The Shadow Queen

  “Ja`dat,” she whispered, and the power burned in her hands. “Take what is his and give it to me instead.”

  “Irina, stop.” Viktor sounded desperate. “Please.”

  Ignoring him, she raised her hand and let the magic coursing through her give strength to her voice. “Ja`dat! Take what is his and give it to me. Give it to me!”

  Her hand, wreathed in brilliant light, slammed against his chest.

  His head fell back, and he cried out in agony as her magic pierced his chest and surrounded his heart.

  “No,” she cried, but the spell didn’t stop.

  Her will was stronger than her foolish heart.

  Her will desired Ravenspire.

  Her will wanted Lorelai dead.

  And so she watched with tears streaming down her face as Viktor’s face aged, his hair grayed, and then he collapsed on the floor, his beautiful blue eyes cloudy and staring at nothing.

  Her heart beat strong and fierce inside her chest.

  Her magic coursed through her body like an avalanche of power.

  Let Lorelai come for her. Let the Eldrian king try to defy her. She would crush them both. It would be Viktor’s legacy.

  She bent to straighten his rumpled cravat, allowing one sob to escape her lips as she clung to his chest, and then she dried her tears and walked away.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Publishers

  ..................................................................

  THIRTY-FIVE

  I’ve got you. Kol wrapped an arm around Lorelai’s waist beneath the water and pulled her toward the side of the cliff as the waterfall crashed above them. She kicked hard, and he pushed her upward until her head broke the surface. A second later, his head was above water too.

  The curtain of falling water was behind them. A hollowed-out space in the side of the cliff was ahead. Lorelai looked at Kol, her eyes lit with something that made heat unfurl in his stomach.

  We can hide there until we’re sure Irina’s trees are done looking for us. He looked over his shoulder at the curtain of water. Of course, I suppose she could have monstrous fish coming after us.

  The river’s heart is mine. Lorelai flexed her fingers. I called to it the moment we hit the water.

  So we’re safe for the moment?

  Yes.

  Sasha and Gabril too?

  Her eyes darkened. I think so. Sasha will look after him until we get out of here.

  Together, Kol and Lorelai found handholds in the rocky cliff side and climbed into the cave. The second she’d found her footing, he swept her into his arms and held her as if he’d never let her go.

  You saved us, he said.

  We saved each other.

  He cradled her head against the warmth of the dragon’s fire in his chest. And you’re sure we’re safe?

  I’m sure. The water will tell me if we aren’t.

  Good. Then there’s nothing to stop me from kissing you properly. His heart pounded at the look in her eyes. He could no longer tell the difference between the pounding of the waterfall and the pounding of his heart. He slid his hand up her back and tangled his fingers in her dripping hair. Her cheeks flushed despite the frigid water still clinging to her skin, and the tenderness that swelled within his chest felt like it would break him into pieces.

  He bent his head, and the cave spun as he pressed his lips to hers.

  This time, he kissed her like the world was ending, and she was his last chance at happiness. She held on to him, and her palms tingled and burned with magic as she ran them over his arms and onto his shoulders.

  He tore his lips from hers and pressed them against the side of her jaw as she clung to him.

  Her magic, as if obeying some secret incantor hidden within her heart, exploded out of her hands and wrapped the two of them in bands of blinding white light that tingled on the edge of pain.

  Kol brought his lips back to hers and kissed her as if he meant to never let her go.

  You healed me. Kol examined his arms and legs hours later as dawn was breaking across the sky.

  Um . . . yes. Remember? I slept for nearly a whole day because of it? Lorelai gave him an amused look as she finger combed the tangles out of her still-damp hair.

  He raised a brow. No, I mean you healed me when you kissed me.

  I think it was you who kissed me. She gave him a cheeky grin that had him wanting to cross the cave and kiss her all over again.

  So do it. Her smile widened, and he laughed though pain from the collar was starting to burn in a way that it hadn’t for days. Lorelai hiked up her pant legs to examine her ankles and then looked over her arms as well. It healed me too. That’s a nice side effect. Plus it’s far more enjoyable than using an incantor to pull your injuries out of your body.

  The whispers flitted through his mind—hurt, punish, kill—and he focused on Lorelai to drown them out. The collar wanted to list its wishes for Lorelai? Well, he had a list of his own. A list that kept him from seeing her as prey.

  He had the image of her reaching for him, courage and compassion on her face, as he attacked. He had the way she tilted her head and squinted her gorgeous brown eyes when she was trying to figure something out. The way she lifted her chin when she was prepared to argue her point. The way her breath caught in her throat when he held her, and the red of her lips against her pale cheeks.

  Cheeks that were now suffused with color.

  He grinned. Embarrassed?

  She concentrated on wringing water from her shirt. You notice the strangest things about me.

  This from a girl who thinks my hair is both wild and adorable?

  She laughed, but there were nerves behind it now. He looked to find the reason, and his stomach tightened. The capital loomed before them, just south of here. Irina was waiting, along with his human heart.

  It was time to finish what they’d started.

  The good news is that it took Irina a while to respond, and, while I don’t ever want to be attacked by trees again, it wasn’t as bad as the statues or the bugs. She shuddered.

  You’ve weakened her.

  Her smile made her look like the warrior that she was.

  We have to go soon, while she’s still trying to recover, she said. This has been nice—

  Nice? You wound me with understatement.

  She gave him a stern look.

  The whispers in his mind seemed to grow louder.

  Hurt. Punish. Kill. Let your dragon heart do as it pleases.

  He shook his head and pushed against the voices. He’d won this battle countless times. He would win it again.

  It’s almost over, she said, and there was a shadow of fear in her usually confident voice. If I don’t survive, I want you to know that—

  You’re going to survive. His voice was fierce as he stalked toward her, ignoring the streak of pain the wrapped around his chest. Don’t even think about the alternative.

  What if I don’t? This time her fear was a palpable presence in her thoughts. He wondered if she realized that her fear was less about her survival than it was about letting down the kingdom who was depending on her.

  Then I’ll kiss you again, and your magic will bring you back to life.

  Magic doesn’t bring people back to life.

  Then I will stay by your side to make sure you’re safe.

  He pulled her to her feet, brushed his fingers across her beautiful mouth and then kissed her until her magic flared and wrapped the two of them in bands of white light that tingled against his skin like he was standing beside a winter’s fire.

  He deepened the kiss, his dragon’s heart pounding like a battle drum. Did she realize the effect she had on him? That her true magic had nothing to do with the power in her hands?

  She had the courage of a Draconi warrior, the power of a Morcantian mardushka, and the heart of a true princess of Ravenspire. Irina had no idea what was coming for her.

  Oh, don’t I? A soft, cruel voice s
liced through his mind, bringing a swath of unbearable pain in its wake.

  Kol yanked himself away from Lorelai and stumbled back. His dragon heart thudded against his chest, viciously demanding blood.

  Kol, what’s wrong? Lorelai stepped toward him, and he lunged away from her.

  Stay back! I don’t want to hurt you.

  Yes, you do. The amusement in Irina’s voice was edged with anger.

  You’re scaring me. What’s going on? Lorelai put her hands up as if to calm him and tried to approach.

  He took a single step back. Pain, like fire-tipped razors, flooded his body. He fell to his knees on the rough cave floor and grasped the collar with both hands while agony squeezed the breath out of his lungs. Something dark and heavy fell across his thoughts, and suddenly Lorelai’s warmth felt very far away.

  You need my help. Lorelai dropped down beside him, and he could sense the power building in her hands.

  He could also sense the specter of Irina in his mind, a shadow of menace that seemed infinitely more powerful than the magic Lorelai was offering to use.

  Irina’s laugh mocked him. Oh, I am infinitely more powerful than your pretty little princess. Haven’t you figured that out by now? I can come and go inside your mind as I please. I can give you pain and take it away. And lest you’ve forgotten our bargain, may I remind you that I hold your very fragile human heart in my hand?

  The space where his heart had been seemed to leap into flames. This was nothing like the comforting heat of his dragon’s fire. This was a slow, agonizing death from the inside out, and he thought he’d do anything—anything—to make it stop.

  He didn’t realize he was screaming until Lorelai dragged him into her arms, her magic wrapping around him in brilliant strands. But this time her touch was like acid against his skin.

  He shoved her away and tried to stand, but something far stronger than him seized his body and forced him to his knees like a supplicant before a throne.

  What’s this I see? Irina sounded curious, but he heard the rage underneath. A magical bond created between you and the princess? All pretense dropped from her voice, leaving nothing but fury and power. I’ll punish you both for that.

  Lorelai moved toward him slowly, as if trying not to spook him. Kol, please. Just let me help you. It’s the collar, isn’t it?

  It’s Irina. He forced the thought toward Lorelai. It was like trying to shove a pebble through a velvet curtain. He concentrated, and more pain exploded through his head, shooting sparks across his vision, but he felt the thought slip through.

  Lorelai went still, her breath coming in quick pants as she stared at him. Irina is in your head?

  Yes. He tried to show her an image of the pain Irina was sending him, the way Irina had somehow corrupted his bond with Lorelai so that the princess’s magic only made the pain worse, and the curtain that seemed to separate his thoughts from hers now.

  Lorelai’s eyes narrowed, and she lifted her chin.

  She was going to try to battle Irina for him, but he wasn’t sure if he could survive the fallout.

  Why don’t we play a game? Irina’s voice was a hiss of malice against his thoughts, and he clutched at his head as if he could rid himself of the sound. It’s called Which One of These Will the King of Eldr Kill? One match decides the entire game. Ready?

  Lorelai stepped toward him, her lips pressed tight, her hands extended.

  He shook, both from pain and desperation, as Irina sent him an image of Lorelai, destroyed by the spell in his collar and lying lifeless on the cave floor while Kol, driven wild by Irina’s power, ripped her heart from her chest.

  His pulse raced, and he backed up as Lorelai advanced.

  Hold still, Kol. She doesn’t get to take you. She doesn’t get to hurt you. I’m the one she wants. Let’s see her try to take me instead. Lorelai’s fierce expression matched her words, and Irina laughed in delight.

  This is going to be easier than I thought, Irina said. I made a mistake containing the curse to your collar. I’m going to rectify that the second she touches you. As I’m sure you felt when her magic brushed against you, I’ve all but destroyed the bond you shared with her. The two of us together are unstoppable, Kolvanismir. You will do as you are told. And if you even think about defying me again, I will squeeze the life out of your human heart and leave you with nothing.

  I won’t kill Lorelai. He held the princess’s gaze, trying to tell her with his eyes how much she meant to him as he waited for Irina to destroy him.

  Lorelai shook her head vehemently as if she could see that he was waiting to die, and took another step toward him.

  So then I guess we move on to contender number two in our little game. If you refuse to kill the princess, then you will go to the capital and kill this woman and her children instead. Irina showed him an image of a pretty woman with dark skin and black hair cut close to her scalp. Two boys, who each looked remarkably like Gabril, stood at her side.

  Kol clenched his fists as the pain in his chest spread down his veins, and struggled to draw an unfettered breath. Skies, it hurt. Worse than anything he’d ever imagined. Worse than the torture she’d inflicted on him already. Worse than losing his human heart. His thoughts were fraying, and his dragon heart beat was surging, viciously demanding its due.

  I won’t . . . Where were his words? He reached for them, and they floated away, awash in a sea of unendurable pain.

  You will. Irina sounded satisfied. I own you. I have your human heart in my hand. I have your little bond with Lorelai corrupted. I control what you can remember. I control the pain. I control YOU, and there is no one who can save you from me, Kolvanismir, least of all Lorelai.

  I won’t . . . He closed his eyes and struggled to remember what it was he wouldn’t do. Disobey his queen? That sounded wrong, but it was the only thought he could find that made any sense.

  Don’t disobey his queen. Make the pain stop.

  “Nakh`rashk.” Lorelai’s voice, full of fury and power, filled the cave. “Nakh`rashk! Find Irina’s magic and scatter it to the winds.” Her hands, ablaze with magic, wrapped around his, and he arced his back, his jaw locked helplessly against the waves of agony that swept over him.

  Irina’s laughter filled his head. Lorelai gets to die first, but I think we’ll go ahead and kill the others as well, just to make it a tidy little victory.

  He was consumed, every piece of him, with red-hot light. Irina’s magic collided with Lorelai’s and became a cage of brilliant flames that felt like they would burrow beneath his skin until they incinerated his bones.

  Stop, he begged, but no one listened.

  Irina was laughing.

  Lorelai was saying her incantor over and over, her eyes blazing as she fought to push Irina’s magic out of his body.

  And his body . . . his body was fire. It was pain. It was more than he could stand.

  Stay with me, Kol. Lorelai’s voice was a soft caress within his tortured mind, and there was something he had to tell her. Some warning he needed to give, but it was lost in the unraveling of his thoughts. I won’t let you go. I won’t let her take you.

  Irina stopped laughing. Time to teach her whom she’s dealing with.

  The collar around his neck seemed to tighten, and a wave of magic that felt thick as sludge slid out of the collar and over his arms.

  He tried to pull away from Lorelai, but her magic was wrapped around his wrists, and she was determined not to let him go.

  Please, he said but no one was listening. Irina was chanting words he couldn’t understand, and they seemed to devour the last of his reason and deliver a terrible thirst for pain in its place.

  He was fire, blood, and death.

  No, you aren’t. You’re Kolvanismir Arsenyevnek, ruler of Eldr. You’re stronger than she thinks. You can fight this. I’ll help you, Kol. Fight this. Fight!

  He fought. He strove to drown out the awful pounding of his dragon heart. To ignore the scathing fire that dwelled where he’d once been hum
an.

  To pull away from Irina.

  He fought, but he was losing.

  Lorelai was losing.

  The tainted magic that seeped from his collar coated his wrists, slid over the bonds of Lorelai’s magic, and then leaped for her hands.

  She screamed, throwing her head back as the pain that lived inside Kol poured into her instead, leaving him as empty as a canyon with a river of magic rushing through it.

  See? Irina whispered against his ear. I’m stronger. I control you. And now because she tried to save you, because you both defied me, you get to watch her die.

  Let go, he urged Lorelai, but the thought refused to breach the curtain of Irina’s magic. He was trapped inside himself, lost to the impulses of his dragon and the cruel wishes of his mistress. And Lorelai, the girl who had fought so hard to save him, was going to die.

  He yanked at their joined hands, ferociously determined to break their connection as Lorelai’s already pale skin went white with strain. Her voice broke, her breath was a sob in her throat, and tears streamed from her eyes as she met his gaze.

  I’m sorry, he said, but she couldn’t hear him. No one could.

  No one but his queen.

  Lorelai’s back arced, and then she fell forward onto his lap, her body shaking uncontrollably.

  He no longer had the words to tell her he was sorry. That she deserved better. That she should let go of his hands and leave him behind.

  She was saying something, her lips moving though her words were mere breaths.

  Time to finish this, Irina said. We have more people to kill, Kolvanismir. Gabril Busche needs to learn what his betrayal will cost him. Kill the princess and let’s be on our way.

  His heart thundered its agreement with this plan.

  Hurt. Punish. Kill.

  He was a predator. They were his prey.

  He was fire, blood, and death.

  Lorelai slowly pulled herself up until she was eye to eye with him. He snarled.

  She leaned close and pressed her lips to his.

  Magic shot out of her and surrounded him, cutting off the bonds of the curse and sending the pain that had been flowing into her back into Kol. Before he could move, she yanked her hands from his and pressed them on either side of his face. Pulling back from his mouth, she whispered, “Nakh`rashk. Scatter the queen’s magic.”