Chapter 46
Forty-Six
B efore her was an endless void of swirling colors twisting through the air, billows of mist obscuring her ability to take in its full scope. The last thing she remembered was Dawson dragging her through the portal, the world spinning out of control.
Points of light scattered the darkness. Alaire might have marveled at the beauty—if she hadn’t been alone.
“Dawson?” she called. No answer. No trace of Solflara’s flames or Beck’s midnight feathers. She was truly alone here.
For the millionth time, she wished she could wield her magic. Dawson had forced her daggers from her hands during their struggle. She reached down, fumbling for the emergency knife she’d tucked in her boot back in the cave. At least she wasn’t entirely defenseless.
There were no instructions like in the earlier trials. Nothing about this felt right.
A faint voice drifted to her ears. “Wake up.” It sounded far away. Alaire shook her head, refusing to be ensnared by voices meant to dissuade her. The only thing that mattered was finding the others. Yet, like in the Bone Cavern, her bond with Solflara was gone—absent, unreachable.
The translucent platform beneath her feet gave the illusion she was floating—tethered to nothing and no one. Below, funnel clouds of light swirled in slow, hypnotic spirals.
The silence pressed in, broken only by an occasional hum vibrating through the air. Aether , her gut whispered. It slithered beneath her skin, eager to burrow into her power.
Her feet carried her further into the mist as if something was beckoning her forward.
“Wake up,” the voice urged, louder this time. She ignored it, her mind tangled with thoughts of Kaia. Guilt gnawed at her heart like a restless beast. She’d always regret leaving her behind, even though it hadn’t been her choice.
“Wake up,” the voice pleaded again. She shoved it aside and pressed on.
A figure stood in the distance. Dawson. Relief flooded her. He was here—he hadn’t left.
But when the mist thinned, relief soured into dread. Dawson was doubled over, body racked with pain. The sight of him suffering, vulnerable, shattered her.
She ran, sliding to her knees before him, hands hovering over his back—hesitant, afraid to hurt him further. He’d only just healed from his wounds, and even a fae could only endure so much. All prior anger and hurt were pushed aside, the need to reach him overriding all else.
Tears welled as she took in his twisted form.
“Dawson?”
At the sound of her voice, his gaze lifted. Once-clear turquoise had darkened into fathomless pits—inky voids that devoured the light, making her hair stand on end.
She scrambled back to her feet.
A shiver ran down her spine as those unnerving eyes locked onto hers. His lips curved into a smirk, like he’d been waiting for her to clue in. His features convulsed, twisting into something monstrous.
Panic surged. She raised her lone knife between them.
“Run,” the voice begged. But she couldn’t move.
Dawson’s body contorted, limbs elongating, sprouting coarse black hair.
His eyes split from two into four on either side.
His torso ballooned into a grotesque oval, clothes shredding apart.
Eight legs burst from his sides. Face melting into a nightmare—a spider with dripping fangs and eight black eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.
Alaire’s scream lodged in her throat. She scrambled backward, but it was too late.
Something sharp punctured her spine. White-hot pain shot through her body, sending her to her knees, vision blurring as the world dimmed.
She should’ve run when she had the chance.
When she opened her eyes, the misty landscape was gone. The world had become a haunting void, desolate and bleak. Vibrant hues had dulled to morose shades of grey, green, and black. Stars were sparse, faint pinpricks against the gloom.
Blood rushed to her head in a dizzying wave. Arms spread wide, wrists bound in silken threads, ankles tied together above her—suspending her upside down. She tested her range of motion, but the bindings held fast. Her hands twitched as worry transformed into full-fledged panic.
Alaire dangled in a web of spider silk, immobilized. Whatever had struck her had disrupted her nervous system. The threads glistened in the dim light. Her lungs seized—her breathbind reliquary was out of reach. Breathwork was her only hope.
Squeezing her eyes shut against the white spots edging her vision, she forced herself to focus. Inhale. Exhale. Even inverted, she clung to the rhythm of her breath.
It’s only a nightmare. When I open my eyes, I’ll be back with Dawson and Solflara .
But when she opened them, she was face-to-face with a cluster of grotesque creatures.
Bloodthirsty bats crowded around her, their leathery wings beating the air.
Nearly the size of Aeris Academy’s gargoyles, their bodies were massive, each bearing eight eyes arranged like a spider’s—black, rimmed in crimson.
Membranous wings stretched between elongated finger-bones, their gaping maws revealing rows of needle-sharp fangs slick with fresh blood.
One, larger than the rest, hung directly before her face. Its eyes were wholly black, narrowing with malice as it dangled from the cavern ceiling by powerful claws. Coarse fur cloaked its rangy limbs. When its mouth opened, a forked tongue flicked out like a serpent.
A chorus of high-pitched screeches echoed around her. She tried to cover her ears, but the silken restraints cut deeper into her wrists with each movement.
Behind them, geometric symbols adorned the cavern’s perches—the same she’d seen in the Serenity Gardens.
“ It seems you’ve finally awoken . Welcome to our humble abode ,” a masculine voice rasped, scraping against her mind. It seemed to come from the largest bat, though its mouth barely moved.
Alaire strained against her bonds, hoping her backup knife was still hidden in her boot. Her body refused to cooperate. Only a faint twitch of her fingers answered. The manacles tightened imperceptibly, and the blood rushing to her head made it harder to keep her eyes open.
“ Looking for this ?” the bat drawled, dangling the knife before her face. Its claw scraped the steel, hovering inches from her nose.
Forcing down her exhaustion and the vertigo of hanging upside down, Alaire managed her trademark cocky smirk. “If I needed a weapon, I’d pick something more impressive than whatever you’re waving around.”
“ He warned us you were a fiery little brat .” The creature’s forked tongue flicked the air.
“Where am I?” Alaire gritted out.
“ To think , you should be asking why you’re here .”
“Fine. Why am I here?” She glared. They’d strung her up like a spit-roast.
“ Because our creator wills it .”
Politeness wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
“Creator?” Alaire scoffed, brows pinching together.
She tried to tug subtly at her restraints.
She’d rather gouge her eyes with a spoon than keep staring at this monstrosity.
Mustering bravado, she pressed on. “Next time you see your creator, ask for upgrades. A little facial reconstruction would be a significant improvement.”
“ You dare defile my master with such careless words ? He transformed us — made us more than mere bats . We are both old and new .”
Her body tensed as she kept prying at the bindings. “Try me, bat-boy.”
“ You mock what you do not know . He gave me the gift of speech , venom to paralyze prey , and webs as strong as steel .” The bat spoke with reverence as it folded its wings.
“And you worship him for it. How touching.” Alaire rolled her eyes. “So what’s the grand plan? Cocoon me up nice and neat?”
“ Your puny mind cannot comprehend his brilliance .” The bat’s wings twitched.
“Sounds like just another power-hungry maniac to me. Elithian’s full of them. He should get in line. Tell me—what do you actually get out of it, besides the makeover?”
The blood pounding in her head threatened to drown her, but she still managed to sneer.
“ I serve the greatest being in existence — the Voidshade Sovereign .” The bat’s voice quivered with fanaticism, its body vibrating with zeal. “ Those who were changed are imbued with his essence of shadows .”
Alaire felt like she’d been doused in ice water. “That’s… not possible. He was killed fifteen years ago. He died during Starfall, in Aurelia with—” She swallowed against the knot in her throat.
“ With your parents .” The bat’s lips curled into an abhorrent smile, baring its fangs.
It reveled in her shock. “ The Voidshade Sovereign is brilliant . For years he waited in the shadows , biding his time until the right moment to resume his vocation . Your parents only denied him what was his . Their sacrifice was useless .”
Her mind spun. Nausea surged until she retched, emptying her stomach into the chasm of darkness below.
“ He fled that night under shadow’s guise ,” the creature continued. “ While he may not have claimed what was rightfully his , watching Dawnspire burn to ashes was a satisfying consolation prize .”
“Consolation prize?” Alaire choked out. “Those were my people—fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children! That vampire invasion took countless lives.”
“ But your parents’ fire killed more . Trying to shield Elithian from my master’s divine right was an idiotic mistake. He is not so easily defeated . You accuse him of being evil , but how does it feel knowing their sacrifice slaughtered innocents ?”
Her face blanched, limbs tingling from lack of circulation.
“ Enough that it wiped out an entire territory .”
She trembled from head to toe, anger whipping through her like lashes.
“ Too frightened to admit the truth ? That everyone died so you could survive ? Your parents sacrificed themselves — and all those people — so you could live to carry the light . How does it feel to wake up every morning with their blood on your hands ?”
Her hands stilled. What was it saying? Her thoughts scrambled, fighting to track its words while her body hung helplessly in spider silk. Saliva pooled thick in her mouth.
She blinked rapidly as her mind replayed every memory she’d recovered of her parents. None of this could be true. It couldn’t. Her ribs tightened until it hurt to breathe.
“ Fae are such odd beings ,” the bat mused. “ You claim to fight evil , yet wield it without repercussion when it serves you .” It tilted its head, studying her as though her dangling form might provide answers.
“Where am I?” Alaire rasped.
The bat lifted its wings wide. “ Why don’t I show you ?”
The veil of mist peeled back, revealing the nightmare in full. Hundreds of bats clung to the cavern walls, rows above and below her. Dozens circled, wings beating the air, ready to descend.
“ Welcome to Nebula’s Veil ,” the bat crooned. “ How fitting that this ends where it began — in the heart of a star . The Voidshade Sovereign sent us to drain your strength , giving us the honor of injecting you with our poison to prepare you for him . Your blood is his gift . We may only sample .”
Horror shot through her veins. The crimson dripping from their fangs wasn’t another victim’s—it was hers. She craned her head upward. Puncture wounds riddled the delicate skin of her arms where the silk bound her. They had fed on her while she was unconscious.
“I have no magic,” she whispered hoarsely. “Nothing he could want.”
“ Do not insult me with lies . Our master is generous with his knowledge . He keeps nothing from us . That is why this time , he will bring us into the light .”
Nausea swelled again at the realization she’d been prey, used without consent. Her body shook violently, vision tunneling into black.
“ Your pain has only begun , Alaire Vallorian ,” the bat rasped. “ It will be all you ever know — until the end of time .”
And Alaire believed it. What the creature didn’t know was that since Starfall, the torment had never truly left her.
Blackness claimed her once more.