Chapter 4 #2
Watching the familiar Elementals leisurely stroll across the back lawn and into the lodge, I felt nostalgia.
A cavernous part of me missed those who had taken me in all those years ago, and the friendships and loyalties that had been more like a family's. In the beginning, it grew lonely in Goshen, as the other Infernals didn’t socialize with one another.
Their only existence was to serve Celanea in all capacities, which, in return, reminded me that I didn’t need those connections or the irritating nostalgia that came with them. I was fine on my own.
However, nothing compared to the bond that I shared with Gray. It was a literal tether connecting her soul to mine. A tether that died a little more by the day. Our bond would be restored once she became Infernal, because the Syphon Bond was cast on her as well.
I pushed down the nostalgia. It was unwanted and unnecessary. It did nothing to serve my purpose.
I leaned back against the tree to my left, watching the goings on at the Hollow, observing how most Elementals moved with purpose and alertness, while others moved as if their wards protected them from all dangers and threats.
I wondered if they’d caught on to the fact that my magic had faded from the wards since I’d turned Infernal.
That now, it held only Onyx’s magic, and it wouldn’t be long before the glamour around the Hollow completely vanished.
A pair of Elementals, a girl and a guy I’d trained, walked hand-in-hand toward the tree line where I propped myself.
Lake giggled at something Aster had said.
When she tripped over a buried log in her path, Aster wrapped an arm around her waist, ensuring she didn’t fall.
Lake smiled up at him before standing on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.
The sight pulled at something inside of me. How annoying. Why couldn’t it be Gray wandering about the fucking tree line instead of these two?
I squeezed my fists tight at my sides. As much as I needed Gray, it pissed me off when I thought of not having her.
I needed to fight for our bond. Even if I couldn’t truly feel for her like I once had, I knew she was important to me.
And I knew once she joined me in the darkness, all would be as it should.
I shifted upright, pushing my back off the tree.
The tree boughs shook from my movement, causing the two Elementals to pause their stroll and look around.
With their senses now on alert, they searched the tree line.
I felt their awareness grazing against mine, scanning for the threat they now knew was present.
My anger peaked. I fumed at their lack of self-preservation and, more importantly, the security of their queen. The wards were nearly collapsed, and they didn’t seem bothered that Kinetics could attack and kill Gray in a matter of days.
I unveiled my shadows and stepped out into their view, my hands shoved in my pockets.
“You might wanna tighten the wards on this place. You guys are still a bit exposed.” Even I could hear the deadened tone in my voice.
How it lacked any life to it, compared to how I’d sounded the last time I was here.
The couple froze. Their skin paled even beneath the gold sheen of their skin. “Ch-Chrome?”
“Surprise,” I replied with a shrug.
“How?” Aster demanded, stepping in front of Lake as if he could protect her from me.
My eyes tracked the movement, and I grinned, cocking my head ever so slightly to the side. “I wondered when the two of you would get together.”
“I’m gonna go tell the queen,” Lake whispered from behind Aster, who kept his stare on me.
I raised my brows. “Oh, that would be great. But honestly, I’d love to get her attention in a more dramatic manner.” My shadows lurched from my body, latched onto Aster, and yanked him closer to me.
A shrill scream resounded from behind him, sounding throughout the entire lodge. I shoved more shadows out to enter Lake’s mouth, silencing her as I began to funnel Aster’s soul with my shadows to feed my own.
Aster’s eyes went wide, and his mouth formed a perfect O as I forced him to stand before me while I consumed his soul.
I had become a death-bringer, the type of Infernal who specialized in devouring souls.
So similar to an Endarkened, but with my mind intact, and a lot less repulsive.
An Infernal’s magic was determined by the Tempest they were bound to, and the strength of that Tempest’s magic.
Being bound to Celanea, it made sense that I was a death-bringer.
Lake fought against my shadows, kicking and swinging her fists as she tried to get to her partner. Her water magic would be useless against me.
I groaned as Aster’s soul fueled me, feeling a euphoric high that I could revel in with no remorse. I’d been suppressing it for so fucking long because my morals and emotions blocked me from my true potential. Now I was truly liberated. Free to be my true self with no shame.
After several minutes, Aster’s body grew limp in my shadows’ grasp. Once I knew that he was completely drained and only a corpse remained, I let his body crumble to the earth.
Energized, I stepped closer to Lake while using my shadows to grip her throat.
“The wards are weak. Protect the queen. Otherwise, I’ll keep picking you off one by one until only she remains.
” Releasing Lake from my shadows, I shrouded my body in darkness again, blending in with the night before turning around and walking through the woods, using my shadows as a buffer between my feet and the leaves on the forest floor.
Lake’s anguished screams reached the skies. Somewhere deep down, I felt that pit, but the high of the depletion had me buzzing too much to acknowledge it.
I thought about the Seraphite Stone that Celanea demanded I find for her.
I smiled to myself. I’d find it. But it wouldn’t be for her.
I’d get it and take it for myself. Its properties would allow me to control the aether in Arcadia.
But until then, I would continue pretending to be her compliant soldier.