Chapter 5
Elira
The explosion hit like a thunderclap.
It threw me backward, slamming me into the sewage-soaked tunnel wall with a wet, sickening smack. My vision blurred. The earth trembled beneath my feet, a low, growling quake that rumbled through my bones. I bit down on my scream, my throat aching with the effort—but it didn’t matter.
Everyone was screaming now.
Beyond the outer wall, near the heart of the town, a thick plume of black smoke curled into the sky like a beast rising. Flames licked upward through the smog. The end of the procession was engulfed in chaos—people running, wailing, scattering in all directions.
They’d been bombed.
I stared, frozen for only a second, watching the devastation unfold like a nightmare come to life.
Then the Shades sprang into action—cold, calculated efficiency.
Sentinels barked orders, weapons drawn, scanning every face like it might be the enemy.
The King vanished behind the castle walls, swallowed by steel and panic.
That was my window.
I bolted.
Heart hammering, shadows swirling at my heels, I ducked low and sprinted for the healer’s hut. Around me, people pushed and stumbled, guards shouted, smoke seared the back of my throat—but I didn’t stop.
Not now.
Not when I was this close.
No one noticed as I slipped around the back of the sleek, modern-style building, my footsteps light as breath on stone.
Sirens wailed somewhere distant, people screamed, and the scent of burning smoke laced the air.
I knew the injured would be flooding the healer’s hut within seconds—I had to move fast.
With a sharp inhale, I clenched my fist and drove it through the back window. Glass shattered, shards raining down like glittering rain. I didn’t pause to check for cuts—I climbed in, boots crunching over broken pieces, and landed in a crouch inside the room.
Shelves lined the walls, filled with neatly labelled tinctures, powders, and bandages.
I didn’t waste time reading. I pulled the small canvas bag from under my shirt and swept handfuls of supplies into it—whatever I could grab.
My fingers moved on instinct. Painkillers, coagulants, elixirs—I knew enough to recognize the good stuff by shape and smell, even in a rush.
Voices neared. A pair of footsteps, close. I heard boots on tile.
No more time.
I flattened my back against the wall of the healer hut, sliding along to avoid being spotted through the windows. Through the warped glass at the front door, I could see a Shade approaching.
“Fuck.” I whispered aloud. I fell to the ground and made a frantic crawl to the back door with my prize in hand.
I dove back out the shattered window, landing hard and sprinting into the alley, shadows crawling up my arms like serpents eager to protect me.
People were everywhere, in shades of red and grey. It was a maelstrom of racing soldiers and medics, trying to save the lives of the innocents caught in the crossfire. I made myself small as I ran, relying on my shadows to deflect attention. But I wasn’t looking. I was only running.
Just before I got back to my grate, I slammed into something warm. Solid.
Arms like steel clamped around me.
I froze. Terror surged up my throat like bile. I looked up—and stared into green eyes like shattered emeralds.
Thorne.
He stared down at me, his grip unshakable, gaze sharp with amusement and curiosity. “Hello, little shadow,” he murmured.
I didn’t think.
I let go.
Let the fear guide me.
The shadows obeyed.
They exploded around me with enough force to throw the Shade hard into the side of the wall, which cracked on impact. The sound was a roaring thunder I had never experienced.
A rush of cold swept through my veins, and in an instant, my body dissolved—bones melting into mist, flesh slipping into smoke.
Thorne leaped up, blood dripping down his face from the impact and made a grab for me, but his arms closed on air as I melted between his fingers, vanishing into the darkness at his feet.
I didn’t wait to see his reaction.
I ran.
Silent. Weightless. Pure shadow.
It was like nothing I had ever experienced. I wasn’t flesh or bone anymore—just vapour, shadow, smoke. I rode the air like a ghost on the wind, slipping through cracks and crevices like they were open gates.
The grate loomed ahead. I didn’t hesitate—I surged forward, bursting through the narrow bars in a rush of black mist. Shouts echoed behind me. Panic. Confusion. Orders being barked. Thorne would be in pursuit—I didn’t doubt that for a second.
But it didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered except Finn.
I had to save him.
The city was unravelling. Complete and utter chaos. The streets were streaked with blood. Bodies littered the roads like broken dolls—some moving, most not. Smoke drifted from collapsed buildings, screams painted the sky. It was war and carnage, and it was only just beginning.
I reached the other side of the wall and stumbled forward, letting the shadows peel off me like water down skin. I solidified mid-step, landing hard on the cobbled street, my breath ripping through my lungs.
I collapsed against the rough stone of a narrow alley wall, gasping for air like I’d been drowning.
I looked down—my hands were shaking, but there they were. Whole. My clothes had made it through, as had my necklace. So had the medicine. The bag was still slung over my shoulder, heavy and real.
Somehow, it had all come with me.
I didn’t have time to understand it. I just knew two things.
The Shades knew what I was.
And I still had to save Finn.
Time wasn’t on my side. Every second counted. The pain screamed through my limbs, but I forced it down and ran—hard and fast. I couldn’t afford to slow, couldn’t afford to feel.
The chaos became my cloak.
No one spared a glance at the mud-soaked, blood-smeared girl weaving through the carnage. There were too many like me today. The wounded. The frantic. The dying.
Crowds flooded the streets like a tide, clogging roads and alleyways, wailing and shoving and screaming. When the Shades finally broke through the castle gates, black-cloaked and hunting, they were forced to halt—snarling in frustration as the flood of bodies slowed their pursuit.
For now, I was a ghost in the storm. Hidden in plain sight.
I watched Thorne emerge from the gates on a beautiful black steed, looking purposeful.
I ducked deeper into my hiding place as he searched the crowd for where I went.
There was a frustration in his face that surprised me.
I had expected rage, but there was none.
Just irritation, like I was an inconvenience that had infiltrated his day.
Behind him I saw the other three ride on giant stallions like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Thorne yelled a command and the path cleared as people scurried to escape the Shades wrath. I waited, back tracking enough so he headed off the wrong direction.
He would hunt me now, like all the others.
I have to get to Finn.
Before the Shades got to me. I knew it wouldn’t take long.
I ducked and weaved through passageways until I was sure no one was following me. When I finally got to the ruins, I heard a loud moaning sound that sent horror to my very soul.
Finn was in agony.
I burst into the room and found him writhing on the floor, his body seizing violently. Vomit spilled from the corners of his mouth. His skin, when I touched it, was scorching—drenched in sweat, his muscles twitching with every pulse of pain.
“No, no, no. Stay with me, Finn. Please stay with me,” I begged, dropping to my knees. I cradled his head in my lap, trying to still the tremors racking his body.
“Elle… Elle…” he gasped, barely conscious, his eyes glassy and unfocused.
“I’m here,” I whispered fiercely. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
My hands flew to the bag. I rummaged through the stolen supplies, breath hitching, until I found a bottle of antibiotics. My eyes skimmed the label, the instructions. I poured a measured dose into his mouth, helping him swallow even as he choked, his body resisting everything.
“Easy. Please… just hold on.”
I soaked a cloth at the tap and gently pressed it to his forehead, wiping away the fevered sweat. His body finally stilled in my arms, but his breaths came in shallow, raspy gasps. Too fast. Too thin. He was still fading.
I don’t know how long I sat there, rocking him gently, whispering nonsense against his temple. My tears slid freely down my face, dripping into the hollow of his throat, sliding across his burning skin like rain. I couldn’t lose him. Not him. Not now.
I stared at the door that led to the woods.
Out back, I had a wheelbarrow with a flat tyre—I knew that much. I could carry him. Maybe. But then what? Where could I go?
The woods loomed beyond, dark and dangerous. No shelter, no paths. Food would have to be hunted or scavenged—but I could manage that. I had before.
I ran, grabbed the wheelbarrow, and wheeled it back, thumping it down beside him.
But I couldn’t lift him.
Every movement drew a moan of agony from deep in his chest.
“Come on, Finn. Please.”
“Elle… just go. Leave me here. Let me die.”
“I can’t!” I choked out. “The Shades saw me, Finn. They’ll be here soon. Please, help me.”
His eyes widened. “The Shades? No—Elle, no.”
He tried to stand, but his body betrayed him. The pain hit hard, and he collapsed onto the packed earth, his head striking with a sickening thud. Blood trickled from a fresh cut on his brow.
I fell to my knees beside him, weeping, helpless.
“I’m so sorry, little mouse,” he whispered. “I should’ve told you how bad it was.” His eyes found mine, soft and shining with something that broke my heart. “You know I can’t go with you. Not like this. But you can go.”
I gripped his hand, trembling. “I’d rather die here with you than spend the rest of my life running—alone.”