Chapter 37 #2
Each whispered “thank you” as she and Kaia ushered them toward Archer. Whatever Solflara was doing was working—until it wasn’t. On the third trip, the air warmed for a heartbeat before plunging to near-freezing.
She looked over her shoulder and spotted more wraiths approaching.
Fuck .
Several launched chains at once, binding their victims. One human male screamed in agony as he writhed on the floor, clawing at his face and begging for it to stop. His nails tore through skin, rivers of blood streaking down his cheeks.
She couldn’t let it continue.
Solflara’s warning echoed in her mind. Before anyone could stop her, Alaire threw herself in front of the remaining humans as another wraith unleashed its penumbra chains.
Ignoring the pleas of untrained fae—most as powerless as she without fire or mind magic—she prioritized those who had no magic at all.
The chains seized her, manacles of shadow clamping around her wrists.
They burned cold against her skin. Welts bubbled beneath the pressure, her body trying to reject the inherent evil of their magic. Scarlet eyes locked onto hers, endless shadow gaping behind them. It was the last thing she saw before plunging into the worst kind of hell.
Starfall . Memories surged back, graphic and unrelenting.
Flames roared to life around her. Screams of those she loved split the air.
Desperate pleas for help. The smell of roasted flesh.
She saw herself, small and powerless, huddled in a corner, watching in horror as everything she loved was consumed by fire.
From ashes to flames .
Pain at her wrists intensified, twisting the vision to blackness. A creature of the deepest night promised to find her again. The taunt: no matter where she went, he would find her. She would never know peace or serenity.
She jerked against the chains.
Fear, agony, and terror cycled endlessly until they felt like the only things she had ever known. Flames, darkness, pain .
She, too, would be swallowed by the fire that had disintegrated everything she’d ever cherished. And in the end, she thought, perhaps it would be easier to let the flames take her too.
Slowly, the will to fight slipped out of her like the last strains of a melody drifting into stillness, fading into deafening silence.
It was endless. All-consuming.
Until a glorious warmth enveloped her, like stepping into the sun, promising the pain was almost over. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the blazing light that pierced the darkness of her memories.
“ Now ,” a voice spoke into her mind, wrapping the warmth more firmly around her.
With a guttural scream, summoning every shred of strength she had left, Alaire pushed back against the chains.
The shadows of Umbra’s wraiths fought viciously, dragging each painful memory to the surface to reinforce their manacles.
Alaire clung to the light with all she had, gritting her teeth as her knees cracked against the floor, glass biting her palms. Still, she pushed back.
Over and over.
Miraculously, they snapped. The power binding her was severed clean. The nightmares fractured around her.
Free of the spectral chains, Alaire braced herself on her hands, body heaving, the ghost of their icy grip skittering across her skin. When the tremors subsided, she opened her eyes.
Alaire froze. She blinked, sure it was an illusion induced by exhaustion. A bubble of crimson light surrounded her, pulsating like a heartbeat. It painted everything in deep red hues.
Hope flared. Could it be her magic?
Her gaze dropped to the ruby she’d forgotten was on her finger. The band burned hot against her skin, radiating energy like trapped sunlight—her mother’s ring.
The ruby glowed brighter in response. A Vallorian heirloom that only answered to her.
She rose unsteadily, limbs quaking. The crimson light followed, surrounding her like armor.
Awe washed through her. The ring had protected her. Saved her from their chains.
The wraith recoiled, its form flickering. The light grew brighter, widening its reach.
Empowered, Alaire widened her stance and thrust her hand higher, letting the scarlet aura drench the air around her. Take that, suckers . Somehow, she’d broken free—a feat she celebrated with a triumphant smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two other humans rolling, trapped in their own torturous nightmares. She stepped toward them, her once-perfect gown now in tatters, the slit ripped higher up her thigh. Grime streaked her skin. Each movement burned with the drain of her exertion.
Once steady enough, she angled the red glow toward the wraiths.
“Kaia, get them behind me!”
Light from the ruby snapped the shadow shackles binding the two humans. One wraith’s mouth opened in a soundless cry of anguish. Enraged, the wraiths slammed against her shield again and again.
Alaire fought to keep her hand steady.
One clutched its hooded head before imploding into shadow. A flaming arrow torched another.
With the connections severed, the humans began to stir, one retching as consciousness returned. Alaire kept her focus on the wraiths hovering at the barrier’s edge.
One lingered closer than the rest. “ Heir of Light , Wielder of Flame .” Its voice grated against her mind, like nails on glass. “ Your fears taste delicious . Our master looks forward to meeting you .”
Slowly, the wraiths retreated, penumbra forms dispersing like ink dropped in water.
Behind her, hands reached for her tattered dress. “You saved us,” whispered a young man with haunted eyes, kneeling before her. “No one has ever chosen us…”
Memories of lashes across her back and nights of rumbling hunger hovered at the edges of her mind. The weight of his words pressed deep. Her throat tightened.
Alaire knelt so they were eye level. Her hands brushed soot gently from his cheeks. His eyes widened, pupils swallowing the whites.
“You’re safe now,” she said softly. At least, she hoped they were.
A young woman linked arms with the boy, glancing nervously at the retreating wraiths before looking back at Alaire. “You’re a queen,” she said, dipping her head before lifting her gaze again. “You risked your life to help us. We’re just…” The woman’s cheeks reddened.
Alaire’s chest hollowed. “No one is just anything.” She swallowed past the knot in her throat. “You deserve as much as everyone else.” Her eyes burned, but she shoved the emotion down, gently squeezing the woman’s arm to emphasize her words.
The faintest flicker of hope bloomed across their faces.
Alaire dragged a hand through her tangled hair, wishing she knew Dawson and Solflara were safe.
A man with greying hair stepped forward, pulling her attention back. “This means… so much to us. And you—” His voice broke with emotion. “You chose us. Saw us. Saved us. They’re all I have left after their brother was taken…”
Alaire drew her eyebrows together. “What do you mean, taken ?”
He glanced around to see if any fae were within earshot, pausing when he spotted Kaia leaning against a column.
“She won’t say anything. Whatever you have to say remains here between us. I swear it on my phoenix.”
The man drew in a sharp breath. “The vampire attacks on the border have increased significantly of late. To deal with the influx, the Consortium lowered the age of human conscription to replenish its forces.”
Rage surged through her, heart pounding violently in her chest. Lowering the age of conscription? Forcing children to fight in a war? The injustice of every word only fueled her all-consuming anger.
The night’s earlier terrors somehow paled in comparison. At least the wraiths didn’t pretend to be benevolent rulers; they embraced their darkness. The Consortium, on the other hand, whispered promises in your ear while cutting you down when you least expected it.
Her rage demanded retribution, begged for release, but she buried it as deep as she could. Surrounded by Elithian’s power players, Alaire could not detonate—no matter how much she wanted to.
Soon enough, they would learn the extent of her wrath. The power of her anger.
The young woman reached into the pocket of her server’s uniform, eyes darting nervously, likely not wanting to be accused of theft.
She slipped something round into Alaire’s hand.
It felt like a coin. Alaire dropped it into her pocket beside her breathbind reliquary, planning to examine it later when she was alone.
“A small token of our gratitude. We will not forget what you did for us. Memory is our anchor.”
“There’s no need, but thank you.”
The woman smiled tightly, appreciatively. “No, thank you . You’ve given us hope.”
Just then, a blazing light exploded on the balcony, capturing everyone’s attention. The lingering wraiths disintegrated into wisps of shadow.
She picked up her twin daggers, discarded when the wraith had dragged her into its clutches.
“ It’s done . They’re all gone now ,” Solflara confirmed.
Beyond them, the yells and screams began to die down. Max Aster’s voice rose above the rest, shouting orders now that the immediate threat had passed.
Alaire’s shoulders slumped in relief. Archer escorted the humans out through the manor’s main doors. She noticed the longing gaze he cast at Kaia as she spoke to members of House Arborstone, who were using their magic to restore the ivy and stonework.
She wasn’t sure what was happening between them—or with Caius. Her eyes collided with his across the room. He stood in the opposite corner, scrutinizing her with what could only be hatred.
He rounded out the strange trio of Kaia and Archer’s complicated friendship. She didn’t understand his kindness toward her friend but disdain toward her. She’d never done anything to him.
Kaia and Archer re-entered the ballroom, walking straight to her. In moments, she was wrapped in their arms.
“We need to talk about—” Archer began.
“Not now, Archer. Later, when we’re alone,” Kaia interrupted.
“Everyone okay?” Alaire asked.