Chapter 19
GWEN
The moment I glimpse the terrible creature, I intuitively reach for the key hanging from my necklace. I clutch it tightly in my hand, trembling in Merak’s arms as he hovers in the sky. He turns to face the creature, and I sense his panic through the bond. Also… fear.
But I quickly realize the fear is for me.
He is worried that harm might come to me, and he’s trying not to let me feel the full extent of his terror through the bond. Yes, he’s trying, but gods, I still feel it. It startles me to my core. I have never sensed fear coming from Merak before. Worry, yes, but never fear. Not like this.
His arms tighten around me. “Do not let go of me,” he says, his voice low and rough. “I will not drop you. Not on purpose, my dearest. But if this thing attacks…” His voice trails off, but I know what he meant to say.
I let go of the key and wrap my arms around him, clutching him so hard I can scarcely draw a breath. Though I’m trembling with fear, I cannot help but peek out at the strange creature again.
Gods. It’s the shadow figure from his dreams. The nightmares he recently confessed to having. When he showed me the dreams, I sensed his confusion. He didn’t think they meant anything, but he couldn’t say for certain.
Now it would seem the dreams were a warning.
A premonition of a dark event to come.
I pray we survive this. Together.
My heart aches at the prospect of Merak getting hurt.
Or worse… losing him.
Tears sting my eyes at the thought.
The shadow creature’s face shifts and ripples as though it’s made of black smoke, and yet those pale eyes remain fixed on Merak.
On my mate. A surge of protectiveness rises within me.
I want to help. I want to keep Merak safe…
but how? Out of habit, I start to reach for the key on my necklace, only to remember his warning to not let go of him.
So, I continue clutching him, holding on with all my strength.
“My, my, Merak,” the creature says softly, a strange purring note in its voice. “You’ve grown.” Its gaze drifts over Merak. “And here I feared I might not recognize you.”
Merak emits a growl so deep it vibrates through his chest and into mine. “Stay out of my mind,” he snarls.
The creature laughs and slithers through the air, coming closer.
Beating his wings furiously, Merak moves us farther away.
“I have spent centuries trying to reach your mind.” It tilts its shadowed head. “Trying to find you.”
A cold shiver rushes through me. Centuries?
The snow starts rushing down faster, and the wind picks up.
I shiver and again find myself longing to clutch the key that hangs from my necklace.
Not just because it’s a nervous habit of mine, something that brings me comfort when I am feeling uncertain, but because a memory keeps niggling at the back of my mind.
The elderly man who gave it to me said the key was important and never to take it off, claiming it would prove useful at a time when all hope seemed lost. What if…
“What do you want?” Merak calls over the roaring wind, the rage in his voice so thunderous, so intimidating, I almost gasp.
I’ve never heard him speak like that before.
The shadow figure smiles again. “I want what is rightfully mine. Your soul, Merak, your soul. That is what I want.” An eerie laugh rumbles from its form.
“My soul? What in the gods are you talking about?”
“Your parents never told you, did they?” It chuckles and twists strangely in the air, the black wisps that cling to it seeming to flow with the wind only to slowly shift back into place.
“Never told me what?”
I sense Merak’s dread through the bond, the growing suspicion about his parents. As my mind brushes against his, I know he’s often believed they were keeping secrets from him, but they died before he could ever discover the truth.
The creature emits a noise that almost sounds like a sigh. “Your mother was dying as she gave birth to you. Even Vaelnor’s most skilled healers couldn’t help her. You were coming, and she was fading fast. So, your father sought me out.”
“What are you?” Merak asks.
“Once, I was a powerful dark mage. But when I died, I didn’t pass into the afterlife. Instead, I roamed the realm for a while until I settled in the forest near your parents’ manor in Vaelnor. Your father let me stay as long as I promised to behave.”
The creature laughs, and the hair on the back of my neck rises.
“The spirit of a dark mage,” Merak says with a growl. “Gods. I cannot imagine anything more loathsome. I also cannot believe that my father allowed you to occupy the forest near my family’s manor.”
“Well, it was fortunate for your father that he allowed me to stay. You see, as your mother lay dying, I saved her. And all I asked for in return was… you. To consume your soul. To claim the body of a highborn lord and walk the realm once more in the flesh.”
The creature twists through the air as though in pain.
“But you were stolen from me,” it continues. “Your mother refused to honor the bargain, and your father betrayed me.”
It twists violently in the air, writhing and nearly disappearing before its black shadow form takes shape again.
“Your father tricked me. During our bargain, he drew my true name from me. When I realized he meant to cross me, I sent a dark blight across the land. Black frost and a plague. Then your father chased me down and used blood magic and winter magic together. Ice formed around my essence, frozen power binding me in place. I could not flee.” The creature twists violently in the air.
“He cast me into the Bottomless Spring beneath Mount Drayanor, then shattered the mountain peak itself. Stone and ice rained down upon me, burying me beneath the depths while wards sealed my prison.”
It laughs yet again, but this time its laughter sounds almost like the howling wind.
“Ah, but thankfully I was finally able to escape. As ussha leaves the Winter Court, old spells and wards fade as the magic leaves the land. At last, I broke free and came in search of you.” Its pale eyes gleam brighter.
“What a pity your parents are already dead. I found their graves on the mountain overlooking the ruins of Vaelnor. What fun it would have been to torment them before coming for you.” It smiles.
“Ah, but at least I found you. The Lord of Nothing. And you have a pretty human female with you now. How interesting. Perhaps once I claim your soul and inhabit your body, I will keep her for myself.”
Merak growls, and anger surges through the bond.
Not just rage toward the shadow creature for daring to threaten me, but rage toward his parents.
He cannot fathom the dark secret they kept from him for centuries.
He also cannot help the wave of guilt that comes from realizing his mother would’ve died birthing him if not for the terrible bargain his father made with the spirit of a dark mage—the deal his father later broke.
Despite my growing fear, I summon as much warmth as I can, sending it through the bond. What if these are our last moments? I still haven’t told Merak how I feel about him. Yes, he can probably sense my affection for him, but I’ve never told him.
Merak suddenly starts flying backward. A rapid movement that steals my breath. Snowy wind lashes my face as my hood falls back.
Then he dives into the forest. Above us, the shadow creature emits a furious howl.
We crash through snow-dusted branches and land in a small clearing. Merak immediately sets me on my feet, tosses his rucksack to the ground, and starts turning in a circle, his hands held out.
I feel the familiar energy waves of his wards. My heart races, and my worry deepens as I finally realize what he’s doing. I sense it through the bond. He’s creating a protected space. A circle of safety… a place where he can leave me.
He plans to fight the shadow creature.
Alone.
“Merak…” My voice wavers, and I swear my heart teeters on the edge of a precipice, ready to drop and shatter.
He turns to me, and his eyes instantly soften.
He steps closer and gathers me in his arms. Then he rests his forehead against mine.
“My dearest. I am sorry, but I must leave you here. You will be safe. The wards should hold, since there is a large concentration of ussha in this area. Furthermore, that means my magic will be strong as I fight this creature. I will be victorious, and I will come back for you. I promise.”
He steps back and holds me by my upper arms, then looks me up and down as though he’s memorizing me. As though this might be the very last time he sees me. My heart teeters that much closer to the edge, ready to fall and break apart. He can’t leave me. He can’t.
Tenderness flows through the bond. I stare at him, feeling the chill of winter against my face as the tears start rolling down my cheeks. He wipes away my tears with his thumbs and leans in to kiss my forehead, his cold lips lingering long but not long enough.
I love you, Merak, I say into his mind. Holding his gaze, I take a moment to memorize his features as well. Just in case… no, I cannot think it.
He cups my face. I love you, too, my dearest. With all my heart. With all my soul, he says down the bond.
The shadow creature’s howling intensifies, growing so loud and invasive that I find myself struggling to sense Merak’s thoughts and emotions through the bond.
Gods. It’s as though the bond has gone suddenly cold.
Merak growls. Then he presses his lips to mine quickly, gives me one last tender look, and launches into the sky.