Everything about Ryder looks intimidating as his shadows crawl along the ground around him. This is not the man who teases me when we’re alone or shares pieces of his childhood with the girl from the Sector. This version of him is the one people fear. The dark prince everyone steers clear of. The man who can kill with the simple flick of his wrist. The warrior who can take on three Lybrates and live to tell the tale. The man who rules the Shadow Lands as his own kingdom.
The deadly Cimmerian men stare daggers at one another as the tension between the two suffocates the room.
“It’s over, Father,” Ryder warns in a low voice.
“My foolish boy,” the king growls as he takes a step down the dais. “You’ve picked a fight you cannot win.”
Something about the king’s threat sends my body moving forward into the open space between them. It’s as if the entire room gasps in unison when I remove the crimson hood. I don’t have to see Ryder’s face to know he’s fuming at my disobedience, but he’s not the Cimmerian I’m here for.
“Your king seeks power over your well-being,” I begin without breaking eye contact with the man who has taken everything from me. “He has manipulated all of you into submission. Those who die of hunger and illness have done so at his hand. He wants you to believe he has given you what is his, but instead he has only taken what is yours.”
“Unlike my father, I believe you should have a choice in how you live.” I notice Ryder step beside me out of the corner of my eye, but I remain focused on his father, who now has his own shadows stirring beneath him. “We won’t make you join our cause. If you wish to support my father, that is your choice to make. Just know that there is a better future waiting for you, should you come with me.”
Low murmurs fill the silence as people try to make sense of everything. Heads snap between the prince and the king, unsure of whom to trust.
The seconds slowly tick by, and I feel heat already rising to my fingertips in preparation for what is to come next. I take one last deep breath in before the army of Royal Guards and luminaries breaks through the double doors behind us, igniting an explosion of chaos.
One of Ryder’s ribbons of shadow wraps around me, pulling me out of the way as the rest of them clash against the king’s. Once I have a fireball in the palm of my hand, the shadow recoils back to the middle of the room.
Two armed guards are already headed for me when Roman and Jace appear out of nowhere, cutting them off.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” a man’s voice lectures as one of my fireballs collides with an earth Elemental Sphere aimed for my head.
I turn to find Artemus pulling his sword out of a guard’s chest a couple of feet away.
“Actually, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be,” I say, releasing one of my daggers. Artemus watches it land in the middle of a guard’s forehead before turning back to me.
“That’s my girl.” He tosses me a wink before moving deeper into the storm of violence.
When I pull my dagger from the guard’s face, guilt clutches at my heart. I’ve never killed anyone before, and although I’ve mentally prepared myself for this moment, I realize now there is no amount of preparation that could make taking a life any easier.
There’s no time for me to dwell on it, though. A fae is already barreling into me, knocking me to the ground. I struggle for breath as he pins me, but before I can even come up with a plan of attack, a wolf shapeshifter’s jaw clenches down on the fae’s wing, dragging it off into the crowd.
I quickly get to my feet but freeze when our eyes meet. The room around us seems to fade away as we look at one another, waiting for the other one to make the first move. Damien tosses a dagger at my head, missing me by less than an inch. Shock and anger flare as I reach for my own dagger, sending it flying.Someone I don’t recognize steps into its path and takes the fatal blow instead.
By the time I reach for another dagger, Damien has already disappeared into the madness. I turn around to check my surroundings and I notice a Royal Guard with a dagger sticking out of his heart. My pulse quickens as I reach down and pull it out. The dagger now lying in my palm is one I know by memory. My thumb runs over the round gem that resembles the familiar golden eyes.
Damien wasn’t aiming for me. He was aiming for the guard.
“Reign, look out!”
A spear of ice impales a woman just behind me, and I whirl around to see Khione.
“Thanks for the backup.”
“Keep your head on a swivel,” she advises before drawing her attention to a chimera headed her way.
Bodies drop and blades clash as I make my way to where the king stood when this all started. One by one, I take on each of my opponents using what I’ve learned over the past two years. When one guard raises his sword to me, I cut through it with my sword of flames. I had only conjured it twice before coming here, but this time it almost took no thought to form.
As I approach the dais steps, disappointment sinks in when I don’t see any trace of the king. I quickly search the surrounding area, but both Cimmerian men are nowhere to be found.
They must’ve taken their fight elsewhere.
I slink into the shadows near the back of the room, trying to buy myself time to assess the situation before me. This isn’t what I came here for. I don’t care about the guards or luminaries that think they’ve chosen the right side. I came here for the man who sentenced my father to the Shadow Lands, who kept medicine from my dying mother, who killed Meekaand Agatha, who held me captive for two months. My business is with him, not here in this room.
It takes me all of five seconds to make my decision. I keep to the shadows as I creep along the edge of the room, making my way to the large open doors. Luckily, no one seems to notice when I slip out of the room and into the hall.
Once I make it far enough away, and I’m confident no one has followed me, I turn down a narrow corridor. It only leads to a dead end, but I decide to stay here until I can figure out my next move.
