Throne of Shadows

by Emma Fenton

  “Most witches who do it are making sure the demon holds up their end of the bargain,” he explained. “Which I have. So let me go.”

  Ria cringed. “I, uh, don’t know how.”

  The demon stared at her for a second before bursting into a high, hysterical laugh. “No, of course you don’t. Of course. Why would I ever assume a witch would know how to undo a spell she’d cast?”

  “I’m not really a witch,” Ria said.

  “That is abundantly clear to me now.” The demon began pacing in her room. He ran his hands through his hair and pulled. “Why me? Of all the demons to get stuck with an amateurish, incompetent, idiotic—”

  “I am right here,” she snapped at him. The demon scowled at her in what was supposed to be an intimidating manner, but with his hair ruffled and his lips more of a pout than a sneer, Ria thought he looked like a petulant child.

  “And unfortunately, so am I.” He let out an undignified screech. He turned to her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “The spell. If I know what you did, I can tell you how to undo it. Where is it?”

  Ria paled. The book. The demon could never be allowed to know about the book. It was too dark. Too dangerous. There were things in there that even an all-powerful demon could make use of. Spells and rituals that would be catastrophic in the wrong hands. Hands like his.

  “It was on a bit of parchment,” Ria lied. She paused for dramatic effect. “I, uh, burned it afterwards. Didn’t want anyone to know what I’d been up to.”

  The demon stared at her blankly. “You know, I’m not even surprised. You would burn the spell. You’re an idiot.”

  She glared at him. “There has to be another way.”

  The demon shrugged. “Maybe—maybe—completing the deal would do the trick. You grant me a favor, and it’s done. You get to be queen, peaceful and alive. I get to go home, ten-thousand souls in tow.”

  “You’re still on that soul business?” Ria shook her head. “I already told you, I won’t do it.”

  “You’d rather be stuck with me for the rest of your life than hand over the souls of ten-thousand random people you don’t even know?” he asked incredulously.

  “I can live with it. Can you?” Well, that might have been a bit of a bluff. She’d go absolutely mad if she had to spend the rest of her life being followed around by this demon. But he probably wanted that even less than she did, hopefully enough that he’d be willing to settle for some other favor.

  The demon growled, spun around so his back was to her, and looked skywards, arms held out. “Why do you hate me?” he shouted at the ceiling.

  Is he talking to the gods? she wondered. Or is he just insane?

  He turned back to face her. “Fine. It’s late. We’ll figure this out later.”

  “Good.” Ria leaned back into her pillows, preparing to go back to sleep, but the demon hadn’t moved. “Well? You can go into another room, can’t you?”

  “But what would be the fun in that?” he asked, voice taking on a sultry tone. He approached her bed, and she sat up, more than ready to slap him even if it meant doing the same to herself. “We might be stuck together for some time, Ria. Maybe we ought to get to know each other a little more…intimately.”

  “Demon—” Ria started, but he cut her off.

  “Peryn.” He leaned against one of her bedposts and gave her a wink. “Or do you not bother to learn the names of the men who share your bed?”

  “Get. Out.” She stood and grabbed him by the arm with a surprising amount of strength for someone so tired. He allowed her to pull him along, amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth. Ria hauled him to the door, opened it, and gently pushed him through.

  He leaned in the doorway. “Not even a goodnight kiss?” he asked, his expression the epitome of faux innocence.

  For a split second, Ria seriously thought about slapping him, repercussions be damned. Instead, she settled for narrowing her eyes at him and slamming the door in his face. She could hear his laughter on the other side of the wall. Asshole, she thought as she climbed into her bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will find a way to get rid of him. She would re-read the ritual herself as soon as she had a moment alone.

  And with that, she sunk into a heavy sleep plagued by dreams of swordfights, and blood, and demons who smiled too much for their own good.

  Chapter Eight

  Despite having managed the coronation ceremony without too much trouble, the next morning had brought on a fresh wave of pain and fatigue that even her iron-will could not overcome. Physicians had been summoned, salves had been prescribed, and Ria was given the strict order not to leave bed for the next few days while her body recovered. At first, it had been a relief to collapse back in bed and slip into a shallow sleep that partially numbed the pain in her shoulder and torso. But after the first day, restlessness began to settle in. Ria didn’t know what the Council was doing, she couldn’t go see the Elder Scholar, and the only people she was able to talk to were Sofi and the physician—oddly enough, the woman who had treated her parents during their dying hours. Ria hoped it wasn’t a sign.

  The demon did not make another appearance. Ria was not yet sure if this was a curse or a blessing. On one hand, the less she had to interact with him, the better. But on the other, if she could not see him, she couldn’t know what kind of chaos he was causing. She knew he wasn’t happy with how she’d manipulated their deal to her favor, and for all she knew, he could be wreaking havoc on her kingdom. Being relegated to bed rest meant she had no way of checking in with the Council to make sure nothing disastrous had happened.

  The only positive was that all this alone time gave her the perfect opportunity to re-read the Spell-book from Hell, as she’d taken to calling it, to search for a way to unbind herself from the demon. She didn’t want to remove the bond just yet, not while it still worked to her benefit by keeping him from hurting her, but she also didn’t want to be stuck with him forever. So, once she was fairly certain the demon wouldn’t be barging in spontaneously, she slipped the spell-book out from underneath her mattress and flipped to the page with the demon-summoning ritual.

  Ria read through it three times, but there was no mention of bonding. She sighed, rubbing her temples. She had followed the instructions perfectly. And she didn’t think she had messed up the incantations. But she must have done something wrong or else she wouldn’t have ended up bound to a demon.

  Maybe there’s something about breaking magical bonds in another section, she thought, flipping through the pages. There was a literal tongue-tying spell, an infertility curse, a body-swapping ritual, and hex bags that could induce insanity if placed under your enemy’s pillow. But there was only one brief mention of magical bonds, and Ria doubted it had anything to do with whatever was between her and Peryn.

  When re-animating a corpse, remember that the vessel will only remain active so long as the caster continually funnels magic through it. Any interruption in the magical bond between caster and vessel will result in the complete collapse of the spell.

  Ria sighed and closed the book, trying to banish images of an army of the undead rising up against her. She shoved the book back under her mattress. It was disconcerting to see all the terrors of her childhood—all the stories she’d grown to believe were nothing more than myth—presented as possibilities within the spell-book. Horrors that she’d mentally compartmentalized as impossible suddenly seemed very real.

  Like the demon she’d summoned.

  Ria leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes. She would have to speak to the Elder Scholar. He would know how to end this bond between her and Peryn. Master Ameer would know how to fix everything.

  ***

  After four days of sheer boredom, Ria was finally cleared to get out of bed and begin taking on her responsibilities as queen.

  “Go slow,” the physician warned. “Or else you’ll end up right back in bed for another week.”

  Once the physician left, Sofi helped Ria
dress, braided her hair, and sent her on her way to breakfast where the Council was waiting for her. They were supposedly eager to have her begin ruling the country, but Ria suspected otherwise, especially upon seeing them at the breakfast table. Vili, as per usual, looked half-dead, while Nasir impatiently tapped his fingers. Paavo was the only one who smiled when Ria entered the room. She greeted them with a head nod.

  The anger she’d felt towards them after the fight had dulled only a little. A part of her knew that they had only been doing their job. But the fact remained that they cared little for her and that they were being forced into working with a queen they did not want. She knew that they would condescend to her, that they would constantly be searching for even the slightest evidence that Ria was unfit to be queen as they had always suspected. She would not give them the chance if she could help it.

  “Ah, thank you for joining us princess,” Nasir said, and then, with a look of obviously fake surprise, shook his head. “Forgive me. I meant your majesty. This will take some getting used to.”

  What a snake, Ria thought. She had no doubt that he’d slipped up on purpose. He wants me to feel inferior. Her lip curled involuntarily, but she reined in the rest of her anger. She took her seat at the head of the table. Fine. Let him underestimate me. He will know his mistakes only when it is too late.

  “Congratulations are in order,” Paavo said. He was by far the cheeriest of the Councilmen, something that Ria had appreciated in the past. Now, it felt sorely out of place. “For your win during the fight.”

  Ria held up her hand to stop him from going further. She did not want to think about the fight. Images of Jaya’s body had occupied her dreams, and not in the pleasant, righteously vengeful way she’d expected. Every time she thought about her sword going through Jaya’s neck, her stomach clenched and threatened to upheave its contents. Ria was determined not to spend any more time reliving the battle than was absolutely necessary.

  “The celebrations are over.” Ria eyed the Council coolly. “Let’s get to work.”

  “To work?” Vili asked incredulously. “Surely you would like a few days—”

  “I would like the budget reports from the last five years. I would like to schedule a visit to see the state of our military. I want to know the trends of exports and imports over the last year, and I want to know the state of Helhath’s vaults. And that is just for today. I have had a few days of rest—unnecessary, I might add. I am quite done with it.”

  They stared at her. Nasir was the first to speak. “What you’re asking…it will be impossible to pull together in a single day.”

  Ria raised a brow at him, unimpressed. “It shouldn’t be. Not if the records have been properly kept.”

  “Of course,” he backtracked. “But still, there are other matters to attend to.”

  “Such as?”

  “You have a great many proposals to read over,” Vili said. He pulled a hefty stack of folded parchment from his robes.

  Ria frowned. “I will read over the proposals for new laws after, and only after, I know the financial and physical strength of my nation.”

  Paavo cleared his throat. “Ah, your majesty, they are not law proposals. They are for marriage.”

  “Marriage?” Ria repeated dumbly. Logically, she knew she would have to get married one day and provide an heir. That was one of her many duties as queen. She just never imagined that the Council would start to push the issue so soon after her coronation.

  “Yes.” Nasir smirked at her, clearly pleased by her momentary lapse. “It is our wish for you to read through the proposals and create a shortlist of the candidates you find most…appealing.”

  Beneficial to the country, you mean, she thought. So that was it, then. They wanted to marry her off, ideally to someone who could keep her out of the way while they ran the country. And this reading proposals business was just a ploy to keep her busy. She would bet anything that they already had someone in mind. Still, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered, you should let them think you’re open to their plan. Let them think they can control you, if only a little.

  “Fine.” Ria nodded at the stack of parchment and Vili slid it over to her. “I will read the proposals while you gather the records I asked for. We shall reconvene this evening. I expect you will have found a way to accomplish what I asked for by then?”

  It was phrased as a question, but it was obviously a command. The Councilmen nodded. Ria stood, her breakfast untouched.

  “Good.” She grabbed the stack of parchment from the table and strode out of the dining hall and down towards her own room. She did not feel like seeing anyone right now, and she could not throw a fit in the library. She shut her bedroom door behind her, sat down at her desk, and glared at the parchment. What if I just light them all on fire?

  She sighed. She couldn’t do that, not if she wanted to give the Council the illusion that she was doing what they asked. She opened up the first letter and skimmed it. There was a brief congratulations, a paragraph exalting her cunning and strength, and another describing her beauty. It was all drivel as far as Ria was concerned. Before her fight with Jaya, not one suitor had been willing to take a chance on her and spare her from certain death. Now, there were at least twenty different letters, all from respectable, wealthy noblemen from across the world. All because she was queen.

  She lowered her head to the desk and let out a stifled scream.

  “The stress of being queen getting to you already?” an unfortunately familiar voice asked. “My, my. And it’s only your first day on the job.”

  Just my luck that he would show up now. Ria glared up at the demon. “What do you want?”

  He shrugged. “I’m bored.” He pulled an armchair next to her desk and picked up one of the letters. “What are these?”

  “Marriage proposals,” Ria answered, watching the demon warily from the corner of her eye. “I’m supposed to sort through them and come up with a list of acceptable options.”

  Peryn snorted. “I pity any man who tries to marry you.”

  “Why is that?” Ria sneered at him. “Because I’m a useless, pathetic mortal?”

  “You’re all useless, pathetic mortals,” he drawled. “No, I pity any man who ends up with you because you’re a slippery little cheater who dabbles in dark magic, speaks only in half-truths most of the time, and can weasel your way out of anything. The poor bastard won’t know what hit him.”

  “I’m so glad that you can see all my good qualities,” she retorted dryly.

  “Perhaps I should take it upon myself to warn them off,” he said, a sharp glint to his eyes. “Unless, of course, you’re feeling generous with those souls I asked for.”

  Ria raised a brow. “Knock yourself out. You’d be doing me a favor.”

  His head tipped to the side as he analyzed her. Ria felt as though she was being dissected like the Elder Scholar’s frogs. It was like he could see straight into her heart. Maybe he could; Ria had no idea what powers demons possessed. Whatever he was looking for, he must have found. Peryn leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, eyes keen with interest.

  “You truly mean it,” he said. There was a tinge of wonder to his voice, as if he couldn’t quite believe that Ria had no desire to be married.

  “These men are leeches. They are social climbers. They are weak panderers. I have no use for them.”

  A wicked grin split his lips. “And how will the stone-hearted queen evade her Council’s attempts to marry her off to these leeches?”

  “Easy.” She gestured towards the letters. "I’ll select a few reasonable candidates, entertain their affections for a while, and inevitably find an irredeemable fault in each of them. The process will begin again, and I’ll continue to play along until I have amassed the necessary power to replace the Council.”

  “Giving them the illusion of compliance until it’s far too late for them to stop you.” He shook his head with a small laugh. “It’s exactly what I would expect from a crafty litt
le cheat like you.”

  “Don’t you have something better to do with your time than sitting around insulting me?” she snapped.

  Peryn stretched his arms over his head and leaned back in his chair. “Not at all. In fact, I think I’ll stay for a bit.”

  Ria glared at him, but Peryn continued to stare back, unfazed. A smug little smile tugged at his lips. She sighed.

  “Then make yourself useful and help me read these damned letters.”

  “As her majesty commands.” His eyes danced, bright and amused, but he picked up a letter anyway and skimmed over it.

  For a few blissful moments, they read in silence. Ria was beginning to despair over finding even one suitable candidate. One letter was only three sentences long and contained nothing more than a name and title of some lord from Etheri. Another letter was two whole pages of parchment of overly verbose praise for her win against Jaya. Ria couldn’t help but snort when she read a line that complimented her “fiery spirit.”

  “These are rubbish,” Peryn eventually said. Ria glanced up to see that out of the five or so letters that he’d read, not one had been deemed suitable.

  “Perhaps you’re just being picky,” Ria said. “It’s not like I’m actually going to marry any of them.”

  “I should hope not,” Peryn muttered. He sneered at the letter in his hand and chucked it into the discard pile. “You should thank me. Some of these are truly terrible.”

  “Worse than: I’ve heard you’re not as accomplished as your sister, but since she’s dead, I’m open to a mutually beneficial political alliance?” Ria asked, reading from the letter in her hand.

  The demon raised a brow and plucked a letter from his discard pile. “How about: Though my social status might otherwise prevent me from seeking a connection with someone in your esteemed position, I have been assured that your behavior during your previous engagement has made it possible for me to reach above my rank.”

  Ria glared at the letter as if she could set it on fire by pure force of will. “You win that one.”