Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
~ Shade ~
I’m not far from the top, when a menacing growl fills the air.
Above me, Ian’s large puma animali comes into view at the top of the wall.
It clings to the stone, its black wings stretched out wide to help it balance, and it stares at me with piercing red eyes.
Ian sits on its back, and he lifts his arms, drawing cheers from the crowd. Then he turns his attention to me.
“Fuck,” Raith curses.
“I thought Ian had finished the course?” I say, still struggling to keep my mind in the present.
“He did,” Thane replies.
“Yes, but it appears Ian is hoping to win points with the queen by putting on a performance,” Galen says. “He also didn’t look too pleased that you saved Satine after he tried to get rid of her.”
“What?” I eye the distance between myself and Ian.
“He’s going to try and kill you,” Knox says coldly. “We’ve seen this kind of behavior before. You need to take him out first.”
“No, I can’t do that,” I blurt. “I’m barely hanging on as it is.”
“Sorry, sunshine,” Faith rumbles. “But you don’t have a choice.”
Ian moves from his animali’s back, and I’m horrified when he begins climbing down the wall toward me, with a dagger clenched between his teeth.
You have got to be kidding me.
The crowd goes wild, loving this unexpected turn of events. Ian wants to be the champion, and he thinks spilling my blood will help him become the queen’s favorite. He’s probably right, too.
I peer at the pit of spikes below me, contemplating my next move.
Even if I climbed down, without the space for a run up, there’s no way I would be able to jump back to the platform that’s a short distance from the wall.
Not to mention, if I managed to somehow escape Ian, I’d have to climb all the way back up here again.
No, as much as I might want to, there’s no running from this.
A wicked gleam flashes in Ian’s eyes as he comes for me, and my mates are all whispering in my ears at once, trying to give me advice and encouragement.
But despite the danger Ian poses, I still can’t stop thinking about the memory of the cloaked figure, and the fact that I could be a spy after all.
What if I really am the one who’s going to make us lose the war?
Ian might be a dick, but at least he’s planning to fight against the Xalgrith, not let them win and destroy the realms.
“You have to fight, mate,” Thane says desperately in my ears.
My lips are trembling when I reply, “But what if this is for the best?”
“What are you talkin’ about?” Raith asks.
“The prophecy,” I say. “What if I am the only one who can destroy you all?”
Knox doesn’t hesitate to reply. “Then we will happily burn, as long as you are by our side, my love. Now, take care of this human.”
“Wow. Have you always been such a romantic?” I mumble, not sure why having him talk about our deaths is really doing it for me.
Ian moves closer, and I fumble for one of my knives as my mates stand in the ceremonial box. The queen is glaring at them, but they don’t seem to care.
Giving me a wolfish grin, Ian pulls the dagger from his mouth, and he drops to my side.
I try to remember my training and strike him with my knife first, but he bats the blade out of my hand, and it falls to the pit below. My shadows try to restrain him, but his shadows are stronger, and they easily keep mine away.
Above us, his animali paces the wall, watching with its keen red eyes.
I shout, trying to push back as Ian crowds me, pinning me against the wall, but I stop struggling when he presses his blade to a spot below my ear. Crap.
“Too easy.” He laughs, his foul breath hot on my face. “I have to give it to you, Token. I didn’t think you’d make it this far.”
The crowd goes quiet, watching with bated breath, but a deafening roar shatters the silence. I know that roar, and I turn my attention to the ceremonial box.
Raith is on his knees, his body half man and half monster, but his roar is cut off as the queen’s shadows wrap around him.
Knox, Galen, and Thane, begin to fight, but more of the queen’s shadows shoot out as she restrains them.
My mates almost break free of her power, but the queen shouts something to the other originals, and it looks like she draws on their energy to strengthen the binds around my mates.
Aside from Germain, the other originals look confused. They’re not sure why my mates are acting this way, but I’m sure the queen finally realizes the truth of who I am.
Ian laughs again. “Oh, this is even better than I’d hoped.” One of his shadows circles my neck, and it squeezes, restricting my airflow.
Dark spots soon appear in my vision, and as I start to lose consciousness, I’m thrown into another memory.
The same cell from before materializes around me again, and the cloaked figure is pacing just beyond the bars. There’s something wet on my hands, and I peer down to see my fingers are ruined and dripping with blood. Scratches line the walls and the floor, and my clothes are torn and filthy.
“I don’t know why you keep fighting this,” the figure snarls, clearly at the edge of his patience. “I had hoped you’d be more reasonable like the other students have been.”
“Please,” I beg, lifting my broken hands to my pounding head. “Make it stop. Please make it stop.”
The figure’s top lip curls with disgust. “You’re pathetic. I thought you’d be all powerful, and so far, you haven’t shown that you can wield a shred of magic.”
“I told you,” I cry. “I’m just human. I’m not who you think I am, and I won’t be this destroyer or whatever you’re hoping for.”
“I’ll admit, though, I’m still surprised I haven’t been able to break into your mind,” the figure muses as if he’s speaking to himself rather than to me. “I suppose that in itself shows you’re more powerful than you’re letting on. Most of the students have been easy enough for me to manipulate.”
Another sob escapes me. I have no idea who these students are, but going by what he’s saying, it didn’t end well for them. “I’m not powerful,” I tell the figure. “Please just send me home. He—he’ll come for me.”
“He? Who Knox?” The figure stops pacing and stares at me as he laughs humourlessly.
“From what I hear, the queen has your mate restrained at her shadow palace. She wasn’t too pleased to hear Knox and Raith had found their mate who could make us lose the war.
As you can imagine. No, dear. He’s not coming.
And he doesn’t want you. But I do. You’re the weapon we need.
But perhaps…I should try a different approach.
I had thought if I infiltrated your mind, I could simply control you and force you to carry out what is necessary.
But it looks like I’m going to have to break you the old-fashioned way. ”
Before I can reply, he laughs and his power crashes into me, his shadows sliding over my skin like suffocating tendrils. Agony tears through me, but unlike earlier when I felt his power trying to burrow into my mind, this time the pain is accompanied by images that appear in front of me.
I scramble backward as a man forms in my cell. Someone I was so sure I’d killed a long time ago. He’s holding a kitchen knife that’s dripping with blood, and he lifts it in front of him as he walks toward me.
No.
I curl up, because this can’t be happening. I tell myself over and over that he can’t be real. That he can’t be here, but it doesn’t stop the fear. It doesn’t stop the way my heart races, adrenaline spiking through me.
As the man comes closer, power zaps from my ring, racing through my veins, and I scream as my skin ripples, my form changing shape.
One after the other, I become different beings. A selection of animals and people as that man slowly comes toward me. It’s only when he stops directly in front of me, that I notice his skin is slightly translucent, and he disappears into a cloud of shadows like he had never been there.
“So you’re a shapeshifter,” the figure outside my cell muses. “An unusual shadow gift, and one that could be most useful. But I feel your power still has more to offer. Don’t worry. I’ll get it all out of you in time.”
Magic still flows through me, and I’m not sure how to control it. My form changes from a wolf to a bird, my fur morphing into silky black feathers as I become a crow standing at the back of the cell. I’ve always loved crows.
“Mmm so much potential,” the figure comments.
I still don’t know who this figure is, but it’s obvious I need to get out of here and away from him. But how can I do that if I’m a bird?
I eye the cell bars, realizing my current size could actually be an advantage.
Could I slip through them and escape before this guy catches me?
Logically, I know my odds are slim. I should probably wait until he’s gone, but he’s been standing outside my cell for hours, and I don’t know how long it will be until he leaves.
I decide to go for it, and while he’s busy muttering to himself, I start walking using my tiny bird feet, moving along the cell. I’m clumsy and nearly trip a couple of times, but before long the cell bars are not far in front of me.
I can do this. I’ll escape this weird evil villain, and I’ll find Knox. Wherever he is. Maybe he can explain this whole crazy situation and send me home.
Holding onto that thought, I peer tentatively at the cloaked figure who still hasn’t noticed what I’m doing. Even when I’m through the bars, I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t catch me.