The Shadow Throne (Ascendance 3)

With a nasty glare on his face, Terrowic began unlocking the irons that had bound me to the wall. Then he tossed the coat my way. “Put that on.”

“Wear Avenian colors on my back? You must be joking. Get me something else.”

He pointed to Tobias, who sat silently in his corner of the dungeon. “If you won’t, I can break his arm.”

“Or you could say please. Have you no thought other than cruelty?” I reached for the coat, and then held it out to him. “I’m a king and you’re a servant. You should dress me.”

ckled. In all my time with Amarinda, I had never seen her make the slightest ungraceful movement of her hand, much less her entire body. Since I had once commented that she had dirt on her face, the possibilities for jokes now were endless. Now that I knew she wasn’t perfect, perhaps there was a future for her and me after all.

“Did you ever get the berries?” I asked.

“Eventually.” He smiled again. “At first, we were too filthy for eating. So we walked farther off the trail until we found a pool where the night’s storm had created a vibrant waterfall. Hours seemed to pass as we stood beneath the water to get clean again, and it took some time for our clothes to dry. Then we ate.”

I lost my smile and clicked my tongue, but he quickly shook his head. “Forgive the way that sounded. It wasn’t what you’re thinking.”

He started to say more, but by then Terrowic had returned with Commander Kippenger, who didn’t look at all pleased to be summoned here.

“We need a place to talk,” I said. “Privately.”

“Why not here?”

I glanced around and rolled my eyes toward Tobias and Kippenger’s men. “Because it’s not private, obviously.” He started to turn away, but I added, “I’ll give you what you want. But only if it’s just you and me.”

“No!” Tobias said. “Jaron, what are you doing?”

“Saving your life.” I turned back to Kippenger. “Well?”

He nodded at Terrowic and mole man. “One of you, take Jaron’s friend back to the dungeon. The other will wait here while this boy king and I talk.”

Tobias yelled my name as they unchained him, but I wouldn’t even look at him. He didn’t have to understand my decisions, or like them; they were my decisions to make.

It was much later that evening when Terrowic brought me back to the dungeon. My time with Kippenger hadn’t gone as well as I had hoped, and by then, I was exhausted and ached so badly that I couldn’t even sit up while he rechained me. Tobias begged for some soup for me, but Terrowic refused him. It didn’t matter. I didn’t have the strength to eat it anyway.

“While he’s held captive, you’re responsible for his life,” Tobias protested. “He’s entitled to some basic decency.”

“He’s entitled to nothing,” Terrowic replied. “If your king wanted basic decency, he should have included that in his bargain.”

“What bargain did he make?” Tobias turned to me. “Jaron, what bargain?”

“I told them everything.” It took all my willpower to force myself to a seated position. “Well, almost everything. I gave them enough to negotiate your release. When I see you safely away in the morning, I’ll tell them the rest.”

“No! Jaron, you didn’t!”

“What else am I supposed to do?” I yelled back. “Watch as they punish you for my silence? They’ll eventually get me to talk anyway, but you’ll be dead by then. At least this way, you’ll live.”

“And what about you?” he asked.

“They won’t let me go,” I whispered. “You know that. Not at any price.”

The reality of that was overwhelming, and I slumped against the cold rock wall. He looked me over with an expression of sympathy that I hated more than if he’d felt disappointment in me, or even anger. I turned away from him, but that didn’t protect me from the wretched feeling of being pitied.

“Tell me you’re not broken,” he said. “I know it must feel that way, but you can rise from this.”

“How would you know?” I snapped. “Do you bear the weight of an entire kingdom on your shoulders? Has an enemy country focused all its resources on destroying you?”

“No.”

“And did they take someone you love?”