The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(114)
“Do you want a joke, Valor? How about examining what I’ve done for you all without a fraction of the gratitude that I deserve. If I were actually thinking of myself I would be on the other side. If you haven’t noticed they happen to be winning. They have lost a few battles, but a good deal of that was due to my intervention. I sabotaged the Spell Hawks of Morcath. If not for me they would have taken to the air at the Last stand in Arovan and none of you would be alive today.” Shade paused and shook his head at everyone in the room. “You say that Delvay doesn’t believe in slavery? What have I been doing aside from being a slave? I run everyone’s errands and risk my life for you ungrateful bastards daily. I sold cattle and somehow that sin erases every time I have saved your pathetic honorable lives. Fine. Try to finish this without me. I wish you luck of it.” His hand dove into his pocket with his last words and Shade threw two storage stones to the floor in front of Jala. “Those are the bodies of Derrick Rivasa and Grace Morcaillo. I wish you luck finding peace with the Blights without me to control them, you will need it. They are little more than animals.” He snarled as he dropped down from the dais and headed for the door. “Do not seek me out for anything in the future. This will be the last time I speak with any of you without violence.” Shade warned as he pulled the doors open and stepped from the room.
Neph started to move but Jala placed a hand firmly on his arm. “Let him go. He has done enough for us in the past to allow him escape now. If we see him in the future we will deal with his crimes then, but for now we let him go.” Anger edged her voice as well as grief and Zoelyn could see the glassiness of Jala’s eyes. The High Lady was using considerable willpower to keep her tears at bay.
Moving quickly Zoelyn slipped from the room and started after Shade before anyone but Dray could notice she had even been present. She broke into a run once she was far enough away from the Great Hall and even with her haste she barely caught up to Shade before he reached the main gates of the city. “Shade wait!” she yelled before he could step out into the bright sunlit day.
He paused and turned back to look at her with the same sad smile he had worn in Grim’s room. “You shouldn’t have chased me down Zoey.” He chided her as she drew closer.
“I don’t understand.” Zoelyn began, but fell silent as his hand clamped down firmly on her wrist. She could feel her curse draining his magic and life force, but he didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. Clenching her teeth she fought the curse back under control and felt a moment’s regret that she hadn’t remembered to put her gloves back on after tending to Grim. Only the difficulty of removing the quills and stitching his wounds shut with gloves on had prompted her to remove them at all.
“Let it drain please.” Shade said softly and stared pointedly down at her hand. Despite her confusion Zoelyn nodded slowly and released her hold on her curse. Shade winced slightly but smiled in response. “My father is scrying on that signet ring. I’ve felt his magic since the moment I touched the ring. I wanted him to see what I said in the throne room. I have a feeling I don’t want him to see what you are about to say however.”
“But wouldn’t what you said in Grim’s room contradict what you just displayed to him?” Zoelyn stammered.
“I wasn’t wearing it then. I’ve been careful to only let him see pieces. He will assume there were stronger wards on the sickroom and they caused the scry to fail.” Shade explained with a sigh.
“I don’t believe you really sold those people.” Zoelyn began and shook her head at him in frustration. “And I don’t understand why you said all of those things in the Great Hall. Do you not realize how much they hate you now?”
“I hope they do.” Shade mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. For a moment she could see his complete misery, but he hid it quickly. “I don’t have long to explain. I’d rather not be here when Neph and Jala are finished speaking. I don’t want to run into either of them right now.” Shade said as he glanced back toward the Great Hall and sighed once more. “When I killed Grace, I killed the last female pure Blood Changeling. I damned my entire race to extinction with that single attack and my life is as good as over now. There are only three pure blood changelings left now, my father, my Uncle and myself. The only way a pure Changeling can be born now is if one of us chooses to live as a female and mates with one of the remaining two males. That will never happen. There is too much hatred between us to allow it. So we are damned to extinction because of me. Neither my father nor my Uncle will ever forgive that, and the rest of the world will want me dead for Matricide. I don’t regret saving Grim, but I am not talented enough with my Changeling powers to evade my kin. I have too many habits that will give me away if I try to hide. The only way I can protect my friends is to make them my enemies. If Myth thinks I still have close ties with any of them he will use them as bait to lure me out. You have to keep Grim from looking for me. Find some way to force him to focus on Syrah. Let him hear every rumor of what is said about me in Delvay and don’t correct it. Let me be remembered as a traitor please.”
“He won’t believe it any more than I did, Shade.” Zoelyn protested. She could feel tears burning behind her eyes and knew it wouldn’t be long before she lost her control and was sobbing like a child. “They would have helped you fight, Shade. You didn’t have to choose this path.”