Chapter 21
Dominic burst through the door, almost ripping it off its hinges.
It banged shut behind him, rattling the walls as he began rummaging through chests and shelves and drawers and cupboards—anything and everything he owned.
There had to be something in his possession that would trigger his memories.
He wouldn’t have drunk that elixir without any way to reverse it.
Or perhaps he would have because he never thought he’d want them back.
Memories rushed through his head. His sister, his father.
Damon, Valen. A ship and blood, so much blood.
Dark and haunting like the space between the stars.
Ace and Asher coming to Andreilia, the others trickling in over the years after he let them live.
Then nothing. A dark, vast void of pure nothing.
A chasm in his head due to the potion he’d made to rid himself of part of his memories, too pained to live with them.
Silence so eerie and still that a shiver snaked up his spine.
Then more Andreilians arrived.
Then Adara. Adara Rhyes and her beautiful allure of courting death with him.
Adara Rhyes and her game of love that could only end in tragedy.
Adara Rhyes and her desperate need for a weapon capable of tearing through space and time.
Adara Rhyes and her cunning ability to persuade Dominic into keeping her alive.
Adara Rhyes. That name belonged in that empty void where he could remember nothing. She belonged in the part of his past he could not recall. He was certain now that the Whisperer showed him a piece of their past.
Cupboards flew open to reveal an array of potions, herbs, medicines, maps, and other random trinkets.
He scanned all of them, picking up every single one and inspecting it thoroughly, as if it would bring the memories rushing back.
He hurried over to the bookshelf, flipping through the pages of the ones he read most frequently—ancient tomes on the Realm Fracturer and other deadly beasts, or works of fiction he enjoyed—and came up empty handed.
Dominic let out a frustrated groan. He began flinging books out of the way, searching for some sort of hidden compartment that might have stored something capable of bringing his memories back.
Rage and confusion and desperation blinded him.
It wasn’t until one of the books he’d thrown came flying back at him, whacking him in the back of the head, that he paused his frantic searching.
Chest heaving with every panicked breath, Dominic turned to the doorway where Adara stood, her brows furrowed deeply with confusion.
She must have been in her room across the hall and heard him rifling through his things.
The back of his head throbbed. With a hand drifting up to rub the ache there, Dominic glared at her, then returned to searching the shelves, less frantic with her watching.
She scoffed from the doorway. “Don’t give me that look, you’re the one who threw the book in the first place. I just happened to catch it.”
“You could have said my name to get my attention,” he grumbled, grabbing another book and thumbing through it, then running his hand along the shelf where it had stood.
He was not inclined to speak with her after she revealed there was no way to reach the land to find a dragon scale and shadow steel.
Perhaps they could find the relics in Malryn, traded from one of the kingdoms in Blemythia long ago, but he was still furious that she omitted the truth.
“Yes, but throwing the book was much more effective and entertaining than simply calling your name,” she replied, her tone vexing.
Dominic rolled his eyes and kept his back to her as he rifled through the chest at the foot of his bed.
“What are you even looking for?” she inquired, her prodding eyes peering over his shoulder as her footsteps neared.
“None of your business,” he growled, his hands carefully maneuvering knives and swords and arrows in the chest. His power rushed beneath his skin, anger making his chest rise as he breathed through the agitation, hiding the fact that she could be the reason for his missing memories. “Now get out.”
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll go outside with the others, waiting for Evreux to return in the morning.”
He didn’t miss the confident jab her words aimed at him, certain that she was right to place her faith in this new stranger—Evreux apparently was his name.
A knock sounded on his door.
Again. And again. And again. An annoyingly orotund noise that reverberated through the wooden walls of his hut. If his head hadn’t been throbbing so much, the sound might not have affected him.
Dominic lay curled in a fetal position on his bed, hands covering his ears as the knock sounded again. “Don’t you think I would’ve opened the bloody door the first time if I wanted to talk!” he yelled, refusing to get up.
It was morning, and that was most likely Adara coming to gloat that Evreux had survived. He didn’t care. He had other things to worry about.
Dominic’s powers dwindled, along with his mental and physical health. Some days, he would be fine. Others, he’d wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, nightmares plaguing his sleep. He would shiver and stumble, so he’d eat to regain his strength only to retch it all up moments later.
“Well, maybe if you would answer the first time, I wouldn’t keep coming back!” Ace called back from the other side of the door.
Dominic groaned at Ace’s retort, cursing himself for letting his second get so close to him that Ace was comfortable speaking to him with such impertinence.
“I’m not leaving, Dominic, so either you open the door or I’m kicking it down,” Ace threatened.
“Fine, come in,” Dominic said. “What do you want?” He struggled to sit upright. His blood rushed even from such a minimal task. Dominic’s eyes stayed glued to the floor, head down, as he fought a wave of nausea.
Ace stepped into the room, settling into the chair next to Dominic’s desk. The wood creaked beneath his weight. “The boy survived. A bit maimed, but alive,” he said solemnly. “His name is Evreux.”
“I know,” Dominic snapped.
Ace shot him a quizzical look.
“Adara found him on the ship and kept it secret.” Between her hiding a stowaway who was a potential threat to them all and her lies about the relics, it took every ounce of will inside Dominic to keep from gutting her.
“Is that why I found you two trying to kill each other yesterday?” Ace asked.
“No, but that only adds to the list of reasons why I should kill her,” Dominic grumbled.
“Then what was it?”
Dominic put his head in his hands, fingers attempting to rub out the ache in his temples. “She lied,” he explained bitterly. “She said she knew where to find the dragon scale and shadow steel, but claims it’s in Blemythia.”
Ace’s brows drew together in confusion. “Where’s that?”
“Exactly,” Dominic replied. “As far as everyone but her knows, it doesn’t exist.” He ran a hand through his hair, sighing in defeat. “She said that there must have been some spell or something to cloak it from the world and shield it from memory.”
“Do you believe that?”
No. Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.
With part of his own memories gone, he began doubting himself.
Perhaps the disappearance of Adara’s home was yet another puzzle piece missing from his memories.
Dominic slouched forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“I don’t know,” he muttered, defeated. “But why else would she need the Realm Fracturer if her home hadn’t disappeared? ”
“Yet how are you supposed to use the Realm Fracturer if you can’t get to the relics needed to make it?” Ace asked.
Dominic’s hands slammed on his knees as he stood. “I don’t know!”
Ace startled at his sudden outburst. Dominic paced the room, fingers pressed to his temples, trying to suppress all the ruminating thoughts deep within, but they pounded relentlessly against his skull.
His entire body felt weak, shaky, and he took a seat at the edge of his bed.
Air came in ragged, trembling breaths as he attempted to sort through all he knew.
“I need you to tell me everything I erased from my memories,” Dominic asked. If there was anyone who might know, anyone who could help him remember, it would be his second.
Ace’s eyes flared wide for a brief moment. He bit his lip, brows knitted together, and shook his head in defiance. “You were gone for a long time. Longer than usual. You know how it is here,” he said. “It was hard to keep track. It could have been years.”
Dominic subconsciously leaned forward, waiting for him to go on. His elbows rested on his knees, hands clenched together. His second only paused and averted his eyes, fingers twitching against his arms crossed over his chest.
“Why?” Dominic urged.
Ace shook his head. “I’m not sure,” he admitted, brown eyes focused on his feet. “You didn’t tell anyone where you were going, why you were leaving, or when you’d come back.” A pause, filled with the hurt that came with uncertainty. “A few others started to think you completely abandoned us.”
Dominic scoffed. He’d never do that. This was his island, his home.
“I know as much as you do,” Ace said with an apology written across his face.
A weight settled upon Dominic, making his muscles go taut.
His mouth drew into a thin line. He muttered a curse, standing to pace the room again, fingers curling into fists at his side.
If Ace didn’t know anything, Dominic was lost. He didn’t know if there was any way to retrieve his memories.
Any way to know for sure what past he shared with Adara.
He cursed again, shouting this time and slamming his fist on the desk.
Wood charred and splintered as lightning zapped at his fingertips.