Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
BELLAMY
I crept out into the silent night. Thick mountain jungle surrounded the castle, covering the steep mountainside.
Shadows flew off into the distance, following their leader. He soared over the treetops and through the sky toward the mountaintop.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, hesitating just for a moment before I set off over the uneven ground and into the thick jungle. Unlike the jungle on the island, these trees and the brush were so overgrown that there was no clear walking path. My boots sank into thick mud, and I grabbed onto whatever I could to haul myself up the steep mountain incline.
I trekked up the mountain, having no clear view of the shadows or the sky, everything shrouded in so much darkness I could barely see. I didn’t even know if I was going in the right direction. I assumed I was since I was going up, but I couldn’t be sure.
I walked until my legs started shaking, and I grabbed hold of a thick tree. At this rate, I’d never get to the top. Definitely not before Kairoth finished whatever he was doing. I needed a different plan.
I eyed the treetops, then started climbing to the top. My muscles shook, a sharp pain stabbing my sides, but I kept going until I could peek over the canopy. The top of the mountain was still so far away. From here I could see all the shadows gathered, Kairoth in the middle.
What was he doing?
This wasn’t going to work. I didn’t have a clear enough view. My feet throbbed, and my hands felt like they were on fire. The bandages I’d wrapped around them had come undone when I’d climbed the tree, exposing my raw and inflamed skin. I gritted my teeth, thinking of the alternative.
Charming him. Absolutely not.
I’d rather find a way up that mountain.
The stars twinkled above, bright and beckoning. Their power oozed over me. Maybe I could put one of the shadows to sleep, then enter their mind and spy. I’d done it before, used my powers to see places all around the world.
I had no idea if shadows slept. No clue if this would work. But I had no other options—and nothing to lose.
I had to start piecing together the mystery that was Kairoth.
I gazed up at the stars, calling to them. I’d grown up reading books about how to access your magic as an elemental, all of them describing what it felt like to reach inward and pull a little thread. But that had never been how it was for me. I didn’t have to reach inside. I could bend the outside world to my will, reach for the stars and ask them, and in turn, I would receive. My father said that was just part of what the Wilds had done to us, to our magic.
I stretched out a hand, the stars brightening in the sky, responding to my call. Then I directed their light toward the shadows.
Pick one, I urged. The one closest to Kairoth. I could see the lone shadow lingering right by the god’s side, slightly apart from the crowd. I frowned. No. That might be too risky. I needed a shadow that blended in with the crowd. I shifted my hand and directed the starlight toward the middle of the shadows.
Suddenly I was no longer in the jungle, in the treetop. I was in a blank world, a black expanse surrounding me. Absolute nothingness in a way I’d never seen before in someone’s mind.
I sucked in a breath. I did it. I’d infiltrated the shadow’s mind.
Normally when I entered someone’s mind when they slept, there were pieces of them everywhere. Parts of their subconscious I could manipulate, images I could form, worlds I could add to or take away from. Nightmares that lurked deep in the depths of their brains that I could bring to life. There was absolutely nothing here. No color, no memories, just an expanse of white that went on forever.
In the distance, a deep voice boomed that sent shivers down my spine. Kairoth.
I waded through the nothingness toward the voice. I had to get in the right part of the mind to better hear it, to see. It took longer than it normally would have since this was nothing like any mind I’d been in before, but finally I found a window. A small opening where I could see through the shadow’s eyes.
Other shadows hovered over the ground, all of them facing the god. Kairoth floated a few feet over them, a single shadow next to him. The one I’d initially targeted.
“Well done.” Kairoth held up an object.
My stomach dropped straight to the ground.
It was a bow and arrow, and I knew instantly who it belonged to.
“Aethira’s bow and arrow has been found. We’re getting closer to finding all seven weapons. Now that we’ve got earth, shadow, water, and fire, all that is left is frost, star, and sky.”
My heart hammered. Sky. The bolt. I’d almost forgotten about it stashed away in my satchel, hidden in his garden.
“Keep looking,” Kairoth said. “You know what’s at stake. And be mindful of our guests.”
My pulse spiked. He was talking about me, Leoni, and Driscoll.
“Especially Bellamy. She has secrets, secrets we need to discover. A few of you will stay here to keep an eye on her, the rest will go to the sky, frost, and star courts. You will scour them, you will scour the libraries, and you will not return until you’ve brought me those weapons.”
His words started growing fuzzy, the vision of him fading, and I realized the shadow I’d infiltrated was flying away. Damn. I’d wanted to see where he put the weapon. Were they up on this mountaintop? Or did he take it somewhere else?
I removed myself from his mind, entering back into my own as I stood in the tree. It was like waking up after an injury and feeling all the pain hit you at once. I doubled over and gasped as my hands throbbed from where I’d been gripping the branch. I should’ve been more careful. Should’ve sat down and situated myself before entering the shadow’s mind. I’d been so eager to see if it would work, I hadn’t thought about the position I’d left myself in.
Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to climb down this tree. Not with how much my hands were burning right now.
I took a deep breath, thinking through all my options and trying not to panic at the thought of being stuck in this tree all night—possibly longer if my hands didn’t start feeling better. I sank down, leaning against the trunk and trying to get comfortable when I looked up to see Kairoth floating above the tree, staring directly at me.