CHAPTER 33 #2
“I suppose someone sent you here to kill me?” I sneer, my brow arching defiantly. “They must be terrified of me if they can't even face me themselves.” I pause, drawing in a deep breath. “And to send six of you? They must be absolutely terrified of the chaos they think I can unleash.”
“You have the Realms whispering.” Death casually walks over. “Some say you are here to burn the lands, the people, destroying us all after what they saw in the battle games. Some say…” he purposely drags out the last word, cocking his head to the side as leans against the bookshelf, “a Deskyiara?”
“And what would it matter to you? Would you still try and kill me if I said I was a Deskyiara?” I lean forward, slowly lacing up my shoe.
“We will kill you either way.” One of the men standing in the doorway with thick, grey curls that hit his chest speaks. “They want you dead either way.”
I tighten the last lace, drifting my eyes from my shoes to meet his intense glare. “And you don’t care about the curse that will forever haunt you once you do kill me?”
He spits on the ground. “There is no curse. Only you.”
The stones in my arm begin to pulse, radiating heat throughout me, and I know the dragons are wanting to fight. I can feel their rage at these men.
No. I can do it myself.
I call out to my dragons. Rest, let me show these men what I am capable of.
My eyes shut, rising from my bed as it creaks under my weight.
“I will give you the chance to leave right now.” I glance between the men. “So you may live. If you stay… you will die in this room.”
The men grunt, hysterically laughing as I lick the bottom of my lip while a sly smirk forms. “As you wish.” I pause swiftly. “Before I kill you, Death, what shall I call you as I burn you to ash?”
He runs his tongue over his gleaming, white teeth and lets out a soft, amused laugh. “You may call me Death till your last breath, for I am the one who will end your life.”
My fingers flick, my palm radiating heat as a blazing fire beats against my palm. I widen my hands, feeling the ball of fire circle with a violent force of wind before I shove it through the air, blasting the man with the grey curls, burning him to ash within seconds.
The men pause for a split moment, their eyes widening at the sight of their friend’s remains as some of the ash floats in the air.
I blow a strand of my waves out of my face casually. “So, who’s next?”
The men exchange a glance, a silent agreement passing between them.
With a collective roar, they lunge at me, their blades carving through the space where I stand.
I don't flinch.
I don't retreat.
I don’t fear.
I burn.
I reach out, grabbing the closest man. His auburn mohawk, which is braided across his scalp, is slowly being covered in ash by their friend I just burned.
I grip the collar of his suit. His eyes widen in terror as my palms make contact with his flesh.
He lets out a gurgling cry for help as heat pours from my hands.
My handprint smolders against his neck, the fire consuming him, until his skin turns a dark coal, leaving nothing but smoldering ash to drift gently towards the ground.
A dagger goes for my head, the man with golden braids grunting as I grab the blade. Dark blood oozes from my palm, but I’ve already had my hand sliced, so I feel no pain.
I yank him forward, grabbing his neck as I fiercely look into his charcoal eyes. “I gave you all a chance to leave,” I growl under my breath, and within seconds, nothing is left but ash.
Death doesn’t move. He watches as he digs his dagger into the bookshelf.
Each carving sound sends an agitated shiver down my spine. I want to snatch it out of his damn hand.
The man with a shaved head and the sea markings along his scalp lunges towards me as the other two flee.
I take a step back, letting him trip over my boot as he slams to the ground, knocking himself out. I should burn him, but I’ll let the Gods decide his fate.
“Your turn?” I push the strands out of my face, watching Death gleamingly stare at me. “I will allow you to walk untouched.” I gesture towards the door.
He grabs his dagger with a fierce grip, thrusting it into his belt with a determined force, as he begins to clap slowly. “It’s good to see you.”
My chin pulls inward. “Excuse me?”
He takes a knee, blowing a loose, brown curl that must have fallen from his bun and arching his back. With a swift motion, he lifts his chin, allowing the light to hit the scar slashed across his face.
“I needed to see for myself if it was truly you.” His chest rises.
“My Queen, we have waited for you. I can take you to the sea when the time is right and show you the army that is ready to fight for you. We have been planning this for centuries. My father before me as well as his. Now I am here, to fight alongside you.”
I scan the room, taking in the ash that has covered the floor as well as the one man that still lies face down against it.
“I don’t understand… you just tried killing me with these men?”
One side of his lips tug into a soft grin.
“I never did such a thing. I stood over here the whole time, watching.” His gaze drops to the man that is still unconscious.
“I had to lie to them, tell them we had a job to do, to kill you. I needed them to risk their lives so I can see for myself that you are her.”
“And this.” I gesture out towards the ash-covered floor. “This tells you I am who you are looking for?”
His eyes lock onto mine. “This tells me everything.”
“I still am unsure if I am who you all are waiting for.”
“You are, we can show you.” He takes a stride forward. “We have thousands ready to take the throne for you. The battle games need to end, the curses need to end… you need to end this.”
My head swiftly shakes. “I still don’t have all my memories back.”
“You’ll get them back.” His chest fills with air before nodding. “You will survive and be a chosen eight. Nothing in that battle game can destroy you and after that… after the Queen begins to trust you, we will head to the sea and I can show you everything.”
I cross my arms, tilting my head to the side as I examine him. “And why should I trust you?”
“Because the elder sent me to you.”
My shoulders relax, feeling my heart thump against my chest. “How do you know the elder?”
“That’s a story for another day.” He adjusts his suit jacket before striding to the door. “Two…” he pauses as he catches sight of the body that still lies beside my ash-covered boots, “maybe three down. Only a few more to go before you can reside here in the Pyre for good. Then we take the throne.”
“Who said I wanted the throne?” I shout, catching him before he leaves. He grips the doorframe tightly, glancing back towards me.
“You never wanted it, but the Gods made you right for it.”
He nods and swiftly leaves. I hear his boots loudly beat against the steps as he makes his way down. I fall to my bed, bouncing until it settles under my weight. My hands cover my mouth while my elbows dig into my legs. But my eyes lock to the ground, absorbing everything that just happened.
“What the hell happened here?” A voice startles me, making me flinch as I grab my chest.
My eyes lock onto Kaine’s. He stares at the ash and man in my room. I rise, lifting my hands and taking small steps towards him.
“They attacked me,” I breathe out. “I had to protect myself.”
“Damn, Ren.” He crosses his arms, but then, his eyes widen. I hear a sudden creak in the floor, boots scraping against it with a violent, rugged growl echoing in my room.
Black shadows coil around the walls, consuming the golden light that once bathed the room, darkness absorbing every last bit of the sun’s rays.
It's as if the day has been violently smothered out, replaced by the darkest night I have ever seen.
Shadows erupt from Kaine's hands like a crackling whip of lightning, slicing through the air as it grazes past my head with a force that whips my hair against my face.
I stand paralyzed, caught in the grip of pure shock.
He told me he would never use his curse unless it were to fight for the Realm, to protect the Realm yet… here he is, standing in front of me and wielding the darkness.
His deep-brown hair catches in the powerful wind of his shadows, and I lock eyes with the man that was once unconscious, the man I decided to let the Gods dictate his fate.
I suppose they decided pretty quickly if he were to live or not.
And they chose… death.
I suppose I don’t blame them.
I can hear his boots scrape against the floor as Kaine’s shadows hold him up.
The sounds of him choking on his own spit sends a shiver down my spine.
Kaine’s hand twists, wielding the shadows more violently around him.
His eyes, a once amber-emerald, now replaced with a deep indigo, filled with darkness.
With hesitation I turn on my heels, watching the shadows tighten more violently around his neck as his eyes bulge. He scrapes at the shadows, but it’s no use.
His head falls, and Kaine lets his body go.
With a loud thud, his body slams against the ground and the darkness slowly seeps away against the walls, letting the golden light sparkle in again.
I swallow, feeling the lump inside me only grow.
“He was stupid to think I would allow him to attack you.” Kaine dusts off his suit, I suppose some of the ash kicked up in the air when he wielded the dark. “Foolish man.”
My brows shift upward, turning back towards him. “I thought you said you would never wield the darkness unless it was for the Queen?”
“I thought you were our Queen?” His head cocks to the side. “Did you really think Theon and I wouldn’t find out?”
My chest tightens. Theon knows.
“His mother can never find out who I am.” My voice drops to a deep, hushed growl.
“His mother can never find out… what?” A voice startles Kaine, but the snowy hair that glistens in the warmth of the sun makes my heart plummet, all the way down to my damn feet.