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And then, I hear a voice and slow, slipping behind a tree. Hugging it, I peer out at the battle. In front of me... a massive dragon made of smoke and ash rises up behind a king.The Shadow King. The man wears a black cloak and stands tall and proud, but not regal. No, he holds himself like a man who doesn't deserve the title of king. A man who cares for power more than his people. A man who oozes a darkness that drips deep into his soul. And yet, the sight is terrifying. Some of his beasts, shadowy wolves with red eyes, fight against our men, who stand as humans, fighting with swords and shields. And yet, my gaze slides across them all and to where the king stares.
Atmymen.
Phantom is injured. Blood rolls down one of his arms, but he stands tall in front of his brothers, as if his body alone can protect them from this twisted king. Dusk lies on the ground behind him, covered in blood, with Onyx cradling him on the ground. I have no idea how bad Dusk’s injury is, but I know if he isn’t standing, he can’t stand. Which is worrying.
My breathing comes in and out faster and faster as the king’s deep voice rolls over the crowd. “Rule with me. We’ll end this ridiculous human occupation, and the earth will be ours. You, me, your brother, even the little deaf boy.” The shadow king’s voice is as clear in my head as if I am standing behind him. “There’s a place for all of you. “
Destroy the earth? Insult and hurt my men? Not on my watch.
"No," Phantom says, his voice louder and stronger than the shadow king's. "Leave this world. Release your hold on our people and allow me to take my place as king."
Silence stretches for a painful moment before the king speaks again. "You can't possibly think I'd agree to that," he says, and I can hear the mockery in his voice.
"I didn't, but I wanted to give you one last chance." And, somehow, even with the odds against him, I almost believe Phantom. Almost believe that he thinks he’s about to win this battle and is giving the king a chance to bow out.
But then, the king laughs and gestures to the smoke dragon. The nightmarish creature rises up onto its back legs and roars into the air, shaking the ground with the sound. Flames grow in its belly, bigger and brighter. The scent of smoke fills the clearing, so strong I’m almost choking on it. And I know that if that dragon releases its flame, my men will die.
But you can stop it.
Rayne showed you that you can do more than what they said the light fae can do. That you have the power of the dark fae too, within you, so what else can you do if you try?
The words are foreign in my mind, spoken as if by someone else, and yet, I believe them.
So I do the only thing I can; I run into the heart of the battlefield, frantic, because this is where my men are.Where I need to be.I don’t know when I started thinking of them asmy men, but it’s a truth I can’t deny. I hear a gasp from Phantom as I sprint in front of him, and then I channel every drop of anger, every drop of frustration, and the deep desire to protect the people I love into my hands, into my heart, like I do when I'm healing. Only this time, I need my powers to do something different.
If they can.
Please,I beg.
To my shock, light blossoms in my palms, growing brighter and brighter. My gaze locks with that of the shadow king, and there's amusement in his face. But as the light in my hands continues to grow, I see his amusement fade away. I also know it's too late for him to stop this. Ifeelit.Knowit. This power is ready.
Ready to save us all.
I concentrate on launching the light out, forward, toward the danger, toward the dragon and the shadow king himself. It explodes from me in a wave of bright yellow light that blinds me for a moment. I’m sure it blindseveryonefor a moment.
My eyes squeeze into slits, but I don’t stop. I just keep pouring this strange light out and toward our enemies.
It feels natural, this magic. Like it isn’t a part of me, or like it’s from some deep part of my soul that I never knew existed, and yet, somehow, also like it was always there, just waiting for me. Like the first time Rayne taught me to use the dark fae’s abilities. He said that our abilities were limitless, we only needed to learn.
My eyes adjust and I see that the light hit the dragon first, over the shadow king's head. The creature makes a strange sound, almost a wailing. Cracks of light form over the dragon like lava awakening in the earth, and then the creature shatters, sending ash everywhere.
There's shouting. Panic. But I ignore it and turn my light onto the king. Before my eyes, the glowing cracks form in him too, and pieces of him begin to turn into ash and fall. The scent of burned flesh fills the air, nauseatingly powerful, mixing with the coppery undertones of the blood that’s splattered everywhere. But then, the shadow king makes a sound, one I don't understand, and suddenly waves of the dark shadow wolves with red eyes leap in front of him. My light hits them as the king runs for the Void, and a dozen or so of the beasts die before my eyes, crumbling to ash, while the others chase after their leader.
I try to turn the light onto the king, but the glow from my hands fades, not strong enough to reach him any longer. And then the king is inside the Void. He’s half a man, half a crumbling pile of lava and ash. But still, he’s alive. His remaining beasts follow him into the Void as my light completely vanishes, and then it's silent all around me.
The battle is over.
I’m shaking.How the hell did I do that? What the hell was that?
Rayne is behind me. I didn't realize it until he spins me around by the shoulder. I blink at him, feeling strangely confused, my head light, my legs shaking, but I will myself to remain standing. To focus. "Ann, we need to run!" He sounds desperate, but I feel far away.
I pull free of him and look toward my shadow beasts. Phantom, standing, injured, but okay. His bright green eyes looking at me with awe. Onyx, sitting on the ground holding Dusk, his gaze sliding from me to Dusk, his expression frantic.
And then, Dusk. Fallen. Bleeding, but breathing. Yet he’s dying in front of my eyes. That feeling deep inside of me, the one that I didn’t know was there until I first healed these men, roars to life within me, screaming that he needs help. That with each second that passes, he moves closer to death.
My body wants to collapse. I know it. But my heart firmly tells my body to toughen the hell up.
It feels like someone else who walks toward him, even though I can sense the eyes of all the men on me. Phantom casts me an uncertain look, then hurries to his brother's side, with me right behind him. Crouching down, I brush the long hair back from Dusk's face. Even in the dark I know the pallor of his skin is too pale. And his gaze seems far away, like he's not aware that I'm even in front of him.
