All Chapters of Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Eira My wrist throbbed from his grip. He dragged me across the dusty square as if I were livestock being hauled to slaughter, not a human being. I tried to plant my feet. I tried to shove away from him. But the prince was like an immovable wall of stone. With every jerk of his arm I felt the hard muscles beneath his coat and the suffocating dominance radiating from him. The crowd watched our march in complete silence. I saw pity on their faces, but no one moved. Who would dare challenge Zade Blackwood? I was not afraid though. My anger burned hotter than my fear. "Let go of me, you idiot," I hissed, trying to dig my nails into the back of his hand. He did not even flinch. He did not look at me. He just kept marching toward the massive dark stone gates. As soon as we crossed the palace threshold the light disappeared. The gigantic walls closed around me and my stomach instantly twisted. The walls. They were too close. The ceiling pressed down on me even though it was at l

Zade Her wrist was thin, almost fragile in my grip, yet the tension radiating from her felt like a drawn bowstring. As I led her deeper into the belly of the palace, the corridors grew narrower and the walls glistened with dampness in the torchlight. Something was wrong. This was not the defiant struggling she had shown in the square. Her steps became uncertain and her breathing quickened into short, broken gasps that echoed through the tight stone passage. "Are you bringing her yet?" Noctis's voice thundered impatiently in my mind. "I can smell her. Like spring rain on burned earth. Bring her closer." "Calm down, Noctis," I muttered to myself. We stopped before the massive iron bound gate that led to my dragon's nest. I glanced at the girl. The face that had burned with fury before was now ash gray. Her green eyes were wide, but they were not looking at me. They were fixed on the ceiling and the walls, as if the stone itself were trying to swallow her. "What is wr

Eira The silence in the room was not peaceful. It was suffocating. I listened to the prince's steady deep breathing from the massive bed across the room, and every beat of my heart told me the same thing. Run. Now or never. I waited. It felt like hours before I dared to move. Moonlight stretched a thin silver line across the floor, just enough to illuminate the heavy oak door. Slowly I slipped off the small bed. My feet touched the cold stone and my heart nearly stopped, but Zade did not move. I moved toward the door like a shadow. I was a thief. The night was my ally and silence was my weapon. The lock clicked softly as I turned it. The prince had made the mistake of leaving the key inside. Or maybe he had never believed I would have the courage. I stepped into the corridor. The torches had burned almost down to nothing, casting trembling shadows across the walls. The corridors seemed endless, the ceiling disappearing into darkness above, but I focused on one thing on

Zade The crystal glass was cold in my hand, the deep red wine inside it still as a mountain lake. I stood beside the fireplace staring into the flames, but I did not see them. All I saw was that defiant pair of green eyes that had poisoned me with hatred barely an hour ago. "She has to learn," I muttered to myself and took a sip of the wine. "She needs to understand that the streets do not rule here. I am the law here." But the wine tasted like ash in my mouth. A strange tension vibrated in the air, something I could not shake off. It felt like the silence before a storm, when the birds go quiet and the earth begins to tremble beneath the surface. Then Noctis's scream exploded inside my mind. It was not anger. It was not hunger. The sound was a long metallic cry that tore through my nerves and dropped me to one knee. My hand trembled and the crystal glass slipped from my fingers. It shattered on the marble floor and the red wine splashed across my boots and white s

Eira I had exactly two hours. Two hours to somehow gather the remaining pieces of my dignity inside the golden walls of the prince's chambers. The mirror showed me a stranger. A white bandage crossed my forehead, dark circles shadowed my eyes, but my gaze was sharper than ever. The clothes the servants brought were just as black and practical as before: leather trousers, tall boots, and a sleeveless laced top that left my arms free. When I stepped onto the training ground, the morning sun struck my eyes sharply and the pain in my head pulsed harder. Zade was waiting in the center of the yard. He wore no armor, only a simple gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up. When he saw me his gaze moved over me, cold and measuring, as if inspecting defective goods. There was no trace of last night's silence in him. "You are late, Eira," he said coldly. My name left his mouth like a sentence. "I thought you would be glad I can even stand," I shot back, stopping in front of