Page 43 of The Shrouded Queen
A muscle feathered in Rade’s jaw, and he snapped his eyes shut.
The tattoos on the side of his head started to glow the bright red color of a sunset. When he opened his eyes again, the brown had transformed to the same shade of red and shone, too, like his irises were lit from within.
I gasped. I’d suspected he might be a witch, but I wasn’t truly prepared to see magic.
The old man jolted to his feet, yanked by an invisible string. “No,” he said as he took a step forward, stiff, his feet moving against his will. Just like the stories I’d heard. Kaldfolk power that made a person a slave in their own body. It was chilling to behold.
As Finan took another involuntary step, he looked up at the sky. “I’m not lost!” he shouted. “Do you hear me? I’m not lost!”
Like his puppet’s strings had been cut, Finan slammed back down into the rocking chair. At the same time, Rade let his breath out in a sharp gust. His shoulders slumped in defeat, tattoos returning to their dull ink and eyes a normal brown. He looked to Keir. “I’ve done what I can. As long as he’s thinking clearly, he’s allowed to make this choice. But we have to leave. Now.”
Keir growled in frustration and took a threatening step toward the old man. “I’ll throw you over my fucking shoulder!”
But Finan just took Keir’s large hand in his shriveled one and patted it softly. “It’s all right, my boy. It’s all right.”
“No—” Keir began.
Rade grabbed Keir’s arm. “Let him be. It’s time to go.”
Keir released Finan’s hands almost violently. He spun around, anger and defeat in his eyes—and then his gaze caught on me and widened. “You brought her—”
“I said we’re leaving! Now, Keir!” roared the king.
Like a turned dial, the frazzled energy left Keir. The muscles in his neck bulged as his face elongated. Fur sprouted, claws burst forth, and when he landed on all fours, he was an enormous bear. I balked, momentarily stupefied. I’d witnessed Velka shift just minutes ago, but there was something vicious about the way Keir shifted. As if the beast was not coaxed forward but tore free of his human skin.
“Amunet!” Rade was already in the saddle, hand held out toward me. I let him pull me up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist as Keir took off, our horse following him—
“Grandpa!”
I stiffened and twisted to see a little girl who couldn’t have been older than five. I didn’t see where she’d come from, but she must’ve been hiding when people began stampeding out of the village. She approached Finan, frightened tears rolling down her face. The old man pulled her into his lap. Was he going to let her be devoured by the Shroud, too?
I’d spent my entire life fearing the Kaldfolk. Hating them. But that little girl, so helpless… she reminded me of my first night in Khada Palace all those years ago. I’d cried just like that, calling out for Mama and Baba.
Finan had made his choice. But I wouldn’t let the little girl be taken by the darkness.
“Wait!” I shouted, and pointed.
Rade twisted around, black hair a banner that whipped against my cheeks as he spotted the little girl. “I can’t risk your safety!” he said. “We’re out of time!” And maybe he was right. The Shroud was licking at the old man’s feet.
But the little girl’s eyes were wide with terror and confusion as she gazed up trustingly at her grandfather.
I sent a prayer for protection up to the gods and threw myself off the horse.
“Amunet!”
The ground slammed into me so hard my teeth rattled in my skull. Pain shot through the right side of my body as I rolled, but the moment I got my bearings, I jumped to my feet and ran toward the darkness, fighting every primal part of me that screamed at me to stop, and the inexplicable part of me that wanted to dive into its inky depths.
The old man was hugging his granddaughter tight as she clutched a doll to her chest, her cheeks still wet with tears.
My boots slid on the frozen ground, coming to a stop inches away from her. “Come on,” I said, “we have to go.”
“But, Grandpa—”
“You’re Milena, right?” I interrupted, eyes darting to the Shroud.
“Yes,” she sniffed.
“Milena, we have to run. Okay?”
