She only wished to escape this nightmare, to stop feeding people to the monster of a son she had created. How had she felt when she lured them into dark alleys? Or when she stabbed them to give me an easy target?
How had she felt betraying her own kind for the sake of her son’s life? What could I have done differently to keep her here? What did I ever do to deserve being this creature?
And why… why weren’t my teeth letting go even though I knew who I was draining?
Her arms slowly loosened their grip, before finally dropping to her side. Tears blurred my vision.
You might not have loved me enough to stay with me… But I loved you enough to end your suffering, and I’ll make sure to live for both of us.
Goodbye, mother.
CHAPTER
1
Their voices were ticking me off.
Yet another day of squabbling and idiotic reasoning. I felt as though this was my life now: to listen to people accusing each other. No one wanted to volunteer, neither Aetherions nor Ashen Corps were willing to collaborate.
My hand rested above my eyes, fingers rubbing against my temples.
“I know trust isn’t built in a day,” I muttered, irritation filling my voice. “But how come the only solution for peace and quiet is a room filled with food?”
“Are you like actually asking or trying to pick another fight?” a voice snickered to my side.
Ashley was my best friend, and probably the most chaotic person I’d ever met, enemies included.
Her icy blue eyes studied me for a moment, before a grin appeared on her face. I sighed.
“It’s the only time that Izera and Amestele aren’t at each other’s throats, letting their soldiers relax for a moment…”
“Well, there’s that, or it could be Nate’s awful jokes killing the mood,” Ashley said, throwing her blonde hair to the side, eyes darting to our squad mate who had placed himself between a few of the mages and ungifted, trying toease the tension. He had let his dark brown beard grow along with his hair, which was now long enough for him to gather it into a lazy half up do every day.
As Nathaniel smiled, Ashley snorted, turning her gaze away.
“You should talk to him,” I pointed out, giving her a knowing look.
“What for?” she scoffed, as she tapped the armrest impatiently. “He lost his sister, he’s mourning in his own way.”
“By avoiding you.”
Her hand stilled, as she let out a heavy sigh. It was clear that I was pushing all the wrong buttons, but with her, someone had to, or she’d carry it herself in silence.
“Look—” someone broke through the sea of voices.
My eyes darted up as I saw Lionel push to his feet, his auburn hair even more vivid than in my memories. “We can argue all we want, but we need to make a decision. The demons are advancing on us. If we waste time here bickering, we’ll lose before the fighting has even begun.”
The large room finally turned silent. We were all gathered around a long table. We had tried to mix the Aetherions and Ashen Corps, forcing them to share the space and get comfortable with it.
Izera who had been in Blackreach with us, was now the leader of the Ashen Corps since Jarkas, the previous general had been killed.
Her dark bob was as sharp as her jawline, and she looked intimidating with her almost black eyes. In stark contrast, the Aetherion leader Amestele wore a fine silk dress in a forest green color, her eyes bright yellow, with wavy, golden hair, resembling sunshine, cascading down her back.
I hadn’t heard much about her, except that she was the one Michlael had trusted to look after the Runora village, the mage camp we had infiltrated weeks ago.
Amestele wasn’t much of a talker, but her eyes were sharp, observing and taking in everything that happened, her gaze often lingering on me as if I was an interesting puzzle.
“So what do you suggest?” Izera grunted, clenching her teeth, trying to cooperate.
