Chapter 29
Aiden’s POV
I approached the professors, huddled in a loose, nervous circle beneath the flickering ward light.
Their faces were drawn, some pale with fear, others with guilt.
I didn’t have the chance to sort which was which.
“Listen up,” I barked, and they all turned toward me.
“I want you reinforcing the wards. Do whatever it takes to keep them from falling. Every second we hold buys us time to prepare the first years.” They nodded, some more confidently than others.
“Brandon, Jasmine,” I called, motioning them forward.
Both pushed through the crowd quickly and stood at my side like they had a hundred times before, but this time, it was different.
This wasn’t a drill. This was war. “Our objective is simple: keep people alive. If we can save the academy, we will. But if it comes down to survival, we prioritize lives.” I reached into my satchel and pulled out a rolled parchment, unfolding the map of Arcanna and its underground tunnels where the rune system was.
“Brandon, I want you scouting ahead. Report back immediately if you see anything; don’t engage; don’t be a hero. ”
“Got it,” he said, his jaw set.
“Jasmine,” I turned to her, “get the first years rounded up. Make sure they’re marked with protective runes, any magical defenses we’ve retained, give it to them.
We need them alive.” She gave a sharp nod, already turning to go, but I raised my hand to stop them both.
“One more thing,” I said, my tone cold and quiet.
“If it looks like we’re going to lose this, if the wards fall and the enemy pushes inside, I want you to lead as many survivors as you can through the tunnels.
Here.” I handed them and the professors each a copy of the map, edges worn and corners inked with alternative exit routes.
“Get them out. Head for the forest beyond the mountain. You’ll know the place when you see it.
” The professors took the maps in silence.
Some looked like they wanted to protest, but they didn’t.
Not now. “And one last thing,” I added, my voice low and steely.
“If either of you comes across Ivy… kill her.”
Jasmine’s brows shot up slightly, but she didn’t argue. Brandon gave a grim nod. “She’s not with us,” I said simply, locking eyes with each of them. “She is working with Erebus, and I suspect has been for a while. There’s no saving her now.”
Without another word, I turned and strode away, leaving them to their orders. The cold wind whipped around me, and the sky above boiled with smoke and firelight from the burning horizon.
Time was slipping through our fingers. But I would hold this place together until my last breath if I had to.
Because Arcanna wasn’t only a school anymore.
It was the only stronghold we had left. I walked outside, the cold air slicing through the folds of my black cloak and brushing against the skin of my neck like a warning.
Smoke drifted lazily from the tree line in the distance; Erebus’s army was just beyond the ward, waiting.
Watching. Kerian stepped out of the shadows beside me.
“We are standing by,” he informed me quietly.
I nodded, jaw tight, eyes locked on the smoke-stained horizon. “He’s close.”
“Erebus is powerful,” Kerian murmured. “Hades has mentioned him… but not fondly.”
I glanced over at him. “Khonsu was worried about him too, actually terrified,” I commented, running a hand through my hair before facing him again. “Did Hades say anything useful? Weaknesses?”
Kerian shook his head. “Nothing helpful. Erebus isn’t just some power-hungry god; he is darkness. Fighting him with shadows is like throwing kindling into a wildfire.” I clenched my fists. My own shadows whispered beneath my skin, restless. Kerian hesitated. “Do you think Rynlee—”
“No,” I snapped, cutting him off. “No way. She’s not strong enough yet. She can barely conjure a full light shield. Erebus has already hurt her twice and threatened her”
Kerian raised a brow. “But she’s tied to you. That means something. Maybe she doesn’t have to fight Erebus directly. Maybe she is the key to stopping him.”
I exhaled sharply, jaw twitching. “Maybe. One day. So, we will guard her until then.”
“Does she not know yet?” I was silent. He sighed. “No, why?”
I turned to him, biting back the truth that pressed behind my teeth.
“Because it’s not easy explaining to the girl, I’m tethered to that I’ve been working with the very assassins we’ve been trained our whole lives to hate.
She still sees the world in black and white.
She doesn’t know what it’s like to live in the gray. ”
“Maybe it’s time she learned,” Kerian replied, his voice even. “If she sees us on the battlefield without knowing the truth, it could get messy fast.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell her. Just… not at this moment. Not before this.” Movement caught my eye, a familiar presence stirring in my chest like a flame. I knew it was her before I turned. “Go,” I muttered to Kerian.
“Why not tell her now?” he asked, smirking.
“Go, Kerian, before I throw your smug ass into one of my shadow portals.” He raised his hands in mock surrender, grinning as he vanished.
“Who were you talking to?” Rynlee asked as she approached, tilting her head.
“Myself,” I replied without missing a beat, eyes returning to the glowing ward line etched into the stone.
“Sure, you were,” she muttered. I could practically hear the eyeroll.
“What are you even doing out here, Ruin?” I asked, glancing at her. “You should be with the other first-years.”
“Just wanted to check in,” she said softly. “Are you ready?”
A short, humorless laugh slipped from my chest. “Is anyone ever really ready for something like this?” She shrugged, but I caught the tension she tried to hide, the way her shoulders were drawn tight, the way her fingers worried at the edge of her cloak.
That brave front she always wore when she was scared.
I stepped closer before I could think better of it.
My hand lifted, cupping her cheek. Her skin was cold from the wind, but soft beneath my thumb. I tilted her face gently toward mine.
“Hey,” I murmured. “Look at me.” She did. And something in my chest twisted hard. My fingers slid to the back of her neck, curling there as I leaned in and pressed my forehead to hers. I needed her to feel this. To know this.
“We’re going to survive this,” I said quietly. “Okay? You’re strong, Ryn. Stronger than any of us.” Her breath hitched, and she leaned into me without hesitation. The bond sparked between us, warm, steady, threading through my chest and pushing back the dread clawing at my ribs.
For a heartbeat, the world fell away. My thumb traced her lower lip, tugging softly.
She looked up at me, eyes dark, searching.
That was it. My restraint snapped. I shouldn’t have kissed her.
I knew that. But I needed something real before the storm hit.
I pressed my mouth to hers, the kiss quickly turned hungry and urgent, as if I was trying to memorize her in case this was the last chance I got.
She melted into me instantly, arms sliding around my neck, fingers threading into my hair as she kissed me back like she’d been waiting for it, too.
I angled my head, my tongue sweeping across hers, tasting her warmth, her light, everything that made her Rynlee.
A soft moan slipped from her lips and disappeared into mine.
Gods, this woman was undoing me. My grip tightened in her blonde waves just enough to draw another quiet sound from her, and I kissed her harder, deeper, until my lungs burned and my pulse thundered.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathless. I nuzzled my nose against hers, foreheads touching once more, the air between us humming with everything we weren’t saying. In that fleeting moment, I didn’t feel like a monster. Or a commander. Or a weapon forged for war. I only felt her.
Suddenly, the ward above us groaned, loud, aching, cracking like thunder across the sky. The shimmering light pulsed, fractured… then began to splinter.
“Go, Ruin,” I said, releasing her reluctantly. “I’ll find you.”
She hesitated, her green cloak catching in the wind like a flame. “Just be careful out here, okay?”
A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips. “I always am.” She took off toward the academy. I turned back to the collapsing barrier, the last line between us and them.
My shadows coiled tighter, responding to the tension in the air. My blood hummed. My pulse thrummed with anticipation. This was it. The war we had been training for. The moment everything either fell apart or came together. I pulled the dark rune from my belt.
Its carvings shimmered faintly in the gloom, glowing with a power that hissed at the edges of my sanity. For a heartbeat, I paused. The voice in the back of my head, the part that still held onto the light, whispered Don’t. But I ignored it. We needed every weapon we had.
Whispering the ancient words bound to the rune, it seemed to come alive in my palm.
The energy flowed through me like ink flooding veins, coating bone, reshaping muscle.
It was cold and corrosive and intoxicating.
The shadows didn’t just obey me now. They worshiped me.
I felt stronger. Faster. Sharper. My vision cleared like glass scraped clean.
The fear I’d been carrying dropped away like a cloak I no longer needed.
The ward shattered with a deafening boom.
From the broken sky came Erebus’s army, demons crawling from the darkness, twisted creatures screeching as they charged across the snow-slicked field.
I conjured twin daggers of ice, crackling in my hands.
Around me, third years and professors advanced forward.
Brandon fell into place at my side, his breathing tight.
“I didn’t see Erebus or Ivy,” he said quickly, his voice shaking. “But there’s a lot of them, Aiden. Too many.”
I didn’t flinch. “Then we fight like we’ve been trained.
And don’t worry…” A ripple of dark energy surged as I turned toward the battlefield.
“We have backup.” A portal opened behind us in a swirl of red smoke, and Kerian stepped through, flanked by Derek and a dozen Blood Assassins.
Their blades gleamed, armor painted with the symbols of their order.
Brandon’s eyes widened. “The Blood Assassins?” Gasps spread down the line as the professors turned. Weapons twitched in hands.
“Believe me,” I said coldly, “they’re not the enemy.
Not tonight. If we want to live, we fight beside them.
” No one argued. No one had time to. The rune pulsed again in my chest, fueling me, anchoring me to the darkness, but also to my purpose.
To her. I would protect this academy. I would protect Rynlee.
Even if I had to become the very monster we were fighting.
“NOW!” I shouted, raising my blade. We charged, professors, cadets, Blood Assassins, racing headlong into the night, the snow stained red beneath our feet. The war had begun.
We clashed together, shadow against living, steel against steel.
The stench of sulfur and burning flesh hung thick in the air, screams twisting into inhuman echoes.
My shadows surged forward, swallowing lesser shadow-creatures whole and feeding their essence into me until my veins felt like ice and fire all at once.
A hulking demon blocked my path, skin the color of spilled blood, black veins pulsing like molten tar beneath the surface.
Its horns curled back, similar to a goat’s, jagged and cruel.
The massive cleaver it carried whistled through the air as it swung.
I ducked, feeling the rush of wind skim my neck, and sliced low across its abdomen.
The demon roared, spraying black ichor onto the snow.
Another wild swing, sloppier this time, but I was already gone, slipping through shadow to reappear behind it.
I tapped its shoulder. It turned, confusion flashing in its soulless eyes just before I drove my ice-forged sword through its heart.
Its dark gaze widened in realization, but by then it was already dead.
I ripped the blade free, ichor splattering my face, and kicked the corpse aside before charging back into the chaos.
That’s when I spotted Derek. He moved like a lethal weapon in human form, every strike precise, clean, final.
Even the shadows seemed to part for him.
A long-limbed demon barreled toward him, its limbs stretched too far for its frame, its vertical maw bristling with jagged teeth.
I closed in fast, shadows flinging me over the frozen ground, but Derek was already in motion.
He cut deep into its forearm, then without hesitation dragged his blade across his own palm.
Blood welled up, but instead of falling, it hovered in the air, darkening until it solidified into a weapon made entirely of crimson crystal and shadow.
He drove the sword into the demon’s chest, twisting, and then stepped back.
The creature’s own blood shimmered unnaturally, turning black before hardening in its veins.
In seconds, it froze mid-scream, its body crystallized into a grotesque statue.
“Damn, Derek,” I commented, nodding in respect.
“That was sick.” I’d never seen him fight like this.
Hell, I never even knew he had this kind of ability.
But the shadows clung to him, and his power seemed to drink in the same kind of darkness that fed mine.
Something twisted in my gut. There was a rhythm to it, an echo.
Like we were drawing from a similar well… or the same one.
Derek smirked, wiping crystallized blood from his blade.
“Yeah. Sort of an inherited ability. Guess I should thank Dad for that one.” A shadow soldier lunged at him from behind.
Derek didn’t even look. He pivoted smoothly, driving his blade backward and skewering the creature straight through the chest. It collapsed in a hiss of smoke and ash.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a grin. “Guess so.” There was no time to say more.
We surged forward together, charging back into the fray, blades flashing in a brutal rhythm.
Fighting side by side felt instinctive, easy, in a way nothing else had all night.
For a heartbeat, it felt like old times.
Before the war. Before choices pulled us apart. Like we were just kids again.