Epilogue
Shade
Pain pierced my soul. An agony so intense it swarmed my entire body with vicious energy.
The resounding scream that followed would play in my nightmares for eternity.
It was a pain unlike any other, one I was intimately familiar with.
Soldiers swarmed me, but I caught a glimpse of Adelia hunched over her sister’s prone form before my view was blocked by armed men.
Bloodlust pulsed through me in an incessant rhythm.
The captain lunged first, sweeping his blade in a wide arc aimed at my chest. I twisted away, elbowing another man in the nose and stealing his sword in the same movement, then used the blade to block the captain’s next blow.
I fell into a familiar rhythm, the men poorly trained in comparison to those I had once fought.
I relished the opportunity to use my strength against them.
Despite the bindings choking me, I was far more powerful than these so-called soldiers.
This land and its people had grown weak in the absence of my familial line.
No longer drawing from the magic of our surroundings, the people suffered. Weakened.
My focus was separated between fighting the six men attacking me and the sunlight to my soul. The bond connecting me to Adelia was a maelstrom of darkness and despair, the fire usually burning there hidden behind the storm.
I sensed the connection the moment I was released from the lamp.
Before my confinement, I had never heard of such a thing.
We were inexplicably linked, and it was more than the lamp, the magic of the Gods was separate to my own, and Adelia was tangled deep within my chest, where my magic used to settle before I became this.
I wouldn’t question the connection, because she was everything.
The agonized screaming continued, the jarring sound like a thousand blades to my heart.
I called her name, aloud, and within, down the connection in my chest, begging her to break free.
The wail cut off while I continued to block blows, clanging steel echoing around the tomb in the absence of her scream.
“Adelia,” I said again, praying to the Gods she would hear me.
The captain twisted, trying to get around my defenses and making a grave mistake by giving me the opening I needed to thrust my blade into his side.
His pained shout was music to my ears. He worked for the king, the one who hurt her.
My bloodlust fueled, I swung the sword toward his neck, ready to end his life for good.
The blade bounced back, recoiling from the magical shield stopping me from making my kill.
The sword flung from my hand, clattering to the stone floor far out of reach.
The corner of my lips tugged upward. It had been some time since I fought without a weapon, and I looked forward to showing these men what could be accomplished without a blade.
I became lost to the fight, finally able to release my anger on these men.
Anger at my past. Anger at everything Adelia had been subjected to.
Anger at the restrictions that stopped me from being able to do anything but watch from the sidelines as she was destroyed beyond repair.
I had felt it all. Every conflicted emotion. Her heartache, her happiness, her pleasure. Everything.
I could block my own emotions from her, but sometimes, they crossed the boundary I erected when they were too strong to contain. She never realized.
I let them have it all, dodging blades to meet metal-plated chests with my fists, the force strong enough to send the men stumbling. My chest heaved with exertion, my mind high on adrenaline as I punished each man for the simple role of serving their king.
Her soft words reached me like a whisper in the wind, my shouted warning far too late to stop the magic from working.
Her final wish would doom us all.
I stumbled when the Gods’ magic flooded me in a deluge of power.
The soldiers stopped attacking. A sound beyond our comprehension filling the room and forcing them to cover their ears.
I fell to one knee when another agonizing wave rippled under my skin.
It took everything I had to block the sensation from Adelia.
To not let it overflow down our connection.
My palm became a conduit for the Gods power to expel from my body.
The force of it sent the soldiers to the ground, the next wave so powerful their minds shattered, eyes left wide in death.
The ground shuddered, and searing pain vibrated through my flesh and bones, lighting every nerve ending on fire as magic fell into the earth and unlocked the gates located there.
The floor cracked open, releasing the monsters I gave my life to lock away.
Then he rose. Shrouded in darkness despite being the light to my shadow. The moment my eyes locked on Bastian, my heart seized and my stomach hardened. The fear was all consuming. Not for myself. Not even for the lands I was once honor bound to protect.
No, it was fear for the dark-haired woman who captured me in every possible way.
If my brother knew what she meant to me, she would be in the worst kind of danger imaginable.
He would do anything to destroy me. Losing her would damage me beyond repair.
Nothing, nothing was more important than Adelia. My Solis.
As the Gods bindings released me, my own familiar magic flooded my veins and filled my vacant chest, dancing with the connection to her.
Had she wished for something else, anything else, the prison keeping Bastian captive all these years would have sealed permanently.
My life, preserved in the lamp, would have ensured it remained closed forever.
It would have been a lonely eternity and one I agreed to all those years ago.
Back then, I had been willing to do anything, sacrifice everything, for my kingdom and my people.
But my strong, selfless woman had wished for my freedom, and now, it wasn’t the innocent lives of strangers I feared for, but my perfect Solis.
She wanted me, and I would never let her go, nothing would stop me from keeping her forever.
Not the Gods. Not the so-called king. And certainly not my brother.
The earth shuddered once more, and the final remaining demons escaped their prison. When the vibrating stopped, my body still shook, threatening to collapse in exhaustion.
Terym gleefully approached my brother, and I bared my teeth; if I had any energy left, I would launch myself at him. Show him exactly what I was capable of now that my bonds to the lamp had broken. He forced himself on her, hurt her in unforgivable ways, and the pain I inflicted wasn’t enough.
It would never be enough.
He tried to command my brother, but Bastian didn’t bow to anyone, least of all a man who offered nothing but a title—one my brother didn’t need.
Through the dusty haze lingering in the air, Adelia still clutched her sister’s body on the opposite side of the room. She needed to get her far away from my brother and his manipulations.
Movement out of my peripheral caught my attention, Pierce was helping a limping Wista out from under some rubble.
I commanded my familiar shadows, darker and stronger now that the Gods’ magic no longer suffocated me.
I nudged Pierce with them subtly, drawing his attention while Bastian remained distracted by Terym.
I inclined my head toward Adelia, who stared at the scene unfolding before us in wide-eyed horror.
Pierce sent a short nod, and together, he and Wista made their way toward my reason for living, using the rubble and fallen bodies to remain hidden.
Demons of fire and shadow danced through the air excitedly. Some remained to watch the show while others disappeared up the steps. They would be his scouts, the ones to report on the world above the surface so he could begin planning.
When a shadow demon gutted Terym, a euphoric warmth heated my veins.
Although I would have enjoyed prolonging his suffering, I was beyond satisfied he no longer breathed the same air as my Solis.
Terym’s lifeless body fell to the ground, and Bastian focused his attention on me.
“Now that that’s taken care of. Brother, what a predicament we find ourselves in. ”
My muscles locked. I would keep my brother occupied to give the others time to get Adelia out and far away from here.
“I should kill you for locking me in that Gods forsaken place for a millennium. But I think playing with you will be much more—” He flashed a grin so reminiscent of our childhood, nostalgia momentarily stunned me. Moments of play and teasing flashed through my mind. “Satisfying.”
He circled me while I knelt at his feet, exactly where he always wanted me to be. “You always did like your games.”
Bastian laughed, harsh and mocking. “How could I not? You were too easy to beat.”
“What now, Bastian? You’ll destroy me and take your place as king? This world isn’t what you know, a lot of time has passed.” Movement caught Bastian’s attention before he could respond.
“What’s this?” My heart plummeted, and I followed his gaze to where Adelia and Wista crouched, partially hidden by rubble. Two shadow demons landed behind them, and the women ran forward to put distance between them.
Adelia’s beautiful eyes met mine, pools of green and gold laced with pain and fear. I schooled my expression; Bastian couldn’t know who she was to me.
Out in the open, he perused the two women, but his eyes lingered on Adelia, zeroing in on her bleeding hands. “You’re the one. It’s you I must thank for my freedom it seems.” His neutral tone gave no indication to how he felt about it.
Adelia’s face flashed, her inner fire dancing across her face. Rein it in, I begged silently. If she gave him her anger, he would take it as a challenge. It wasn’t a fight we could win.
“It wasn’t intentional, believe me.”
Bastian’s face was hidden from me, but his shoulders stiffened.
Fuck.
“I was going to let you live. But now …”
His hands shifted, and a fire demon blared brightly behind Adelia, expanding into humanoid form. The gold in Adelia’s eyes brightened, acceptance settling onto her features when her gaze latched on to me.
No.
My magic burst from me, acting before conscious thought in a wave of darkness, smothering the demon threatening Adelia’s life. I relished in the magic pulsing in my veins, and I pulled energy from the air, filling me entirely and restoring my body from exhaustion.
Bastian’s low chuckle rang through the retreating smog. “How transparent you are brother.”
I leapt to my feet, my muscles spasmed in rage and fatigue. Still, I pulled my smoke tighter, drawing it closer to me and the threat against the one I loved with everything I had. He wouldn’t hurt her. She was mine, and I would sacrifice everything to keep her safe.
Tendrils coiled tight, poised for attack while Bastian formed his signature ball of static light.
We were the exact opposite. Night and day. Dark and light.
Our mother said we were the perfect complement to each other’s magic, that together we would be unstoppable, and we had been, until he betrayed me. Betrayed our kingdom. All for more power.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Raiden? You never could defeat me one on one.”
“Adelia, go!” I demanded, begging her with my mind to leave, sending the compulsion through our connection. She couldn’t be here when our magic clashed, our fights caused nothing but destruction, and anyone in close range would be decimated.
“I’ll see you soon, Adelia.” My brother’s eyes raked over her once more, the intent behind them clear.
Bloodlust consumed me.
Mine.
My magic tugged at my chest, agitated and ready to annihilate.
Adelia reached the steps, and my smoke burst free at the same time as Bastian’s static energy expanded.
Light flared and an explosion boomed, our magic meeting between us with uncompromising force. I fought my brother with every ounce of strength remaining, to protect the one thing, the one person I refused to fail.
My Solis. My sunlight.