Wings of Starless Night (Kingsdaughter Book 1) by Sadie Sterling

Author:Sadie Sterling [Sterling, Sadie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sadie Sterling
Published: 2024-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-three

I muffled my movements with an illusion as I slid open the door to Cohrven’s sitting room. He hadn’t returned last night, judging by the undisturbed sheets on his bed. Irritation boiled through me as my imagination immediately supplied all the places he could have been, but it quickly disappeared when I trudged into his sitting room and his large body was sprawled across his too-small settee.

One of his legs was dangling over an armrest, the other was completely off the settee, his foot flat on the floor. His neck was bent at an uncomfortable angle, his arms flung across his clothed chest. He hadn’t wanted to wake me up last night, that was all. My relief was palpable, but the reason for that relief left a bitter taste in my mouth. I didn’t bother to glance at his face before leaving.

Breakfast was tasteless. My flight through the gardens was rushed. By the time I stepped back inside the castle, the sun was still rising, and I was restless.

I wandered the halls aimlessly, avoiding hurried servants and careless nobles. Around the twentieth floor, black hair flashed in the corner of my vision, and I watched Cohrven disappear from the twentieth balcony into a long corridor. I followed him, curious as to why he was lurking.

Eventually, I ended up in an empty wing. There were no cobwebs on the ceiling, and no dust on the floor, but it felt like a sparse, yawning cavern that had been forgotten long ago.

A door banged open in the distance, shaking the floor. Muted shouts erupted farther down the hall. Two fae with deep voices were arguing, but I couldn’t make out anything they were saying.

I flew to the end of the hall and around the corner as the shouting increased in volume, then went slack-jawed as Cohrven stood with his father in front of me. They faced each other, their hands clenched in tight fists, veins standing out in their reddened necks. The wooden door still quivered behind them.

“You have no right to question me!” Cohrven yelled, his teeth bared in a snarl.

“I have every right!” Heron yelled back. “Don’t forget that I am your king. And if that weren’t enough, you are my son. You answer to me.”

“No, I don’t,” Cohrven growled. “I don’t owe you my obedience. I don’t owe you anything.”

“Son—”

“How am I different?” Cohrven shouted, his voice breaking. “Am I not still exactly what you want me to be?”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Heron said calmly, turning his open palms to Cohrven in a placating gesture, his anger dissipating as he tried to control Cohrven’s rage.

Cohrven advanced on his father, and even though they were of the same height, Heron cowered from his son. “Yes, you did. You meant every word!”

A tall white vase next to them in the hallway flew and shattered against the stone wall, the cracked pieces hovering in the air and disintegrating further as Cohrven slammed the pieces against the wall again, and again, until sand fell to the floor.

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