A Shade of Vampire 36: A King of Shadow by Bella Forrest

Author:Bella Forrest [Forrest, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2016-11-29T18:30:00+00:00

Ruby

At dawn this morning, Ash had knocked on my door. For a moment I had hoped that he was coming to tell me that he’d changed his mind—that he wouldn’t be giving Queen Trina’s position any more consideration. But he had smiled broadly at me, and held out a traveling cloak. We were going to take a short trip to her kingdom.

The journey had taken all morning, and now I was sitting in the lavish opulence of Queen Trina’s waiting room while Ash had a private meeting with her royal highness. The moment Queen Trina laid eyes on Ash she had smiled with child-like delight. When her gaze had shifted to me, I saw nothing but a satisfied malice in her expression.

I hadn’t seen another soul since we entered the castle, but by the looks of the lavish grounds and well-kept interior, Queen Trina employed an entire army of staff…but where were they? It was unnerving, even in the bright light of the afternoon. The heavy storm clouds that had rolled over Nevertide had vanished as soon as we arrived at the palace, but looking back to Hellswan, I could see they hung low and moody everywhere else.

As I waited, I tried to quell some of my misgivings about Queen Trina. If Ash was going to take the job, then I’d better start learning how to keep my mind open. Her support in the trials I could understand—she was clearly making a power play against Tejus, and I didn’t hold that against her; no doubt every other ruler in the six kingdoms of Nevertide wanted to do the same. What unnerved me was the way she latched onto Ash. He had performed well in the trials, but I wondered if her interest was more underhanded than that. She would have realized that Ash knew the Hellswan castle better than anyone else, had knowledge of its inhabitants that would no doubt benefit her. But I knew Ash. He wouldn’t play dirty—he had already paid the price of doing that with the death of the emperor. But if he refused Queen Trina, would he have to pay an even greater price?

As I contemplated what the queen’s strategy might be, a figure approached. As it came closer, I recognized the tell-tale signs of a nymph. What was a nymph doing in Queen Trina’s castle?

Before I could ask, the figure hurtled past me, winking, then breaking into peals of giggles. She darted off out of sight, and I leapt to my feet – determined to follow her and get to the bottom of why Queen Trina kept such creatures in her palace. Her faint glow gave her away, leaving a sort of trail that I could follow around the winding pathways of the palace.

Eventually the tracks of the glow faded altogether, and I was standing in front of a large set of doors, with small stools placed either side of it. Sentries sat about, all peasants from the village, and all silent, as if they were in a doctor’s waiting room.

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