“Griffin!” someone shouts from outside.
I shove the servant back with my shadows and reach into her pocket for the key as she cries out. I turn it in the remaining shackle, freeing myself.
I can feel him. Ronan is there. Godsdammit, Larus must not have gotten to him to tell him not to come.
Or he did, and Ronan didn’t listen.
“I love you, you absolute moron,” I say as I stride across the tent. As terrified as I am for him, I’m even more desperate to see him again. Knowing that he can sense me too, I tell him that through our connection.
I love you. I missed you. Please don’t die.
I tear back the flap and rush into the cool night air.
The camp is awake. Dozens of soldiers run about, shooting arrows and readying ballistae. They’re pointing and shouting up at the sky, and then I see them.
He’s falling. Ronan is falling from Kira’s back, and someone is still on the griffin. They’re all tumbling to the ground.
Oh, gods. They hit him.
I don’t take even a moment to think of the consequences. Just like the moment in the arena, the situation sharpens into focus with the only possible course of action I can take.
I send out my shadows. The tendrils of darkness swirl through the camp and up into the sky towards the falling figures.
They reach Ronan first—but no, it’s not him. It’s Taran. The one falling to the ground is Taran.
I grab him with my shadows, but he’s falling fast. I can’t keep hold of him and help Ronan and Kira in their spiral.
“Fuck!” I scream. I sense others rushing towards me vaguely, but I can’t tear my eyes away from the scene before me. I drop my ordinary shadow over myself and hope it’s enough to conceal me for what I need to do.
I feel Ronan’s terror, and it slices through me like a knife. My own feelings are overwhelmed by it, paralyzing me as the fear echoes between us. I try to fight it, try to latch onto something comforting, try to remind myself of the love we have for each other, but it’s no use.
My shadows retreat as I struggle to gain back control over my emotions.
And then I’m struck by a sudden realization. What are secrets made of other than fear? Secrets and lies are the keys to my power, but secrets are just hidden fears. They’re fueled by fear—the fear of being discovered.
I reach deep within me into a dark, secret place where all my worst fears live. The fear of losing Ronan. The fear that he no longer wants me. The fear of losing my family, of losing the war. Of watching everyone I care about die right here at this moment.
And then, rather than fight the fear, I grab onto it. I pull it out of me and into my shadows, casting my darkness out into the world for all to see.
The shadow splits. A tendril holds onto Taran, but another grabs Ronan and Kira as they fall. It rights them just long enough for Ronan to send a burst of light into Kira’s side, healing her.
“Go!” I scream at them as one of Seth’s guards charges me. I release the shadow from Ronan and fling it at the guard, sending him flying.
But I’m losing my grip on Taran. I can’t hold him long enough or high enough for Kira to get him, not with the volley of arrows heading their way.
I have no choice. I strain my power as far as it can, lowering Taran to the ground and pushing the soldiers advancing on me back as I watch Ronan fling his light into the lines of archers.
“Please, Ronan!” I cry. As much as I’d love for him to swoop in here to save me, to save Taran, I know it’s impossible. There are thousands of soldiers in this camp, dozens already gathered here to be the one to take out the God-King. His light is powerful, but he can’t overcome this many people on his own, and I know he knows it.
I love you. Please trust me. I’ll find my way back to you.
I send my feelings through our bond. At first, all I receive back is fear and grim determination.
But then, I feel something softer. Acceptance, admiration. A soothing wave of relief at my safety, followed by longing, both physical and emotional. There’s an undercurrent of undeniable passion, a desire that persists between us even under the circumstances.
But, more than all of these things, I feel fierce, all-consuming love.
Like the fear, it strengthens me too, though I don’t truly understand how, since our love is no secret, and it’s certainly not a lie. But this is no time to question it. I exhale in relief as it gives me what I need to deliver Taran to safety, to keep myself clear of Seth’s soldiers until I can bring him to the ground unharmed.
