Chapter 32 #2
The ballroom was full of Azpians and… others.
There were Skrattis, pit sprites, and imps, but there were also things she had never seen before, possibly from lower realms very few would brave.
There were creatures with too many teeth to fit in their mouths, insect-like beings that crawled with multiple legs, things with antennae that waved slowly as if tasting the air, and bulbous eyes that stared at her as if she were something good to eat.
Erebus was seated on a dark throne on a dais at the far end of the ballroom. As Thea moved toward the king, hands and tentacles reached out to touch her, the creatures making strange, guttural noises. She tried not to shiver.
Conscious of the many watching eyes, she inclined her head. She felt the intensity of the king’s regard as she lifted her chin and inspected the room. “Your subjects?”
The king turned a satisfied eye on the hideous assembly. “Some of these creatures swear fealty to no one, not even the Dracu queen. They’ve come to celebrate our alliance.”
“You invited such wild creatures into your realm?”
Erebus had the air of a conqueror about him.
“They have felt the swelling of power and come to pay tribute. Fealty will be the next step. It was a boon to have the Sylvan queen’s spirit in my realm, but far greater to have the blood of Silvanus himself in the form of his daughter.
The fact that I was able to win the allegiance of my old enemy speaks to my power. ”
Before Thea could ask what he meant that her father was an old enemy, or argue his claim that he’d “won” anything, he took her hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles. A murmuring of approval from the guests made Erebus smile against her skin.
“I did not agree to be manhandled,” Thea said, tugging her hand away. She glared at him, wondering if she could make any threats that she could truthfully carry out. How much would her vow prevent her from defying him?
“This crowd enjoys theatrics,” he said, his smile cold.
Noticing heads turning, Thea looked toward the doorway.
The newcomer was hidden by two tall Skrattis, to whom he was speaking low words of greeting, but a thrill of recognition ran through Thea at the sound of his voice.
She knew him even before the crowd parted.
If she heard his voice a thousand years from now, she would know it.
Damon looked as healthy as if nothing had befallen him, as if the past hours had been a bad dream.
His skin was smooth and unmarred, his hair clean, its dark strands swept back from his forehead in a carefree way.
He wore a velvet coat of midnight with a white cravat, a diamond brooch shining under the lights, which were brighter than ever.
As he came within touching distance, he bowed low, his hair shining like the black seed pearls on Thea’s dress.
“My father and king,” he said in a deep, respectful tone. Then his eyes flicked up to meet Thea’s. He bowed to her. “First of Shadows.”
Thea frowned, disliking the sound of that but unsure she’d heard him correctly among all the din of the creatures. “What did you call me?”
“My son told me you wanted to be First Huntsman,” Erebus explained. “I hope you approve of your new title.”
Thea gripped the side of his throne, needing something to steady her.
Why would Damon tell him that? It was shared in confidence after their first kiss.
Maybe he had spoken under duress when the shadows had attacked him or when he’d been in the cave.
She tried not to blame him. But the last thing she wanted was to have a title from the shadow king, especially a perversion of the one she had tried so hard to earn in the Sylvan army.
“You are well, my son?” Erebus asked, his tone warm.
Damon’s eyes moved from his father to Thea. “All is as it should be. As it was meant to be.”
A sick feeling twisted Thea’s stomach, making her throat twitch with the urge to gag. “That’s going a bit far, don’t you think?”
The crowd had gone silent but for soft shuffling and buzzing, the creatures listening to this exchange.
“Not at all,” Damon said, his smile fixed in place. “Our realm needed someone strong to increase our power forever. Your allegiance will bring the Sylvans to our side.”
“It will not,” Thea said, wondering if he was repeating nonsense he’d heard from Erebus. “How can you say that?”
Prospect entered the ballroom, his stained fingers coming up to remove his hood. He was not as old as she’d thought, though his skin was an unhealthy gray. “First of Shadows, I had no doubt you would someday come here to free your mother.”
“In time,” Damon said, “your people will come to love my father. As everyone does in the end.” Thea’s hand ached from gripping the side of the throne. Damon couldn’t mean any of this. He was acting like he was in league with Prospect, whom he didn’t trust at all.
Damon took a step forward, a new seriousness entering his eyes. “I thank you for saving my life with your bargain, Thea. Though”—he looked at his father—“my father wouldn’t have let me die. You’ll come to understand that sometimes he does things that are painful, but ultimately for the best.”
Thea stifled a bitter laugh. If this was a performance for the king’s benefit, perhaps she should go along with it. But part of her was starting to doubt. Her eyes roved over his face for some sign of truth. This had to be a ruse, a trick to put his father off-balance, or to protect her.
King Erebus leaned on his elbow, bending toward Thea as if delivering an aside.
“Though I was wroth to hear that my son did not tell me when you first came to my realm, I believe his claim that he wanted to assess your strength before presenting you to me on your ninth night. And now, knowing your stubborn nature, I must allow if it weren’t for his persistence, it’s possible you would have never come. ”
Thea couldn’t believe this. If she’d known her mother was trapped here, she would have come sooner. But Damon had clearly sold his father a story to appease his temper.
Erebus turned back to Damon, speaking louder. “My son, ask for a boon, and it’s yours.”
Thea’s heart did a double beat, and her breath caught in her chest. Would he ask for her freedom?
“Anything?” Damon asked, his posture straightening, the relaxed air leaving him suddenly. The tension in his body and the look in his eyes spoke of terror and hope.
Erebus waved a hand impatiently.
Thea waited, her breath shallow, unable to hide her hope as her eyes met Damon’s.
He took a deep, audible breath, and his eyes shifted away from hers.
“Father, I have a confession. My mother did not die as you once thought. I have kept Azra here, hidden and safe until the day when you would reward me by granting my greatest wish. And that is to lift the curse that binds my mother to this realm. I want the spell that keeps her in this place to be lifted.”
Shock hit Thea like a blow. He hadn’t been thinking of her at all.
The reality hollowed out her stomach. Numbness came to her rescue, and suddenly it seemed as if she were observing a scene entirely separate from herself.
She watched Damon’s hands shake, knowing he was risking everything.
Despite her tumultuous emotions, her stomach clenched, imagining what Erebus would do.
Tension built in the silence. Erebus’s frown acted on the shadows like an oncoming storm, making them spread out like dark clouds over the ballroom. “You’ve done what?”
Damon straightened. “Strike me down if you wish. But if you want to reward me, let my mother leave this realm, and me along with her. You don’t need me now that you have your First of Shadows. Then all will be even between us.”
Thea’s heart jerked painfully. And me along with her! He meant to leave, too? As the pieces fit together in Thea’s mind, she tried not to scream her disbelief. Damon was framing it like a trade: her freedom for his mother’s. Had he planned this all along?
Erebus seemed to ponder his son’s request. A profound hush had fallen over the guests.
One small creature tittered, the laugh perversely loud in the stillness.
Erebus turned his head to look at Thea. She had the sense he was measuring her value to him and weighing it against the urge to kill his son for his betrayal.
At that moment, she almost wished for the latter.
“What do you think, my First? Should we allow it?” His eyes were sharp on her, as if he actually cared how she answered.
He was giving her the choice?
She could say no. She could crush Damon’s hopes the way he’d crushed hers, cause him unbearable pain in revenge for what she’d have to face in her future. But all she could think was that she knew what it was like to have a mother trapped in the shadow realm.
“Set his mother free,” she said, hating that her voice shook with the pain of betrayal.
Damon gave her a look so warm with gratitude, it almost broke her down. She had to turn her head away to protect herself. He might have wounded her, but she didn’t need to let him see where she bled.
Erebus stared at Damon so long, Thea wondered if he might ignore her advice and kill his son. But his rage seemed to evaporate, and his tone dripped contempt. “I don’t need you anymore, Damon. I never did. Take your mother and go.”
Damon bowed his head. “Father. Thank you.”
Thea heard the relief in his voice. Stark relief when he had traded her freedom for his mother’s.
When he had lied to her and made her care for him, more than she’d even realized until this moment.
As the heat of shame crept up her throat, he raised his head and boldly met her eyes. “Goodbye, my First.”
“I am not your anything,” Thea spat, taking a shuddering breath before launching another attack. “I hope your mother enjoys her freedom, knowing it was bought at my expense.”
“I won’t tell her,” he said, his eyes somber. “She has always been unable to bear the suffering of others.”
Thea’s heart felt as if it were being clutched in a gauntleted fist. Damon didn’t seem to spare a thought for her suffering. It took a moment to speak past that tightness. “Unlike her son.”
Damon’s eyelids fluttered, and she wondered if she’d hit a vulnerable spot even his shadows couldn’t protect. “It seems I am my father’s son, after all.”
“That’s a choice,” she shot back. “You’re choosing that path, Damon.”
The blankness in his expression chilled her. “It’s the path my feet know best.”
As he turned away, she closed her eyes. She would not watch him leave. There was a shuffling sound as creatures moved aside for his departure. At the last moment, she opened her eyes, helpless against the promise of a final glimpse.
He was already lost in shadows.