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I nodded, agreeing. I knew that after Sanctum Library, Kalani had been able to work with her creature, shifting with ease as she had once done with her wolf. However, there were still unanswered questions. Questions that only someone who knew this realm like the back of their hand could give us. Although I was hesitant around Willow, it seemed that we would be relying on her for many answers in the upcoming days.
After retracing our steps, we finally arrived back to the castle. The man slung over Madden’s shoulder drew many wide-eyed looks, the shadows wisping around his skin inciting fear in those we passed. However, we didn’t stop to give an explanation. How could we, when we weren’t sure what this all meant ourselves?
Walking into the castle, the Guards at the entrance gave us a wide berth. No one wanted a touch of the Darkness. Willow stood in the center of the room as we entered, her eyes widening as she took in Madden and the man.
“Demetrius,” Willow gasped, all of our heads turning towards her.
If we weren’t sure before that the people out in the woods were Divines, Willow’s words were our confirmation.
“You know this man?” Knox demanded, stepping forward.
Shuffling forward, Willow gently cupped the man’s head, which still lulled against Madden’s back. Madden slowly lowered the man towards the ground, Willow dropping to her knees gracefully, beside the man.
“Of course. I knew all of my people. Where did you find him?” Willow answered.
Part of me wondered if her words were true. Could she have truly known thousands of people by name and face? If that was expected of me, I knew it would take me years. And we barely had the population that Willow had when Agrum Di Vinum was thriving.
“He was with the others in the barren area to the east of the castle. We had prepared to attack when Kalani stopped us. She claimed that the Shifters were speaking to her. That they were trapped inside their own minds, controlled by the Darkness.” Knox explained, but Willow paid him no attention.
Her focus was solely on the man before us. Her hands cupping his face as she whispered in his ear, too low for me to hear. She seemed intent on consoling the man, as if her words alone could bring him out of the hold the Darkness had on him.
Suddenly, as she continued to whisper, the man’s eyes sparked open, hatred in their depths. His hands snapped forward, wrapping around Willow’s slender neck, squeezing with an intensity that didn’t have mercy.
Wilder flashed forward, but before he could constrain the man again, Willow lifted her own hand, freezing Demetrius’ movements. His eyes still bulged, wild with the need to fight, but his body was immobile.
Finally turning towards the rest of us, Willow spoke. “We need to move him somewhere else. I would like to speak about this.” Her eyes scanned the large group behind us, the volunteers that were all staring in horror. “Only the Heirs.”
The five of us glanced at each other, before nodding. Willow lifted to her feet, walking down the hallway, leaving us no option but to follow. Madden grabbed Demetrius once again, his body still frozen, before continuing on after Willow.
She led us deep into the castle, and as we passed the dark corridors, I recognized the path to her room. The others looked at the hallways curiously, as if they had never been in this part of the castle before. I suddenly wondered if Willow had been able to hide for so long because she had shielded her private corner away from the others.
Stepping into her room, she motioned for Madden to lay Demetrius on her bed. My four men looked around her room, their eyes wide as mine had been as they took in the decorations. Their eyes all locked on the memory wall, in awe of the hundreds of images alive on the wooden slates.
“Did you know the creatures were Divines? That your people were still alive and slowly going mad?” Knox finally asked, his tone agitated.
“Of course, I didn’t. When the Darkness first came, those that were affected went feral. However, we all believed that they would die off. We thought the Darkness was killing our people. I could have never imagined that it was controlling them.”
“Then what the fuck do we do?” Madden growled. “Kill off even more Divines, so that the rest of us can leave?”
His words left a bitter taste in my mouth. I knew that they would kill us if given the chance, but they weren’t in charge of their actions. How could we kill them when inside they were already in pain?
“No. You will not kill my people.” Willow’s words were spoken with aggression, leaving no option to defy her.
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Eli asked, his voice pained. I knew he could feel the emotions bleeding off Demetrius.
“We wait. We wait as long as need to and see if the Darkness releases it’s hold now that he is inside my shield.”
Again, Willow’s words were final. There would be no other options heard. And so, we waited.
???
We waited for hours. And yet, nothing changed. Demetrius continued to fight against his invisible constrains, Willow standing near his side the entire time, whispering words in a language I had never heard. None of us knew how long she intended for us to wait, but eventually, my eyes began to droop with exhaustion, the only sign that we had wasted the entire day way, staring at a crazed man.
“Halls, let’s go get you to bed.” Eli whispered in my ear, another body picking me up from where I had dozed on the floor.
I recognized the muscular arms underneath me, Knox’s breath on my forehead as he carried me from the room. I heard Wilder whispering to Willow, presumably telling her we were all leaving, but I didn’t pay much attention, snuggling closer to Knox’s chest.
I was tired and just wanted to find my way into bed. After several minutes, I heard a door crack open, Knox stepping over the threshold and lying me down in bed. Two bodies climbed underneath the covers with me, warming me from the outside.
