Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Waterfall
Morning brought no comfort, only the memory of shadows, monsters, and the weight of survival.
The sun shone bright in the sky, almost mockingly.
Golden light filtered through the towering trees, warming my skin in a way that felt almost sinful after the night of terror I had endured.
I didn’t think I’d ever grow used to that warmth.
It almost made the dangers of Lumireth worth enduring.
The night had felt endless and terrifying.
The Commander had driven us through the forest, galloping hard while those creatures hunted our trail.
Only when the first blush of dawn spread across the horizon did we slow to a canter and he had stopped holding onto me.
Apparently, the monsters only came out at night.
My hips ached more than my arm, and I both longed for and dreaded getting off this damn horse.
I had never heard of a creature like the one from last night.
It felt like something the Iron Guard would have included in their lessons, but maybe I hadn’t been in training long enough to learn about such monsters.
Winston came to an abrupt stop, and I tipped forwards in the saddle before slamming backwards against the Commander. He growled in reaction to the contact, but his large hand gripped my waist to steady me.
We were in a small clearing of pink and purple wildflowers; the shade of the surrounding trees allowed the soft breeze to cool the sweat from my skin.
I felt disgusting. I had never gone this long without bathing.
I was covered in blackish-blue blood and smelled as horrid as the monster who had bled over me.
The saddle shifted as the Commander leapt from the horse.
Solas stood next to his, stretching his arms above his head as Cerilla sat down amongst the flowers.
I slung my numb legs over the saddle, sliding off the horse in the most ungraceful way possible. Instead of my legs catching me, they crumbled beneath me and I fell to the ground. The Commander chuckled at me before walking towards his sister.
Asshole. I glared at the darkness crawling up his body from the forest, as if bringing him secrets. I could almost still feel their icy tendrils clawing at my skin. Solas sat in the grass next to me, handing me a piece of bread and a canteen of water.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
Solas rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at the smear of dried blood. He was covered in the same dark blue blood as me, mixed with his own. I picked at the bread, chewing it and chasing it down with a gulp of water.
“What does a Skathari call a Fae?”
I didn’t answer, raising an eyebrow at him and taking another bite of the bread.
“A Fae-vourite snack.” His grin didn’t falter when I didn’t laugh, his own chuckle filling the silence.
“Is that what that thing was? A Skathari?” I stumbled over the word. The Fae accent had a way of making words sound beautiful. I had completely butchered it.
He nodded, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the Commander and Cerilla before lowering his voice. “Come on, I know you are curious.”
“I didn’t know such beasts existed.”
“There are many monsters plaguing our lands.” He leant forwards, leveling his eyes on me. “But you are going to help fix that.”
“Me?” My voice turned high-pitched. What was I going to do to help? If anything, last night should have showed them I would be useless at fighting their monsters. I couldn’t even fight my own.
“The weapons—”
“Solas!” The Commander was suddenly there, cutting off Solas’s words. Solas gave him an easy smile, unflinching against his glare.
“Cerilla will fix your wound now.” Solas chuckled softly before standing and walking towards Cerilla.
“Get up,” the Commander growled, crossing his tattooed arms over his broad chest and glaring down at me. He had saved my life last night, yet somehow that made me hate him more.
“Do I need to use the bargain?” One corner of his mouth twitched into a lopsided smirk, but the threat in his voice was clear.
Venom pooled in my gaze as I stood, imagining what it would feel like to make him bleed.
He turned, walking through the field of flowers, clearly expecting me to follow.
I imagined my axe sinking into the shifting muscles of his back.
If I ever saw my axe again, that’s the first thing I would be doing.
We left the clearing, the trees above us whispering in a warm breeze that scattered sunlight across the forest floor.
I tilted my head back, marvelling at the serenity of the lush greenery.
Through the branches, I caught glimpses of the endless blue above.
Lumireth’s sky stretched far and wide. Though, it wasn’t entirely clear today; grey clouds gathered in the direction we were heading, bruising the horizon.
I lowered my gaze just in time to avoid colliding into the Commander.
I stopped short, my hands shooting out as I nearly faceplanted into the wall of muscle that was his back.
He exhaled sharply, the sound halfway between a sigh and a growl.
My hands had only touched him for a moment, but it was a moment too long.
“If you got your head out of the clouds, you might not be so clumsy.”
“Your sky is clear and your sun shines. It’s beautiful.” I said, my voice hollow and distant as I stared above me. I felt his glare on my face, yet I refused to let him darken this for me.
“I do not like the sun,” he muttered.
Why would he appreciate the sun when he was pure darkness?
“Why do they call you the Commander of Death?”
“You don’t know?” he asked, an eyebrow quirking.
But my eyes darted past him and my words died.
Sparkling water gushed down a sheer wall of stone, tumbling into a basin below.
I stepped past the Commander, surprised that he didn’t follow me to the water’s edge.
Mist hung in the air, kissing my skin and scattering sunlight into fractured rainbows that danced across the surface.
The soft grass gave way to smooth pebbles as I grew closer, crouching by the edge.
The water was so clear I could see smooth stones beneath the surface.
It glittered with impossible colours, faint blues and silvers that rippled when I reached out.
My fingertips brushed the surface, and it hummed.
“Bathe. You reek of death.”
The commander didn’t even look at me. He’d turned his back, sitting near the bank with his gaze fixed on the path we’d come from.
I crinkled my nose. Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong.
The stench of Skathari blood clung to my skin like rot.
After checking he wasn’t looking at me, I peeled my clothes off.
They stuck to me uncomfortably, crusted with dried blood and dirt.
The water was cool against my skin, the pebbles beneath my feet as smooth and soft as they looked.
I scrubbed at my skin before submerging myself under the water.
For the first time in days, I felt clean. Energised despite the sleepless night.
The Commander was a monster in his own right, but he was different to the evil I was used to. I was naked less than two meters away from him and he hadn’t so much as looked my way. It was strange. Most men couldn’t help themselves.
I had sung to him last night and brushed my lips against his. It was the same thing I had done to Orin and the Fae warrior, but I’d been able to twist something inside their minds until all they saw was me.
Why didn’t it work on him?
My power had slid off him like water over stone. It was clear he wasn’t like most men, maybe that was what made him more dangerous.
He sat there amongst the grass with his back turned to me, either keeping guard or making sure I didn’t run. Either way, his silence brought a strange sense of safety after last night.
A towel and a folded set of clothes materialised from the darkness on the bank like a gift I wouldn’t thank him for.
I waded out quickly, drying myself before slipping into dark blue riding pants and a simple black blouse with loose sleeves. Fresh socks and boots followed, and for the first time in days, I felt almost human again.
“Are you… alright?” The Commander’s back was still to me, his voice clear and sure but, he seemed to shift uncomfortably.
My laughter rang through the air like a cracked mirror catching the light. Jagged and broken.
“I need you to be cooperative. So, I apologise. For taking away your voice, and for the pain my shadows caused.”
His words hung between us like a branch waiting for me to grasp it.
Thin, fragile, and possibly a trap. I stared at him, dumbfounded; no man had ever apologised to me before.
Maybe my kiss had affected him after all.
But when his eyes turned to me, there was no iridescent sheen shining back at me. Just those soulless, dark pits.
“You killed the only man who had ever loved me, and you killed my friend. Fuck your apologies.” I clenched my fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms.
He scoffed and the corners of his mouth returned to that arrogant smirk. “That man was under your spell; he did not love you. And your friend was about to shove his sword through your chest for being what you are.”
The sheen in Orin’s eyes flashed in my mind. He had looked at me like he was waiting for my command. It’s because he was.
Something splintered in my chest because I had threaded those words into him with my magic. He didn’t love me. Orin and Bohdi died because of me. I unclasped my shaky fists and wrapped my arms around myself to hold the frayed edges together.
“That’s right, Little Drownling.” His words grated over me, pulling every bit of self-loathing to the surface. “It was your fault.”
“You should have let them kill me.” My voice cracked with tears that burnt behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of him.
“No.” His voice was low and steady. “I need you alive.”
My chest tightened. He was the reason I was still breathing, the reason the monster inside me hadn’t been silenced.
The edges of my vision darkened and that was the only warning I got. I moved before I knew what I was doing. My hand lashed out, nails sharpening mid-motion as I aimed to claw the smirk from his face.
His hand caught my wrist in a bruising grip.
His other hand reached up to tuck the damp strands of my hair behind my ear.
His touch sent a shiver through my body.
My fingernails had darkened, pointing into lethal tips.
My eyes widened, and as quickly as they had come, they shrunk to my normal, blunted tips.
The Commander studied me, his jaw clenching and unclenching. He released my arm, fingers loosening.
“You don’t know what you are, do you?” He asked, gaze searching me for answers I didn’t possess.
“Do you?” I shot back, glaring up at him as the silence stretched between us. His knowing smirk was infuriating. My fingers twitched, itching to claw at him again. “What am I? Why do you need my power? Where did the Skathari come from? Are there other monsters? How am I meant to—”
“Stop,” the Commander growled. He grasped my chin with his thumb and pointer finger, roughly tilting my face towards his.
The questions had poured from me like a flood through broken gates. I needed to know. If he was going to refuse to let me die, I needed to know what I was living for.
“You want answers, Little Drownling?” he mused, fingers squeezing harder. “Earn them. Every time you obey me, I’ll indulge you in a truth.”
The Commander of Death knew what I was. He knew why the Iron Guard wanted me dead. Why I could drown men and sing them to their knees. He knew about my connection to the Soul Relics. And I knew nothing. What choice did I have?
“Fine,” I gritted through clenched teeth.
“Good girl, now go back to the clearing and get on my horse.” His hand dropped from my face, and I pushed past him towards the clearing. His low chuckle followed me, dark and amused. My arms wrapped tighter around my body, as if I could hold the pieces of myself together.