Beyond The Darkness: The Shadow Demons Saga, Book 9

by Sarra Cannon

  “Friends, let us welcome our princess back to the King’s City,” he said. “Let us celebrate tonight and over the coming weeks with great banquets, dances, and a return of the King’s Games in her honor. Let us show her how much her devotion means to us all.”

  He leaned over to kiss my forehead, and the stench that came from his mouth almost made me gag. I closed my eyes and didn’t dare to breathe again until he’d backed away from me.

  I pressed my hands tightly against my dress to keep them from trembling.

  The place where he had kissed me burned with fever that spread down the side of my face, as if he’d poisoned me. I shook my head and tried to maintain my composure, but inside, I was frozen in fear.

  There was something very unnatural going on inside these walls. I’d suspected it for decades, but I hadn’t had a chance to get close enough to my father over the years to see it with my own eyes. Now that I was standing here next to him, though, I could sense the truth of it with my whole being.

  Father, what have you done? What has happened to you?

  I glanced at him as he spoke to the gathered crowd, but I didn’t hear his false words and his lies. Instead, I focused on his features. I noticed the way he’d aged over the years, in a way that demons normally didn’t age. He was aging more like a human, decay rapidly taking over his features and clouding his once-clear eyes.

  His once-strong body hunched over, and he looked as if a gentle breeze would knock him off his feet. His skin was paper-thin and sagging.

  Beside him, my mother still looked as young as ever, none of the decay touching her features. How did she stand there and say nothing about the way he looked? How could she hold onto his arm and not frown at the decay and stench of him?

  I shook my head. I didn’t understand what was going on between them, but looking at them now, I felt more determined than ever to get to the root of it all.

  I’d promised Andros and his guards that I would be a good little princess and do my part to keep everyone I loved safe, but how could they expect me to stand in the presence of some mysterious evil and not notice it? Not do what I could to find the truth?

  “Lazelea?”

  My mother’s stern voice in my ear seemed to wake me out of my own confusion and rage. She slipped behind my father’s back and gripped my arm so tightly, it stung.

  “Yes?” I asked, blinking.

  “Your father asked you to speak,” she hissed. “Just as we rehearsed.”

  I took a deep breath and wrenched my arm from her grasp.

  I cleared my throat and looked at the expectant gazes of those in the crowd. Yes, we’d rehearsed a brief speech for me to give to the people, promising them that I was ready to do whatever it would take to honor and serve them the way my father had served them. I was to promise them that I would keep them safe here inside the walls of the city.

  But now, seeing the evidence of some rotten magic that was destroying my own father, how could I say those things? How could I promise to protect them when evil had already found its way inside this supposed sanctuary?

  I wanted to tell them the truth. I wanted to tell them everything I’d learned about the Order of Shadows and how it was only a matter of time before every demon in the Shadow World was made a slave to the human witches. But breathing a single word of the truth would only get me thrown back into the dungeons.

  Or worse.

  Instead, I licked my lips and smiled. My time would come.

  “Thank you for your kind words, father,” I said, my voice unsteady. I could feel my mother’s disapproving and fearful gaze on me. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m still a little bit shaken up by what I’ve been through. But I’m happy to be home, now. I’m happy to have the opportunity to stand before you once again as your future queen. And I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe.”

  My mother stepped forward. “Enough talk,” she said. “We have come here tonight to celebrate the return of our daughter. Let us all dance and feast together and forget hard times.”

  She nodded toward the musicians, who began a new song. A dance I remembered from my childhood.

  The crowd erupted into applause and spread out in the hall, taking their places for an ancient dance of celebration.

  When their eyes were no longer on me, my mother grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the pillar, hiding us from view.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked. “Trying to get yourself thrown back in the dungeons? You have no idea what I’ve had to do to gain your freedom and to get the others to trust you again. The sacrifices we’ve all made…”

  Her voice trailed off and she could no longer look me in the eye.

  “What sacrifices, mother?” I asked.

  She shook her head and placed a hand at her neck, fingering a gold chain that lay across her skin.

  “There are things you don’t know, Lazalea,” she said. “Things I wish none of us had to know or do. Necessary things to keep the demons of this kingdom safe. You must honor those sacrifices.”

  I swallowed. What exactly what she talking about?

  “How can I honor them if I don’t even know what they are?” I asked. I wondered what this little speech from her had to do with my father. What had they done?

  “This is neither the time nor the place to discuss these things,” she said. “Your father and I have worked very hard to put together this celebration for you. Please, at least pretend to enjoy it.”

  She smoothed her skirts and touched her hair, planting a smile on her face.

  “Besides, I have someone very important I want you to meet.”

  She held her hand out to me, and I reluctantly placed my own in hers. She smiled and pulled me around the pillar, like a dog on a leash.

  For a moment, she looked around, raising onto her toes to see over the heads of the guests. Finally, she found whoever it was she was looking for and waved to them. She turned to me and smoothed my braids. She sucked in a nervous breath as she looked me over, briefly touching the spot on my head where my father had kissed me, as if wiping it away.

  “My queen,” a man’s voice said from behind her.

  My mother spun around, giggling like a shadowling at the demon who bowed before her. He took her hand and softly kissed her skin.

  “You honor me,” he said.

  “It is you who honors us,” she said. “Please, you must meet my daughter. Lazalea, dear, this is Kael, the demon you shall soon marry.”

  The demon straightened, his eyes sweeping up from the bottom of my dress to my eyes in a way that told me everything I needed to know about him. He didn’t look at me as a man looks at a woman, but rather the way a man looks at a prize he’s just won.

  His eyes were black as coal, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

  “Princess,” he said, bowing again, though never quite taking his eyes off of me.

  I made no effort to move, but at my mother’s harsh glare, I politely offered him my hand.

  The kiss he placed on my skin was warm like my father’s, though not as feverish. He was a handsome demon. Young and strong. But where had he come from? He seemed to be about my age, but he certainly hadn’t grown up here in the city. I would have recognized him.

  “It’s an honor to meet you,” I said, the lie rolling off my tongue.

  “Would you join me for a dance?” he asked.

  I looked to my mother and she nodded, placing her hand on the small of my back and giving me a little push toward Kael, as if I were still a child.

  “Of course,” I said through clenched teeth.

  I wanted nothing to do with this demon. He was the reason we were all here tonight. The festival and the King’s Games had been his idea, and I had no intention of even pretending to enjoy his company.

  He could stare at me as his new possession all he wanted, but if he really thought I would ever agree to marry him, he obviously knew nothing about me.

  He led me tow
ard the dance floor, and several of the couples dancing nearby moved to make room for us. A royal couple deserving of our own space, though all eyes were on us.

  When he placed his arms around me, my entire body tensed. If the hand currently digging into my hip moved one inch lower, he’d be missing a hand by the end of this dance.

  “You are every bit as beautiful as everyone says.” His eyes focused on mine.

  “I can’t say I’ve heard anyone talking about your appearance,” I said, meeting his gaze directly. I wanted him to know he didn’t scare me. “I have, however, heard the people speak of how you have become one of my father’s most trusted advisors. How exactly did that come to be in such a short period of time? Usually his advisors come from a certain heritage of past council members, but I don’t seem to remember you from my time here before I left.”

  He smiled, not taking his eyes from mine even for a moment as he twirled me around the dance floor.

  “You’re already suspicious of me,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “I like that.”

  “You do?” I asked.

  “It shows you have spirit and want nothing more than to protect your own family and your own heritage,” he said. “That will be very important in the decades to come.”

  He didn’t elaborate, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that he meant it more as a threat than a compliment.

  “Since you didn’t grow up here in the castle, where did you grow up?” I asked.

  “Is that really so important?” he asked.

  “It’s important to me.”

  He shrugged, tightening his grip on me as he turned me again.

  “Where I come from is none of your concern,” he said. “The only thing that matters is that I’ve been here for your father when you were not.”

  I tensed, attempting to pull away, but Kael had a tight grip on me now and wouldn’t let me back away even an inch.

  “Let’s not be enemies, Princess,” he said, leaning close to my ear. “After all, we have a lifetime ahead of us. Whether it’s a pleasant existence or not is largely up to you.”

  Again with the shaded threats. I disliked him more with each passing moment.

  I certainly had no intention of spending a lifetime at this demon’s side.

  “What are you trying to say?” I asked. “That if I don’t fall in line, you intend to make my life miserable? That’s not the most pleasant thing to say to the demon you are hoping to mate with.”

  “It’s more than a simple hope at this point, Princess,” he said, tightening his grip on me. “Plans are already being made for our engagement ceremony. Our mating ceremony will take place soon after. This is happening whether you like it or not. I’m simply saying that it’s your choice whether to embrace that fact or rebel against it.”

  “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds delightful,” I said through clenched teeth.

  Rather than prickling at my anger, Kael laughed.

  “I see you haven’t quite left your rebel heart behind you in the human world,” he said. “That fire and passion will serve us well once it’s directed in a more useful way.”

  “More useful than a war against the Order of Shadows?” I asked, having to be careful not to raise my voice. “More useful than saving thousands of the demons who have been stolen from our lands?”

  “Yes,” he said, but he didn’t offer any explanation of why fighting the Order was such a bad thing in his mind.

  Anger pulsed through me, hot and fast.

  “Then why are you so anxious to marry me, if you think I’m a traitor?”

  He loosened his grip and laughed, throwing his head back.

  “I never said I thought you were a traitor, Lea,” he said. “Misguided perhaps. Blinded by loyalty to a demon who never loved you. But not a traitor. At least I hope not.”

  I pulled away from his grasp, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face. I didn’t care who was watching us. He had no right to speak to me that way.

  The music ended, and Kael bowed to me.

  “Thank you for the dance, Princess,” he said. Nothing I’d said to him had managed to wipe that cocky smile from his face. In fact, he seemed amused by my anger, which only pissed me off even more.

  He stepped closer to me, and even though I tried to back away, I hadn’t moved fast enough. His arm encircled my waist, and he pulled me up against him.

  “I so look forward to breaking that spirit of yours,” he said. He stepped back and looked into my eyes. “Because I will, Lea. Before this is all over, you’ll be even more broken than you were after your betrothed left you behind.”

  He kissed my cheek, and before I had a chance to respond, he bowed and walked away, disappearing into the crowd surrounding the dancefloor.

  I steadied my expression for the sake of the crowd, but Lazalea, the princess had stepped aside. The rebel inside me took control once again, and I smiled.

  Let him do his best, but a demon like him could never break me. Kael might know a lot about me, but he obviously had no idea who he was messing with.

  Right There In Front Of You

  Lea

  I stormed through the crowd, searching for where Kael had gone. If he thought he could threaten me like that here in my own home and just walk away, he had another thing coming.

  But before I caught sight of him, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  I twirled around to find Aerden’s mother, Tatiana, standing there in front of me.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. Were you heading somewhere? Or do you have a moment to talk?” she asked.

  I glanced in the direction Kael had disappeared to and took a deep breath.

  Maybe it was good that she had stopped me. If Kael really had as much power as he seemed to think he had around here, confronting him now, in front of everyone, would do nothing but put my life in danger.

  “It’s not important,” I said, turning my full attention to Tatiana. “I always have a moment to talk with you.”

  She smiled as if she hadn’t just recently been talking to her daughter about how to get rid of me.

  I glanced around the room and wondered just how many of the demons here were truly glad I had returned? And how many of them were plotting how to break or destroy me?

  “Would you like to walk with me for a moment?” she asked, offering her arm to me. “It’s a beautiful night out.”

  I hesitated. She must have wanted to talk about something important if she needed such privacy. Why wait until tonight to seek me out when she could have come to me at any point in the past few weeks here in the castle?

  I placed my hand on her arm. “I would love to walk,” I said. “Thank you.”

  She led me through the crowd and out onto the terrace. We walked in silence for a little while before she finally paused near an archway and leaned against the balcony.

  “There,” she said, pointing into the distance.

  I looked out at the city and swallowed as I realized she was pointing toward the arena. From our vantage-point here near the top of the throne room’s terrace, we could make out the figures of demons fighting there on the dusty floor of the arena’s large battlefield.

  “Do you see them?” she asked.

  I leaned against the edge of the obsidian bannister, my heart aching. “Is he there?” I asked. “Can you tell?”

  “He’s there,” she said. “They’re too far away for me to tell which one is my son, but I know he’s there.”

  She grew quiet, and we watched together as the sparks of spells and magic flew into the air like fireworks.

  “Why did you bring me out here?” I asked.

  “Because I know you’re the only other one here who cares as much as I do that he’s down there, preparing to fight for his life.”

  I needed to hold my tongue and keep my opinions to myself, but I was fairly certain I’d used the last of my willpower up on that dance with Kael.

  “Then why didn’t you do something to get him
out of the dungeons when you had the chance?” I asked. “You and your husband are members of the council. Why didn’t you fight to have him set free? He deserves better than this.”

  She wiped a tear from her face and straightened her shoulders. “He deserves much better than I’ve been able to give him for most of his life,” she said. “But sometimes our choices are not that simple.”

  I closed my eyes for a brief moment and tried to calm my anger. Saying anything that could have this woman label me as a traitor and have me thrown back in the dungeons would not do me any good right now. I needed to be careful around her, but the rebellious side of me was tired of playing nice.

  “I’m sure deciding between your own position in the kingdom and your son’s life is quite complicated,” I said, keeping as much of the acid out of my tone as I could manage.

  She snapped toward me. “Do you really think you’re the only one who has made sacrifices to keep him safe?” she asked.

  “I know that when he disappeared, you told us to forget about Aerden,” I said. “You abandoned him without even trying to bring him home.”

  “I was trying not to lose both of my sons to the Order, but I lost them anyway. And now my precious daughter is gone, too,” she said. “I’ve lost so much.”

  “Then why do you stand here watching it continue to happen?” I asked. “Aerden is down there alive. Jackson and Illana are in the Southern Kingdom, fighting for what we all know is right. If you really want to save them all, then fight for them.”

  She shook her head. “You are still very young and very naive,” she said. “You think you understand the sacrifices that have been made. You think you’re better than all of us because you left to fight a losing war. You took them both from me, and yet here you stand, ready to take the throne from us, too.”

  My eyes widened. Had she really just admitted that she wanted the throne for herself?

  Was this entire conversation just a trap to get me to admit my loyalty to the Resistance or the Southern Kingdom? Or was she really finally admitting the truth of why she never tried to save her sons?