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He sheathed his swords with chains, and flashed from the room.
Tehdra travelled with the shadows to the bath chambers. She did not linger, but bathed with swiftness and dressed in a simple caftan. She did not wait on the servants to aid her. Drac was at the castle. She stretched her senses, reaching along their pathway to find him.
Drac
I am here.
Are you still inside castle Shelah?
You have mated the king of Nuria…
She sighed. Like you, I had no want of mate, nothing to distract me from protecting Gidon and our realm.
And now?
She swallowed. Yawning emptiness if he is not with me.
How has the king reacted to your claim?
I sense no revulsion or fear. But he is the king of one of the greatest kingdoms of Amagarie. I am only a Darkan. One without wealth or noble blood. It is impossible for us to be together.
She closed her eyes, hating the truth of her assessment.
My mate is a princess, heir to another throne and we are lovers despite the odds. King Ajali drank the elixir and bared his throat to you at the risk of his life. That is not the action of the disinterested, or of a man who would not fight for you.
Hope stirred in her breast.
The doors opened and servants entered, bearing several platters of food.
/> You are right, my brother. The king and I have much to discuss. The horror the summoned beast did to his kingdom must be atoned for. Who sent them? The puppeteer is safe as Ajali will first condemn the perpetrators, Drac.
Only the most powerful of their kind was able to summon their beast to a corporeal form. How had the Darkan done it? Darkans with their summoned beasts killed hundreds. But it was strange. He was weak. In fighting me, he should have directed all his fury on me, but he focused on Ajali. The assassin also came right before the sun sank, at a time when my essence was effectively buried, yet I defeated him. For a Darkan that is weaker, how was he able to summon his beast before the sun sank? And Drac? There were two beasts, but one Darkan.
That means one of the Darkan remained hidden.
Yes.
Tehdra ate in silence as they strategically dissected all they knew. She remembered Acheron’s words and his surety a witch worked in the background. Witches were sensed on the battlefield, and it was the witch who made the command for the head of the Nurian king. Her throat tightened. Was it possible they had been controlled?
Her brother remained silent for long minutes. The idea of anyone possessing the power to harness the will of their people was terrifying.
I leave for our kingdom. Gidon must be made aware. We must uncover how this ties in to the plot to remove our king from his throne. The betrayer is confident, Tehdra. He sends loyal Darkans to do his bidding, and they comply knowing that he is not their king.
You return now?
Now. My princess believes the high chancellor is in imminent danger of having a heart attack if we do not leave soon, and blame will rest at my feet.
Kings speed, Drac.
She raised the fork to her lips, halting as her vision blurred. The fork clattered from her hands to the dining table. Numbness slowly enveloped her body, her mind muddling. The thundering of her heart roared in her head. She glanced at the plate where the food she’d just eaten converted to worms.
She hallucinated. Poison? Tehdra tried to inhale. There was no beast to assist her, no heightened sense of smell. Its quintessence buried.
The shadows were discordant and twisted in murky confusion.
Darkans?
She spun, trying to twist with speed to counteract their movements and could only stumble in confusion as her mind clouded, rendering her open to their attacks. Two bodies flanked hers. Darkness covered them as they moved with her into the shadows, whisking her away from Nuria.
