Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Malakai / Two Years Earlier
Ash swirled around me as I stared into the pit of lava within the Spirit Volcano. The blend of yellows, oranges, and reds was eerily beautiful. Tantalizing.
I could do it, I thought, wrapping my hand over the wound in my shoulder that the wolf’s claws left behind.
I hadn’t expected those beasts on the tundra.
I don’t know what I had thought waited for me, but a half dozen canine creatures lunging at me, jaws snapping, ready to rip life from me, was not it.
Across my shoulder, one beast left behind long gashes to match its three sharp nails, but they had already partially healed on my trek up the side of the volcano, only slices of tender pink skin accenting my flesh now.
The switchbacks had been precarious, but I had almost wished they were longer.
Wished I had more time before I reached this point.
I was not ready to arrive at the top of the volcano, and all I thought about as I climbed those thin shelves was how I should have prolonged the journey.
I should have laid beneath the stars of our territory for one more night.
Should have soaked in the beauty of the world around me before it was too late.
But the lava was right there, churning below me, a living sea of fire.
It would be so easy to break my promise and dive right in, face the Spirits, and emerge on the other side, ascended.
It would take one step. Instinctually, my feet moved closer to the edge, the burn of the flame warming my skin and the sweet smoke filling my senses.
My body longed to grasp the birthright that flowed through my blood.
Would the Spirits even accept me, though? With the secrets I held, I was not sure I would be deemed worthy. They could reject me, and then I faced eternity in their realm.
I supposed it didn’t matter. Dead or alive, it was the same fate at this point.
The heat of the flames was more enticing the longer I considered the option.
I could…I kicked a rock over the edge of the void and watched it tumble through the air.
I could do that. Free-fall through the smoke like that piece of gravel and let the flames do with me what they wished.
On instinct, my hand shot to the tattoo on my chest, exposed to the night air through the tear the wolf’s claws left in my leathers.
No, I could not take that step.
There was too much at stake.
As if in answer to my mental turmoil, a figure rose beside me, dark and silent as the breath of a shadow.
“You could do it,” he whispered, his voice one with the smoke. Sparks crackled out of the volcano and settled into the rock around us, inviting me in. I stared until the embers faded into the ground as if they had never existed.
“No. I cannot.” I turned to face him, relieved that his face was hidden by the hood of his cloak. Maybe that made me a coward, but I was grateful I did not have to look into those eyes. “I have made my choice.”
The lowered voice that came out of his shadowed hood was grim. “It is the right one. For all involved.” His hand cupped my uninjured shoulder, and I cringed at the contact. I did not want this man touching me. He was the root of all that was wrong in my life, and now I was his.
A beacon of flame shot into the air, the precise golden shade of Ophelia’s hair. “Let’s go then,” I muttered, heart breaking for the girl I loved. But I turned away from the golden light.
“Well, there is one more thing,” the man said.
Before he could finish the thought, six armed figures emerged around the turn of the volcano, lining up amid the rubble at the base of the sloped ascent to the rim, waiting for me.
Weapons glinted in the light of the flame; each man was strapped with at least three different blades.
Their customary axes caused my stomach to turn.
In their pale hands, the sharp tools were deadly.
My own hands flexed, eager to reach for the spear across my back, though I wasn’t worthy to wield it.
“What is this?” I growled at my captor, keeping my eyes on the six men below me and their deep green armor. I clenched my fists to keep my hands from shaking—in anger, in fear, I wasn’t sure which.
Their line parted, and a dark, ethereal being emerged from behind them.
She moved like a storm cloud, slow but sinister.
Even with the smoke shadowing the moon, her skin glowed white aside from the two dark scars across her face.
A cascade of black hair billowed around her, blending into the skintight, dark dress she wore.
A chill ran down my spine.
With her hands clasped in front of her, she appeared regal, but I knew the bloody history that coated those hands. The haunting smile that spread across her face told me she was aware of that fact.
I turned to the man beside me and repeated my question with vehemence. “What is this?” I gestured to the guards below and their maleficent queen.
“It is—” His voice stuttered ever so briefly, but one nod from that woman and his demeanor changed. He became rougher, more hideous. “This is a change of plans. Do not fight it, Malakai.” A silent plea slipped into his voice on my name.
The laugh she released in response cut through the night like a shard of glass on delicate flesh. Unrepentant, jagged, and threatening.
A change of plans. Something heavy settled within my chest as her men charged up the smooth stretch of rock that separated us. Their threatening daggers and axes loomed closer. I contemplated falling backward into the volcano one more time but shut the idea out quickly.
Do not fight it, his instructions echoed in my head as hands gripped me, shoving me to my knees. If possible, I hated the man now more than I ever had before.
A boot collided with my stomach, and I hunched over, giving in to the shock that flooded my body as I understood the betrayal here.
Something in my side cracked—a rib, perhaps.
The pain shot through me, but they didn’t stop.
And I was not fighting back—I could not fight back for the sake of my heart—yet they beat me without remorse.
A fist connected with my jaw. Once. Twice. I lost count.
My teeth dug into my tongue. The copper tang of blood filled my mouth. I spit it out, the rocks at my knees turning crimson, and threw my head back to glare at my captor through an eye that was already swelling.
“Remove your hood. I want to see your face as you watch what you have done.”
The men around me snickered, but I didn’t care about them. They were nobody to me. It was not their lies that found me on my knees now.
My captor was still, his expression masked in shadow.
Then, he turned and walked away to meet the woman waiting for him.
He extended an arm, and the two began the journey down the switchbacks with unsettling ease.
Every step he took cemented the betrayal now spreading through me as steadily as my blood seeped from my wounds.
As I was forced to my feet and pushed down the volcano, I thought back over every interaction leading up to this, questioning if I had been a fool to not expect this deceit.
I supposed I had. For so many reasons, I wanted to storm at the man now descending the volcano—beat him as he had watched them beat me.
My blood heated. My chest tightened.
But one of the guards shoved my shoulder, and I remembered how precarious my position was.
I swore I’d never show that man that side of me.
The side that cried out at what was being done, begging for mercy.
I locked my heart behind iron bars, tossing the key into the volcano with all my hopes of peace.
Biting my tongue, one thought echoed through my mind. I was not the coward here. He was.