Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
BELLAMY
I t was easy to find him. I sat on the balcony attached to my room and looked up at the stars, commanding their light to come my way. I closed my eyes, and in my mind, I floated up toward the stars, becoming one with them. Then I began my search.
Driscoll had said that Aron was in the frost court, that he was to become king. Which meant there was really only one place he could be: the frost castle.
Using my powers, I looked down into the castle, finding Aron sleeping in his bed. The starlight brightened, shining onto him, and I felt myself move into his mind.
I could’ve created any world I wanted in his dream, but I knew exactly where I wanted us to be. Back in the Wilds.
Aron stood in a forest we liked to hunt in, where creatures only roamed during the day, making it the perfect place to go at night. A fire crackled in the middle of a clearing, and Aron sat there, blinking a few times before he tilted his head.
“Bellamy?” he asked.
I emerged from the shadows of the trees and sat in front of the fire.
The warm glow cast its light on his pale skin, glistening against his blond hair. I wanted to jump over the fire and hug him, but I stopped myself, remembering what I’d done to him. How he must hate me.
“I wondered when you would finally visit me,” he said.
“We have a lot to discuss.” I crossed my legs. “So you’re a king now? You never wanted that throne.”
“I’m not a king yet. I still need to be ratified by the other leaders. I didn’t think I deserved that throne,” he corrected. “I thought because of what the Wilds did to me, what it turned me into, I wouldn’t make a good king. But luckily I met someone who is much smarter than me.”
I raised a brow. “Driscoll?” I leaned forward, holding my hands out over the fire. “I thought he was just a fling.”
“I thought so too.” Aron rubbed his square jaw. “But he surprised me. He’s very...”
“Annoying?” I guessed. “Talkative? Sarcastic?”
“Honest.” Aron pursed his lips. “He has this honesty about him that I respect. That I like. He doesn’t see things in black and white like I always have. There’s many shades of grey in his world, and it made me realize that I could be a shade of grey too. I can be a monster and a king.”
“You’re not a monster,” I said, thinking of Kairoth. “You never have been. Just because you shift into a wolf doesn’t make you bad.”
“I know that now. It just took me some time to figure it out.” He took a deep breath. “Where are you? Did you make it to the shadow court? Are you okay?”
“Yes, and so is Driscoll. He and his friend Leoni are here with me.”
Aron blew out a relieved breath. “Why hasn’t Spirit Shadow killed you yet? Why has he not taken your shadow? You wouldn’t be able to use your magic if he had.”
“It’s a long story, but we’re safe. We’re in his castle, but we’re not prisoners.” I paused, thinking about his warning that we were not to leave his castle. “It’s complicated. But Aron, he’s found another weapon. Spirit Earth’s bow and arrow.”
Aron frowned. “So he has four weapons now. Has he found the lightning bolt?”
I shook my head. “I hid it. It’s safe. For now.”
“And you’ve confirmed that he’s planning on using the weapons to free the other spirits, destroy us?”
I bit my lip, the words sounding so wrong when I thought about Kairoth. But what else could he be using the weapons for? He’d trapped that woman because she’d stopped loving him. He’d committed so many atrocities, even if they weren’t on purpose like he claimed.
“You look unsure, Bell,” Aron said.
Embers popped and sizzled in the air between us.
“Yes,” I said finally, refusing to let a few conversations sway me from my path. “He’s planning something bad with those weapons. You have to speak with the other rulers. You have to tell them we need to find Spirit Star’s scythe. And you have to keep Spirit Frost’s axe safe and hidden. He has shadows scouring the land looking for these weapons.”
Aron nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”
I wanted to say sorry for the fact that I’d tricked Aron. That I’d used him to get that lightning bolt for myself, that I’d gone into his dreams and manipulated his mind so he’d go get it for me. I wanted to tell him that I missed him. But if he didn’t tell me it was okay, if he didn’t tell me we could still be friends, if he didn’t say that he missed me too—then I’d truly lose him like I’d lost everyone else I loved.
It felt so overwhelming and scary that I forced the words back down and said nothing instead.
“Bell,” Aron started, but the dream began to shift.
I felt a tug I’d never felt before.
“Aron?” I asked, panic washing over me. “What’s happening?”
I began to float away, the starlight carrying me as Aron reached for me, everything becoming distorted and blurry.
I was wrenched from his dream. My eyes popped open as I sat back on the balcony in the shadow court.
And hovering in front of me was the god of shadows.