A King of Shadow Read online

  A Shade of Vampire 36: A King of Shadow

  Bella Forrest

  Contents

  Also by Bella Forrest

  The “New Generation” Names List

  Prologue: Julian

  1. Hazel

  2. Benedict

  3. Hazel

  4. Ruby

  5. Julian

  6. Benedict

  7. Hazel

  8. Ruby

  9. Hazel

  10. Hazel

  11. Benedict

  12. Ruby

  13. Hazel

  14. Hazel

  15. Ruby

  16. Benedict

  17. Ruby

  18. Hazel

  19. Hazel

  20. Benedict

  21. Hazel

  22. Hazel

  23. Benedict

  24. Hazel

  25. Hazel

  26. Tejus

  27. Hazel

  28. Ruby

  29. Julian

  30. Rose

  Epilogue: Benjamin

  Read more by Bella Forrest!

  Also by Bella Forrest

  THE GENDER GAME

  The Gender Game (Book 1)

  The Gender Secret (Book 2)

  A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES

  Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story

  A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)

  A Shade of Blood (Book 2)

  A Castle of Sand (Book 3)

  A Shadow of Light (Book 4)

  A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)

  A Gate of Night (Book 6)

  A Break of Day (Book 7)

  Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story

  A Shade of Novak (Book 8)

  A Bond of Blood (Book 9)

  A Spell of Time (Book 10)

  A Chase of Prey (Book 11)

  A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)

  A Turn of Tides (Book 13)

  A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)

  A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)

  An End of Night (Book 16)

  Series 3: Ben & River’s story

  A Wind of Change (Book 17)

  A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)

  A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)

  A Hero of Realms (Book 20)

  A Vial of Life (Book 21)

  A Fork of Paths (Book 22)

  A Flight of Souls (Book 23)

  A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)

  Series 4: A Clan of Novaks

  A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)

  A World of New (Book 26)

  A Web of Lies (Book 27)

  A Touch of Truth (Book 28)

  An Hour of Need (Book 29)

  A Game of Risk (Book 30)

  A Twist of Fates (Book 31)

  A Day of Glory (Book 32)

  Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians

  A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)

  A Sword of Chance (Book 34)

  A Race of Trials (Book 35)

  A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY

  A Shade of Dragon 1

  A Shade of Dragon 2

  A Shade of Dragon 3

  A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY

  A Shade of Kiev 1

  A Shade of Kiev 2

  A Shade of Kiev 3

  BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY

  Beautiful Monster 1

  Beautiful Monster 2

  DETECTIVE ERIN BOND (Adult mystery/thriller)

  Bare Girl

  Write, Edit, Kill

  For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net

  Join Bella’s VIP email list and she’ll personally send you an email reminder as soon as her next book is out! Tap here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com

  Copyright © 2016 by Bella Forrest

  Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The “New Generation” Names List

  Arwen: (daughter of Corrine and Ibrahim - witch)

  Benedict: (son of Rose and Caleb - human)

  Brock: (son of Kiev and Mona – half warlock)

  Grace: (daughter of Ben and River – half fae and half human)

  Hazel: (daughter of Rose and Caleb – human)

  Heath: (son of Jeriad and Sylvia – half dragon and half human)

  Ruby: (daughter of Claudia and Yuri – human)

  Victoria: (daughter of Vivienne and Xavier – human)

  Prologue: Julian

  My head was banging, as if a bunch of monkeys had crawled into my skull and started crashing cymbals together. Slowly I opened my eyes, shutting them again as bright sunlight blinded me. I groaned and sat up.

  What happened last night?

  Too swiftly, it all came flooding back—Benedict standing over Ruby’s body, staring at me with those cold, dead eyes. My body broke out in a shiver that reached my bones.

  I shaded my eyes and looked at my surroundings. I didn’t recognize anything, but I instantly sensed that I wasn’t in Hellswan Kingdom—this place couldn’t be more different.

  I was in an open-air courtyard, made from white stone with swirling mosaic and semi-precious gems cut into the walls and floor. Huge gold-leaf plant pots were dotted about, with large plants flowing out of them. Branches wound their way along arches and dropped down with heavy, lush fruit.

  Ahead of me was a large arch, and beyond that, nothing but sky.

  I stood up, clutching at my head as it throbbed. Squinting to avoid the sunlight that was bouncing off the white walls and floor, I staggered toward the arch. Before I could reach it, a woman stepped through and paused at the entrance.

  She was beautiful. Unearthly so. She seemed to glow, but it could have been the sunlight. Her hair was long and braided into elaborate twists and plaits, and her clothing seemed to be nothing more than leaves and petals…

  Oh.

  She was a nymph. The same creatures that Tejus’s younger brother had warned me away from in the labyrinth.

  I knew then that I should have walked away, but there was something about her…the gentle sway of her body, as if she was dancing while she waited for me…and those enchanting violet eyes. My feet kept walking toward her.

  “Greetings, young human,” she cooed at me. “You look so tired.”

  “I am,” I found myself murmuring. I was tired.

  She reached out a hand and brushed my cheek. “We can’t have that now, can we?”

  “But I must…I must get somewhere,” I replied. I couldn’t actually remember where I was meant to be—but I was sure it wasn’t here.

  “Or we could feed the birds together.” She smiled, reaching out her arm. A small bird, no bigger than my thumb, fluttered down to land on her finger and chirruped merrily.

  “That sounds… nice,” I managed, feeling in a daze. “I love birds.”

  “I bet they love you too,” she replied, her huge violet eyes looking into mine. They were so brilliant, like purple diamonds, and I felt like I could have continued staring at them forever.

  “Ah, he’s awake.”

  A clipped voice cut through my haze, and I turned to see another woman, a sentry this time, in royal blue robes smiling at me coldly.

  The nymph giggled and gave me a peck on the forehead before scurrying off across the courtyard.

  “Who are you?” I demanded, taking a step back. “What are you doing here—what have you done to me?”

  “What am I doing here?” she replied incredulously. “This is my home, boy. It’s what you’re doing here that should concern you.”

  “What am I doing here
?” I asked, a sick feeling churning in the pit of my stomach.

  “You have had the misfortune of getting in my way. I have great, glorious plans for Nevertide.” She clutched her hands together in glee. “A long-awaited day of glory, marching toward us…and I can’t have an inconsequential human ruining it all.” Her eyes gleamed with the mania of a zealot.

  “You know,” she continued as I gulped down the bile rising in my throat, “I’ve never had a human of my own… I do hope you enjoy your stay, dear Julian. It’s going to be a very long one.”

  Hazel

  I stared morosely around the deserted room. Its lavish decorations were faded, the gray stones as bleak here as they were in the rest of the castle. Ruby, Ash and I had stumbled upon this room in our search for Julian. We had already checked the areas of the castle that we knew: the servants’ quarters and the human quarters, along with the old rooms of Tejus’s brothers—Jenus and Danto. Now, with Ash’s help, we were trying to navigate the abandoned rooms and hallways that had fallen into disrepair, neglected for many years. Jenney and Benedict were also off searching, but they had started in the west wing of the castle, searching around the bull-horse stables and the crop storage rooms.

  I was trying to keep my mind on the task at hand, but as we searched for Julian, I felt as lost as he was.

  The intense kiss I’d shared with Tejus, and the emotional turmoil that went with it, had happened only moments ago—but when we’d been interrupted by Ruby, I’d seen the defensive, cold walls that Tejus had built around himself swiftly go back up. I was already half-wondering if I’d imagined the entire thing, and were it not for the tingling sensations that I still felt where he’d touched me, I would have questioned my sanity. The tender words, his questioning gaze—the small hint of him wanting something more from me, wanting something more from us—was so unexpected and out of character. I replayed the moment again and again in my head, holding the memory close to me so that it wouldn’t vanish—but the more I remembered, the more his actions resembled a goodbye…and a warning? To stay away?

  I didn’t know where that left me. I had spent so long trying to block out any feelings toward Tejus—anything that I thought would distract us from the perilous trials and the end goal of getting the Nevertide borders lifted—that I didn’t fully understand what I felt toward him. He had been my kidnapper, and then my (almost) friend, and now… now I didn’t know. The only thing I had absolute clarity on was the fact that there was a huge lump in my throat, and no matter how much I distracted myself with the search for Julian, it would not go away.

  “I’m going to try to use True Sight,” Ash announced. “It will be easier from here—we’re nearer the center of the castle.”

  He sat on the floor, and Ruby crouched down beside him.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, her arm resting against his.

  “Absolutely,” he replied. “I’m just going to need…”

  “Take whatever you need,” Ruby interjected. “It’s okay.”

  I watched their exchange, noting that the closeness Ruby and Ash had been developing throughout the trials seemed almost tangible now. As we’d searched the castle they’d never strayed far from one another, and sometimes it had felt like they were sharing unspoken conversations in their own private bubble. I felt slightly awkward, as if I was intruding, but I was also glad for Ruby. Even as fraught as she was, as we all were, about Julian, she seemed to gain strength from Ash, as if the role of the syphoning sentry had been reversed, and it was Ruby, not Ash, who grew stronger and brighter.

  I stood by the window as Ash syphoned off Ruby, their hands held and Ash staring off into the distance—looking through and beyond the walls of the chamber, into the locked rooms and narrow hallways of the castle.

  “Nothing,” Ash murmured after a while. “I can’t see far enough.”

  Ruby’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “I can’t help but think he’s left on purpose… What if he’s out there now, looking for the borders again?” she said, wrapping her arms around herself as she shuddered at the thought.

  “Don’t go there—he wouldn’t do that,” I replied hastily. “I know he was upset that we didn’t try harder to lower them ourselves, but he’s also too sensible to go on a suicide mission. We’ll find him.”

  The idea of Julian purposely putting himself in danger chilled me to the bone. But I also strongly believed that it wasn’t the case—we were children of The Shade, and as familiar as we were with the supernatural, and taught to be independent and resourceful, we also knew that it was selfish and foolhardy to take such risks with our own lives.

  “Do you think you could see further—maybe to the grounds—if you syphoned off two people?” Ruby asked suddenly.

  Ash shrugged. “I’ve never tried it… I’m not even sure if I can.”

  “But it’s worth a try, right?” Ruby insisted.

  “Yes.” Ash nodded slowly. “If you’re willing, Hazel?”

  Both of them turned to look at me. I nodded immediately—if it would help us locate Julian, I was willing to do whatever it took. But as I sat on the opposite side of Ash, readying my mind for the syphoning, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The mind-melding between Tejus and me had become such a personal act that it felt strange to be allowing another sentry to do it—almost as if I was somehow being disloyal to Tejus. It was such an irrational thought that I dismissed it immediately, but it lingered at the back of my mind, joining the other bizarre and conflicting emotions I felt toward the new King of Hellswan.

  I felt Ash’s mind reaching out to mine—the cold, aching sensation of invisible wisps touching at my temples, as if fingers were slowly pushing into my brain. Ash’s hold on me wasn’t quite as strong as Tejus’s or Jenus’s had been in the past, but I could feel my energy slowly being syphoned off. I realized that I hadn’t eaten in a while, and it was likely that both Ruby and I weren’t at our best, making it harder for Ash to take what limited supplies we had.

  Opening my mind up as best I could, trying to push my mental reserves toward Ash, I could almost feel the connection between him and Ruby growing. It was a strange sensation, sort of like watching two bright suns meld together while I stood on the outside, my own glow dim and dying compared to theirs. I could sense our shared determination to find Julian, the one thing that we all had in common, but it was almost overshadowed by the mix of emotions fluctuating between Ash and Ruby—small sparks of frustration and wanting, of unspoken words between the two of them. I tried to block it out, focusing only on Julian and allowing Ash access to my energy, but the feeling that I was intruding on something private intensified.

  The door to the room swung open with a bang, and abruptly the connection was broken. I turned sharply to see who it was, and my eyes met Tejus’s as he glowered from the doorway.

  “What’s going on in here?” he asked, his face contorted with barely controlled anger. I jumped up, suddenly wanting to get some distance between Ash and me, as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. I wavered slightly as I stood up, my head dizzy and my legs weak from lack of energy.

  “We’re trying to find Julian,” I replied, rubbing my temples.

  Ash turned and glared at Tejus. “I was using True Sight, it was a better way of seeing the castle. The others are off looking—we’re all trying to do something helpful.”

  Tejus looked impassively at Ash, as if he hadn’t heard a word that he’d said—or had completely ignored all that he’d said.

  “Hazel?” Tejus turned to me.

  “It’s true. We thought if we all mind-melded it would make Ash’s True Sight stronger,” I replied, maddened by his attitude. If he wasn’t going to help, what choice did we have? And really, what was the big deal about me mind-melding with Ash in the first place? I sighed in irritation.

  “You’re obviously too weak,” he retorted, looking me up and down. I was still wearing the lavish gown from earlier, and I was starting to feel ridiculous in such a get-up. I noticed that Tejus
had discarded the ceremonial robes he’d been wearing for the coronation, and was wearing his usual uniform of loose black trousers and black shirt. His hair hung loosely down his back, its darkness shading his features, making his eyes seem almost black and the freshly-shaved hollows beneath his cheekbones more pronounced. My gaze was drawn to the stark lines of his lips, drawn in contempt. Looking at him now, I couldn’t see even a glimpse of evidence that hinted of our earlier intimacy—and it was only my memories of the taut planes of muscle that lay beneath the black shirt, the coarse hands at my face, and the recollection of how soft and pliant his lips could be, that made me stand, frozen in his line of sight, blushing furiously and feeling unaccountably ashamed.

  “When did you last eat?” he emphasized shortly, raising his eyebrow.

  Great—we’re back to protective Tejus, treating me like a child.

  “I’m not entirely sure,” I replied dishonestly—I knew it had been yesterday that I’d last had a proper meal.

  Tejus stared at me coldly. “I have a meeting with the ministers to discuss lowering the borders. You should attend—if there is time, I can discuss the missing boy…see if we have spare guards. There will also be food.”

  “His name’s Julian,” I reminded him, trying to match his detached tone with my own, “and yes, I want to come.”

  Right now I would give anything to end the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room. Sitting with a bunch of minister sentries for a few hours seemed like a small price to pay. Plus, I was eager to hear the verdict on the borders and how soon we could get them down, along with any extra help we could get finding Julian. One wasn’t going to be much use without the other though—there was no way any of us would leave Nevertide without our friend. Julian should be the priority.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I asked Ash and Ruby.

  Ruby nodded. “We’ll be fine—we’ll go and join up with Benedict and Jenney. I don’t think Julian’s anywhere in the castle.”

  “I don’t think so either,” I agreed dejectedly. It was starting to look like Julian had gone off in search of the borders himself. Which meant that he would be at the mercy not only of creatures in the Hellswan kingdom, but of the unknown inhabitants of the six other Nevertide provinces.