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Chapter 23
The door to Shadow’s room burst open, slamming against the wall behind it, startling us awake. Four soldiers marched in, all carrying spears.
“What’s going on?” Shadow asked, pulling me to his chest.
I gripped his waist.
Two soldiers grabbed him, dragging him from the bed naked, twisting his arm behind his back.
“Let him go!” I shouted. “We’re guests of the king.”
“Not anymore.” The dragon king’s liege slithered into the room like the slimy snake he was. His gaze traced the outline of my body beneath the sheet. “Our beloved prince Dygon was found murdered in his chambers this morning.”
Rawness curled in my gut. I had played with the princes as a child. They were daring and bold, they loved the outdoors like I did, and their pranks never ended. Dygon’s face flashed before me. Golden hair like rays of sunlight. Eyes as dark as sapphires. Cheeks permanently tinged with pink from the fire raging within his blood.
My heart wrenched for my childhood friend. “Dygon?”
The liege’s fingers steepled as he glanced around the room. “Witnesses saw a panther sneak into the prince’s chambers.”
A panther? Was the liege accusing us of murder? Had Flare’s collar malfunctioned while he’d been drunk, leaving him unable to control himself? Or had Shadow been right about the presence of another hunter?
“What?” My throat felt as if it were on fire. “We’ve been together all night. That’s not possible.”
“Both of you, you’re coming with us,” one soldier barked, shoving Shadow. “Put some pants on, and make yourself respectable first.”
Shadow growled as he quickly threw on his clothes.
An inferno raged inside my body as I got off the bed to throw on my cape.
Meanwhile, the liege shuffled around Shadow’s chambers, as if he was looking for something. Finally, he paused, and he shifted to the chest at the foot of the bed. His sickly thin fingers reached for the buckle and lifted it. Out of the chest he pulled a bloody knife. His eyes widened with pleasure.
“What have we here?” There was more than a hint of glee in his voice.
Leering like the creep he was, the liege leaned into my face, and I recoiled, gripping the mirror beneath my cape.
“You planted that weapon,” shouted Shadow.
The liege smiled like a snake about to devour its prey whole. “Take them to the king,” he ordered the soldiers. “They’re under arrest for the murder of the prince.”
My blood turned to ice. “I want a word with the king!”
Shadow jerked against the soldiers, but he was still a little weak from his infection and not strong enough to fight them both off. The liege seized my arm, yanking me forward and out of the chambers. More soldiers awaited us in the passage, hauling Flare and Phantom behind them, both in chains. The latter dropped his gaze when I emerged from Shadow’s chambers.
My heart seized. I hadn’t wanted Phantom to find out like this. Now, I might never get the chance to tell him how I felt.
“What did you do, Flare?” Shadow snarled.
“Didn’t know drinking too much of the king’s wine and having a hangover was a crime,” he said.
“Phantom?” I said, my voice panicked and wild.
He continued to stare at the wall, leaving my heart crumbling to dust.
“The only person Pup wants to kill is your friend there.” Flare grunted as we were all hauled down the passage.
“Shut the fuck up, Flare,” Shadow got out.
In the throne room, the dragon king bent over an unlit pyre, upon which lay his dead son’s body. His queen and the rest of his sons all crowded around him, glaring at us as we entered, our fiery deaths reflected in their eyes. Shock that they could believe I’d bring a murderer into their home stole away the warmth from my blood.
