The Shattered Dark Read Online Free PDF

to take them as prisoners. If I’d known
     how much blood was being shed because of my shadow-reading, I wouldn’t have become
     so deeply involved in the king’s wars. I’ve caused more pain than I can stand thinking
     about.
    Before my thoughts darken further, I search the street again. It’s a weekday. Most
     people will probably be at work, but I make sure I check the windows of the nearest
     homes. It’s hard to see through the sun’s glare on the glass.
    “Here.” Shane grabs the rock from my hand. “You keep standing around, and eventually
     someone’s going to notice.”
    He launches the rock through Paige’s window.
    “And, yes,” he continues. “I took a while to make up my mind, but that doesn’t mean
     I don’t give a shit.” He grabs the curtain from inside the town house, yanks it off
     its hanger, then uses it to knock out the rest of the glass and clear off the windowsill.
     “I’ll open the door.”
    He climbs inside, and, of course, I feel guilty now. It wasn’t easy for me to change
     allegiances; why should it be easy for him? Still, I don’t apologize when he opens
     the door. If he really does give a shit, he should act like it more often.
    As soon as I enter Paige’s apartment, it’s obvious there was a struggle here. In addition
     to the shattered fishbowl, the narrow table behind Paige’s couch is on its side, and
     it looks like someone tried to throw a floor lamp across the room. It’s still plugged
     in, but the lampshade is crushed. I step over it and head to her bedroom. She fought
     there, too, launching her jewelry box at her attacker. Its contents are scattered
     through the doorway and into the hall, where shards of glass litter the floor. Paige
     put up one hell of a fight.
    She shouldn’t have had to put up a fight. She wouldn’t have had to if she wasn’t connected
     to me.
    “Are you sure the remnants took her?” Shane calls from the front of the town house.
     I turn away from the bedroom and head back his way.
    “I wish I wasn’t, but yeah. Why?”
    He’s standing at the kitchen counter staring into a large, yellow mixing bowl. “There’s
     a fish in this.”
    I frown, walk to his side, then peer down at a bright blue and very much alive betta.
    “If the remnants kidnapped her,” Shane says, “it seems odd that they’d stick around
     to take care of her fish.”
    “Maybe one of them really likes fish?” I say, even though he has a point. It doesn’t
     make sense at all.
    I scan the living room and kitchen. Looking for what, I don’t know—evidence, I guess—but
     there’s nothing here except the overturned furniture and shattered fishbowl. Maybe
     I should have searched Paige’s purse before droppingit on the floor of my apartment. The remnants could have left a ransom note in it.
    “We should go,” Shane says. He’s found a little container of fish food and taps some
     into the mixing bowl. “Aren’s waiting.”
    I don’t say anything; I just keep staring at Paige’s apartment.
    He sets the container down and looks at me.
    “The rebels will help you find her,” he says gently, as if he’s trying to reassure
     me.
    They
might
help me find her. The last two weeks have been rough, though. We won control of the
     palace, and Lena has claimed the throne, but convincing the high nobles—the fae who
     run the Realm’s thirteen provinces—that her bloodline is pure enough to become their
     queen isn’t going so well. Not only that, but the high nobles are hesitant to break
     tradition and allow a woman to sit on the silver throne. They’re postponing a vote
     on the matter, probably hoping a better option will step forward.
    The headache I had on the way here doubles in strength as I head for the door. The
     delay on the vote wouldn’t be such a big deal if the remnants weren’t taking advantage
     of the uncertainty. They’re launching attacks on the silver walls surrounding the
     palace almost daily, and we’re fairly certain