Oath of Betrayal (The Broken Bonds: Slavic Fantasy #1)

I ndolence.

I rolled the word over my tongue with a smile as I stretched, feeling a shiver run down my spine. The luxuriously soft sheets caressed my skin as I slowly opened my eyes, only to frown at the unfamiliar surroundings; I couldn’t see much, with only a sliver of daylight escaping the heavy drapes over the windows. For a moment, I thought it must still be night, but it didn’t take long to realise it was the sombre décor of the room that darkened it.

Above my head, the ceiling was painted with a mural depicting a scene from what must be the artist’s idea of the underworld—a desolate landscape with monsters dominating the scene, their eyes replaced with gemstones that gave them an eerie semblance of life. When I turned my head to the side, I noticed black and silver curtains on the bed. They were luxurious but surprisingly lifeless, and the posts they framed were carved into strangely contorted female forms.

‘Vel be damned, the owner of this room must have a lot of nightmares sleeping here,’ I said, sitting up to lean on my elbows. In response to my outburst, a shadow rose from one of the chairs, and I instinctively reached for the aether, muttering a spell that formed a shield in front of me.