The King's Marked by Terina Adams

Author:Terina Adams [Adams, Terina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Terina Adams

19

I hung the last sword on its rack and stuffed the rag into my apron pocket. A swirl of smoke danced in front of the sun, marbling the wall with a writhing dark mark across the faint glow of late-evening gold, which turned the stone on the far wall a rusted orange. A few more hours and it would be night, and we’d be locked inside the warded doors for the next cycle of the sun.

All day the people carted in old wood from beyond the gates to build their sage bonfires, and now the smoke wove up into the sky, releasing a black fog that would blanket the city until night, when the fog blended with the sky and all that would be seen was the brilliant orange of the flames underneath. The pungent smell of camphor mixed with refreshing mint saturated the air.

It was Hallow’s Eve and all the doors to the arena would soon be closed and barred. My work here was done, in time to return to the kitchen, where the rest of the servants would spend the evening eating soup and playing cards before retiring to their beds. As long as we stayed indoors, the wraiths would not bother us tonight.

I was at the door when a short figure appeared in the passage farther along.

“Fednick. What are you doing here?”

He loomed out of the dim passage as he neared the armory. “You’re wanted at the door.” There was a mournful ache in his eyes.

“What door do you mean?”

“You are called to the main door.”

“Fednick.” I placed a hand on his upper arm. “Is this a joke?”

Of course it wasn’t. He wouldn’t look so forlorn if it was.

“Why has the main door not been barred yet?”

“Because the prince has said so. He waits for you at the door.”

My blood turned to ice. “The prince. You mean Hunrus?”

“Let me come with you.”

“Go join the others in the kitchen. I will see you there shortly.” I did not mean to snap at him.

“You promise?”

I spun him about and pushed him on his way, then hurried in the opposite direction. As I moved down the passage, it felt as though the walls were closing in on me, about to suffocate me. The passage journey became a long stretch that kept extending the farther I walked. But everything comes to an end regardless of how much your mind wills it to continue, and soon enough I was standing at the main door. The bar lay on the ground, likely the last bar to be laid across the doors in the arena. The heavy metal bar was a physical barrier that made everyone feel better even if it was useless. The etched wards were the only thing that would keep the wraiths out of our homes, and the sage fires were to deter the demons and the wraiths’ pets.

With the door cracked ajar, the first thing I saw was the orange of the sun. The next thing on opening the door

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