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“You don’t hear the bells?” I ask, as dread creeps over me. He shakes his head.
“What bells are you talking about? I don’t hear anything,” Nyx answers, concern wrinkling his brow.
Bells chime again, louder and more insistent, as if yelling at me to find them. Another tendril of my power skirts along the floor toward a painting along the back wall, seeming to be drawn to it.
The painting is a picturesque scene that looks like a fairytale. Large mushrooms seem to touch the sky as the branches of massive weeping willows dust the top of sparkling ponds. Flowers glow like stars along the rolling landscape lighting up the scene.
Nyx’s hand wraps around my arm as I stare at the painting, completely lost in the familiarity of it.
Have I read this in a storybook from our library?
“What is it?” he whispers.
“Help me take it down, Nyx,” I say in a rushed breath. My heart thunders as my shadows trail under the purple and gold frame.
“There’s something behind it,” Nyx says as he releases my arm and goes to one side while I go to the other. Together, we lift the painting off the wall, revealing a small metal box.
“Get away from there!” the man shouts from behind us, and my shadows draw tighter around him to shut him up. I stare at the safe, everything around me fading away. Bells ring cheerfully, as if excited by my find.
I release my shadows into the lock. Metal grinds and snaps as they destroy the locking mechanism, keeping the box closed. The ringing stops as the last piece is severed.
I step to the safe, and Nyx places a hand on my arm, halting me. I look up to see his expression mirroring mine. After a moment of hesitation, he nods and releases my arm. I can barely breathe as I slowly open the door. My stomach drops as the light reveals what’s tucked safely inside.
Time freezes as I carefully lift a delicate piece of jewelry out of the safe. The metal is untarnished despite its age. Beautiful, multi-colored gemstones shine brightly as I pull the piece into the lantern light.
Dread bursts through me as I stare down at my necklace. The last thing my mother gave to me before Oren destroyed our lives. The only piece of her I have left in this realm.
Nyx stares at it as I tremble. “All this over a necklace?” he asks apprehensively. I trace the intricate metalwork with my fingertip as tears slip down my cheek.
“It’s mine, Nyx. It was a necklace from my mother,” I answer, my voice shaky as I fight back the flood of emotions rushing through me. Nyx’s breath hitches as his hand finds my back to tether me to the present. But I’m spiraling, and I’m done controlling it.
“Who gave this to you?” I scream, yanking the man out of the chair and bringing him to me. He yells in pain as the ropes that bound him shred against his skin, tearing apart his flesh. My shadows swirl in a vortex around the room, knocking items off the shelves. Bottles shatter and items snap as they slam to the floor.
“Leopold,” the man says through sobs. “He gave it to me and told me to keep it safe. To put it somewhere no one would find it.”
“And you just took it?” I shout at the man.
“I was doing what my king asked of me. Please let me go,” the man pleads as Nyx tugs at my arm.
“Put him down so we can go. We will give him the rowanberry elixir, and he’ll forget everything that’s happened. They will never know we were here,” he says, trying to reason with me, but I’m too far gone.
Darkness overtakes me. The monster lurking deep within the shadows, clawing its way to the surface. I can’t hide what I truly am.I’m the Umbra Brutus. I’m the beast of nightmares. The destroyer of all.
“You followed a command from your corrupt king without question,” I begin to lay out his crimes. He swallows hard. “People died, and you did nothing to stop it. You had the power to stop the unnecessary deaths of the Lux guards, and you did nothing!” I yell, causing my shadows to coil aggressively.
“Queen,” Nyx calls as the man’s sobs grow louder.
“May Astra deny you at the gates of the Underrealm for your sins,” I deliver the final judgment before throwing the man at the wall of his shop. Bones snap as his body slams against the stone. He hits the ground with a sloppythud. I grit my teeth, festering in the depths of my anger.
“By the gods!” Nyx chides from my side. “That’s not keeping a low profile.” My shadows slowly fade back into me, revealing the destroyed shop. I stare at the man’s lifeless body as blood leaks from his head.
“He deserved what he got,” I say, trying to quell the anger still blazing. Years of carefully controlled rage begging to enact revenge.
Nyx cups my face. His skin feels cool against mine. “I’m not saying he didn’t. Kill them all for what they did.” He shares my hatred for this wretched king and his kingdom. “But you need to let me be your anchor to keep you here. To keep you from losing yourself.”
He presses his forehead to mine. “You were right. There’s something going on with your power. We’ll need to figure that out, but right now, we need to get home.”
“He’s taunting me, Nyx. This is all about me. It’s a message of what he’s capable of and what he has done,” I say, fighting the urge to storm into Brightwick and behead the lightning king.
