Chapter 10 Lana
Lana
Weak.
Pathetic.
You left him.
A tug at my ankles jerked me awake from my nightmare. Sweat beaded on my brow, and my brown short-sleeved tunic stuck to my skin.
The room remained pitch dark, the moon hidden behind clouds, suffocating any light that should’ve entered through the window.
Andras’s words from my youth twisted in my dreams. Instead of being in the dungeon, I stood watching Ian burn and Kade get swallowed up by Thames’s evil shadows. All the while hearing Andras’s vitriol about how useless I was as a princess.
The sensation of calming, cool peace swirled around my legs before I jumped at the tug. Sitting up in bed, I glanced down toward my feet and gasped.
Twirling around my ankles in a familiar inky pattern were Kade’s shadows. A sob escaped my lips as I brought my hand to my throat. I was still dreaming. I had to be.
“Hurry.”
I froze.
“Hurry, mate.”
The light in my chest sparked, flaring to life, flowing out of me, intertwining with the shadows. They swirled together in what I could only describe as bliss. With what little I knew of my magic, it felt at home.
“He needs you.”
Without a second thought, I jumped from the bed and grabbed the closest pair of pants I could find.
As they had done in Mysthaven, the shadows swirled around me, leading me on an unknown path.
I tiptoed barefoot to the door and cracked it open.
The shadows muffled the creak of the old inn.
A cursory glance over the hall assured me everyone remained behind their doors, unaware of my actions. No one heard me.
I slipped into the hall. The black tendrils of Kade’s shadows shimmered as my light followed its trail, guiding me through the night.
My body trembled with anticipation. Was Kade really here?
He had to be if his shadows were, but something must be wrong if they called me instead of him coming himself.
I crept down the stairs, my hands shaking on the railing, praying to the Fates I didn’t make any noise. I wanted to run. To bolt through the door and find him.
“Patience. You must not be caught.”
I twisted the doorknob to the front of the inn and slipped out into the night. A slight chill hung in the air, as a tentative feeling of dread crawled up my spine. Kade was nowhere to be seen, but his shadows trailed forward.
They swirled around the outskirts of the camp.
All the tents remained dark, with the only light coming from the dying embers of their fires.
Our army slept, but the shadows hid me from the watchful eyes of those standing guard.
The shadows would never betray our position, but I couldn’t help the discomfort of deceiving those around me by sneaking out.
Still, I followed.
The wind brushed at my skin, delicate but steady. The sounds of nature surrounded me as I followed Kade’s shadows. They stopped a few times as we made our way into the woods, as if straining and pulling taut, but it only lasted a few seconds.
“Help him.”
My body tensed with the urgency of the words his shadows poured into me. I ran my hand along the dagger at my thigh that I’d taken to sleeping with, just in case.
Please let him be all right, I begged the Fates.
The shadows led me into the woods, eerie in the faint moonlight. Sensing my unease, they reassured me to follow every few steps. My light flared among the shadows when we entered the tree line, allowing me to see a short path in front of me.
Now you decide to come out? I thought, frustrated my magic refused to show itself for all the times I'd recently worked with Storm.
“Kade?” I called out in a half whisper, straining my voice with the choked rasp as the ache in my chest grew until it burned. “Kade?”
I trailed the shadows farther into the forest, and the dread I felt earlier doubled.
Beyond my own steps, the forest was silent.
Not a rustle of an animal skittering about or an insect buzzing in the night.
Even the wind halted this far in, refusing to follow me any deeper. The stagnant air thickened around us.
In a single breath, the shadows stopped. Instead of remaining in their trail-like shape, they tightened around me, pooling at my feet.
“Kade?” I called out louder.
A low, throaty laugh echoed around me. “You shouldn’t have come here alone, Little Rebel.”
He was here.
“Is that—Is it really you?” I stumbled over my words.
I turned around in a circle, searching for him through the dark. If I could see him with my own eyes, I could reassure myself he was actually here. No matter what happened to him, we would figure everything out.
An outline materialized from between two trees, hidden as much by his shadows as I was, as they continued to grow around my calves and up my legs.
“I told you no matter where you flee, my shadows would find you, did I not?” Finally, his face came into view, but the smile on it didn’t look like Kade’s. Not my Kade at least.
My heart didn’t listen to the warning in my mind as I ran, lunging toward him, desperate to throw my arms around his neck and relieve the restless bond inside of me. We were together again.
But I never made it to his arms.
Kade’s hand shot out, grabbing me around my throat and keeping me from him. “He’ll be thrilled to know how easy you made this.”
I gasped, unable to inhale a deep enough breath as I choked. “Kade?”
His grip didn’t quite cut off my air supply, but it tightened even more at my question.
He pulled me toward him and ran his nose along my jawline. “Oh, Little Rebel. To be fair, I did tell you to run.”
I shuddered, unable to help reveling in his touch while warning bells sounded in my head, alerting me that I was far from safe right now. Fear radiated throughout my body hearing his deep, menacing chuckle.
“No.” I struggled as his grip tightened painfully.
Without warning, his shadows forcefully wrapped around me, jerking me away from his grasp to form a protective barrier between us.
I fell to my knees, gasping as my light infused the magical wall, wrapping itself around the shadows until it illuminated Kade’s face.
Seeing him clearer stole my remaining breath, while tears flowed freely down my face, an endless waterfall of emotion. He looked tired. Defeated and so worn down.
But he was there. Still mine. I didn’t care what darkness thrummed in his veins. We were stronger than anything else. It may have taken me too long to realize it, but he was mine.
My. Mate.
I would be damned if this was how our story ended.
“Kade, this isn’t you,” I said firmly, rising from the dirt ground to stand. “Whatever Thames has done to you, you can fight it.”
He laughed, tipping his head back. “Thames made me stronger.”
“You are more than his darkness,” I said. His shadows stopped me as I tried to take a step forward. Kade lowered his gaze, glaring at his shadows in disgust. They trembled, shaking almost violently before slipping away from me altogether.
The shadows retreated from their protective position around me, and sucked back into Kade so fast, I barely registered what happened. He stalked forward and gripped my neck once more. His thumb aligned with the column of my throat. “Off we go.”
I struggled against his hold. “Please,” I said softly, placing my hands over his. “Please fight for us.”
His dark eyes momentarily flashed to grey, and he ripped his hands away from my neck, crying out in pain.
“Run.”
I reached for him, staggering on my feet as I took in his hunched-over form. “I can help you,” I insisted.
“Run,” he roared, as he clutched his head in agony.
I obeyed, his shadows escaping his hold to shove me forward.
My bare feet pounded against the forest floor. Twigs poked at my soles, slicing into them and against my legs. Dipping low, I ducked beneath some low-hanging branches but nicked my legs on the thorny brush. I sucked in a sharp breath as I sprinted away from Kade.
Deeper and deeper into the woods I ran, my pulse pounding, nearly unable to see a path in front of me.
My heart raced as the darkness of the woods closed in around me, but I had to lead him away from the camp.
Away from the inn. If the others heard him or knew we were out here, they'd see him like this. I couldn’t be sure someone wouldn’t get hurt with him in this state.
Or worse.
I wouldn’t let that happen.
“Faster.”
His shadows urged me onward. My light brightened inside of me in response, my skin glowing.
“No, he’ll see you,” I hissed. Not a good time to have zero control over my magic.
The trees parted into a small clearing, and I looked around.
“Your fleeing is pointless, Little Rebel,” Kade shouted with the dark edge to his voice. He was too close. “You know I’ll catch you.”
I ran to the left, ducking under an old fallen tree as the bark scraped down my back. I let out a pained hiss but didn’t let it stop me.
“Where can I go?” I asked the shadows.
They didn’t respond this time, and my light panicked as I felt them slip away.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
A growl reverberated around me, and Kade’s body slammed into me, sending me flying to the side.
I screamed as my body skidded across the ground, scraped by sticks and rocks along the forest floor.
“Got you,” he grunted, attempting to roll on top of me. “And now? I think I’ll devour you.”
I lifted my knees, kicking out at him as hard as I could, taking him by surprise. I jerked to the side, pulling my dagger from my thigh as I scrambled to stand.
Kade chuckled as he looked up at me from his knees. “You know I’ve never seen your blade as a threat? Especially not now.”
“You should,” I said, moving to circle him. He jumped to his feet in one fluid movement, ushering his shadows toward me.
They gripped me, but my determination to save the man I loved in the deepest marrow of my soul remained steady. My light surged out of me, entwining with them until they fell back.
“No.” His lip curled as he watched my magic break his connection to his shadows.
I gripped the blade tighter. My body glowed, brightening the space around us in anticipation of his next move. Kade’s eyes narrowed as they blackened.
This time he raised his hands and even more shadows poured out of him, intent on reaching me.
They wrapped around my arms and pinned them to my sides.
Kade knocked into me again, taking me to the ground and straddling me.
He tipped his head back, laughing as the shadows released their hold now that their master had me firmly beneath him.
Still, I fought.
“I always did love your spirit. You should know he’ll enjoy breaking it.”
I shouted in his face, furious at the darkness inside of him and the words it allowed him to say with no remorse.
Let me out.
I swear my light screamed, bursting to escape while speaking to me exactly like Kade’s shadows did.
I lashed out, wiggling my arms from underneath his thighs, aiming to slap some sense into him. Something. Anything to bring him back to reality. “You will submit to my darkness. Submit to me as the Monster of Mysthaven. The alternative is not an option.”
“What alternative?” I spit at him.
He tightened his thighs around my body and pinned my arms above my head. “Thames will kill you.” He hardly looked as if it bothered him.
Seeing him so far gone that even the thought of Thames hurting me didn’t faze him broke a part of me.
Touch him. Need to touch him.
That voice, softer than the voice of Kade’s shadows, echoed in my mind again.
“He can’t have me,” I seethed, throwing my head forward. Kade jerked back out of the way, loosening his grip just enough that I twisted one of my arms from his hold. "And he can’t have you.”
I thrust my hand forward against his chest as light exploded from my open palm. Kade’s eyes widened, and his body slackened above me. His grip relaxed enough for me to yank my other arm free. Immediately, I brought my hand to his face.
“Come back to me, mate,” I commanded, my voice infused with magic in a way I’d never heard before.
His hands fisted into the dirt on either side of my face as he leaned down and snarled as if the beast inside of him craved another shot at me. I wavered as a wave of light escaped from me and wrapped around him so quickly, it made me dizzy.
The space around us detonated with light, encompassing us. I brushed my thumb across his cheek.
“He can’t have you,” I repeated again, a tear falling down my cheek.
I watched the black fade from Kade’s eyes as the light twirled around him.
A breath shuddered out of his body, and my light faded. Kade finally took stock of his surroundings and let out a garbled sound while lifting a hand to my face.
“Mate,” he whispered reverently.
A whimper escaped my lips as relief and love bubbled to the surface hearing him say the word for the first time. Kade’s gaze morphed from awestruck love to absolute horror.
“Illiana, I—” He closed his eyes, and a tremor coursed through his body. He moved to get up, to pull away from me.
“Let me go, Little Rebel,” he said. “You have to let me go.”