Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Everything inside of Daniel drew tight as he turned onto Church Street, where three police cruisers blocked the road ahead, their lights painting everything in alternating red and blue.
"Park here, I guess," Adrian said from the passenger seat. "We won't be getting any closer."
Daniel pulled over, his heart hammering against his ribs. He could see the church from here, as well as the darkness gathering around its white steeple like storm clouds, writhing and twisting in ways clouds shouldn't move.
"Pretty sure this wasn't on the weather forecast," Leon said quietly.
"No shit," Adrian muttered, already getting out of the car.
Daniel couldn't move. His hands were frozen to the wheel, his eyes fixed on the church. Somewhere in there was Caelen. The real Caelen, the one who'd shared his dreams, who'd warned him to stay away.
Like Daniel could stay away.
"Daniel." Leon's hand landed on his shoulder. "We can still turn back."
"No, we can't." Daniel forced his fingers to unlock from the wheel. "I have to do this." He opened his door and climbed out of the car. The sound of excited voices carried on the wind, and soon, they found themselves joining a crowd of people flowing toward the church.
Daniel counted maybe thirty or forty people already there, though more kept arriving. Many had their phones out, livestreaming or recording. Some wore crosses around their necks, while others wore pentacles. He spotted more than one "Monsters of Veridia" t-shirt in the crowd.
"This is insane," Adrian whispered. "Are they actually worshipping him?"
A girl wearing more makeup than clothes turned to them with a bright smile. "The Shadow King has come to free us from the lies of false gods," she said. "You should come listen. He's amazing ."
Her eyes were fever bright as she kept talking about how long she'd waited for this day, but Daniel couldn't listen to her. He'd spotted Caelen.
The Shadow King stood at the top of the church steps, darkness coiling around. His white hair caught the morning light, creating a halo effect that made Daniel think he was beautiful. Not the kind of thought he should be entertaining right now, but he couldn't help it. And the way people stared up at Caelen, Daniel wasn't the only one who found the half-fae mesmerizing.
Not everyone was drawn in, though. Two police officers were approaching the Shadow King, one speaking into his radio while the other held up his hands in what was probably meant to be a calming gesture.
"Sir, you need a permit for public gatherings of this size," the second officer called out. "And you can't block access to the church."
Caelen only laughed. With a casual flick of his wrist, shadows surged up from the ground, wrapping around both officers like a cage. Their shouts of alarm only seemed to excite the crowd more.
"The old gods are dead," Caelen's voice carried easily across the gathering. "Their houses stand empty. But I am here. I am real. And I offer you more than empty promises and ancient rules."
To demonstrate, he let more shadows dance between his fingers, drawing gasps and cheers from his audience. Daniel felt sick watching their reactions, the way they pressed closer despite, or because of, the display of power.
"We need to stop this," Adrian muttered.
But before any of them could move, Knox and Zev materialized at the edges of the crowd. Daniel's heart jumped into his throat. This was about to get very bad, very fast.
"No, wait!" Daniel shouted, but Knox was already moving forward, shadows of his own gathering around his hands. The crowd parted before him like water, some stumbling back with startled cries.
"Intruders," Caelen's voice rang out. "Come to spoil our gathering." His gaze swept over Knox and Zev, lips curving into a cruel smile. "My faithful... why don't you show them what happens to those who would deny your freedom?"
The girl who'd spoken to them earlier whirled toward Knox with a snarl. Others followed, their eyes dark and hungry. The crowd surged forward as one, and Daniel caught glimpses of Knox and Zev trying to defend themselves without actually hurting anyone. Phones kept recording. Someone screamed. The police officers tried frantically to break free of the shadows that held them.
"Daniel, don't," Leon grabbed for him, but Daniel was already running.
He pushed through the crowd, ducking under grabbing hands and thrown punches. His heart was trying to beat out of his chest, but he didn't stop until he broke through into the clear space at the bottom of the church steps.
"Stop!" Daniel's voice cracked. "Caelen, please!"
The Shadow King's attention snapped to him, and for a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The shadows around Caelen wavered, and something flickered across his face. Recognition, maybe even longing.
"Daniel," Caelen said, and it sounded so much like the voice from his dreams that Daniel's heart clenched. "You came."
"Of course I came! I'll always come for you."
"Don't!" Knox shouted from somewhere behind him. "Daniel, get back!"
But Daniel was already climbing the steps, one hand stretched toward Caelen. The Shadow King's eyes rested on him, warm and familiar. This was his Caelen. He was still in there.
The shadows around Caelen rippled, drawing back like a receding tide. Behind Daniel, the sounds of fighting grew distant, muffled, as if he and Caelen were in their own private bubble.
"I knew you wouldn't give up on me." Caelen's voice was soft, intimate. He reached for Daniel's outstretched hand. "Even after everything I've done."
Daniel's heart clenched. "I'll never give up on you." He closed his hand around Caelen's—and that was the moment he realized he'd made a mistake.
Shadows raced toward him, wrapping around his wrist, his throat, his waist. The gentle expression on Caelen's face twisted into something dark and gleeful. Daniel tried to pull back, but the shadows yanked him forward, slamming him against Caelen's chest.
"Sweet, foolish Daniel." The voice was Caelen's, but the words weren't. "I knew you would deliver yourself into my hands."
The shadows began to pull on him, and Daniel felt his energy draining away, feeding into the darkness.
No!
He tried to struggle, but his limbs felt heavy.
Fuck. He couldn't allow this to happen. This wasn't Caelen, this was… "Morthul."
He looked at the dark god, and the dark god laughed.
Pain seared through Daniel's chest as the shadows tightened, crushing him against Caelen's body. He could feel the Shadow King's heart beating, too fast, just like his own.
And then he heard a scream that tore through his mind and he realized the pain he felt wasn't his but Caelen's. This was what it felt like to have something ancient and cruel wrapped around your soul.
Let him go . Caelen's voice tore through his mind, raw and desperate. I gave myself to you willingly. I am yours. But not him. Never him.
The shadows were still pulling at Daniel's energy, but Daniel barely cared what was happening to him as he was treated to a front row seat in the fight between the man his soul claimed as his mate and the monster that possessed him. The darkness was more powerful now than Daniel had seen before, and it threaded itself through every part of Caelen, had made itself at home in every crack of his soul, suffocating in its power.
And yet Caelen fought.
He's mine , he raged against Morthul's control. My mate. You can't have him ? —
Morthul's laughter rumbled through both their bodies. The dark god tightened his grip, and Daniel felt Caelen's agony spike again. Felt him cry out as Morthul crushed that rebellion.
Caelen fell silent, snuffed out. But only for a second. Let him go, he demanded again. He ? —
Daniel screamed as he felt the dark god bury Caelen's protests in pain so intense it nearly made Daniel black out.
"Stop," Daniel tried to say, but he could barely breathe through the shadows crushing his chest. "Please. I'll do anything."
No . Caelen's voice. Weak, but not broken. He would never break, Daniel knew. He would keep struggling, keep fighting for Daniel's sake.
A blast of golden energy struck them both. The shadows holding Daniel dissolved as Knox grabbed him, yanking him away from Caelen's body. Daniel's legs gave out immediately, but Knox's grip kept him from hitting the ground.
"I've got you," Knox said, pulling Daniel behind him as Zev materialized between them and Caelen, sword drawn. The crowd that had been so eager to worship their Shadow King now pressed back against the church walls, phones still recording but faces pale with fear.
Had Morthul lost his grip on them? Daniel couldn't say. He sagged against Knox, mind trying futilely to process the darkness he'd experienced and the way Caelen kept fighting anyway, kept trying to protect Daniel even as Morthul tore into him again and again.
The Shadow King's face twisted with fury. No sign of the internal war showed on his features, but Daniel knew what was happening inside him.
"This isn't over," Morthul said with Caelen's voice, and then darkness swallowed him whole.
Caelen was gone, but Daniel could still feel the echo of his pain, could still hear those desperate attempts to shield him. Could still feel exactly what it was like to be unmade from the inside out, piece by screaming piece.
In Knox's hold, Daniel broke down sobbing.