Counting Shadows (Duplicity)

king?” The rider chuckles. “Haven’t you heard, princeling? Your father isn’t king anymore.”
    Lor blinks, too stunned to answer. Then he finally says, “
What?
Why?”
    The rider smiles, showing that predatory smile. “It’s hard to rule a kingdom from a coffin, little princeling.”
    All the anger falls away from Lor’s face, leaving only anguish and shock. He shakes his head and mouths, “No.”
    “Yes,” the rider replies. The gryphon takes a step forward, and its talon sinks into the sand just inches from Lor’s head. I shudder and scramble back a step, but the gryphon snaps its beak just inches from my face. I freeze.
    “King Asair now rules over our kind,” the rider says to Lor. He still hasn’t even addressed me, and by the way he keeps his chin tilted away from me, I can tell he’s disgusted by my presence. “Your father refused to hand over the throne to him, despite your brother being old enough to inherit it. The king had no choice but to kill your father.”
    “Asair isn’t a king,” Lor snarls. “He was out-casted! He has no right to the throne.”
    “And you were, too. Or have you already forgotten that Angels are supposed to have wings?” The rider chuckles and nods to Lor’s scarred back.
    Lor snarls and clenches his fist tighter.
    The rider rolls his eyes. “I’d tell you to save the theatrics for King Asair, but I suppose you’ll be dead before he gets here. Pity, isn’t it? He won’t get to see you die.”
    “Asair is coming?” I blurt out.
    “Of course he’s coming. The entire Angel army is coming. You think our king would leave us to take these lands alone?”
    Lor’s face pales. “What do you mean?”
    The rider rolls his eyes impatiently. “We’re going to take these lands back, like we should have done centuries ago.”
    “My father would
never
have wanted that,” Lor hisses. “Our war with the humans is part of the past. We’ve already settled in new lands, we’ve created an entirely new civilization. You know my father believed we should leave this continent alone.”
    “Your father is dead,” the rider spits. “What he thought doesn’t matter.”
    I take a deep breath and decide to speak up. “You’ll never get past Shale,” I declare. “He’s determined to conquer this entire continent, and his army is larger than yours.”
    I don’t really know how large the Angel army is, so I can’t say that for sure. But I decide to include it, anyway. Maybe it will scare the rider. And… then what? Just because he’s scared doesn’t mean the other Angels will stop their attack, and it doesn’t mean he’ll let us survive.
    The rider just laughs at my statement, finally turning to regard me with a look of disdain. “Of course we could never defeat Shale. King Asair would never try something that stupid.”
    “So then what are you doing here?” I ask. “Shale has his eyes set on Irrador.”
    “Exactly,” the rider says. “That’s why our army is joining with his. We’ll take Irrador together.”
    My stomach twists, and I clench my jaw to keep bile down. I glance to Lor, and find that he looks just as sickened.
    “I won’t let you do this,” Lor growls. I can’t find any words to agree with Lor, but I nod, glaring up at the rider.
    The rider shrugs. “That’s a fine little threat, princeling. But you’ll be dead in a few seconds, so I don’t suppose it really matters.”
    The gryphon lowers its head, until it’s only inches from Lor’s face. Bloody saliva drips onto Lor, and the gryphon licks the lower part of its beak. It snakes its head back, preparing a strike. My heart pounds like it’s trying to escape from my chest. But I can’t tear my gaze away from Lor, who glares up at the creature, his fist clenched and ready for a fight.
    The gryphon suddenly freezes and whips its head around to stare at the rider. It hisses, but backs away a step, obeying some kind of silent order. I glance at the rider, who’s staring hard at Lor, a frown on his face.
    “You still have the prophecy mark,” he murmurs, nodding to Lor’s tattoo.
    “Yes,” Lor says. “It’s treason to kill me. The ancient laws declare it.”
    The rider’s face darkens, but he nods. “Then I will face the consequences with honor.”
    The gryphon arches its head back. It lunges, and for a moment, I think it’s going to miss. But it’s beak strikes Lor’s forearm, digging into the flesh there and tearing off the vambrace. I scream. I’m not sure what