Because as soon as the question left August’s lips, he swore he saw a tiny glimpse of the sister he had once known. The sister who would hold his hand when he was too scared to cross the nearby creek on his own. The sister who would vehemently defend their mother during their father’s nightly outbursts.
The sister who, despite everything, he had loved.
But then shadows swarmed the whites of Edith’s eyes and the moment vanished.
“Why should I offer you this mercy?” she spat out, staring down at him as though he were nothing but a bug to squash beneath her palm. “I should banish you from the encampment and let you wither away in your torment for the rest of eternity.”
“Because…” August lifted his chin, meeting his sister’s scornful gaze. “Despite the fact that you utterly detest me…you knowthat the two of us are stronger together. Imagine what we would be capable of once I’m free of Wren. Once I’m rid of the guilt and shame. Once the love I feel for her is ripped away from me.” August’s voice trembled as the words tumbled out of him. “The two of us…together…we could be Silas’s undoing.”
Edith hummed. The crown hovering over her head darkened, the shadows swirling around her with a fervent hunger. August sensed his own shadows purring in delight, slinking up and down his chest eagerly.
Yes, yes, yes, they cried inside him.Together. Together. Together.
Edith straightened her shoulders and crossed her arms.
“I will permit you to stay”—a rush of relief coursed through August as soon as the words left Edith’s lips, though the feeling was quickly squashed as she finished the rest of her sentence—“under one condition.”
August let out a sigh. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Edith’s white teeth gleamed in the darkness as she lifted her lips into a vicious grin.
“You can stay and participate in Equinox…as long as you are stationed with Onyx Unit.”
August’s heart sank. Some retaliation from his sister had been expected. He had assumed she might keep him confined. Force him to participate in practice duels and push his shadow magic to the limits. But placing him in Onyx Unit as a new recruit?
That was a cruelty no soul deserved.
The Demien Order was organized like a military base—separated into four distinct quadrants. There was Silver Unit, the quadrant that housed all the new recruits, the Demiens who had given up their humanity but had yet to succumb to the shadows.New recruits still had some control over their emotions. Some semblance of morality. Mostly…they were just assholes looking to cause a bit of trouble.
Once those new recruits participated in Equinox, once they underwent the Reaper’s Kiss, they’d move into Emerald Unit. The Demiens in this quadrant were volatile, lacking total control over their shadows’ hunger. They were unpredictable. Erratic. Like ticking time bombs. With enough training, those Demiens would eventually learn to tame their shadows, honing their skills and cruelty into a finely sharpened blade. Once they reached that level of control, they would transfer into Sapphire Unit. This was where most Demiens would end up—where they would spend the rest of their time training and preparing for the lingering battle ahead.
But there was one more quadrant.
One group of Demiens who were…different.
All fully formed Demiens were cruel. Emotionless soldiers for the Soulless One’s bidding. But those within Onyx Unit possessed a darkness—a hunger—that made other Demiens look like bloody angels. They were ruthless. They didn’t simply want to please the Soulless One.
Theycravedcarnage.
And now Edith was going to force August not only to live with those Demiens…but to train with them. Because she knew that if there was any risk that August would not succumb to the shadows on Equinox, placing him in Onyx Unit was her next-best bet. He couldn’t completely lose himself until he cast the Reaper’s Kiss, but he could come pretty damn close.
As if sensing August’s realization in his silence, Edith sucked her teeth, smiling.
“Why the long face?” she teased. “I thought this would please you. You know, considering howeageryou are to succumb to the shadows.”
August inhaled a sharp breath. He wouldn’t let himself shrink under his sister’s cruelty. “Fine.” He conceded. “I accept.”
“Good.” Edith snapped her fingers and the chains shackling August’s wrists snapped open, falling to the ground. “Because, let’s be honest with ourselves, little brother…it’s not like you ever really had a choice.”
10
WREN
Wren paced around her tent and daydreamed of setting the whole thing ablaze.
And she would have by now, had her magic not been stolen. She’d have laid waste to every inch of this godforsaken encampment and danced upon its ashes. It was bad enough to have her magic stripped. To be forced to endure days upon days of endless torture. But now…this?
The mere memory of August covered in shadows was enough to make her sick. Nausea coiled itself around her throat, threatening to rise inside her, but Wren pushed the sensation down with a steady exhale.
