Read Online Griffin's Shadow by Leslie Ann Moore - Free Book Online Page B

ring. “I’ve never told anyone the entire story of what happened to me during those weeks I went missing, just before I became king. There was a girl…a human girl. She saved my life. Let me show you her face.”
    Raidan opened his mind and allowed Keizo to share the image—a face, unmistakably human, smiling and dark-eyed. Even now, the prince felt the potent emotions the memory awakened in his brother.
    “You loved this human, Zin?” Raidan asked.
    “Yes. I would have died, if not for her.”
    “A human girl…”
    “Is it so hard to believe?” Keizo snapped. “We elves and humans are not that different, not really! Yes, I loved her and she loved me, but in the end, I had to leave her. I gave her my prince’s ring as a token of my love. I never considered the possibility…” The king paused, then whispered, “Brother…I think Sakehera’s hikui stray might be mine.”
    With those words, the very foundations upon which Raidan had built and ordered his life crumbled and blew away like dust upon the wind. A cloud of anger threatened to overwhelm his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
    I can’t let Keizo know how his confession has affected me. There’s too much at stake!
    Raidan rose to his feet. “If this hikui girl is yours, Brother, you must handle the matter with the utmost care. The last thing Alasiri needs right now is a scandal.”
    “Don’t you think I know that?” Keizo glared at Raidan with challenging eyes. “But if she is my child, I’ll not turn my back on her.”
    “I think it’s time for me to leave you alone. When you’ve finished interviewing the girl, send for me.” Raidan turned on his heel and stalked from the room.
    Keizo has fathered a child!
    The words buzzed through Raidan’s brain like a swarm of angry hornets as he strode down the deserted, night-silent corridors of the castle. The implications were enormous and far-reaching.
    What if my brother decides to acknowledge this girl? Will he attempt to set her above me and my sons?
    That must never be allowed.
    I’ll kill her myself if it comes down to that. I’ll not let some bastard hikui rob me and mine of what is rightfully ours!
    Keizo the Younger had ascended the throne of Alasiri only after a freak accident had claimed the life of King Okame—Raidan and Keizo’s eldest brother—and his entire family. Keizo had yet to marry; in fact, he had shown total disinterest in the idea, and his longtime companion, Lady Sonoe, had so far produced no children.
    As long as his brother remained unmarried and childless, Raidan and his sons were Keizo’s official Heirs.
    It won’t matter if this girl is Keizo’s offspring. She’s a half-blood, and illegitimate. By law, she can’t be the Heir, unless…
    Keizo could officially recognize and legitimize her, but in order to name her as Heir, he would have to change the law of the land. The King’s Council would surely fight such an action, and in the end, Raidan doubted the elven people would accept a hikui as their future sovereign.
    Let Keizo recognize this girl as his daughter, let him bestow upon her every rank and privilege of an Onjara princess. She can be no threat to me, unless she foolishly dares to set herself up as one. And if she does, she can be eliminated.
    Raidan took a deep breath to steady himself.
    I must remain calm. I’ve nothing to worry about.
    His heart ceased its headlong gallop and his steps slowed as he approached the double doors that led to his family’s private quarters. As he entered, the sound of his wife’s voice, raised in anger, drifted from an inner chamber. He followed the trail of heated words into his wife’s day room.
    Princess Taya Onjara stood with her back to the door, hands clenched into fists by her side. Her head whipped around, green eyes flashing, as Raidan entered the room. “By the Goddess, your son has really done it this time!” she exclaimed.
    Raidan’s heart skipped a beat. Even after forty years of marriage, he still