Chapter 18 #2
Kaden swallowed. “My mother saw how unhappy I was, and so she formed Adriel from an ancient gold and green clay found only on the banks of the Adraeis River. She beseeched the gods to give him life, calling on an old, forgotten magic that was once used by childless mortals. The gods heard her plea, and Adriel was born. But everything in nature must find a balance, so they bound his life to mine. If I should die, Adriel will die, too.”
“But you’re immortal.”
He smiled softly. “Even if I never took any risks, nothing actually lives forever. The burden of immortality is such that many one day choose to end their own existence. Among demonkind, taking Nehncha is seen as the most contemptible act of cowardice, but it is so common that we have a ritual for it.”
“But Adriel . . .” I didn’t know what to say.
“The child of clay grew into a fully grown male, who bleeds just as you and I do. But no, he is not fae. Nor is he mortal or demon. He is forged of the earth and a mother’s love.”
That explained what Adriel had meant when he said he owed his very existence to Kaden.
“Adriel is my oldest friend and the only male in either realm whom I trust implicitly, though it took me centuries to accept that he was truly my friend and not just loyal to me because of the magic that bound his life to mine. But after everything that’s happened, Adriel has been by my side.”
“How many Mork —” I broke off. “How many of them are there?"
“I don’t know. In the five centuries I’ve been alive, I have never met another like him. His magic is as ancient as the realms themselves. Only one with knowledge of the old ways would even recognize it for what it is.”
We came to a bend in the road along the other side of the mountain, and my stomach gave a sickening pang when I beheld what lay ahead .
There were none of the scrubby evergreen trees that had dotted Klod?sch, nor were there any berry bushes, moss, or vegetation. Nothing but patches of snow and a few dead-standing trees adorned the dry, cracked earth.
No birds sang from the leafless treetops. No creatures scurried underfoot. It was as if everything beyond the village had been poisoned and died.
Sunbeam whinnied and started to turn back the way we’d come, as if she sensed the utter wrongness here. I tightened my grip on the reins and forced her onto the path, unease coiling in my chest.
“This is what the Ravaging has done to our land,” said Kaden. “Soon it will overtake Klod?sch, the Ravenous Woods, and reach the capital.”
“Do you think magic will ever return?” I asked.
“If we manage to sever the ties binding those souls to my father and release them . . . I am hopeful.”
Glancing over at the prince, I found him staring out at the barren landscape with such pain in his expression that it stole the air from my lungs.
“This truly matters to you, doesn’t it?”
Kaden whipped around to face me, fury in his silver eyes. “Of course it matters to me. Anvalyn is my home — my kingdom by blood. Even if the fae don’t want me as their king, it is my sacred duty to protect my people and defend these lands.”
“What does Alfrigg say?” I asked. “Why doesn’t he try to stop it?”
“Alfrigg is a coward,” Kaden spat. “Worse, he is a coward who is in denial of the blight that grips these lands.”
“How can he deny this?”
“Only the far reaches of the kingdom have been affected so severely. So far it has only reached the Drathen settlements, so people believe him when he says the blight ended with the death of Elowynn Cursebringer.”
Kaden’s shadows billowed around him with his rage, and Sunbeam nickered nervously.
“For the Drathen fae to be drained of their magic only benefits the king,” Kaden snarled. “It is easier to keep your enemies subdued when they grow more powerless by the day.” He shook his head. “Alfrigg will do nothing to stop the Ravaging. There is only one way this ends.”
I had to free the souls bound to the demon king and end his existence.
We fell silent after that, trailing Adriel and Sorsha through the ravaged wasteland. The dried husks of standing trees loomed ahead.
After nearly an hour, I felt the gentle caress of smoke and shadow against my mind. I hurried to shore up my mental shields, which, by now, I always kept in place, though they seemed to develop small gaps and crevices if I was tired or distracted.
Once I was sure I’d stuffed all the cracks with my own essence, I looked over at Kaden.
“I thought we should use this time to practice,” he said. “There is no telling when my father might find you, and when he does, you must be able to block him out.”
“Will I feel him as I feel you?” I asked.
“Not unless he wants you to.”
A cold shiver raked down my spine, and I sensed that dark, shadowy presence brush up against my mental defenses.
Had the demon king already invaded my mind? If so, he would know that Kaden and I were working together .
But before I could fully sink into that terrifying thought, I felt a bit of Kaden slip through my walls.
It was an odd feeling, like missing a step going down a long flight of stairs. Those velvety shadows unfurled slowly, flooding my senses with leather and night.
This time, Kaden didn’t rifle through my memories. Instead, I felt a shift in my perception, as if he’d turned me away from one window to look through another.
Images began to flash through my mind.
Me, completely naked, splayed on dark, silky sheets. My skin seemed to glow in the dancing firelight, my hair spilling around me like liquid obsidian.
As I watched, the imaginary Lyra trailed a hand between her legs, eyes fluttering closed as her lips parted.
I jerked away, trying to extricate myself from the image Kaden had planted. But when I turned toward the imaginary wall I’d built, I hit solid stone.
I groped along the wall for a crack — for some opening in the bricks — but it was sealed tight. He’d trapped me in my own mental fortress.
A low chuckle rumbled through my mind. Come on , Kaden whispered. Throw me out .
Furious, I gathered up the tattered remnants of my focus, concentrating on isolating the bits of Kaden that were swirling around in my head. It felt like trying to catch smoke, but if I reached out with all my senses, I could feel what wasn’t me.
Then I focused on that wall, forcing the bricks apart and creating a break in my defenses. Light bled through the cracks, and I summoned the last of my waning energy to blast Kaden out of my mind before shoring up the wall.
I came back into my body with a shudder. We were still trekking through the desolate wasteland that had once been a lush forest, and Kaden was laughing .
“What the fuck was that?” I demanded, chest heaving as though I’d just sprinted up the side of a mountain. Cold sweat was trickling down my temples, and my undershirt was soaked.
“ That , little huntress, is what I dream about. Every. Single. Night.” Another dark chuckle rumbled through him, but then his expression grew serious.
“You must not only guard against invasions to extract thoughts and memories. You must also be wary of those who enter to plant thoughts that are not yours.” He shrugged.
“I figured sharing one of my fantasies was the fastest way to get you to be more vigilant.”
“Bastard,” I spat, fighting off a shiver at the thought of what one could do with that power.
“Now that’s not very creative.”
I scowled, though I didn’t protest as Kaden launched his next attack.
This time, I was able to hold him off longer, though he always seemed to find a way to slip past my defenses. He’d allow his shadows to fill my head before planting some new erotic fantasy — usually me pleasuring myself — before I threw him out.
It was exhausting work, grappling with him in my mind, and after a few hours of this, I was so tired that I couldn’t force him out on my own. Each of those attacks ended with me giving the prince a verbal lashing that sent Sorsha into a fit of giggles.
Once I was so tired that I could no longer hold my shields at all, Kaden ceased his attacks on my mind, and our little group fell silent.
As darkness descended, however, I began to yearn for the distraction. The lifeless forest was unnaturally quiet, and a cold mantle of dread settled over me as our horses picked their way through the barren landscape.
What had happened here was worse than death. The land was empty. Cursed.
I felt the wrongness of it in my bones, and I had the feeling that my mare did too. The creature was restless and uncooperative — worse than she’d been in town.
When a cold wind whipped through the skeletal trees, she gave a frightened nicker and shuffled back. I reached forward to give her a reassuring pat on the neck, but when I clicked my tongue to get her moving, she tossed her mane with a whinny of protest.
Adriel had stopped a few paces ahead, and he turned to watch as I tried to right my mount.
“I told you,” I grumbled. “Horses and I don’t —”
I broke off when his horse tried to turn back, tossing its head with unmistakable reluctance.
I looked to Kaden, who held his reins in one hand as he drew his sword with the other. Sorsha’s dappled gray mare was equally nervous, but the princess was a skilled equestrian and controlled the beast with little effort.
Uneasy, I bunched the reins in my left hand and drew my sword with my right.
I scented the air, trying to discern what had spooked our mounts, but I smelled only the iron-rich dirt and the musk of the animals.
Then I caught movement from behind a tree trunk, and my horse tossed her head in dismay.
My heart skipped over itself, and I squinted through the gloom, but my eyes seemed to be playing tricks on me. A figure stood twenty paces away, though it was too dark to make out any features.
Movement to my right stole my attention, and I saw another figure emerge from the shadows.
Kaden turned his horse to peer in the opposite direction, and I realized with a pang of horror that we were surrounded.