Troubled (The Binding Chronicles #4)

23. The House of Forgotten Shadows

The House of Forgotten Shadows

D awn was fast approaching.

Vivienne kept glancing at the sky, tightening her grip on her sword as she led Marius through what might’ve once been a courtyard.

A chill had swept over her when they passed through the arch, and it hadn’t left. She shivered, the cold a reminder of the ancient magic in this place.

Beware .

She’d taken the ominous warning to heart. She’d been on her guard since the royals dropped them off, and doubly so after passing under the arch.

The air around the once-expansive structure hummed, and the kiss of magic grew stronger with every step. Snow dusted piles of rocks that had probably been an integral part of the home at one time. Now, they were a collection of broken walls, memories of times that had long since passed, and fragments of a once beautiful building .

The ruins were vast, and some parts looked like they were in better shape than the rest. It was mostly destroyed, though.

Something that probably used to be a door rose from the broken foundation. The only reason it was distinguishable as such now was the frame supporting a semi-collapsed pile of stones on the right. Vivienne would be hard-pressed to call it a wall, but then again, most of this place was in the same condition.

Three other piles of stones marked the structural outlines of what looked to have been a foyer. Crumbling stones that might have been stairs rose halfway up one pile of shale before falling into nothing.

In a show of intelligence and rare self-preservation, the prince slipped behind Vivienne as she led him through the door into the ruin. The moment her feet landed on the other side, the air shimmered, then darkened.

Vivienne’s heart pounded, and dread crawled over her. She held out her free hand. “Wait.”

Something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones.

The prince did as she asked, bumping into her extended arm as a fog made of shadows descended upon them. The blanket of night was so thick that even with her Isvana-blessed sight, Vivienne could barely see through it.

“Damn,” she breathed.

Behind her, the prince cursed.

Vivienne hadn’t expected the ruin’s namesake shadows to be real. This would make things exceptionally more difficult… not that they’d been easy before.

“Can you see anything?” she asked, tightening her grip on her sword.

“Nothing at all. It’s like a wall of blackness.”

Vivienne had expected that answer, but it didn’t make things any better .

“Stay here,” she ordered. “Let me explore.”

Maybe the darkness was temporary? She passed her sword to her left hand and placed the right on the wall, tensing at the cold stone. It was smooth and worn by time, but she couldn’t feel any traces of magic other than the hum in the air. She moved slowly through the darkness, cataloging as much as possible.

The foyer was large, which she’d seen from the outside, but it seemed even bigger now that she couldn’t see.

Several minutes passed as she explored the space, confirming her worst fears.

The blanket of darkness was all-consuming, and it covered the entire ruin.

“Viv, look up.” Marius’s concerned voice came from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts. “The sun.”

She drew her hand away from the wall and tipped her head towards the sky. A curse slipped from her lips. The strange, nearly opaque fog covered the ruins, but the sky above was still visible. Darkness was slowly fading, the final warning before death came in the form of sunlight.

“I see it.” Urgency pulsed through her veins. “We need to find shelter.”

There was no roof in the foyer, nothing to protect her from the sun’s deadly rays. She quickly decided that going right would be the best option. Of all the walls she’d explored, this one seemed the sturdiest.

She returned to the prince and relayed her plan.

“Hold onto my shoulder,” she directed him.

He did as she asked, warmth spreading from his fingers through her. She fought to ignore both the weight of his hand and the way that her entire body yearned to lean into him.

She was here to protect him, nothing more. It didn’t matter that she’d enjoyed their conversation while walking to the ruin, nor did it matter that her entire body reacted every time they touched.

She had to keep him safe. King Sebastian hadn’t done her the disservice of making her vow to protect the prince again, but he’d explained in no uncertain terms before he and the queen left that should the prince return with even a scratch, she would pay for that with her flesh and blood.

The prince had saved her from the king’s wrath once, but nothing would protect her if she failed again.

So she wouldn’t fail. That’s all there was to it.

They would procure the vial and the dagger, and then they’d kill the First. Marius would get his adventure. Vivienne would keep him safe. Everyone would be happy.

It sounded simple, but she didn’t think it would be easy. She wouldn’t give up, though.

Tracing the crumbling wall with one hand, she reminded herself of her boundaries as she slowly advanced. The darkness was thick, and a hum filled the air, seeming to come from all around them. This was a strange place, and the sooner they left, the better.

Vivienne turned a corner when a grunt came from behind her. Marius’s fingers spasmed on her shoulder, digging into her leathers.

“Prince?” she asked, coming to an abrupt stop.

He swore. “My foot. I slammed it into something.”

“Can you walk?” she asked, alarm pulsing through her as she glanced at the sky. Dawn was drawing even closer.

The rising sun was a warning. Sunrise, like time, waited for no one. Not even vampires desperately need of a resting place.

He grunted again, and his grip on her shifted as he tested his foot before exhaling.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Keep going. We need to find shelter. ”

Vivienne moved more carefully after that. They went through a hallway, which opened into a large room. The only distinguishable piece of furniture was a glowing stone table. A strange light came from within, piercing the snow gathered over the top.

It felt wrong, and Vivienne practically ran out of the room.

They kept going, dawn chasing them deeper into the ruins.

Every so often, the crumbling wall disappeared. She fumbled for a few steps, the prince’s presence never faltering behind her despite his injury, until she found another set of structural remains to guide them.

They passed through more rooms. More piles of stones. More darkness.

The sky grew even lighter. A bird chirped somewhere in the distance.

The hum remained. Was it coming from beneath them? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that time was ticking, and they had minutes, maybe less, to find shelter.

Vivienne’s heart was a racing horse making a concerted effort to escape her chest. “Come on,” she muttered, moving as quickly as she dared.

She couldn’t die now. That would be absolutely ridiculous. She hadn’t spent a century serving in the royal army only to meet her final death because of an untimely sunrise.

They turned another corner, and then…

“Thank Isvana,” Vivienne exhaled.

The darkness remained, but she could make out the remnants of three walls and an overhang that stretched across half the room. The structure had seen better days, but at this point, something was better than nothing.

They ducked beneath the makeshift roof and pressed their backs against the wall. Vivienne slid down until she was sitting, placing her sword across her lap. The prince followed suit, his pack hitting the ground with a resounding thud .

She tucked herself in a corner, her gaze locked on the sky as the first rays of sunlight stretched their deadly fingers across the horizon. They reached for her, but she remained in the shadows.

Safe .

Her chest heaved, relief coursing through her veins. That had been far too close.

Even though the immediate danger was gone, Vivienne wouldn’t let her guard down. Not in this place where old magic reigned and black shadows covered the ruins from sight.

But at least she’d live to see another night.

Vivienne turned to the prince and whispered, “How’s your foot?”

She wasn’t sure why she was keeping her voice low, just that it felt right. There was something off about this place.

He grunted. “It’ll be fine. I just rolled it.”

A frown tugged at her lips. “If it hurts?—”

“It’s okay, Viv.”

She went to protest further, but his hand landed on her thigh. Her chest seized, and it was like she forgot to breathe. The prince’s touch earlier had been warm, but now, it was searing. Sparks ran through her, and her entire lower body warmed.

Vivienne’s argument dried up in her mouth, and she stared at her thigh. Her earlier objections about why this was a bad idea seemed so far away that she couldn’t even remember them.

She couldn’t see his hand, but by the gods, she could feel it. Did he know how much his touch was affecting her?

“I… okay.” Forcing words out of her mouth took far more effort than it should have. “If you’re sure.”

“I am,” he said, his voice brokering no room for discussion .

Several minutes passed in silence, and the prince kept his hand on her the whole time. She tried not to concentrate on his touch, but that was like asking a vampire not to need blood.

Especially when he started rubbing his thumb across her thigh. The movement was so slow that she wasn’t sure he was intentionally doing it. Purposeful or not, Vivienne couldn’t stop thinking about it, even if she tried.

Her entire world was centered on that small point of contact. Nothing could distract her from it, not even the constant hum coming from somewhere deep within the House of Forgotten Shadows.

Vivienne tried to relax. Shifting her position and stretching her legs in front of her, she settled in for a long day. She’d already anticipated that she wouldn’t be sleeping for the foreseeable future. That was why she’d ensured her hunger was fully satiated before they left. Declining the royals’ offer to find her a Source, she’d hunted several deer instead.

For some reason, the thought of drinking from a random, willing mortal had turned her stomach.

She tilted her head in Marius’s direction. He was shrouded in shadows, but the longer she looked at him, the more she could make out the general shape of his body.

Even in the darkness, she could feel his attention on her.

Before Vivienne could think too hard about why this was probably a bad idea—because there were a multitude of reasons, her blood vow being one of them—she whispered his name.

“Hmm?” he said.

“I really don’t like heights.” She’d been thinking about fears ever since he told her the story of the sea monster earlier.

His thumb paused its trail across her thigh, and he chuckled. “Can’t you fly?”

“I do, but it’s different when I’m flying because I’m in control.” She could land at any time. From the first time she jumped off a rooftop, her wings supporting her as she flew, she’d loved being in the air.

“I can see that.” His thumb started rubbing her leg again, and several minutes passed before he murmured, “I used to be afraid that I would be trapped in Castle Sanguis for the rest of my life, watching everyone else live around me.”

Her heart ached at the pain in his words. “That sounds awful.”

After having recently been a prisoner, she could relate to his fears. She’d be happy if she never saw the interior of a cell again.

“It would’ve been,” he agreed, his voice low. “But now I’m here.”

With her. A lightness filled her despite their dark surroundings.

She leaned her head back and let her eyes fall shut. “What was growing up in Castle Sanguis like?”

His hand flattened on her thigh, and his breath hitched. For a long moment, she wasn’t sure he’d answer her.

When he did, his voice was softer than before. “It was… well, sometimes it was a lot.”

Traces of pain were woven through Marius’s words, and before she realized what she was doing, she placed her hand on his.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Before she got to know the prince, she’d always assumed that life in the castle was glorious. Everyone did. She’d passed many cold winter nights listening to the wind screaming like a wailing mother and fantasizing about life in the royal castle with other soldiers. Now, she knew that wasn’t the case, but she was curious.

He resumed drawing on her leg, the movement seeming more purposeful this time. “I was really sick as a child. Did you know that?”

She nodded before she remembered he couldn’t see her. “You had the Wasting Illness, right?”

“That’s right. My sister worked tirelessly to find a cure, even though everyone else said it was a lost cause. She saved my life, and I owe her everything.”

Vivienne’s eyes widened. “Really?” No wonder Marius seemed so close to the queen. “That’s incredible.”

Thank the gods, the queen had saved Marius. Vivienne couldn’t imagine this world without him in it.

“It is,” he agreed. “I got better, and after the old queen died, Luna and Sebastian moved me into the castle with them. My sister hired tutors to help with my education since I had a lot to catch up on. They made me study for hours on end.”

Vivienne snorted as the image of the young prince sitting at a table in the library, kicking his feet, flashed through her mind.

“What’s so funny?” he asked indignantly.

“I just can’t imagine you reading all day, that’s all.” She elbowed him. “Did you even sit still?”

“I didn’t.” A baritone chuckle rumbled through him. “I went through a lot of tutors, and I’m fairly certain the only reason they remained as long as they did was to please Sebastian and Luna.”

“Oh?”

He squeezed her kneecap, his hand warm on her leg. “You may find this hard to believe, but I was a somewhat difficult child.”

“What?” She gasped in mock-shock. “You? The prince who practically blackmailed me into coming with you. I never would’ve guessed that about you.”

Vivienne had meant it as a joke, but his hand stiffened. He inhaled sharply, and the air thickened as he moved closer to her.

“Viv, I… I’m sorry about that.”

Her brows furrowed. “You don’t need to apologize again, Prince. I already told you; I forgive you. Besides, if you hadn’t… encouraged me to join you?— ”

“Fancy way to say ‘forced,’” he interjected.

“Okay, forced.” She bit back a grin, pleased that the prince was seeing things from her perspective. “If you hadn’t forced me to come, I never would’ve had the chance to fight a fabled creature of lore.”

His hand lifted from her knee, but before she could mourn the lack of his touch, he brushed a hair from her shoulder.

“Is that why you agreed to come with me?” His voice dropped to a hushed whisper, and she could’ve sworn she felt the brush of his breath against her cheek.

She inhaled sharply, considering his question.

From the first moment Vivienne had laid eyes on Marius Wisethorn, something about him had called to her. He radiated an inherent sense of life that she’d never seen in this place of frigid death. There was a sharpness in his eyes, and there was a magnetic wildness about him that made her want to know more about him.

Even so, that wasn’t why she was here.

“No,” she murmured. “That’s not why I agreed to come.”

She’d had time to think about this over the past four days. Why had she agreed to come when he’d promised her freedom from Ravenwood Dungeon either way?

Vivienne knew the answer, but she was afraid of what would happen if she said it out loud.

The reason she’d agreed was the same reason the prince had haunted her dreams since she followed him out of the university ball. The same reason she’d reminded herself of her duty a hundred times a day since that fateful night. The same reason why she had to remember the barriers between them. The same reason that was keeping her from answering him now.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if she opened that door .

The prince’s heartbeat was like a drum in this quiet, ancient ruin. She could hear it from here, and it called to her.

“Why, Viv? Why did you agree?”

He was pushing her.

Maybe that should have bothered her… but it didn’t.

It could have been the magic swirling in the black mists, or maybe it was how she imagined the prince’s eyes drilling into hers, but Vivienne decided to throw caution to the wind.

Something about being in this place without light, trapped by the sun’s deadly rays a few feet away, infused her with even more bravery than normal.

She breathed, “I agreed because of you. For you.”

She agreed so she could spend time with him.

Get to know him.

Just… be with him.

These feelings were forbidden. She knew that, and she was certain that if the king knew how she felt, he never would’ve agreed to allow her to accompany the prince on this journey.

But the royals weren’t here. She was alone with Marius in this place with its ancient magic, steady hum, and blinding shadows.

And Vivienne wanted this.

Hoping she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life, she inhaled maple and amber, leaned forward, and kissed the prince.