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That part was true.
Evangeline Ravenshade spent an entire winter with the Scholars, learning history and science and astronomy. She’d whined for months when she’d returned, vowed to never open another book again.
“Surprisingly enough, not only are slaves not taught to ride, they are also denied schooling.” I retorted. “And what do you mean…watered down?”
“Still sticking to your story, are we?” Tavion shook his head.
“Descendants are taught they are equal to the Caladrian Fae. The Scholars reinforce this lie with a thousand years of falsehoods, while ignoring the fact that the magic in Varitus is nearly gone. But outside your borders, Descendants are little more than trash.”
Hadn’t Solok said the same? That Varitus was a dumping ground for traitors and criminals? “So Varitus was the Fae King’s prison, where he dumped the very worst of your kind to die?”
“Your kind, too, don’t forget.” Tavion’s voice took on a note of cruelty. “I thought you said you had no schooling? Another lie, little thief, and I am keeping count.”
“I never went to…an actualschool. Solok told me about Varitus, just before he killed Berenger and the other males who were…” I tugged on the stallion’s mane and he danced beneath me.
“The males who were…what?” Tavion’s voice went low, his legs tensing against mine.
“The Descendants, right before he killed them.” I didn’t ever want to think about Berenger and his friends again. They were dead. Just like I’d be if I didn’t figure things out fast.
“Is Blackcastle like Tempeste?” All I knew about Solarys and the Shadow King were some half-true stories, the same ones I’d told Ember to scare the wits out of her.
They didn’t seem so funny now.
“Blackcastle is a cesspool. Tempeste, without the pretty window dressing.” Tavion muttered. “If you thought the Citadelle was bad, you won’t last a second at the Keep.” I rolled the name around on my tongue.
“What is that?”
“The Keep is the Shadow King’s stronghold, at the center of Blackcastle.” Was it my imagination, or did Tavion’s hands tighten on the reins?
“It’s your home?”
“It was. I haven’t been there in years. I expect it’s changed, and not for the better.”
“Tell me about the Shadow King.”
“Full of questions today, aren’t we?” Tavion had stopped chuckling, in fact, dread bled from him. “Fine. The Shadow King has ruled Solarys nearly as long as the Fae King has ruled Caladrius. One is light, one is dark, and you can guess which is which.”
“The Fae King was pretty dark, if you ask me, hair color aside.” The stallion balked at going any further and up ahead, Zor stopped, lifted his hand to stop our progress, but all I saw were more trees.
The saddle creaked when Tavion shifted position, and I couldn’t help but notice how his thighs tensed against my hips. “The Shadow King is darker, Anaria. He is paying us a small fortune to retrieve you.”
“Why?” I asked softly, noting how the muscles in his forearms corded when he tugged on the reins. This was ridiculous. He hated me. And if I was losing my virginity, it most certainlywasn’tto Tavion.
“What does any of this have to do with me?”
“Because our king will pay a king’s ransom to keep that Fae bastard from ever reclaiming his power. He believes he can end this war, and he’ll lock you in his stronghold for as long as it takes for that fucker to die, even if it takes a hundred years.”
My hands slipped from the stallion’s mane; shock thrummed through me as the truth settled into me.A pawn.
I was nothing but a fucking pawn in a game between kings.
“If that’s why…”
Something darted across the path, between where Zor and the others were stopped, and where Tavion reined in the dancing stallion. I saw nothing but a blur of gray, but that brief glimpse was enough to send terror rocketing through me.
I’d never seen anything move that fast. Except for Solok.
“Solok and his guards can’t get through the ward, can they?”
