Chapter 18 Cloudy Gray Skies
Cloudy Gray Skies
Cora
“Fuck,” I muttered beneath my breath. A sense of dread washed over me as my heart rate increased and my gaze took in the scene around me, spotting him almost immediately.
“So what is it tonight?” he asked as his gaze looked out over the snowy landscape. He never sounded angry to be stuck in my nightmares. It always felt as if he were just along for the ride, taking notes and making observations. This should’ve put me at ease, but it just set me on edge.
“You know, if we leave, I’m sure there’s a jester or something in the castle we can watch until this is over. Or maybe we can do the field thing again. The snow has lost its appeal.” I shrugged and began walking back towards the castle.
“That just makes me want to stay more,” he chuckled and sat down on a stone bench in the middle of the courtyard.
My throat felt tight as I stared at him, trying to think of how to explain that this was the last place I wanted to be right now, but he didn’t budge. Letting out a slow breath, I walked back, sitting next to him on the icy bench, and waited.
“So no hints?”
“It was a long time ago. I fear I don’t remember much of it.”
He stared down at me, his eyebrows creased and lips pursed. He wasn’t buying anything I was spouting and I couldn’t find it in my bones to care.
We sat in silence as the pretty young vampire walked through the snow. Her long dark hair in braids with gold ribbons tied throughout. A deep blue dress clung to her small frame. She looked like a doll—a perfect doll who hadn’t seen nearly the amount of chaos and death that I had yet.
“Is that…” Cedar whispered. I didn’t speak, I just nodded.
The little girl walked through the light dusting of snow, her eyes up on the dark sky as the flurries fell in small clumps, sprinkling into her hair like glitter.
A small smile lit up her face, and it only grew as he walked out, a smile I thought of as kind then, even when my magic whispered differently.
“There you are, little diamond. What are you doing out here?” he asked as he slid his hand into hers.
She shrugged. “I wanted to see the snow up close before the sun rose and we were trapped inside.”
They sat on the bench opposite of us, quiet while the snow fell and the sky began to change colors.
“Cora, I wanted to talk to you about something. It’s about your sister.” His voice sounded so kind and full of compassion right now, but it was still wrong. She looked up into his eyes, forever the quiet daughter, eager to please. “You two have been here for a while now,” he began, and she smiled.
“Almost two years,” she added, her voice still chipper and full of wonder.
He nodded. “Yes. Your sister has seen over twenty winters now and I think… I think I love her, Cora. Do you understand? I wish for her to love me the same, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me?”
Her dark eyes lit up in a way they didn’t anymore. A way that meant excitement and wonder in the world. Something she was still able to find after she buried the memories of her parents' deaths deep in her own subconscious.
“What can I do?” she asked.
The smile that lit up his face spoke of everything I didn’t know then.
The fact that he would use me to unintentionally guilt my sister into accepting whatever he asked of her.
Years of keeping me out of harm's way while he pampered me like a long-lost uncle would. He made me think we were friends, that he loved me and cared for me. That he loved Silv, but he didn’t. Not the way he should have.
I stopped listening then, forcing my feet up as I walked away, leaving Cedar there to watch whatever else happened after this. Living it once was enough, and having the endless nightmares about agreeing to help him manipulate my sister was too much for me.
So I walked away, eager for this dream sequence to end.
We’d been traveling for two nights now, but I wasn’t going to be the one to complain over it.
This was the most of Kostbare I’d ever seen in all my years alive, and the Court of Shadows was unlike anywhere I’d ever been prior.
There was the obvious—the lack of snow and wind.
Then there were the other little things.
For starters, the moment we crossed into the Court of Shadows and rode through the cobblestoned streets of these little towns, people didn’t seem to even notice us.
No one cowered or rushed their children off the streets.
No, they just seemed to go on about their day as if everything was normal.
Just a male, myself, and a bird going on a trip.
There were humans and vampires alike, walking through the pathways, and they seemed… peaceful.
Cedar circled overhead every once in a while before he’d swoop down and land on Raiden’s shoulder, as if he were some sort of pet, like Keres had snidely remarked so many times.
I found I didn’t understand the relationship between the two of them, but I found myself wanting to.
Mumbled words from up front would float back along the wind as we went, and I knew they were talking, I just wasn’t sure what it was about.
I’d spent years upon years poring over maps, thinking of places I’d never have a chance to see as we rode through one of the very towns I’d always wanted to walk within.
Darkmoor, the capital of the Court of Shadows, and where my sister now lived with her mate.
The stone buildings towered overhead, some felt as if they’d touch the cloudy gray skies above if they were any taller.
We didn’t have buildings like this in the Court of Ice.
In fact, Keres had a set law that nothing was to even remotely resemble his palace.
Not in height, color, anything of the sort. He wanted to stand out and be known.
Like the kings of old.
However, as we rolled through the streets and I allowed myself to breathe in the muggy, wet air, and my eyes to run over all the different colors, I realized that everything fit. Nothing was more or less stunning than the next. It didn’t feel as if everyone was trying to outdo anyone else.
We came to what I assumed to be the edge of town given the increase in foliage, when Raiden climbed off his horse, handing the reins to one of the guards standing beside the stone column where a small bridge began and emerged into a light dusting of fog.
The guard was dressed in simple black leather pants and a black short-sleeved tunic.
His belt and boots matched perfectly in shade, and no sigils decorated any of their clothing.
From their stance and the way their eyes scanned the streets behind their ruler, I knew that's exactly what they were—the history books hadn’t lied. The Shadow Brigade was actually real.
They were the most ruthless, powerful army in all of Kostbare.
It was said that you wouldn’t be accepted unless you had some sort of magic that meant almost instant death for your opponent, or you had some sort of Fates-given talent with a blade.
They were one of the top reasons Keres hadn’t tried invading Raiden’s court himself, like he’d done with the Court of Wolves.
“Cora?” I flinched slightly before I could stop myself and looked down to see the Shadow Lord himself peering up at me, his hands up in a clear motion to show he meant me no harm. “Do you need help getting down?”
Swallowing roughly, I nodded. “Yes, please,” I replied quietly. A squawk from above us had me rolling my eyes as I took Raiden’s offered hand and slowly climbed down off the horse. Pulling my hand back to myself, I stared up at the castle in front of us.
It was a massive stone building with tall, pointed spires, endless wild roses and ivy, stained glass windows, and an air about it that spoke of menace but somehow felt welcoming all the same.
I found myself following Raiden across the small stone bridge before I could even second-guess it, Cedar swooping above as if he were on guard duty.
As another set of guards opened the double set of thick wooden doors, welcoming us inside, I found myself in awe of the dark stone and endless ornate decor. Dark rugs, candlelight, and painted murals greeted me and I couldn’t help the sense of peace that washed over me.
“Micah, would you please show Cora up to her room and then meet us back in my office? We have a great deal to go over.” I forced my gaze away from the home itself and upon the members of his court that had joined us.
Raiden ran his hands down his face, the exhaustion clear in his features as the tall male with sandy blond hair nodded his way.
“Of course, Raiden. Any preference on which room?” the one I assumed to be Micah asked.
I watched as Raiden’s dark gaze settled on me for mere moments before he spoke. “Two doors down from Silvana’s old room, please.”
A shrill squawk from Cedar made me jump, but it was the look Raiden gave him that had me turning away and following Micah up the stairs to whatever room they’d given me, without a single complaint.
After all, it surely wasn’t as if the dungeon was a few doors down from my sister's room.