AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She needed power. If she wasn't going to get her hands on the tome, then maybe it was time to start putting some pressure on the assassin with seemingly endless authority in Denoden while she waited on word from her uncle.
Rushing ahead, she tried to catch Vesara, but the assassin cut into a maze of scarlet tents in the affluent square outside the villa.
Tenah hesitated at the first row of tents, her blood chilling at the crowd gathering in the streets, about to engage in what looked to be one of Denoden’s notorious parties. The last thing she wanted to do was attend another social event, especially with the overwhelming influx of shadows—natives and Vozarians—in the wealthy part of the city.
Pivoting, she hurried toward the villa. Putting faith in others had never panned out anyway. Vesara would turn away another request for help, and Renton would try to talk her out of any immoral acts, unaware that she’d already committed the darkest one by bargaining with death.
It was about time to see what kind of destructive power the Void could offer. Hopefully, Aeyis would keep her dark thoughts secret.
Anxiety brewing in her gut, Tenah took a detour into the kitchens. She needed something to sate her irritating, gnawing hunger. She pushed the door to the kitchen open. A young boy spun around from the sink and tossed his soapy hands up. “Yes! You’re a friend of Kala Sut’hik and Ren, aren’t you?”
“Fennigan Reys! So help me, if I see bubbles on my ceiling again…”
Shocked that the crew had already made the rounds with the staff, Tenah could only watch with an open mouth as a bronze woman in a crisp, white jacket emerged from a back storage room. She had crystal blue eyes and cobalt hair matching her son’s, though she’d pulled hers up into an expert bun.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked, her tone polite enough to make up for her flat expression.
“Sorry, Vesara mentioned I could request a meal.”
The cook wiped her nimble fingers over her pockets. “What sounds good, love?”
Tenah licked her lips nervously. The kitchen wasn’t as big as the one in the manor, nor as fancy, but its caramel brown walls and wooden accents elicited a warmth that made her feel at home. Though she’d never accomplished cooking anything that wasn’t completely charred—her love of fire was too strong—Tenah had spent much of her childhood in the kitchens. The staff had enjoyed feeding her, and she’d delighted in their attention as she’d watched their meticulous work.
Now they were nothing more than ash.
Shoving down that nagging grief, Tenah pointed at the basket of steaming biscuits on a central butcher block table. “Can you spare one of those and some tea?”
Dazzling blue eyes never straying from Tenah, the head cook waved her son away from the sink. “Fen, fetch the woman some tea. And some blackberry jam.”
“I appreciate it.” Tenah rubbed her thumbs over the tips of her blackened fingers.
The cook nodded. “I’m Zia. Anything you need, you come to me. I’ll take care of you.”
Cheeks heating, Tenah struggled to hold Zia’s firm gaze. How much had Vesara told her? Zia didn’t seem too much older, but she exuded a no-nonsense, motherly vibe.
Tenah reluctantly accepted the entire basket of biscuits, stuffed with a jar of fresh jam and peppered jerky, and a mug of citrus tea. Selfishly, she allowed herself to indulge in their company while she ate, grinning as Fen gushed about his new invention while Zia finished prepping late night meals.
Only when she’d left them did her nervous system send waves of unease through her once more. She wouldn’t be staying in Denoden any longer. She’d made her choice. No matter how much Renton claimed he wanted to help, she refused to involve him or the crew in her plans. She didn’t need her methods questioned. One death on her conscience would have been bad enough, but she carried hundreds branded into her skin.
With the rest of her meal and a few pieces of clothing packed, Tenah strode through the front gate. She wandered far enough from the capital to believe she wouldn’t pose a threat to its safety before nestling down in a field of swaying wheat, her heart chugging with staccato beats at what she had planned.
You know what to do, she called out to darkness.Take me into the Void.
Chaos chirped from her trembling fingers, cleaving the air in two. It was impossible to deny the longing the dark magic nudged awake within her. As it filled up the holes clawed out by sadness and pain and fear and half a dozen other emotions she didn’t want to give space for, she craved more.
Soon, a rift glittered before her like a faint scar revealed in the sunlight.
Elementals, was she making a horrible mistake? How long would this rift linger? Could something dangerous slip out? Would Chaos let her slash another rift to escape?
Shadows had a set number of casts. Most learned their limitations through training, but Ames had never allowed her to exhaust herself enough to learn her number.
Almost as if he’d been afraid of it.
Shaking the negative thoughts, Tenah crawled inside the Void. Chilled air instantly kissed her skin. It was hard not to feel like she’d leaped into the treacherous sea with no safety net and an ecosystem of murderous beasts all around her.
She held still for several breaths. Nothing stirred in the dark pockets of the Void, but that didn’t squash her concern. Chaos vibrated her channels in satisfaction.
It wanted her here.
