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"Out loud, in your head, I'm not sure it matters, but ask for it. I have a theory that it'll work."
I don't completely understand it, but Rayne knows things that most people don't, so I nod, hoping that this might be the missing puzzle piece when it comes to my powers.
He takes my hands in his, brings them to his mouth, and presses a soft kiss against my knuckles. “I'm sure the guys will hate me for this, maybe I'll even hate myself, but I’m also ready to defend you."
"Thank you," I whisper, then kiss him softly before pulling away from him and standing up taller to look toward the Void.
The swirling mass looks different than the last time I saw it. Instead of it just being a dark cloud, it's like it's infecting the sky. All around it, dark storm clouds have gathered, stretching out in all directions from the Void, but not very far. Storms don't work this way. They aren't isolated the way this is. This is magic. Bad magic.
There are a few shadows beasts left standing guard, and I curl my hands into knuckles, not knowing how I'll take them down, but knowing I have to. The muscles in my legs tense. I bounce on them a little in anxiety, in preparation for what I'm about to do.
Then, three more shadow beasts come out of the woods and join the others.
“Shit,” I whisper, kneeling back down, trying to keep an eye on them without being seen.
The men gather together, hug one another, speak in low voices, and then they look at the Void. I don’t know why, but the whole scene is heartbreaking. It feels like they’re saying goodbye. Like they’re preparing themselves to step off a cliff. I feel sorry for them, even though I’m angry about the betrayal.
And then, they step into the Void and disappear, and it’s just me, Rayne, and the sense of impending doom.
As if to drive the point home, lightning splits the sky and thunder booms around us. The circling mass of clouds seems to swell, to expand, and I get the terrible sense that whatever the king is planning, it’s about to be unleashed.
I stand up to my full height. Rayne is suddenly beside me. He links his hand with mine. "Can you do this? Seriously. Can you use the light again, or are we just heading to our deaths?"
Can I?It’s the question of the day. I’ve asked myself the same thing about a thousand times. But since that's where my men are, I don’t have a choice. Plan or not, control over my light or not, I’m going in. Releasing Rayne's hand I say, "I don't know, but I have to go."
"Then I have to go."
I almost tell him not to, that he already died once, but I stop myself before the words ever leave my lips. He's my mate. Just like I can't leave my shadow beasts in the Void, he can't let me go there alone, so why waste time by arguing about it? I climb over the tree like I’m some sort of wood sprite and then march toward the Void. The lightning crashes above us, more and more, and I see shards lighting up in all directions. My heart races, and it feels like I'm making the dumbest decision of my life, but I don't stop until I get to the swirling cloud.
Then I look at Rayne. "No matter what happens, I love you."
"I love you too," he says.
And we share a look. A goodbye. It’s so similar to what we saw the warriors do that it scares me. If I don’t do this right now, I might lose my nerve.
So, I dive into the cloud like there’s an abyss behind the darkness, but there isn’t. I land on my chest and the air whooshes out of me. Panic uncurls inside of me as I prepare to be attacked. Instinctually, I move into a crouched position and look around, expecting danger.
But no one so much as looks back at me because the Void is full of beasts and bodies and men.
A second later, Rayne comes in behind me, instantly falling into a crouch beside me. He’s breathing hard. His eyes narrow. His hands curled into fists as if ready for battle. Even though, for this moment, we seem to be safe.
We're partially hidden behind some small boulders. It's enough that we're not like a flashing yellow sign, but we can also see what's going on. And none of it looks good. This place is just as horrifying as before. All darkness. A dark so deep that it seems impossible. And yet, the shadow beasts in their beast form glow like spirits in this world. Even their red eyes glow far more brightly than they did in our world.
Grave trolls carry torches all around the clearing we crouch on the edge of, bringing a brightness to this dark world that's almost blinding. Rot monkeys hide in the branches of blackened trees, their shrieks echoing around us, sending a chill down my spine. Here, we truly are surrounded and out of our element. But at least Rayne and I have an escape at our backs.
My men aren't so lucky.
“My king.” Flame bows to the king.
The king's cloak moves behind him, like there's an unseen breeze, or some kind of evilness that has cursed even the clothes he wears. He inclines his head at Flame. Somehow the gesture being more mocking then respectful, but my eyes are glued to him. He emanates power and darkness in a way that seems impossible. It’s an odd effect considering he’s still partially burned from the light I spewed at him. His body is part glowing embers, part ash, part full-powered darkness. He’s obviously still healing. As I watch him, part of the glowing embers reform as skin.
"Myloyalservant," the king says, almost sneering. "I'm glad all of you have returned home. Returned to where you belong."
Flame bows even lower, and I can see the rapid rise and fall of his chest. The man is terrified.
"Servants, let us give our lost brothers a warm welcome back to the shadow realm!" the king says, spreading his arms out at all the beasts that surround them.
The shadow beasts, the ones in beast form rather than the men standing before him, glow like spirits, red-eyed anger in their faces. And they move in unison, as if controlled by a single thought, closing in more tightly around the small group of men and my mates. Something about the animals makes every hair on my body stand on end. Men, beasts, it doesn't matter, they aren't supposed to act like that. Even when they turn their heads to look at my men, it's in unison.
