The Shadow Prince by Stacey O'Neale Page A

Clothing ripped from his growing torso until there was nothing left but shreds of fabric around his feet. Coarse black hair grew over his caramel skin. As he growled, his face morphed into something resembling a panther. Hands became paws until I could see nothing mortal in him.
    She stood back to admire her work. “There. Now isn't that better?”
    Marcus let out a howl, shaking the room. I lost my balance, almost falling. He couldn't communicate while in his animal form, but when we made eye contact, I could see his fear. I bent down, putting my hand on top of his head. “I'm so sorry. I will get you out of this, I promise.”
    Two guardians in mortal form appeared at my sides. Each gripped one of my arms, pulling me into a standing position. I attempted to fight my way free. But breaking their hold was like trying to break free from iron chains. I didn't budge an inch. “What is this, Mother? Am I one of your prisoners now?”
    She addressed the crowd. “Let this be a lesson to all of you. I will not tolerate disobedience in my court. If you refuse me, you will suffer the consequences.”
    I glanced down at Marcus. Whimpering, he stepped toward me, then moved back. When I turned to look at Mother, she was holding out both of her hands like she was trying to control a puppet. The elementals around us cheered. They enjoyed watching the tug-of-war as Marcus fought for control of his own body. Whatever she wanted him to do, it was clear, he didn't want to do it.
    I tried pushing my body weight into one of the guardians, hoping he'd loosen his grip, but nothing happened. These two hounds were immovable. Tears welled in Marcus's eyes. My chest ached imagining how much pain he was in. I had to stop this. “Stop fighting her, man. Let her do what she wants. You promised me, remember?”
    “I will take my retribution,” she shouted over the roaring horde.
    Taking a defeated exhale, Marcus settled behind me. The guardians pulled my sheathed sword over my head and removed my leather jacket. Someone from behind tore my t-shirt off. My wings protruded out of my back, expanding across my shoulders. “What the hell are you doing?”
    I had my answer as soon as I felt Marcus’s teeth sinking into one of my wings. I screamed out as I tried to fight my way free. Was this really happening? Searing pain ran down my back each time his claws tore through my flesh. As his jaws clamped down, I heard bones breaking like microwave popcorn. With each snap, stabbing pain radiated between my shoulders in waves. As he shook his head back and forth, the skin and cartilage connecting my wings to my back separated. Bloodied feathers fell to the ground in clumps. With a thud and applause from the crowd, my wing landed at my feet.
    My knees buckled from the injuries and blood loss. The guardians held me in place as Marcus repeated the same process on my other wing. At some point, I went into shock. The world around me was silent and I wished for death. My eyes were half closed with starbursts in the corners of my vision, yet I managed to lift my head high enough to see my brother smiling. My sister had her eyes closed and arms crossed, face turned away from me. Regardless, neither of my siblings moved or attempted to help me.
    The guardians released me. I flopped on the ground, landing right on my face with a loud snap. Coppery blood dripped from my nose into my mouth, making me gag.
    My nose.
    My wings.
    Everything was broken.
    I was broken.
    What a fool I'd been. All these elementals I had hoped to rescue from my mother celebrated as I was mutilated. Not a single one of them tried to stop what was happening or begged for mercy on my behalf. This court wasn't worth saving. None of them.
    Except Marcus.
    As I lay here, possibly dying, my heart broke for him. If I lived my scars would heal, but he'd have this memory for the rest of his life. And if I died, he was the one who killed me.
    I turned my swollen face to the side, resting my cheek on the