Shadowborn Queen - G. Bailey Page 0,12

in.

When she was chosen as queen, I knew my King couldn’t have chosen a better woman.

I dare to steal an unbidden glance at him, but I'm swift to avert my gaze when he rises from his dragon-shaped throne. My sister stands beside her own seat of power and watches as King Cyrus climbs down the dais. His silver boots halt before my eyes and all is silent as he studies me.

"Rise, Zavier."

Slowly, I stand on my feet. My vision threatens to blur as I look at him, but I will not show weakness in front of the dragon I swore fealty to all those years ago; the dragon with whom I had once looked upon as my brother. Guilt I carry in abundance, but weakness? Never. Too many inmates rely on my protection for me to be weak now. Sure, some of them despise me for the mask I had donned, but others, like Izora, were able to see the man behind the beast; they were able to see that I'm trying to help them even when I appear cruel.

From the moment I walked into Shadowborn Prison, I knew that I was Ulric's prisoner. But as governor I still had power, so I used that power to protect as many inmates as possible. It became my one and only duty.

However, now as I stand before the king I vowed to protect until my death, I'm reminded of the demons that plague my mind each night. I don't have power anymore. I have only shame and regret.

"You have gotten old," the king says, placing a slender hand on my shoulder. "Old and tired. Selena always knows when to return the weary to us. Welcome home, brother."

Home? I swallow the unexpected emotion that claws at my throat. Cyrus is welcoming me home even after everything I did? After abandoning my duty for so many years?

"Come," he says, sweeping a hand to the table grandly laden with food. "We have much to discuss."

Wordlessly, I follow my king to his table. Never did I expect him to receive me in this way. From the look my sister gives me at the other end of the table, I don't think she did either. Even though I was adopted into Valessia's family at a young age and I am not bonded to her by blood, I know her better than anyone; perhaps more so than the king. And behind her demure exterior, she had been just as anxious to discover how the king would react to my arrival.

I wait until the king is seated before I take the one on his left. He adjusts his gold sleeves and then pours two glasses of wine from a crystal decanter. I accept mine with thanks and take a sip. At the door, my sister glances over her shoulder at me and inclines her head before she disappears. With her gone, the king turns to me.

"No doubt your tale is long, brother, but it is one I am eager to hear. Tell me everything that happened and spare no details."

I do as bidden, and the king is silent throughout my tale. The crease etched between his white brows deepens the more I talk about my imprisonment at the Shadowborn Prison and the experiments Eva had conducted on the inmates.

"And the Light Fae call us barbaric? There is nothing more barbaric to me than a Light Fae who dances in the dark and yet claims to shed only light." Cyrus chuckles and leans back in his chair, his arms sprawled over the armrests. "I had suspected you were imprisoned all along. King Ulric knew your loyalty to me and wished to exploit it. I had tried to penetrate the prison, but the enchantments were too strong. No one could get in or out."

I nod, recalling the spells Eva had demanded I cast over the prison. Little had I known the incarnation would later be the explosion that transported everyone into Vasili. From there she was able to cast her army under her spell. The guilt I feel at contributing to that is all-consuming. I've got to help stop Eva or I'm as much a monster as her.

"The day I was imprisoned… What befell the soldiers who were with me?"

Cyrus' features darken. "King Ulric hanged them. He had only use for you, it seemed."

Bile rises from my stomach and I swallow it down dispassionately with a sip of wine. "Damn him."

"Damn him indeed. Continue on, brother. What else has happened since?"

I