Chapter 42
Elias
Ifucking hate Noctili.
Velis crawls up my spine and I have to enforce my inner shields for the turmoil we’re about to face. There are too many memories there for me to handle on my own and I simply can’t afford to shut myself off. Velis is too destructive and probably won’t spare Edgar’s friends, if they’re even still alive.
My skin is damp with sweat and I look down at Terra to ensure she doesn’t notice my distress. Her eyes are watery and focused solely on the portal.
Does Edgar really mean that much to her? Even after he tried to kill her?
An Ekko student stands at the entrance of the portal, looking at us with a bewildered expression. Corvus, I think. Finn and Kai walk ahead of us to confront him, whisper-shouting about Edgar. It’s too muffled for me to make out.
Terra’s fingers fidget as her nerves get the better of her.
I lean down so my lips coast the edge of her ear. “Maybe you should stay here. I’m not sure what we’ll find on the other side.” Raine, for once, nods in agreement with me. He looks ready to accept the worst. At least I feel comfortable bringing him with me after our one-on-one lessons. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s a fucking tank.
She raises her eyes and meets my gaze. “No. I’m going.”
I reluctantly shrug. “Fine.”
Finn looks back at us. “We need to hurry. They’ve been gone for a few hours already.” Terra deflates, her shoulders trembling. Raine consoles her and I stiffen my jaw to prepare for the bloodbath ahead.
I approach the portal and raise my hand to it, resetting the alternate path so we don’t all get separated. Stupid fucking kids—they have no idea what they sentenced themselves to.
“All right, we’d better be quick about this,” I say through gritted teeth. “Ten minutes, that’s all we get before the headmaster will notice my Shadow’s absence from Alkrose. Leave the fighting to me, the rest of you get everyone who’s still alive out. Got it? Ten. Minutes.” I make my voice stern and they all nod uneasily. “Then let’s go.”
I enter first.
Fernestia brings a deep chill into my bones and unsettles my stomach. I don’t think there will ever be a day that this place doesn’t haunt me in some way.
I give Terra a concerned glance to assess her state of mind; she’s expressionless. I sigh and look ahead. Darkness shrouds the sky and small pockets of clouds gather ominously in the distance—orange light warms the bottom of them.
The air is thick with blood. Velis hums inside my veins, starved for the metallic sting of death.
“What the fuck is that smell?” Kai pinches his nose and squints as if the smell is burning his eyes.
“Probably Darkflies and Edgar’s comrades,” I say with no regard. Finn’s and Kai’s faces grow pale. Terra swallows hard. Raine stares at me with a knowing look. He knows the scent of carnage just as well as I do. I respect that.
I give Raine a look and he picks up on my intentions immediately.
“You guys are with me. Let’s get anyone we can out. Ten minutes,” he says resolutely.
We race through fields of gold in silence. They’re well-versed in stealth thanks to all the classes. I’m impressed they can keep their heads in moments like this. I focus my eyes on the crest of the field ahead where a warm light invades the darkness—clashes of Shadows, guns, and metal echo through the sky.
I flick one last look at the group of students before I sprint far ahead of them. I tear through the field and leave them to find survivors as I enter the camp solely to kill off any attackers. The tents are empty and blood is sprayed everywhere.
Novas are rare. So even if Emerai and Empress Raven catch wind of what I do here, I’ll have a solid explanation, I tell myself as I scour the area for movement.
My heart thumps inside my chest. The sight of blood instills me with excitement—Velis itches up along my spine. A blinding light bolts down from the sky and I dart in that direction.
My legs halt, muscles still quivering with adrenaline as I find what I’m searching for.
Edgar.
His body is gravely damaged.
Shit. I clench my teeth. I don’t care about him, but he means something to Terra. And that means something to me.
I study his body to calculate the damage. A slash from his neck to his navel curls and sinks at least two inches into his core. Blood and singed black tissue have sealed some wounds as swiftly as they were inflicted. His guts are spilled beside him and steam rolls off them, curling into the chilled night air.
Edgar’s face has been half torn away from below his nose down, stripped of all flesh. His teeth are bare. I observe carefully until I see a faint breath pull at his chest.
All reason tells me there’s no fucking way he’s still alive. But he is, and I find that more tragic.
I turn to look for the rest of them and my gaze lands on Edgar’s fallen comrades. Something odd pulls inside my chest. It reminds me painfully of my own comrades who died just as terribly.
These students are maybe a year older than Edgar, and yet they fought so bravely. Their bodies lie still in the dim light. I don’t need to approach them to find out if they are dead. Two are cut cleanly in half, while the others… They are mere skeletons, dark, burned flesh still clinging to the bones.
The crisping sounds of burning flesh and bubbling blood ceases as I shut them out. I let Velis take more control before my emotions break loose. Then I let my gaze fall on the shoulders of the monster responsible for this.
A commander dressed head to toe in tactical gear stands steadily by the skeletons. His small army of soldiers behind him. His black mask is shrouded in crimson blood and he wields a crescent sword of black fire borne from his Shadow. He is undoubtedly the commander of Noctili. He lets out a loud, crass laugh that echoes from beneath his mask.
I keep my face expressionless.
I’ll end this before Terra sees what I’m going to do to him. I won’t be kind, because although I don’t like Edgar, I despise watching helpless students fighting for one another and dying like they never mattered.
The commander stalks forward and swings his blade in an obtrusive slash, creating a wall of bright white fire around him. The light shines through his mask, revealing his gray eyes.
When I don’t move, the commander stops, perhaps not seeing me worthy of his flames. He tilts his head to the side and waves for his spare soldiers to take me on instead.
I crack a smile. I was hoping for as much—Velis is fucking starving.
I walk toward the first line of unfortunate soldiers. They raise their arms to strike me but theyre so slow. I step between them and tap their foreheads with just my fingertips, one on each side of me, not once breaking eye contact with the commander behind them. The soldiers’ heads tilt back, stunned for a moment, before their blood ejects from the back of their skulls like bullets piercing straight through their brains. Their blood coats their fellow comrades, who abandon their magic and pull up their guns, carelessly opening fire at me.
I shudder as Velis slips from my body and creates a wall of shadow, absorbing their bullets. Velis lets out an angry growl that reverberates through the air and the soldiers gasp in horror. I let out a cackling laugh at their fear and think of a fitting end for them. Smiling, I raise my hand and pull down. Thumps sound in unison and their eyes roll to the backs of their skulls. Each falls limply, their spines torn clean from their vessels and stuck in the ground like poles.
A satisfying grin spreads across my lips.
Oh, how I’ve missed this.
The second wave is more hesitant and keeps a wider circle around me. I crack a knuckle on each hand, throwing my head back as if a tender ballad is playing. And it is. The crunching and slurping of their corpses sing a melody that shudders straight through me.
When my eyes open, the soldiers are nothing but nerves leading out from spinal cords. I once saw a similar display in a museum as a child. Dr. Cein took me to inspire my imagination.
Am I the artist he hoped for?Something wicked inside me hopes he’ll see this display and be proud.
I release them, letting the nerves shrivel to the bodies below.
I smirk as I walk toward the commander, who’s now trembling, his eyes wide with fear. His flame sword dwindles at his side.
“E-Elias? No, this was a misunderstanding, please—” the commander shrieks as he stumbles backward.
My smile widens. I love it when the Darkflies realize who I am. That look that flickers over their eyes is satisfying to watch. They are fully at my mercy and mine alone. I walk slowly until I’m standing directly in front of him. His sword has all but withered out.
He doesn’t budge. At least he didn’t run away screaming. There’s something a bit respectable to be said about that. To face death so boldly.
“Goodbye, commander of nothing,” I say bluntly. My smile lowers as my eyes widen with hunger for blood and vengeance. For the recreation of an awful memory.
I press my hand on his armor and nudge the commander backward. He falls so slowly. As he falls, his blood rises into the sky from his mouth and eyes. He screams for the tender bite of death that I withhold.
Until I finally flick my hand up and break each joint in his body apart. Each connection of his vertebrae along his spine and the deep sockets of his hips. The pops crackle in my ears, bringing a satisfied smile back to my lips.
The commander hits the ground in pieces. The entrails steam in coils along the remnants of his torso.
I stretch my arms out and sigh.
I should’ve limbered up first. I think I pulled something.
I walk back to Edgar and kneel at his side. Small, short breaths still rise from his lips.
Footsteps splash through the puddles of blood I’ve created and stop above me.
“For all that is fucking holy,” Kai mutters with a breathless gasp.