Page 25 of Shadow Kissed
I lower my head at the mention of me and what happened to me the night before everything unfolded.
“Okay, if we can have calm, please,” Veles asks, holding his hand up to shush the crowd. “Commander, would you like to speak?”
Raegal nods his head, stepping forward to address the room. He’s in his all-navy Shadow Army uniform and with his black hair and contrasting pale grey eyes, he is a sight to behold.
“I can assure you the walls are secure again. I’m afraid we don’t know how or why the mutts were able to enter the village. Is it linked to the attempt on your chosen one’s life? I cannot say. Let this be a stark reminder to all of you of the importance of your Shadow Kissed. You should cherish and protect her, and if anyone knows anything about who was involved in her abduction, I suggest they speak up.”
I study the room, my eyes falling on Mayla’s two friends and then onto Koen, who looks like he might wet his pants any moment.
“It was Mayla!” wails Calla, as her friend Ashara tries to cover her mouth and stop her speaking.
“Step forward,” Raegal orders, his furious eyes zeroing in on her. “Speak, girl,” he says, glowering down at her.
Calla shakes and clutches her arms around her middle as she faces the shadow commander. “It was all Mayla’s idea. She’s always hated her. Had we known the consequences, we wouldn’t have assisted her. We didn’t really do anything, though. It was the guys who bundled her in the trunk and tied her to that tree.”
Raegal doesn’t flinch, even when she starts to cry. “Who else was involved apart from you two and Mayla?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Koen gulp, sweat pouring out of his pores. He’s not so tough now, is he?
“Him and him,” Calla says, pointing into the horror-stricken crowd at both boys.
Raegal’s shadows fly out of him and into the crowd, grasping the two boys around the neck, then dragging them in front of him, dangling them off of the ground.
“What do you have to say for yourselves?” He growls, glancing between them. His eyes virtually black. Now I know where he gets his fearless reputation from. He’s scary when he’s mad.
“We didn’t mean to leave her out there all night,” Koen says, his voice shaking as Raegal’s eyes burn into him. “It was a joke.”
“A joke?” Raegal repeats coldly, leaning into Koen’s face. “Was it a joke the other night when they came into your village and killed almost half of your people? That’s what fate she would have met if it hadn’t been for my men.” Raegal looks up at two of his men and bobs his head at them. They step forward and grab hold of both boys, pushing them down onto their knees.“Attempting to murder your Shadow Kissed is a serious crime. The penalty for such treachery is death.”
I rush towards the front of the hall, placing myself between the two boys and Raegal and then put out my hand. “Stop! There has already been enough death. They have both lost loved ones, and that is punishment enough.” I turn and face Calla and Ashara, who stand clutching each other, sobbing. “I forgive you for what you did—all of you.”
Raegal leans forward and looks at them all with disdain. “I’m going to let Eretreya decide on your punishment. If it was up to me, I would sever your heads from your bodies.”
I shake my head, releasing a deep sigh. “There has been more than enough death in this town to last a lifetime. Let them live with the shame of their actions and work to redeem themselves in the eyes of our Mother Goddess.”
Raegal nods his head with a deep frown. I sense he feels I’m letting them off lightly. “Let this be a lesson to you. It’s because of her good grace that you leave here today with your hearts still beating. Leave this room now, before I change my mind,” Raegal barks at them. They all scurry to their feet and rush over to the safety of their families who greet them with looks of pure disappointment written across their faces; they quickly and quietly leave the hall.
Chief Veles clears his throat, his face ashen. “Now we have that sorted this sorry business, we shall move on to the next order of business.”
Raegal takes that as his cue to leave and the crowd parts for him as he passes, allowing him a wide berth. As he walks by me, he briefly nods my way before he exits.
The chief informs our fellow residents that some of the surviving boys who are between sixteen and eighteen will need to take up work in the mines to make up for the shortages due to the number of miners who were lost in the attack.
“When do you leave?” I ask Arkynn under my breath.
“Tomorrow,” he says with a deep frown. “I feel like I should stay and help you with the twins.”
I shake my head. “No. This is what you’ve worked your whole life for. We’ll be fine and your mum has already offered to help with looking after them.”
“And when it’s your turn to go?”
I push up from the wall and beckon for him to follow me outside. He follows me out and up the steps of the town walls. I stop halfway along the west rampart and sit myself on top of a barrel stored there. “The boys are going to move in with your parents. I haven’t told them yet. They have experienced so much trauma, and I don’t think they’ve even thought about what will happen when I have to leave.”
Arkynn nods his head. “I should have known they’d offer.” He clears his throat and frowns, looking down upon the square. I follow his gaze and spot the commander and Jasiel, deep in conversation, walking towards their encampment at the back of the town. “I don’t like the way he thinks he has some kind of claim over you.”
I blink. “Come again?”
Arkynn rolls his eyes at me. “He thinks he has some claim to you. I don’t like it. He looks at you like he wants to crawl under your skin and leave his scent all over you.”