A Curse of Shadows

I’m consumed with a love I don’t understand, with a sense of security I’ve never known.

I’m safe and loved and nothing can ever hurt me.

But it did.

I was ripped from life like petals from a flower.

Someone stole this feeling from me. They took away my light, my love, my everything.

Rage replaces the blissfulness that Asher briefly provided and instead of finding myself within the shadows of the cave with him, I’m back in my room at the castle.

Except it’s not how I last saw it when I left this morning. No, this is my room from five hundred years ago. I’m on a corded porcelain phone, making dinner plans. I can sense my unease, but underneath that, I have faith. No matter what happens, if I’m to become queen sooner than expected, as long as I have Asher, everything will be fine.

I go to the door. Someone is there, but the image becomes fuzzy. I can’t see who’s on the other side, but I trust them. I know this without a shadow of a doubt.

At least until a dagger protrudes from my chest and I’m falling to the floor.

I can’t move. I can’t breathe. No, this can’t be happening. We were supposed to have centuries together. I can’t leave Asher now. Not yet, not when he needs me most.

My heart slows and I suck in a sharp breath. “Asher.”

His name is barely a whisper on my lips. My body is sweating and if I weren’t seeing my chest with my own eyes, I’d swear that dagger was still there.

My fingers rub over where the wound once was and tears fall from my eyes.

What the hell just happened?

“Estee, hurry!” Sosheena calls out, but I can’t move. I can’t do anything. “Isla, dear. Can you hear me? You were trapped in a memory, a strong one. Focus on what you saw. Don’t let the thoughts fade away, okay?”

I shake my head. I want them to disappear. Not because I don’t want to remember, but because this feeling of dying, I don’t think it’s something I can ever forget, no matter how much I’d love to.

Estee comes into my path of sight, eyes wide and body trembling. She shakes her head, covering her mouth and muffling a sob as she steps farther away from me.

I don’t understand. I need her now more than ever. Where is she going?

“I’m sorry, Issie,” she mutters, practically tripping over her own feet in her haste. “I’m so, so sorry.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ASHER

Asense of unease shivers down my spine, echoing through the connection I feel to Isla. Even though we’re not bonded, I’ve felt the draw to her ever since that first night of her return. Now, it trembles, unstable and fleeting, sending a pang of dread through me.

My wolf reacts with a threatening growl, breaking the silence of the ongoing meeting. Rising swiftly, I only manage a brief nod to Malimorte. “Carry on without me,” I command, my voice edged with urgency.

Malimorte nods in understanding, seamlessly continuing the discussion about trade terms that Declan and Noen negotiated. But Noen’s observant eyes follow me as I exit, his gaze sharp and knowing. He’s smart enough to know there’s only one reason I would leave so abruptly right now.

“Asher,” he calls out, catching up to me with a few long strides. His voice carries a blend of respect and reproach. “You know I respect you as my king, but after all we’ve been through, I’d appreciate some respect in return.”

I don’t have time for this, but he’s right. Noen has been there for me for years, and I’ve treated him poorly. Regardless of what I once thought, he deserves to be kept in the loop now. At least as far as I’m letting anyone else in.

“I need to check on Isla,” I confess, pressing a hand over my chest, where the bond pulses weakly. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it—” Pain clenches my heart, sharp and sudden. “Fuck.”

“I’m coming with you,” he states and instead of telling him no, this time I let him because something is wrong and I’m not sure what I’ll find when I get to my mate.

“She went to Lunara Academy with Estee and my mother,” I explain as we head toward the stairs. The moment the ache in my chest recedes, we’re running through the castle, toward the back exit.

When the high noon sun touches my face, I shift, needing the speed and sense of my wolf to get to our mate faster. Bones break and reform within an instant and then we’re running at full speed toward the academy.