Chapter 16 Dario
Shadows stretched across the cobblestones, pooling in the hollows of the street.
I allowed my own to blend with them, reaching out in quiet anticipation.
The night had a way of holding its breath, still and tense, and tonight was no exception. Beside me, Elena stood close, her gaze fixed on the boy’s small house across the way.
We’d waited for a long time, but now, there was a crackling anticipation in the air, a sense that something was about to shift. It was only a matter of time.
My eyes darted to Elena as she kept her attention on the door, her face half-lit by the faint lantern light spilling onto the street. It seemed like the interlude in my arms had been a fever dream, so focused did she look now.
My shadows shifted at the edge of the alley, pressing out in anticipation, alert to any movement.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw a figure slip into the narrow street, his form hunched and quick as he moved toward the boy’s door.
I tensed, signaling to Elena with a faint nod, and watched as she drew her cloak tighter around her shoulders, masking her faint glow as we waited, still as statues.
The mage was cautious, his steps soft, his head turning now and then as he scanned the street. His cloak was dark, the hood pulled low over his face, and he moved with quiet efficiency.
But he didn’t know that we were waiting, watching.
I could feel Elena’s breath catch beside me, her shoulders tense as she watched him reach for the door. He was close now, his hand lifting toward the handle, his fingers brushing the wood—and that was when I moved.
My shadows surged forward, wrapping around him in an instant, pulling tight against his arms and legs, binding him in place before he could even turn to react.
He let out a sharp, startled cry, struggling against the dark tendrils that held him, but it was useless. My shadows tightened their hold, pulling him away from the door and into the street, where Elena and I waited.
“Well, well,” I murmured, stepping forward, letting my voice drip with a calm, quiet menace. “You seem to have lost your way.”
The mage twisted in my hold, his eyes wide with fear as he took in the sight of me.
Now that his hood was down, I could see that this was not the mage who had hurt Meryn. He had had two different eyes, but this man had two cornflower blue eyes.
Elena gasped.
“He serves the Elders,” she said quietly, heartbreak in her voice.
Despite it all, it seemed my priestess had still hoped that the Elders were not involved. She had suspected, but seeing it confirmed, knowing that her own temple harbored the darkness we’d been hunting—it was a harsh blow.
A moment later, she took a deep breath, and visibly pulled herself together.
She stepped forward, her powers flaring as she looked over our prisoner.
I could feel her resolve beside me, steady and fierce, and it lent a strange thrill to the shadows that wrapped around my arms, linking our powers in an unspoken pact.
“Who sent you?” Elena’s voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet with an authority that left no room for defiance. “What do you want with this boy?”
The mage sneered, his lips twisting in a defiant smirk, and I felt my shadows tighten around him, responding to the flash of irritation that surged through me.
He would speak, one way or another. I had ways to make certain of it.
“I’ll tell you nothing, High Priestess,” he spat, his voice laced with bitter contempt. “Do what you will. I’m not afraid.”
I watched him, assessing, and then glanced at Elena, my gaze questioning. She met my eyes, her jaw set, her expression unreadable.
For a moment, I wondered if she would step aside and allow me to do what was necessary.
“Elena,” I said quietly, my voice laced with a warning. “Step back. Let me deal with him.”
Her gaze narrowed, her expression unyielding. “No,” she replied, her voice calm, steady. “If you’re going to do this, I’ll be here. I won’t turn away from what has to be done.”
I felt a faint surge of admiration, a thrill that I couldn’t quite suppress, at her resolve. She didn’t flinch, didn’t retreat.
She met my gaze, and for a moment, I found myself wondering what it would be like to share my darkness with her.
“Very well,” I murmured, letting a faint smirk tug at the corners of my mouth. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I turned back to the mage, my shadows coiling around him, tightening, pressing against his skin, cold and unyielding. He gasped, his defiance wavering, and I could see the flicker of fear in his eyes as he realized that I was not bound by the same principles as Elena.
I was the Shadow King, and I had no qualms about using every ounce of my power to get what I needed.
I leaned closer, my voice low, laced with a quiet menace. “You will tell us what we want to know,” I said, my tone calm, assured. “Or you will learn exactly what it means to cross me.”
The mage shuddered, his resolve faltering as he met my gaze, and I could feel his fear radiating through the shadows, fueling my power.
I tightened my hold, letting the darkness press against him, suffocating, inescapable. He gasped, struggling against the pressure, his face pale as he realized that there would be no escape, no mercy.
His pleading eyes looked at Elena, but she simply looked back at him, her expression hard and unyielding.
“Help me,” he cried, when she made no sound. “We are doing this for the Temple! You’re supposed to be on our side!”
Elena flinched. “I am not on your side,” she snapped. “I am here to protect the people. Not the Temple.”
The mage gaped at her. “But—but—you’re the High Priestess!”
Elena shook her head and took a step back. I turned to look at her, and she wordlessly nodded her head at the mage, as if to say to me: “Go on.”
I felt a surge of respect for her, a fierce admiration that left me momentarily breathless. She was stronger than I’d given her credit for, willing to stand beside me in this darkness, to face the shadows without fear.
My shadows tightened around the mage, making him gasp in pain.
“You…you think this will break me?” the mage choked out, glaring at me even though his voice trembled with barely contained fear. “I’ll never tell you anything.”
I felt a cold smile spread across my lips, my shadows tightening in response to his defiance. “We’ll see about that,” I murmured, my voice soft, laced with deadly promise.
He lasted longer than I expected, his resolve holding even as my shadows pressed against him, as the darkness closed in around him and the shadows slipped down his throat, choking him from the inside out.
It took longer than I had expected, but soon, he was close to breaking, his defiance slipping away with every second.
And then, finally, he cracked, his voice a broken, desperate whisper.
“The tunnels,” he gasped, when I let him speak. His gaze flickered between me and Elena, his face pale with fear. “The underground tunnels… beneath the Sun Temple.”
Elena’s face hardened, and I could see the faint flicker of betrayal in her eyes, a quiet, unspoken pain that left me feeling strangely hollow.
I released my hold on the mage, letting him slump to the ground, his body trembling with the remnants of his terror. He stared up at me, his gaze filled with hatred before he slumped to the ground, unconscious. I ignored him, my focus shifting to Elena, to the quiet devastation in her eyes.
“We have our answer,” I murmured quietly, my heart filled with a strange, uncharacteristic sympathy. “The Temple. Your Elders… they’ve betrayed you.”
She nodded, her jaw clenched, her gaze distant as she processed the weight of his words. “Yes,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “They have.”
I felt a faint pang of something I couldn’t name, a quiet, unspoken sorrow that echoed in my chest. She didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve the pain that lingered in her gaze.
And yet, there was nothing I could do, nothing I could offer that would ease her hurt.
I looked down at the mage, feeling rage bubble inside me. “ He won’t bother anyone again,” I said, my voice laced with quiet menace. “I’ll leave him to the paladins in the village. Let them deal with him.”
Elena nodded, her expression distant, resigned, and I felt a surge of frustration, a helpless anger that I couldn’t quite contain.
With a final glance at her, I turned, my shadows gathering around me as I lifted the unconscious mage, his body limp in my hold.
Meryn fluttered down from her perch, her gaze sharp, watchful, as she settled onto my shoulder, a silent reassurance in the face of my frustration.
“Elena,” I murmured, my voice rough, strained. “We’ll find a way to set this right.”
She looked up at me, and I felt a faint flicker of hope. She was stronger than they had ever given her credit for, and I knew, with a certainty that I couldn’t deny, that she would survive this, that she would rise from this darkness stronger than ever.
And as I turned to leave, as I slipped into the shadows with Meryn beside me, I felt a quiet, unspoken promise settle in my chest: I would see this through to the end, no matter the cost.
“Come. Let’s reconvene in my forest.”