Beauty In Darkness

13

Emotion clouded my eyes and choked my throat at the thought of everything I’d left behind and everything I still had to learn. All I wanted to do was collapse on the bed, wrap my arms around myself, and sob, but I forcibly pushed those thoughts away. I would not cry, and I would not be upset. I’d volunteered for this life. I’d saved my sisters and my father. I’d brought peace to two kingdoms. Yes, there were many things I’d have to adjust to in my new life, but I could handle whatever challenges would come. On my own if I had to.

I glanced at the door connecting my bedroom to Raith’s. Perhaps I wasn’t entirely on my own. He’d been forced into this marriage too, and together we would have to make the best of this arrangement. Truly I was lucky to be married to a man I found attractive and not someone as old as my father. Hopefully Raith found me at least a little appealing as well.

Soon he would visit to consummate our marriage and begin the process of creating an heir. I’d never been with a man before, although I’d shared a few torrid kisses and heavy touches in secret, but I wasn’t afraid of what would happen. If anything, I was strangely excited. A delicious heat moved through me at the thought of Raith climbing into this giant bed and looking at me with those brooding gray eyes as he moved over my body. I pictured kissing that sharp jaw, tangling my fingers in his silky dark hair, and exploring what he kept hidden under all those severe black clothes.

My bath was brought up and Loura helped me prepare myself, making my hair smell of lavender and my skin smooth and clean. She left my dark brown locks long and flowing about my shoulders, and then I donned a chemise so thin my n*****s could be seen through it. Once done, she left with a curtsy and a knowing gleam in her eye.

Then I waited. He’d said he would come to me later, but how late exactly did he mean? Surely he wouldn’t take too long?

I lounged on the bed, trying to imagine what pose I should use when he entered. I was no seductress, but I wanted him to desire me. I got the feeling he did, from the fleeting looks he’d given me before, but I was no expert...and Raith was harder to read than most men anyway.

After a few minutes I got bored and began exploring my rooms. They contained little of interest, which I supposed made sense when they had been empty and unused for years. I did check that all my things had arrived safely, including my mother’s spellbook, which Loura had left out on a desk in my sitting room. Here I wouldn’t need to hide it, I realized with relief. I ran my fingers over the old leather, finding comfort in the familiar feel, before continuing my investigation.

A small bookcase held titles that sounded like a total bore to read, but I’d probably force myself through them since they were about Ilidan’s economics, geography, and history. I peered through the windows and made out a large garden underneath the moonlight, which I hoped to explore tomorrow. Like the interior, the entire perimeter of the palace was illuminated with an abundance of torchlight, as if trying to fight off the night itself.

As I let the curtain fall, something large and dark moved outside on the edge of the garden, with what appeared to be wings. I looked again, scanning the grounds for whatever I’d seen from the corner of my eye, but it was gone. An animal, perhaps, though I couldn’t imagine anything that size except perhaps a bear. Did they even have bears in Ilidan? Except bears didn’t have wings. I peered through the curtain again and shook my head. There was nothing at all outside. I was merely tired and imagining things.

An hour passed and I checked the door to Raith’s room, making sure my side was unlocked. A terrible curiosity overcame me, and I had the strongest desire to slip into his room and learn whatever I could about him, or perhaps wait for him in his own bed, but I restrained myself. He would no doubt be furious with me for encroaching on his private space that way.

Eventually I blew out a few of the candles and crawled into bed to wait for him there, but my eyes grew heavy and soon I was curling up in the soft blankets. Exhaustion caught up to me after the long day and my hasty wedding, and I was sure he would forgive me if I took a little nap before his arrival.

I fell asleep immediately, and when I woke, the sun’s light was already creeping through the drapes covering the windows. Only then did I realize what I should have always known—Raith wasn’t coming.

Eight

Raith

A

s dawn broke through the castle, and the torches and candles were extinguished with relief, I glanced through a handful of papers, reading the same thing on every one of them. Fear, death, and despair, and I was no closer to figuring out how to stop it. I dropped the missives on my desk and dragged a hand through my hair. Something had to be done and quickly. Now that Talador’s army was no longer at our borders, I could shift my focus and my resources to this problem to solve it soon—or my kingdom would be lost. “Another report from Levanston,” Oren said, from his place in front of my desk. “The shadows have taken over two more houses there, and the dark beasts roam the streets at night.”

“I’ll visit the town tonight and see what I can do,” I said, my voice weary. I’d already been there a week ago and fought back the darkness, but it always returned, stronger than ever. “And the Shadow Lord?”