Chapter Twenty-One #2
His shadows roared fully to life, swirling around him in a violent storm, darkening the sky overhead. “How dare you?” he hissed, summoning an umbral blade in his palm as he rose, power crackling along its edge. “You come into my court, into my fortress, and speak to me of betrayal?”
I let the nox surge through me, felt the zar ignite, explosive beneath my skin.
“What have you done for your kingdom? You’ve spent years at the Conservatory and have nothing to show for it. What of your mission? You are a failure, Reign, and that is all you’ll ever be.”
Fury rose, burning and relentless, at his words. My shadows unfurled, meeting his, colliding in the space between us with a deafening crack.
His blade came down, faster than lightning, but I moved with the shadows letting them carry me to the side.
I deflected his strike with a burst of zar that sent sparks of hellfire across the stone.
His eyes widened for only an instant before he came at me again, faster this time, his blade a blur as he pressed the attack.
Shadow clanged against shadow, the hiss of it sharp, echoing across the chamber. Each strike rattled up my arms, jarring my bones, but I held my ground. Shadows swirled at my feet, rising to meet his with every blow.
His dark minions slammed into mine, not just pressing, but tearing. They clawed through my defenses with razor edges that bit into my skin, leaving trails of blood in their wake. I gritted my teeth and forced my shadows to hold, to stitch the tears before he could push through.
“You’ve grown strong,” he spat. His blade moved like a phantom in the dim light as he struck again, forcing me back step by step. “But not strong enough.”
He twisted, feinting low before driving the hilt of his blade into my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs just as he had when I was only a boy. Pain flared white-hot as I stumbled, shadows faltering.
You’re injured. Phantom’s concerned voice cut through the turmoil.
Later, I’m a little busy. I shot the thought through our bond, careful to keep the wall up across the cuorem so Aelia wouldn’t feel the pain. Despite the note I left her, I knew she would not be pleased.
“You have no idea how strong I am now,” I growled, refocusing to block his next strike. The force of it numbed my arms. Our blades locked, shadows groaning and sparks hissing between us. “How strong she makes me.”
“She?” His eyes glowed with cold fire. His shadows thickened, choking the air and pressing down on me like the weight of the abyss.
He broke the lock, slashing low and tearing through the edge of my tunic.
The umbral blade sliced into my flesh. I hissed, staggering, blood dripping onto the black stone.
Before I could recover, he unleashed a wave of shadow so dense it felt as if I were drowning.
It slammed me against the far wall with a crack that rattled my skull.
I tasted blood. The room spun, darkness closing in, but I forced my eyes open. I compelled my shadows forward, to fight back, even as he advanced.
“You will never be strong enough to defeat me, boy,” he snarled. “I made you.” He lifted his blade as he prepared to end it. To end me.
“No.” My voice was hoarse but steady. I pushed off the wall, finally summoning the tempest raging inside me. The cuorem pulsed, steady and fierce, the bond with Aelia burning like a star within me. Power thrummed through my veins. Hers and mine. “Not a boy. Not anymore.”
He swung, the blade arcing toward my throat, but I ducked. Twisting, my shadows laced in zar flared around me. I caught his wrist, shoving the blade aside, and drove my knee into his gut. He grunted, but even winded, he retaliated with a headbutt that sent stars bursting behind my eyes.
Pain lanced through me, but I didn’t let go. I couldn’t.
We grappled, shadows tearing at each other like wolves, his nox slamming into mine. He tried to overpower my shadows again and again, but I pushed back, letting the zar flood my veins. It burned cold and piercing, weaving through the nox, making me stronger, faster.
Tenebris tried to pull away, but I held on, shadows binding his arms as I pressed closer. Our faces were only inches apart now.
“You think you can kill me?” he snarled, power crackling between us and searing the air.
“I don’t need to kill you,” I panted, pressing harder. The zar slipped into the cracks of his defenses. They wrapped around the shadows he tried to summon, suffocating them, forcing them still. “I just need to stop you.”
His eyes widened, just for a moment, before they darkened. With a primal roar, he threw everything at me. Shadows, nox, and his own raw power slammed into me like a tidal wave, driving me to my knees.
I roared, the shadows tearing at me, trying to rip me apart, but I held on. Calling the zar from my depths, I let it merge with my shadows and allowed it to become the shadows.
I pushed back.
Light flared in the darkness, not rais, but Aelia. Somehow, I could feel her through the bond. I drew on her power, the steady glow as the zar fused with the nox wrapping around him before he could counter. It bound his arms to his sides, slithering over his throat.
My father struggled, fury and disbelief in his eyes, shadows writhing around him like snakes caught in a snare. I forced the binding tighter, pressing the zar into his mind, the shadows holding him as his strength faltered.
His scream rent the thickening air as my dark tendrils infiltrated his mind. Pure night coiled through every crevice, stealing his consciousness. “No,” he growled. “It’s not possible…” His eyes met mine, hate and shock mingling there.
“Oh, but it is, Father. You see? I told you I wasn’t the same boy you tortured for years.”
“How is it possible?” he hissed, the cold fire in his eyes flickering. A whisper of something like regret, or maybe fear, flashed before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. His knees hit the stone with a crack that echoed across the chamber.
I stood over him, gasping. Blood dripped from my wounds, shadows slowly fading around us as silence reclaimed the chamber.
It was done.
I dropped to one knee, pressing two fingers to his throat. His pulse still beat, slow and steady. Good. He would live long enough to return to the Court of Ethereal Light. Then his life would be in King Elian’s hands.
I lifted him, throwing him over my shoulder with a grunt. With his dark cloak trailing across the stone, I turned toward the entryway.
“Nice work, brother.” The voice came from the shadows, smooth and amused.
I looked up to see Ruhl stepping out from behind the door, arms crossed, and a grin on his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes.