1. Pyre and Smoke #2
It was surprising, considering the circumstances. I thought shame might keep him away.
Corbyn, my mother’s second Talon, was the only one who’d been present when she died.
And I’d spent the last week picturing every possible scenario that could have kept him from doing his duty.
Nothing I imagined made sense. He hadn’t been forthcoming with any information, and gods-damned bureaucracy kept us from questioning him.
Watching him weave through the Hersir like he had any right to be here, my mind was once again wracked by suspicion.
Bastard… the Shadow said, mirroring my own thoughts. For her part, she couldn’t remember anything from that night. One moment, she was with my mother. The next, she’d been ripped away and transferred to me. Her soul-bond of nearly fifty years was over in the blink of an eye.
I watched him as he climbed into the saddle of a brown gelding, his scarlet cloak snapping in the wind. The horse whinnied nervously and jerked its head. Perhaps the animal recognized how unnatural it was to have him mounted on its back.
It was laughable really, knowing what he was. Everyone in attendance knew, even if they were unaware of the speculation surrounding him. Why go to the trouble of putting on a show? Did he hope to shift some suspicion off himself?
As if sensing my gaze, Corbyn slowly turned, dark eyes boring into mine. I wondered if he felt my ire from here. One side of his mouth drew up higher than the other in a poorly masked sneer. At least the distaste was mutual.
“Your Majesty,” Lenn said, pulling up beside me on his handsome destrier. I shot him a look I was certain he understood, but he made no apology. I supposed I’d have to get used to the honorific whether I liked it or not.
“What is it, Thane?”
He visibly stiffened at my use of the title instead of his name. Brows drawn tight, he said, “A raven’s just arrived with a message.”
“From the Citadel?”
That didn’t make any sense. The Burning Fields were but a half day’s ride from Kjarra—we’d be home before nightfall. We had to be, for safety’s sake. Why send a message instead of waiting for our return?
“No, Your Majesty.” Lenn drew his horse closer, lowering his voice. “A… raven. From AEldin. They’re sending a delegation.”
My stomach dropped at those words.
It was unlikely anyone else heard them, not above the howling wind and the din of the crowd.
Yet I felt the weight of Corbyn’s attention on me.
I looked back at where he was seated on his horse, a midnight black bird seated upon his shoulder.
The raven quirked its head at him, ruffled its feathers, and then flew off.
And still he stared. Corbyn was far enough away that no human could possibly overhear our conversation.
But then, he wasn’t human. Not really.
“A replacement?” I questioned, never taking my eyes off the Talon with the scarlet cloak. He narrowed his eyes at me.
Lenn followed my look. “In all likelihood. There must always be two Talons, according to the treaty, and as Grantis?—”
“There should be two replacements , not one.” Yorik shifted beneath me, as if feeling the poison dripping from the statement. I knew Corbyn heard. The disdain written across his features was evidence enough.
“Not here, Asvoria.” At the use of my given name, I snapped my attention back to Lenn and his disapproving look. But there was also sadness in his eyes. My anger bubbled to the surface, threatening to split the mask I’d been wearing all day.
“And why the fuck not?” I seethed, my stallion jerking his head in earnest now. “In fact, why not remove these Shifters all together? What do I even need them for, if they couldn’t do the thing they’re tasked with? She is dead, no thanks to him.”
Lenn never got the chance to admonish me for losing control of my tongue.
The swirling of a heavy cloak and the startled whinny of a horse drew my gaze.
Corbyn strode away from his mount and the rest of the Hersir guard.
The air shimmered around him, obscuring the sky, the ground, and anyone who passed within a few feet.
It was as if a sheer, billowing curtain had been pulled around his body in an enormous sphere.
Those around him scurried away, spurred by their fear and the sudden, crushing pressure radiating off him. I understood their reaction. Any time I’d ever witnessed the Shift, I’d found myself equal parts fascinated and horrified.
Now, in light of my mother’s death, all fascination was gone.
Corbyn’s scarlet cloak rippled, turning and twisting and elongating in ways that shouldn’t have been possible.
Supple fabric melded into crimson-scaled skin and translucent membranes.
His armor shifted and pulled. Long, dark spikes took the place of hair, trailing from the crown of his head down his spine.
Black horns spiraled from his brow, twisting at least three feet out from a ridge of hard bumps over shimmering, dark gold eyes.
Four long legs, armored in scales and ending in taloned paws, dug into the hard ground as ruby red wings extended from his shoulders and spread their considerable length to the sky.
Corbyn opened his enormous mouth lined with sharp, elegantly curved teeth. Dark smoke seeped from his nostrils, making the air reek of sulfur. When he shook his body, the veil around him disappeared.
Where once a man stood upon two legs, a beast had taken his place.
As quickly as the Shift occurred, he vaulted into the sky, massive wings rushing down as powerful back legs pushed up. He circled overhead and those serpentine eyes cut a vicious look toward me. The force of his wings stirred a turbulent wind, drawing shrieks from the crowd.
My hair whipped around my face. Tendrils of white obscured my vision long enough that I lost sight of the beast. In the span of another breath, he was gone, streaking through the sky in a flash of red and disappearing beyond the hills that led back to Kjarra and the Citadel.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Outside the confines of the Citadel, witnessing a full Shift as it happened was a rare sight.
A heavy, uncomfortable weight settled in my stomach, drawing a scowl to my face.
It made my scar throb in a painful reminder of my own stupidity and the dangers of the creatures we’d allowed a place in our home.
Monsters had lived within our walls for a thousand years.
A feeble symbol of an uneasy truce bought with blood.
Their role was one of protection, against the other monsters that plagued both our peoples and anyone else who might wish the queen harm.
But what did it mean when the one they were bound to protect was slain as she slept?
One of the Talons was nothing but a mound of coal now; the other, I’d just witnessed Shift from a man to a dragon as easily as taking a breath. Where had he been as she screamed, begging for her life? Why had he not given his life as his kinsman had?
“Vor,” Lenn warned softly, seeming to sense my thoughts, “now is not the time.”
Unwelcome warmth crept up my neck. Was this rage my own?
As my heart began to race, my control slipped again.
A low, rhythmic pulse in my ears was the only warning I was about to lose hold.
The Shadow fluttered, syncopated against the pulse.
A low hiss added to the crescendo in my head.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain, drawing in a sharp breath.
Heed the old man, the Shadow said gently. Her tone gave me pause, snapping me back to myself.
Since when do you pass up an opportunity to go on a rampage?
When the need arose, my mother had always been the first to jump into the fray, using the Shadow to keep our people and our home safe.
She warned me about this strange, formless being and the power that came from her presence.
That it was intoxicating and wild and terrifying all at the same time.
Mother had been right, of course. But strangely, this rage… The need to destroy… was all mine.
“The delegation will be arriving in the morning,” Lenn continued. “I’ve not spoken with the Jarlum, but I wager they’ll call for a conclave tonight.”
My hands trembled where they still gripped the reins. I hadn’t yet met with the leaders of the four Clans. What would they make of me, now that I was Queen?
Yorik pawed nervously at the ground, jerking his head against the tension on the bit. I stared at the glossy black hair of his mane in an attempt to focus on something other than my mounting nerves.
A few moments passed before my breath evened out. The pulse in my ears grew quieter, my shoulders relaxed, and the pounding in my head faded to a dull throb.
I glanced back at Lenn where he watched me with barely concealed concern. Before he could say anything, another horse pulled up beside us. My stomach flipped when I saw its rider.
“Are you alright? What was that all about?” Lukas’s concern was more apparent than Lenn’s. His sandy hair was disheveled, pushed back from his face and sticking out at odd angles. Brown eyes narrowed and lips pressed tightly together, he started to reach out a hand to me.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I said quietly, turning away to look at my Hersir guards. At Corbyn’s display, the warrior women had fallen into protective stances. Their silver tipped spears pointed at the skies, as if a contingent of dragons was like to fall upon us at any moment.
Their captain, a woman named Neela, sent me a questioning look, and I gave her a nod. At her quiet order, the other women fell into a marching formation, ready to follow behind me in their leather armor and thick wolf furs.
The four Jarlum were already seated on their mounts, ready to depart as well. In the distance, storm clouds loomed ever closer, the threat of a blizzard and the night following close behind.
Nervousness made my voice crack. “We need to get back, as soon as possible.”
When I looked at Lukas again, his hands were in his lap and a shadow darkened his gaze. He gave a curt nod. “I’m right behind you, Your Majesty.”
Though the words were meant as a comfort, I found no solace in them. An unsettling feeling brewed in my gut. I should have said something to him, but the words wouldn’t come. After our argument this morning, I didn’t know where to begin.
I was saved when Lenn barked out his own orders to the Hersir and the Jarlum’s guards.
He pulled his destrier alongside me as Lukas fell back.
Like a well-oiled wheel, our group began to move, angling toward the road that led east. I could only pray we made it back before dark. Gods be with us if we did not.