The Shadow Prince’s Ruin (Dark Companions #2)

Chapter 38

Sylvan

I try to speak, excuse my presence in the royal bedchamber, but as soon as I open my mouth a tentacle made of shadow smacks my face. It then stuffs itself into my mouth, gagging me.

“How dare you?” comes out of Lord Kyran’s mouth in a low growl.

No matter how much I resent him, I have to admit that he is an impressive elf. Tall, wide in the shoulders, muscular, and since he’s wearing nothing but a pair of dark green silken pants, two shadow eels are visible on his pale chest, like moving tattoos. His long dark gray hair is like the waves of Grief Ocean during a storm, and I half-expect his mane to rise in the charged air.

“I’ve shown you mercy! Banishment instead of execution, and you invade my home with poison?” He points to the vial on the floor. “You are no better than a rat.”

Behind him, Luke leaves the bed. “What’s going on?” he asks, frightened. He might be much shorter than Kyran, but is still bigger than me, which fills me with frustration as I writhe in binds stronger than steel. Pale, with messy brown hair dyed green at the bottom, he is so plain he had to put a ring in his nose to feel special. And yet, unlike me, he is celebrated at court.

Luke slides his feet into a pair of slippers and rushes over to the cage where the critter that gave me away resides. It didn’t occur to me that someone would keep their pet bat in their bedroom. I loathe this creature that stood between myself and victory.

Kyran scowls and gestures toward me, as if I’m a stain on his carpet. “My wretched cousin, Sylvan, attempted to attack us in our sleep. I don’t know how he moved past the guards and sigils, but I will not just leave this!” He turns to me, and dark shadows dance in his gray eyes. “You know I have the right to kill you? The only reason you’re not dead yet is my husband’s sensibility.”

“It’s okay, Flap,” Luke says, pulling the bat out of its cage and hugging it like a child as it whimpers, pushing its ugly face against the human’s chest. In the long black nightshirt decorated with lace at the bottom, he is strangely reminiscent of a young parent tending to their child at night. The purple bat has a matching outfit.

His gaze lands on me, and even though there is no love between us, I do try to plead with my eyes. If only I can speak up before I lose my head, I’ll be able to at least try to convince them that they need to help me for their own benefit. Because I doubt they would do so out of the goodness of their hearts.

Luke glances at his husband as he strokes the bat’s fur, which peeks out from under the black costume it’s wearing. “Kyran, he looks… haggard.”

“Of course he does, my love. What else could we expect from a rat who illegally escaped banishment, murdered one of my grimsmiths, and now made an attempt on our lives?” Kyran says, pacing in front of me, as if he wants to flaunt how perfect of an example of a noble elf he is. “Perhaps you should return to bed? I will deal with him.”

Luke attempts to tidy up his brown-green hair. To no avail, as he has to hold the bat with one arm. “No, I need to know what’s going on. I know firsthand that Best Burgers Bonanza is a shitty place to work at, but is that worth dying over?”

Kyran shakes his head, and if glares could kill, I’d be dead. “Oh yes. He is that petty. He thinks that just because he found himself a powerful Dark Companion, he can come here to challenge me? Nobody can challenge me. I am the Lord of the Nocturne Court, Ruler of the Shadowild and Protector of the Nightmare Realm. I saved our shores only months back, while you ran , Sylvan.”

I mumble in denial, but it’s no use with the damn gag.

I despise Luke for the pity he exudes when he looks at me, but he is my only hope. Kyran’s so bull-headed, he’d sooner rip my head off than let me speak. So I stare at the human without blinking, and beg with my eyes. I don’t have any shame left.

Luke frowns and strokes Kyran’s arm. “Where is his Dark Companion then?”

Kyran stalls, capturing his husband’s gaze. His large, graceful hand finds the head of the bat and scratches it between the comically long ears. Doubts pass over the handsome features, but then the shadow tentacle retreats from my mouth.

“This might be your only chance to speak ever again, so answer my Companion.”

“I have found the Sunwolf Crown!” I blurt out immediately, because appealing to Kyran’s selfish interests has a chance to hook him so that I can plead my case.

Luke has no idea what this is about, but Kyran leans back, as if the beast were already coming for him. “Do you… have it?” he asks in a steady voice, then answers instead of letting me speak. “No, your Companion must have it. That was how you decided to ensure your safety in case something like this happened.”

The human pets the bat’s black wing when it whimpers again. “What is that? What crown?”

Kyran strokes his head, and I can’t help but miss Hawk’s touch when I see their easy affection. “I will explain it to you soon, my starshine. But I must know what is going on first.”

I take a deep breath. “My plans have long been thwarted, and none of them included your death. All I wanted was to return from banishment, and I thought I found a way to do so in a man with the most potent shadow I’ve ever seen. We stumbled on the Sunwolf Crown, and I wished to bring it to you as means of buying back my place at court. But in our travels through precarious swamps, my Companion put on the mask, as it was the only means to save us from death.”

Kyran blanches, and a sob tears from my throat as I think about my beloved suffering in that cold dungeon, all alone while the Sunwolf slowly takes over.

“Is he at large?” Kyran asks, keeping his voice even despite understanding the implications of such bad luck. Even the Lord of the Nocturne Court cannot be safe from the Sunwolf.

“No. I locked him away for his own safety, but you don’t understand.” I point to the vial with my chin. “That is no poison. I simply meant to put you to sleep to have more leverage when you awoke. My Dark Companion is the reason I am here. I now admit freely that I intended to steal from you. The Umlaris Band is my only hope of containing the Sunwolf within him. He isn’t feral, his soul yet survives, but I don’t know how much time we have left. And if you don’t care to help me, I beg you, save him . Put me in the dungeon, lock me away in the human realm forever, or slay me, but show him mercy.” I hang my head as tears streak down my cheeks when I think of the impossible position in which my beloved is in. “He will be a loyal servant of the Nocturne Court if only he gets a chance to keep his mind.”

My heart overflows with sadness. Grief Ocean is just beyond the window, I can hear its waves crashing against the cliffs, and I feel like I’m drowning in its depths.

My vision’s blurred with tears, but I can see Luke’s feet turning toward Kyran’s, his toes even gently stepping on his husband’s.

“Oh, that’s… soul-crushing,” Luke says. I’ve seen that fragility within him since he first appeared at court, but while it used to disgust me, right now, his support is my only chance.

“He and his family attempted to murder me,” Kyran grumbles.

“And now most of them are dead. If you save his Dark Companion, he will be forever in your debt.”

I nod, too beaten to look up. “I never cared for the scheming of my siblings, and never sought power. I know my place,” I say to appease him, but then immediately sob again, because my place is at Hawk’s side. If I don’t save him, if he perishes within the Sunwolf, there will be no place for me to call home ever again.

Kyran exhales, but when Luke all but climbs him to whisper, I know the Lord’s resolve is crumbling. Even great men have weaknesses after all.

“For him to return to Court and flaunt his Dark Companion’s shadow? Luke, he ripped Tristan’s wings off!” Kyran exclaims, but I grasp those words despite having to reveal another of my tragedies.

“He has no shadow! The Sunwolf Crown burned it out of him.” I look up, in hope that this news can sway Kyran’s mind.

He cocks his head as though I’m a curious creature from the deep sea. “You have a Dark Companion without a shadow, and still, you want him back?”

I nod, too choked up to speak. Luke gives him a meaningful glance that must have something to do with what he whispered moments ago.

Kyran sighs and approaches a bell that calls in the guards. I know, because I used to have one just like it in my own chambers. Moments later, the doors open, and the two women I noticed outside enter, both slowing down at the sight of me.

“No, I don’t know how he got past you either,” Kyran says as the guards pull me back to my feet, the shadow tentacle retreating under Kyran’s feet altogether. But then his gaze meets mine, and he shakes his head. “We will venture out at moonrise, when Prince Tristan returns with the hunting party. For now, take him to the tower.”

The two guards share an uncertain glance and one of them speaks. “Your Highness… With all respect due, I have heard of the new power Prince Sylvan possesses. Should we bring the right kind of chains first?”

Kyran shakes his head, staring me down. “That won’t be necessary. His shadowcraft is once more… insignificant.”

A cruel slap to my face, but I’ll take it and ask for another if it means I have a shot at saving Hawk. “But we will use the Umlaris Band? Or at least attempt to?”

“ I’m not stepping near the Sunwolf, but yes, I will give you that one chance.”

Kyran’s voice is filled with contempt, and I’m well aware that my actions will be scrutinized, but he’s giving me more mercy than I deserve.

Even when I’m put in chains, my heart feels a bit lighter.

“Thank you, Lord Kyran,” I bow right before he slams the door in my face.