Page 105 of The Ashborn

Tislin placed his hand on Connak’s shoulder. “You cannot kill a Shade.”

Connak pushed Tislin back. “You will not fight that thing. You need to leave.”

“Gentlemen,” the Shade hissed, its voice soft as snow, cold as the void.

Lunging, Connak sliced through the air. His blade passed harmlessly through the creature’s misted body, but shadows screamed in protest around it, resisting his touch. To fight a Shade was to fight night itself. The moon’s absence turned the world into the Shade’s domain.

A pulse rang through Connak’s head. A painful scream that ripped his skin apart and then stitched together. He covered his ears, tensing to keep straight so the Shade couldn’t touch him. Sharp fear overtook him. Not his fear. Connak was rarely afraid anymore. It radiated from the center of his mind.

“Get out of here,” he said to Tislin, pulling him down the roof and into the streets.

He ran west, Tislin in tow, threading between the beasts as they pushed toward the heart of the city. They needed natural light, the only defense against the King of Shadows. Somewhere the moon would touch, even in the darkness. He’d take Tislin all the way to Trinity if he had to. Then he stopped, eyes landing on the Great Hall. The tension in his arms rose to his chest. The doors were breached, completely overtaken by Umbrin and Vorthakai spilling inward like a black tide. All the defenders around the building were slain.

“Kienna,” he gasped.

“Go,” Tislin snapped, slicing another soldier and stepping toward the Shade. He conjured daggers from the shadows.

Connak hesitated.

Tislin stepped forward again, eyes flickering. The shadows bent near him, clinging to him deeper than before. A chill passed between them as the whispering from the Shade grew louder. Tislin’s stance shifted. His daggers didn’t rise right away. His face twitched, tempted by the sweet incantations of the Shadow King.

“Go,” he said to Connak again.

“I’ll be quick,” Connak said. “You fight until I’m back, do you understand?”

“Of course, Commander.”

He’d be okay. Connak had to tell himself so. Tislin was a master of shadows. He was the master of shadows. He could handle a Shade.

Connak bolted toward the Hall. Tristian gutted a Vorthakai in an alley, sending the corpse crashing into another wave. Ryven, the Emberreign commander, lit it up in flames.

“High Commander!” Connak called to Tristian. “The barricades are under attack!”

—Tristian—

“Do you have a read on Baila?” Tristian asked Danek as he ran through the streets.

Danek shifted, looking around the alleys until his attention fixed on the Great Hall overrun with monsters. “Oh, shit.” He pulled away from Tristian’s grasp and ran toward the Hall.

They should have put Kienna back in Trinity. They had enough time to hide her away, but then they would have to tell her everything, and Connak didn’t want her to know until she was ready to bear the weight of what it all meant. Tristian stepped out into the square, a hint of shadows catching his eye.

Tislin.

And another.

Who did Tristian trust most at this moment? Would Connak and Danek be able to get through the Dead Army’s swarm to reach the barricades? There were quite a lot, and both of them thrived in the air. Not in small quarters. Tislin… Tristian didn’t understand his brother, though he understood Shades enough. Tislin would fight all night without avail. Yet he trusted Tislin. Tislin survived even to this day in the darkness.

Turning to the Great Hall, Tristian ripped through soldiers standing in his way. Ryven continued to burn every body that fell. The heat warred with the wetness of the air, nearly suffocating him. Still, Tristian persisted forward.

Connak and Danek played with the wind but struggled without the open breeze. Scaring the dead creatures with images didn’t work like they did for the River Storm men. These creatures had no fear. They only had intent.

Intent to kill.

Tristian pulsed every bit of his strength into his sword and gutted the beasts around him. His speed could not be matched, not even by the Umbrin. Creatures fell around them until the only ones left were down the stairs. Connak bled into his boot.

“Danek.” Tristian nodded, and Danek shot his magic out.

Connak winced, then straightened. “Spare your energy. We’ll need it down there.”