Chapter 4
Elias
I’m going on three days of no sleep. That underground torture chamber left me restless. An average human being would be suffering greatly by now, but Velis keeps me fueled with enough energy to stay awake for months at a time. Well, as long as I’m killing and it gets the life force it needs to feed my body.
Thankfully, I’ve only had to do that once.
Three days is nothing, but I’m still fucking tired. Worrying about Terra is more draining than I thought it’d be. Then again, I never imagined I’d find my Shadow Mate. A rarity among Shadows.
Of all people, I deserve one the least.
I take a long breath as I head to my quarters. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve returned here. The corridors are the same, the stones a dreadful gray, and the death that hangs in the air is as tantalizing as ever. Each new recruitment cycle brings Shadows we’ve never seen before, but if what Arthur spoke of is true, then we’ve finally found the one we’ve been searching for—the one Cein has been searching for.
Edgar Eldridge.
His eyes are already fractured and filled with hate that will only continue to grow; Alkrose will make sure of that. But I still have my doubts about him… If it truly is the Shadow we seek, then I’m not sure why Emerai thinks he can control it this time around. My spine constricts with the memories of the last time I came face to face with that Shadow.
I enter the eastern tower to the right of the Nova House and ascend the spiral stone stairs all the way to the top. The scent of dust and clay mix in the air, a smell I particularly dislike. The dark oak door to my study is locked and looks untouched.
Good. Nekane and Kallos haven’t been invading my space again.
Velis wisps out from my fingertips as dark smoke and unlocks the door. I step in and take a deep breath of my room, the only place I’ve ever really known as home.
It smells like a cabin, the firewood giving off a piney and smoky scent. My bed is a mattress on the floor with black blankets pooling off the edges. There are no photos on the walls or silly sentiments that some of the others like to keep. There isn’t a point, not for me. Candles and papers are strewn about my desk, old books still piled up against walls by my reading window where I left them.
Everything is the same except me.
Somehow I’ve changed and that thought unsettles me.
I quickly shower off and get dressed in clean clothes, all too aware that I’m late and Headmaster Emerai will lose his temper if I’m not present at the Culling Assessment. I dress in a clean set of black tactical gear, complete with my black gloves and vest, before clasping on my white cloak, a crescent moon brooch at the center of the cowl.
Foregoing looking in the mirror, I leave my room in haste. I stopped looking at my reflection a long time ago. I can’t remember the color my eyes used to be, only that it wasn’t this distilled gray that I despise.
A shout echoes through the valley as I exit the Nova House. I glance at the mass of people huddled in front of Alkrose. The Culling Assessment. Oh, how I love this day. The weak get tossed out, some interesting gems come to light, and then the fun really begins. Better yet, I don’t have to worry about Terra. She’s fortunate to avoid the first-semester exam, or I suppose the other Houses are lucky that the Nova students do not have to participate in it.
The scent of iron prickles my nose and goosebumps shudder up my arms. I crack my neck. Velis is craving bloodshed, and I’d be lying if I said the scent of blood didn’t make me primal. I once dreaded the unwanted hunger—but I find the Shadow’s craving for death to be a fitting exchange.
I’ve been awake for three days. Velis needs to kill again soon.
I step off the side of the bridge and let my body feel the air around me, whistling and filling my lungs with shards of cold pain. The fall is greater than the Shadowless can survive—four stories. I land on my feet and the ground reverberates beneath me. Velis hums eagerly, deep in my chest. He can always sense my excitement for the Culling.
The lake is completely frozen over this time of year. I walk straight across it and get to the gathering quickly, approaching hundreds of students. Not a single head turns my way—a little surprising, but I’ll take the reprieve. I spot Kallos and Nekane standing close to one another on the other side, their arms crossed, with grim expressions on their faces.
Always so serious. They never took to the Culling very well. Velis and I seem to be the only two having any sort of fun anymore.
Headmaster Emerai shouts above the murmuring students, “Cosmos and Ekko are next. Send forth your students.”
I grin. Making an unexpected entrance is always my game. Emerai enjoys the thrill too, so I know I’m not at risk of getting in trouble with Dr. Cein. I’d love to fight a Cosmos—they’re the strongest we have around here typically and they still die so easily. But who knows, maybe I’ll get some amusement out of this one.
I break the circle and face the Cosmos House student, a dark-haired young man with despair on his face. I know a broken toy when I see one; he is a shattered mess. The students gasp and start to whisper amongst themselves. “That’s not a student. Who is that?” My eyes flick over to Kallos and Nekane, who remain impassive. They know the way this goes; the destruction instructor gets to show off. But I don’t miss the grimace that flickers briefly across Kallos’s face.
Pity. I wanted to have fun, but it seems he’s taken a liking to this one.
I smile and crack my knuckles. My tongue glides across my teeth as I prepare to turn this boy into red dust.