Black Moon Draw

There's no door at all to the room, a ceiling supported by wooden beams and a floor of massive blocks covered by rugs. I don't think we'll survive if we jump to the sea below. It's too far.

"Maybe there's some entrance in the floor. A trap door leading to some elevator or something we can't see." I drop to my knees and pull up one rug. I'm starting to feel a familiar sense of panic build and dig my fingers into the space between two stones to see if anything moves. No matter how hard I try, I'm doomed to fail him.

The thought pierces me to the core and I sit back.

"'Tis the same for me every day."

Not expecting such a human emotion from him, I sit back and face the Shadow Knight. He doesn't look anywhere as upset as I am about it. More . . . contemplative.

The instinct warning me about getting too involved is screaming again.

This time, I ignore it. "How can you say that?" I ask with some frustration. "You have so much power and strength. No one can stop you. You fail at nothing and win every battle."

"In three days, my realm vanishes." There's a mocking note in his voice, along with bitterness. "And you have no power."

"But that's not our faults," I protest.

The Shadow Knight draws closer, seating himself on a stool near me. I automatically suck in a breath of his dark, heady scent and wait with some reticence for whatever otherworldly explanation he'll offer up. There's no part of him capable of failing. I'm almost angry at him for claiming to know what it feels like to have the world reject him at every turn.

He pulls a second stool before him and pats it.

I sit on it obediently. We're close enough that my knees are between his, our eyes on the same level his elbows on his thighs.

"My predecessors fought for a thousand years to unite the kingdoms, each aided by a powerful battle-witch."

"You said three succeeded," I point out, dread in my stomach. "They didn't have me either."

"Which is why they ultimately failed when they returned to the seat of the kingdom to face the curse alone. My idea is that 'tis not the knight who need face the curse, but his battle-witch, armed with the Heart of Black Moon Draw and her magic."

If so, we're all doomed. "There has to be a better way. You're taking too many lives and I can't believe destroying half the kingdoms to save the other half is really the right way to do this! Not only that, but you're relying on me, and I think we both know that's the worst possible choice you have!" Swallowing hard, I stop to rein in what emotion I can. "Can you even take over two more kingdoms before your time is up? And what happens if I suddenly disappear back to my world?"