Free Shadow Queen by B.R. Nicholson

hard. I’m sure
you can heal yourself,” said Astrid, sitting upright and propping
herself against an overstuffed pillow.
    “It’s not that…” he said, pausing to think
before continuing. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed being
around people. Or the last time I’ve laughed this much.” He picked
up a half-eaten loaf of bread from a nearby platter and tossed it
toward her.
    She caught it and tore into its fluffy
interior, chewing it slowly. “Do you still plan on going back?” Her
words were mangled by the mouthful of bread.
    Luka smirked and shook his head. “I’m not so
sure now. The longer I’m away, the more I never want to go back.”
He strode to the bed and sat beside her, stretching out his wings
behind him.
    Astrid gulped down the hunk of bread. “Then
don’t,” she said, wiping the crumbs from her face. “Sorry, I don’t
mean to be so disgusting. I don’t remember the last time I’ve
eaten.” She felt her face redden from his gaze.
    “You’re far from disgusting. I think you’re
beautiful,” he said, his mouth a jumble of words. He reached out
and brushed her damp hair from her face. His hands were warm and
inviting against her skin. She slid closer to that warmth, holding
his gaze in her sight. She hovered above his lips, unsure of the
path laid out before her.
    “What happened to you?” She breathed the
words onto his skin.
    “Many dark and horrible things. And one
bright, beautiful thing. It’s difficult to explain, I doubt anyone
could understand,” he said, wrapping his great arms around her.
    “Try me,” she said. She felt herself sinking
further into his warmth.
    “My mother was murdered,” he said, his voice
a soft rumble, “by what our people— your people— claim to be
sacred. I was only a child… but the rage that burned inside me
demanded vengeance. I murdered the Phoenix and in her dying breath
she cursed me. As long as the clan shall live, so shall you. I was cast out of the village. Abandoned by my people and by my own
father. It was a dark and horrible time…”
    Astrid heard his voice catch in his throat.
He turned his gaze away from her, trying to hide the tempest
dwelling within his eyes.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing his face
with her fingers. “No one deserves such cruelty. You were only a
child…” She was dumbstruck that her people were capable of such
evil. The thought of being cast out into the desert to be forgotten
filled her with icy dread. She knew she had felt that sense of cold
isolation before. The day I was found wandering alone in the
desert…
    “You aren’t the one who did this. There would
have been nothing you could have done,” he said as he flashed
Astrid a forced smile.
    “I hadn’t been found yet,” she said without
thinking. Luka’s eyes shot her a curious glance. “I was found
wandering the desert, maybe ten years ago… has it really been that
long? Ethen was found around the same time. Victims of the same
sandstorm I suppose,” she said. She forced a laugh but it faded
into the painful silence. “Ilsie took us in shortly afterward and
we’ve been in her care ever since.”
    “Ilsie?” Luka propped himself up on his
elbow, his feathered eyebrow arched. “ Healer Isilda? ”
    Astrid nodded, unsure of his sudden
interest.
    “She finally got her wish then,” he said, a
grin spreading across her face.
    “Her wish for what?”
    “Ilsie had always wanted children. She had
tried for years until her husband never returned from a voyage at
sea. Everyone thought her barren—”
    “— Do not speak ill of Ilsie. ” The
words had escaped Astrid in an instant. Luka’s eyes widened,
surprised by her venom.
    “Ilsie is my family. My aunt ,” Luka
said as he smiled, trying to contain his laughter.
    “Oh,” said Astrid. She could feel the heat of
her face reddening. “I’m sorry. Ilsie’s the closest thing I’ve had
to a mother and I’ve heard far too many people speak horribly about
her.”
    Luka