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"Then you fully accept that you are a servant of Shadow World just as I am. After all, you have gained more than ever. I don't see why you'd ever want to go back."
A lump rose and fell in my throat. My heart twisted and pounded as the weight of Apollyn’s revelation settled in them.
"I understand, Apollyn," I said, walking off and heading straight for the comfort of the bed I used to share with my men. "I'm done. I'm tired. Now leave me alone. I want to rest for now."
Chapter 23
Dominik
We felt the suffocating sensation of being thrust from the fiery pyre, the flames of our impending doom snuffed out by some unseen force. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, my brothers and I were wracked with fear, our hope for salvation dwindling with each passing moment. Suddenly, with one last gasp of hope, we were resurrected back onto Earth surrounded by tall blades of wheatgrass, alive yet shaken by the knowledge that death had been so close.
"Damnation and Hell," Altair blurted out, pulling himself up from the ground and shaking the ashes from his hair.
Even now, our bodies healed from the onslaught of being stuck in that hellish nightmare for longer than any of us every imagined.
"I hope this isn't a freaking trick," Morpheus said. "Are we really free?"
"Yeah." I held out my hand, watching as the sunlight glistened off of my skin. "There was no sun in the void. Only false light."
We were fortunate enough to escape with our lives, but it was clear to us that our rescue had everything to do with Sadie – no one else knew we were in danger.
Altair called his shadow powers, linking us together. The bridge to Shadow World he had hoped would form between us instead vanished and we remained on Earth exactly as we were.
"What the hell?" Altair exclaimed.
We stood there in the meadow, coated in a light sheen of smoke and ash, looking around for some sign of her, our hearts pounding with a mixture of dread and anticipation.
"Where is she?" Altair looked off in the distance as if he expected Sadie to burst through the grass at any moment and into his arms.
When she didn't come, we knew something was wrong.
"Good question," I grunted. "Shadow World, maybe?"
"No, if she did this from Shadow World, we would be there, not on Earth," Altair challenged.
"Her apartment!" Morpheus pointed out. "She always mentioned performing the teleportation spells from there. Let's go there."
No spoken agreement was required—the three of us simply teleported to her apartment. We had only been there a few times before, and that was just to gather a suitcase of clothes for her to take back to the Shadow World.
After having escaped from the fire, I was shocked to find Sadie's apartment in such a state when I arrived. The apartment was filled with elements and herbs for magical spells, and a few candles were still burning. It was clear that once we had found ourselves stuck in the void, she was dedicating all her time to creating magical spells.The air seemed to be crackling with fear and there was a strange energy that felt too familiar.
"Brothers?" I started. "Do you see the aura left behind?"
"Oh yeah." Morpheus nodded. "I see it loud and clear."
Altair kneeled down and reached for a parchment that had been lying beside a few vials of liquid. On it were the markings of an ancient rune—my father's symbol and in small script above it was written 'For my sons.'
My heart sank to my belly as he read the words.
I have taken what you all hold dear. You cannot share what you can't keep. You cannot have what you cannot protect. You can't bring out her full potential—but I can. And I did. She knows this. And because of her sacrifice, you are free.
Altair crumbled up the note in frustration and tossed it aside. The flames from the candles erupted and quickly engulfed the note in flames.
"I hate him," he blurted out.
"He's only trying to taught us," Morpheus said.
"That's why we can't get back into Shadow World. Because he's there. He got back inside. He's taken Sadie with him," I concluded.
