Reign Shadowfell's Arc

Chapter 17 of 29

Three days after the scout walked back down the road, Reign sent for Johan. The old retainer came into the study with his boots still wet from the yard. Reign stood at the window with his hand curled around the red stone at his chest. He had slept in short pieces since the letter left. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the rider's back on the road and wondered if the demon king would send a blade instead of an answer. "The rider," Reign said. "Has he come back?" "He was seen on the ridge late last night," Johan said. "He rode slow. He'll be in the hall in a few minutes." Reign let out a breath he had not known he was holding. He turned from the window. "Thank you, Johan." Then he looked to Lyla, who stood by the door with her hands folded at her waist. "Coffee, please. And whatever the kitchen has for pastries. Bring enough for the rider too." Lyla dipped her head and went. Vixen sat curled in the leather chair by the cold hearth, one boot tucked under her. She watched him cross the room and smiled with the corner of her mouth. "How very human of you," she said. Reign laughed once, short and real. "Some habits just won't die." He sat on the edge of the desk. His hand would not leave the amulet. The silver raven pressed into his palm. The rider came in behind Lyla and the tray. He was thin from the road and there was dust in the creases of his coat. He knelt on one knee before Reign and drew a folded packet from inside his shirt. Black wax. A sigil pressed into it that Reign had never seen before, three points around a burning eye. "From the court of King Thanos," the rider said. "He read your letter in front of me. He asked me to tell you that he read it twice." Reign took the packet. The wax was still whole. He broke it with his thumb. The letter was short. He read it once standing, then sat down and read it again. His grandfather did not doubt him. The hand inside the letter named Merida, named the color of her eyes, named the song she had sung as a child. Then it named a price. Thanos would shield him from the Church of Light. Thanos would ride against the grand inquisitor himself. In return, Reign would come to the demon court within the month and stand before it as blood of the house. If he did not come, Thanos would come here, and he would not come alone. Reign set the letter flat on the desk. Vixen was already at his shoulder, reading. Lyla poured the coffee with steady hands. He had his shield. He had one month to walk into a court that had never known his name.