Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
THE SHADOW
End of Trial Three
Walking out of the Alabastor University hockey arena, The Shadow curled his fist, furious over the spectacle that the freshly inducted head of The Guilda ordered him to watch.
To oversee. Tempering his rage was hard.
Seeing the object of his obsession, his infatuation, having her limbs stretched apart, fractured pieces of his sanity.
It was unclear if the lost bits would ever come back.
Hearing footsteps closing in behind him, he paused to turn around, baring his teeth at the form that broke through the darkness.
“Go away, Rowan. I am not in the mood for any more of your brand of arseholery tonight.”
“It had to be done, brother. You know as well as I do that forefathers would have never let your betrayal go.”
“It was under control.”
“If by control you mean that you’ve failed to collect reliable information about the woman masquerading as the Yates heir, then you’re more delusional than even The Rose is. Thinking he could slink back into town, undetected and unseen.”
“The Rose knows what’s at stake. He knows even better than me.”
The Shadow reluctantly shook his head. Backing away, he blended into the trees, thinking over the magnitude of the violence Trial Three forced upon Audrey and how she refused to bend or bow to him.
Seeing the way her eyes catalogued every piece of information, every voice and form, forcing her to play this game.
How she had clocked his missing gloves and spotted his ink…
She knows.
The Shadow’s subconscious whispered to him, trying to force upon him the truth of what that tonight would bring.
“The Little Vipera1 is strong Hunter, but you know…” The Hound’s sombre voice struck fear into The Shadow. “Neither of you is currently a match for me. There is little in this life that I have left to lose and only one soul for whom I would ever bend the knee.”
“Tell The Rose that his presence is requested. And that he should debate whether he wants to refuse me again.”
The Shadow refused to acknowledge the truth in what The Hound offered that night.
Refusing to believe that the Little Queen wouldn’t gain infamy.
Disappearing into the woods, he was met by the other two, who also had to witness the trial.
Passing by The Rose and The Sun, The Shadow whispered into the night, a warning of truth, left up to them if they would decide to listen or not.
“Audrey knows. Be ready for the fallout as she embraces the rage of a woman with nothing left to lose.”
1 Vipera (Latin): Viper