Shadow Heir

“We’re going to leave now,” said Maiwenn. “I can hold on to the spell a fair distance and will nullify it once I feel secure. If I see any sign of you following me before then, I’ll release what’s holding it back. The only good thing that will happen then is that she’ll die quickly.”

“When did you become such a monster?” I demanded. It was hard to believe she and I had once been friends and allies. “Both of you? What you’ve done is worse than anything Pagiel could have accomplished. Even if you escape today, do you really think I’m going to let you get away with this?”

“What will you do?” she asked, with an amusement that made me want to rip her hair out. “Declare war on my kingdom?”

“I certainly could,” said Dorian coldly. “You’ve killed one of my subjects within my borders. That’s certainly an act of war by most people’s standards. In fact, you sent a force of armed men on my land just hours ago.”

“Perhaps,” she agreed. “But are either of you ready to plunge yourselves into war again? None of us have the resources for that, not after the blight. And I doubt you’ll find many allies, not even from those who supported the prophecy. Pagiel thankfully hadn’t established himself enough for anyone to pursue revenge on his part.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said. Around us, the air burned with the rising storm that had responded to my emotions. “There’s one person who would do it right now.”

“Two,” said Dorian.

“Three,” gasped Jasmine.

Maiwenn smiled again. “As you wish.” She began to back up, Kiyo at her side. “Remember—any sign that we’re followed, and she dies.”

The two disappeared into the trees. I caught hold of Jasmine’s hand and gave her as reassuring a smile as I could manage. “It’ll be over soon.” I glanced up at Dorian, and my smile disappeared. “She was bluffing, right? Her range can’t be that far. We can go after her once she releases Jasmine. If she does. She’s hardly given us reason to trust her.”

Dorian brushed some hair out of his face. He looked weary. “No, but I think she’ll avoid another kill if she can. She had some brave words about how killing Pagiel was nothing, but she knows each offense carries consequences.”

“Pagiel ...” I murmured.

I looked over at where he lay near Jasmine and felt a sickening sensation in my stomach. I reached out and closed his eyes, then ran a finger over his cheek. It wasn’t fair what she’d done to him. None of this was fair. He was technically older than me in human years, but for all intents and purposes, so much younger. Young and so full of potential. He’d been thrust into a fate he hadn’t asked for, confused by what he wanted and what others expected of him. He’d been killed because of words spoken long before he was born, and now all the wonders he might have done in the world were extinguished.

Dorian slipped an arm around me and kissed the side of my head. “I know,” he said simply.

Jasmine suddenly gasped, like she’d been under water and could only now take a breath. “Shit,” she said, examining her arms and legs critically.

“Better?” I asked, brushing aside my tears. It only freed up space for more.

She nodded, but her entire face crumpled when she looked over at Pagiel. “No,” she said. “It can’t be true. Not really ...” She shook his arm, willing him to wake up, but as the truth slowly dawned on her, she burst into sobs that made my stray tears look like nothing. Moments of true affection had been rare in our relationship, but I knew then that she was young and she needed me and that I would be there for her.

I wrapped my arms around her, and she cried into my shoulder. “It’s okay,” I told her, stroking her hair. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” I didn’t really know if that was true or not. At the moment, it seemed unlikely. But as I held her, I realized I was grateful that she was alive and still in my life. Her words about “always being the hostage” echoed in my mind, and I met Dorian’s sympathetic eyes.

“My loved ones are always used against me,” I said softly. “Why?” It had been a recurring theme. Varia had used it to keep me in check in the Yew Land. Jasmine had been held hostage twice today. It was again one of those moments where I marveled that I could still control a storm above us and be so helpless in other situations, especially when it came to those I cared about.

“Because that’s what heartless people do,” Dorian said. “They prey on those who love.”

Taking Pagiel back to his family was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I couldn’t hold animosity against Ysabel and Edria, not for their bitchy personalities and not even for withholding the truth about Pagiel’s heritage. Their grief was too great, and underneath all their schemes, they were ordinary women who had loved and lost someone. I would’ve wailed and lashed out at the world too if it had been Isaac in Pagiel’s place—which it very well could have been.