The Shadow Prince’s Ruin (Dark Companions #2)

Chapter 30

Sylvan

I ’m covered in shadow from head to toe, and I materialize levitating platforms in front of my feet in my mad dash toward doom. The power needed for this feat barely skims the surface of Hawk’s darkness, but it’s enough to draw the bassal’s attention to me.

Just three months ago, I was too afraid to face the monster my brother died chasing away. Now I know what it feels like to have someone worth dying for. I might be petrified, but I will not falter. I vowed to never take more than Hawk can give, to never hurt him, and I will prove to him that my words were true, even if it means my own demise.

My only regret is that he will be left to fend for himself in the Nightmare Realm, but that gives him a fighting chance. He deserves that much after what he has been through.

The bassal grunts right behind me, and I smell its breath, so my plan of luring it away is working. But if that’s the case, why is Hawk screaming? It tears right through my heart. Could it be that there are more of these beasts around and my efforts are futile? Or is he insane enough to try attracting the bassal’s attention to himself?

I’m about to yell at him to stop it, but when I look over my shoulder, words die on my lips.

I expect to see the bassal’s yellow eyes right behind me, but a golden creature smashes into the black body of the overgrown lizard. It’s like a shooting star crashing into the surface of the Darkmoon.

I don’t understand what’s happening, but the bassal roars in fury, and any interest it had in me is gone, replaced by the fight for survival.

The two creatures tumble into the shallow water, distorting the perfect reflection of the moon as they spin together like the Yin and Yang symbol Kurt has shown me back in the human realm. Only that the pale half of what I’m seeing isn’t just white. It embodies the very meaning of radiance, shining so bright I have to shield my eyes as I drop onto the branch of a tree. Only when I grab it do I realize how much my shoulder hurts.

The smell of burning meat teases my nostrils as the bassal shrieks, thrashing under the weight of its opponent. Smoke coils into the air when the beasts thrash in a ball of limbs and claws, but when the reptile breaks free and swings both its tails, as if it isn’t sure whether it wants to bolt or fight, I get to see the other creature for what it is.

A crown of several horns shoots out from its head, framing the bare skull. The rest of its agile form is covered with fur so pale it’s difficult to decide whether it’s golden or flecked with sparkling particles. The head is golden polished bone, eyes like volcanic stone, and diamond-sharp teeth reflect the light it radiates with.

No matter how much I want to deny it, I know what this is.

The Sunwolf.

My stomach drops, and the shadow I’m covered with evaporates. I could have a dozen shadow tentacles right now, and the bassal would still only be focused on the Sunwolf, because it’s fighting for its life. I struggle to comprehend the implications of Hawk’s change, too amazed by the sight in front of me.

The golden canine the size of the huts we’ve slept in in the marshland, rips out the bassal’s front leg with a primal growl, blood staining its crystal teeth. It’s like watching the mythical fight between the sun and the moon, only that this time, I have no doubt it’s the sun that will win. Even when the bassal yields, focused on survival, the Sunwolf doesn’t let it go. With its leg still between his teeth, the wolf lowers its skull and slams the horns into the remaining head of the bassal.

With one last piercing screech of agony, the reptile collapses.

The fight is over.

I’m speechless. Too stunned to utter a word or even think, so I watch the massive wolf shake off whatever discomfort it’s been feeling, and then walk away from the gored reptile. The glow it produces adds a new dimension to the hues around us, and the murky darkness of the swamp becomes a whole array of greens and golds reflecting off the surface of the water. Lilac crystals appear to grow on some of the trees, and every time insects flee the Sunwolf, tiny sparkles seem to erupt in the air around their wings. It’s only now that I realize the dead reptile has changed color in its death, now a dull gray rather than the intense black from before.

Hope creeps into my heart, so I glance toward the hill, which is now marred with talon-shaped grooves in rock, and broken bushes, but I cannot see Hawk anywhere. He must have—he must have really…

The pain in my shoulder hits me so hard I slump to my ass on the branch, staring at the shiny beast. I have a general idea of what happens to an elf who puts it on, but a human? Is he even still sentient?

Thoughts of losing the Sunwolf Crown are only the buzzing of a fly, because nothing worries me more than Hawk’s safety. Fenren’s dead, Ivy is gone, and we’re in the middle of a swamp, still far from the Nocturne Court. If I lost Hawk, all has been for nothing.

Why would he have done something so stupid? I warned him the mask wasn’t something to be trifled with, yet he still put it on, and now… now I don’t even know if he’s the one behind those empty eyes.

With a heavy weight in my chest, I watch the wolf walk through the water, a top predator that doesn’t need to be afraid of anything, but as I inhale, ready to get its attention when it comes dangerously close to the line of trees, it turns back and heads toward me.

Despite watching it rip a bassal to shreds, and seeing the blood staining its horns, I have no fear in my heart as the Sunwolf approaches. It’s not just that I sense no ill will, or that its body language is relaxed. I must have exhausted my limit of terror on the fight with the reptile, and have none left in me. I’ve never considered myself brave. In fact, my mother always taught me bravery is stupidity in another guise. But when I made myself bait so that Hawk could escape, something changed in me. I discovered myself anew, and I liked the man I found within.

I feel like a polished diamond. Sharp, clear, and impossible to shatter. But can I avoid breaking if the man I chose to sacrifice everything for is no longer with me?

I remain dead quiet as the creature approaches, terrifying in its radiant beauty, but when it meets my gaze and sits with a soft whine, my heart leaps, because there is no doubt that he recognizes me.

The part of me that cares about proving my worth to everyone at the Nocturne Court, screams with fury, because I told him to never use the mask. But my heart is stronger, and I stroke the beast’s smooth forehead as I try to ignore the throbbing pain in my shoulder.

It opens its jaws, and several clusters of marroweed fall into my lap.

“Thank you.” I sigh and gather the flowers into my bag. I then force myself to slide off the branch and onto the muddy ground. I’m so torn between mourning the loss of the excellent bargaining chip and being elated by the presence of this mythical beast. I don’t know what it means for Hawk and me yet, but I pet Sunwolf’s fur. It’s soft as down. Hawk’s bony muzzle pokes at my hip, and I give in to the weakness in my body, putting my arms around the wolf’s neck. It’s purring, and now that I recognize that it’s a sign of contentment, fear, and tension leave my heart, allowing me to feel every consequence of the standoff.

My muscles ache. My shoulder’s broken. My head is spinning as if the bassal trampled me after all.

“We need to leave this area,” I say, exhausted to my core. “It’s not safe here. See those stars?” I point out the twinkling red constellation called the Blood Serpent. “Let’s go in that direction. With you like this, we should be able to cross without relying on Fenren’s winding paths.”

Hawk’s eyes might be dark and matte like polished stone, but I know he’s looking straight at me when he gives the faintest bark and then jerks his head, causing my hand to touch his back. I have no idea what he means until his elongated form lowers, and his stomach touches the ground.

“Are you sure?” I ask, but I am so exhausted nothing sounds more inviting than a bed of fur warm as the sunshine I used to despise.

I decide to take Hawk’s little whines as an invitation to climb him. It’s not the easiest of tasks for a man with a bad shoulder, but he doesn’t complain when I have to pull on his fur to do so. I straddle his nape and lay forward with my cheek buried in his warmth.

“Follow the red stars,” I mutter, suddenly exhausted, as if I’ve inhaled the spores of a Cerulean Puffball. After days of travel, his fur and closeness are like a cocoon of safety, and for once I don’t have to be alert and in charge, because the Sunwolf can keep me safe.

Hawk can keep me safe.

It doesn’t feel like riding a horse. The beast under me is hotter to the touch, even with the thick padding of fur, but also broader, taller, and softer. As I relax, sinking my face into the thick hair, a voice deep inside tells me to let go. To close my eyes and let the tide wash over me.

Is this how souls feel just before they disintegrate in the river that takes them away from their world? There’s no fear, only the deepest contentment.

Back in the realm of humans, I detested the sun, but as Hawk moves, carrying me away from the scene of the fight that almost ended with our deaths, I can’t resist the comfort of the warmth he’s radiating, not after the nights we’ve spent in the swamps. He even smells like sun-parched rock, but for once the crispness of that scent is pure comfort.

I must have fallen asleep in my spot between his shoulder blades, so I’m not sure how much time passed, but the pain in my arm catches up with me eventually.

I moan despite clenching my teeth to avoid alarming Hawk. Fortunately, I’ve got the marroweed, so maybe my suffering won’t be endless. I rise to my knees and look around.

We’re not in the swamps anymore. I can tell even before spotting bright blue flowers between the trees and bushes thanks to the fresh scent of ferns. For a moment, I’m confused, because the moon must have set by now, but I realize it’s Hawk’s bright fur that brightens the night.

Sensing that I woke up, he makes a little bark, and I stroke his back to let him know I’m fine.

I feel that I recognize this forest, but most importantly, it’s time to deal with my injured shoulder and work out what’s happening to Hawk. Once he stops walking, I slide off his side, biting my lip to stifle a groan of pain when my shoulder presses too hard on his flank.

The huge bulk of the wolf seems almost too large for the narrow, mossy clearing, and when his long, bushy tail smacks against a tree, several shelled nuts fall to the ground, making so much noise Hawk tumbles, trying to get away. He lands on his side and stiffens, glaring at the offending tree as if it were guilty of bearing fruit. He growls at it and finally settles, grinning at me with teeth like the purest crystal.

“Do you understand me?” I ask, looking into his obsidian eyes. When he nods, I sigh in relief, but it’s short-lived when I face reality. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve not read anything about what happens to the bearer of the Sunwolf Crown. The risk was yours, I don’t begrudge you for the choice you made, as otherwise, I would have been dead and unable to use the mask anyway, but how will we go on?” I ask and stroke the golden skull he has for a head.

Hawk gets back on his feet and shoves my chest with his muzzle. I bite back a moan of pain when he pushes too hard, but this is an attempt to comfort me, so I keep my mouth shut and stroke the smooth surface of his skull. I no longer see any bloodstains on the horns, which means he must have dunked his head in the water sometime on the way.

He moans in sympathy, and something tugs at the mystical connection we forged merely days ago, when I took him as my Dark Companion. My stomach drops at the realization that even that has changed, almost as if there is a thick door separating us, and I can only hear him scratching at it. So I allow him in.

A gateway opens in my mind, letting in the light. And with it, his voice.

[ Sylvan, I’m okay! I’m still me ,] Hawk tells me, and his thick, warm tongue laps at me so hard it pulls up my shirt and tickles my stomach.

I stroke him above the teeth, looking deep into eyes like two voids. “You’re not ‘okay’, my darling. This is a big, big problem. What if we never find a way to change you back? You’re massive and shiny. You will be hunted.”

Hawk blinks and cocks his head like one of the many dogs I’ve seen in the realm of humans, but before I can say another word, his form erupts in white light and prompts me to close my eyes. I fear it might burn me, but moments later, a big, warm hand squeezes my own, and his sweet, raspy voice strokes my ear.

“Sylvan?”

He’s there. In human form. I go straight in for a hug, but then back away with a hiss when my arm once more throbs with pain. My eyebrows rise at the sight of his face. His eyes are the first thing I notice, as they are like black rock filling in for eyeballs. And then there are the dark gold markings on his face, a symbolic wolf skull etched in skin. At least he’s not glowing.

“How did you do that?”

Hawk is so exasperated by my reaction to his touch that he blinks, watching me with a frown. And while the person in front of him speaks in his voice, has his personality, and his face, I cannot help the fact that I find the dull black of his eyes unsettling. It’s as if he’s charred from the inside.

He doesn’t notice my hesitation and shrugs. “I… just did . It felt as easy as moving my hand,” he tells me and waves.

I’m about to pull him down for a kiss when I spot the outline of a castle above his shoulder. Far away, perched on a hilltop beyond the trees, the tallest towers of the Nocturne Palace reach into the sky with their jagged rooftops.

I point it out to him. “That’s it! The Nocturne Court. Which means we’re in the royal forest. It might not be a safe place, but I actually know my way around here.”

Hawk offers me a bright grin of sharp teeth and moves as if he were about to squeeze me… only to stop before touching my injured shoulder. Instead, he presses a kiss to my forehead. “Yeah! So we’re almost there? Amazing. Can’t wait to sleep in a bed again. Do they have beds my size, or will I need to use doggie ones now?”

I shake my head. “It’s not funny. And I have no idea how we will be greeted now that you’re wearing the Sunwolf Crown. We will need to sneak in, but I know several secret entryways.”

Hawk frowns and touches his face. “I… don’t have the mask.”

I stroke his cheek, wishing I had a pocket mirror, though I doubt he’d see much in this darkness anyway. Unless the change has also affected his vision. There are still so many unknowns.

“You do. It is now a part of you. Remember how I told you that they cut it off the face of the last Sunwolf? We don’t want that to happen, do we?”

He freezes, then touches his face, attempting to sense the bone and metal the crown was made of before attaching itself to its new host. “What do you mean? It’s just my face.”

“No, my love. You have the markings of the Sunwolf on your face now. And your eyes… How well do you see now in the night?”

Hawk frowns. “What night?”

To be fair, that does have its perks. I clear my throat and pull out the dagger I took with me from Tassarion’s forge. I unsheathe it so he can see at least a vague reflection in the metal.

Hawk leans in, and his long hair cascades down his shoulder as he blinks, staring at the polished blade. I see the exact moment he realizes I’m not joking, because his face falls, and he taps his open eye with one of his fingertips, as if he needs to make sure it really is that black. “Fuck… I look… like a monster.”

I sigh and hug him with my good arm. “It’s not looks that make a monster. You put it on to save me.” I place my hand over his heart, even though I feel like crying at the loss of our greatest asset. Whether we want it or not, Hawk will now end up forever entwined in court politics. “We will handle it. Once I have access to the Nocturne Court library, I will learn everything there is to know about the mask, and maybe one day I will find a way to take it off you. For now, we still have your shadow to show up with.”

I glance to our feet, where even in the darkness of the night—

“It’s gone,” I utter. “You have no shadow.”