but I speed up the closer I am to the top. My heart gallops in my chest as I think over everything I can still do to save Hawk. I don’t even know if thecollar will work, or how to approach the Sunwolf with it. I’ve had the most basic training a prince needs in hunting or riding a kelpie, but this is way beyond my skill level.
By the time I emerge from the building, I’m panting.
All eyes turn to me expectantly, because they see I’m still holding the collar.
“I… He… He’s gone,” I choke out between one breath and another, and a hum goes through the ranks. The elves have started preparing food, but my emergence makes them all still. At the bottom of the stairs, Kyran shakes his head before jogging up to join me. His features are clouded as he and Tristan stand before me, but neither of them is out of breath, as if the universe wants to show me proof of how inferior I am to them both.
“Are you certain?” Kyran asks, and Tristan unsheathes his sword, lovingly stroking the flat of its blade.
