by Meg Anne
Kieran moved into position beside him and together—without even a shared look between them—the two men took their first steps onto the battlefield.
The Shadow’s hand grasped tighter, beads of bright red blood blooming where its jagged nails cut into her tender skin.
Effie squeaked and tried to pull out of the creature’s hold, but it only served to press her closer to the beast behind her.
Lucian snarled. Between one breath and the next, he called forth his power, wanting to see what lay beneath the surface. This was not an enemy he’d fought before, and even the smallest tendril of information could make a difference.
The snow shone with the brilliance of the golden light as the forest’s essence was revealed. It was blinding, and for one endless second, Lucian saw nothing else.
Thankfully, instinct pulled his eyes away from the light and back toward his enemy. Lucian recognized that inky stain, only this time it wasn’t a smudge. It was a pulsing pillar of darkness. The Shadow was corruption incarnate. A taint that must be destroyed before it could infect anything else.
Lucian released his power. It would do no good here. Even seeing the threads of life flowing through the creature, they were twisted and there was no telling what would happen if he pulled them. It was not the time to find out; not with Effie trapped in the Shadow’s embrace.
“Distract him,” Lucian murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Kieran straightened and took a swaggering step forward. Lucian recognized the courtly persona. It was one Kieran used whenever he wanted to establish dominance. Lucian would have laughed, except he knew firsthand how fucking annoying it was. He’d asked for a distraction, and if the Shadow really was a creature with its own mind, it could do the trick.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you the proper way to court a lady?” Kieran asked, his voice a cultured sneer.
The Shadow’s eyes darted to Kieran. “I take what is mine.”
“The lady is not yours.”
The creature ran his nose up the side of Effie’s neck and cheek. Her face twisted in a grimace and Effie gasped for breath. She was starting to hyperventilate.
“I’m the one holding her.”
Kieran moved closer, standing directly between Lucian and the Shadow, pulling his entire focus.
Lucian took a silent step back, angling his body to the tree line. If he could get behind the Shadow, he could take him unaware.
The creature let out a groan of satisfaction and lifted his face from Effie’s neck back to Kieran. “I love the smell of fear.”
Effie’s throat bobbed, but she did not cry out. Lucian could practically see her mental battle for control. She was winning, but not for much longer.
Lucian took a few more steps and then froze.
“I know what you’re doing, princeling. It won’t work.”
“We’re just having a conversation,” Kieran said easily.
“You think to trick me.” The monster threw his head back and laughed, his stringy hair sliding along the back of his armor.
Kieran tilted his head, his face expressionless. “And that makes you laugh because . . .”
The Shadow’s head snapped up and his smile turned into a feral grin. “Because you are the ones who are trapped.”
In a single move, he released Effie, shoving her into Kieran and twisting to face Lucian. He staggered as she barreled into him, but they did not fall. Kieran caught Effie, helping her right herself before pushing her behind him.
“Guardian, you disappoint me.”
“I wish I cared.”
A dry rattling cough that could have been a laugh filled the air.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll be dead soon, and I’ll be feasting on your bones.”
One after another, more Shadows slid into view.
Six.
Eight.
A dozen.
It didn’t take a Keeper’s prophecy to see how this would play out.
Lucian mentally shrugged. He’d lived a long time. Today was as good as any to die. It didn’t mean he’d make it easy for them.
He ran his hand along his blade, subtly changing it from a solid piece of metal to something molten and other. An in-between form where it was still metal and still capable of slicing through flesh like liquid butter. But changed just enough that it was also able to flow around and into its target, searing and burning through anything it touched. Technically there was no word to describe this in-between state, but Kael had once referred to it as the death mist, and Lucian thought that was as accurate as anything else.
Today it would hopefully live up to its name.
Lucian didn’t wait for the smug bastard in front of him to speak again. Spinning, he swung his blade around his body, beheading two of the creatures that had thought to sneak up on him. When he was facing the one who’d held Effie again, he slashed hoping to collect a third head.
He was not so lucky, but the creature’s right arm did fall to the floor in a spurt of black ichor and cries of outrage.
The Shadow looked down at his arm and back up to Lucian. “You’ll pay for that, Guardian.”
Lucian shrugged. “Doubt it.”
The Shadow bared its teeth and lifted its remaining arm, a ball of purple fire growing in its hand.
Effie cried out, but Lucian kept his eyes trained on the enemy in front of him, trusting that Kieran could keep her safe a while longer.
“Lucian, it’s Shadow Fire!” she screamed. “Don’t let it touch you!”
The Shadow hurled a ball of purple flame at him, but Lucian dodged and sprung forward, severing its other arm from its body. He should have ended it instead of drawing out the battle, but he wanted to make the fucker pay for putting that note of fear in his charge’s voice.
The creature wailed. “You rutting bastard!”
Lucian pressed forward, his voice low and ugly. “Sorry you can’t play with your balls anymore.”
“This isn’t over,” the Shadow hissed.
“It is for you,” Lucian said, swinging his blade true. The Shadow’s knees hit the floor and his head toppled off rolling a few feet away.
Lucian spit on the creature’s dead body before turning his attention back to the others.
Seven of the walking corpses remained. Five of them stood in a loose circle, cackling maniacally while Effie and Kieran each fought one of their brothers. Two more were dead at their feet.
The ball of Shadow Fire had already consumed the trees behind him, and it continued to rage and burn as it crawled across the snowy ground. From what he knew of it, the purple flames would continue to burn until no fuel remained.
It looked as though only three of the remaining Shadows also had the ability to call on the corrupted elements, although thankfully none of them seemed to be tied to Fire. The Water user lobbed balls of acid at Kieran’s feet, forcing him to leap comically to the side while mid-fight. The other two controlled Earth, and they worked together to make the ground quake and roll.
Effie struggled to keep her balance. Her face was pale and dirt-smeared, but her eyes never left her enemy as she met him blow for blow.
Pride flowed through him at the sight of her. She may not have always been a warrior, but she’d become one.
Confident that they were holding their own, Lucian shifted his focus to the nearest creature.
“Let’s dance,” Lucian crooned.
“So eager to court death, Guardian?” the Shadow hissed as it ambled closer.
A familiar face peered out around the base of a nearby tree. Lucian’s smile stretched wide. They might have fewer numbers, but they were no longer outmatched.
The Shadow tilted its head. “You smile at the thought of death?”
“Just yours,” Lucian said, swinging his blade.
This one was faster than his brothers. He easily dodged the attack. Air blessed.
The Shadow ran forward, slamming his fist into Lucian’s stomach.
Lucian laughed. “That
all you got?”
“I will rip your innards out and make you eat them. I will—”
There was a wet gurgle as Kael ripped the Shadow’s throat out.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that,” Kael said as the monster fell.
“Good to see you, brother,” Lucian said.
“Thanks for saving some of them for me.”
As one, the two Guardians turned back to the battlefield. Two of the Shadows stepped back, planning to escape. Lucian and Kael lunged for them.
The ground moved, and Lucian slid across the now muddy surface, but his aim was steady. His blade cut through the Shadow’s legs, just above its knees.
He shifted his weight, planning on springing up and moving on to the next of the creatures. But one was already waiting for him, a sinister grin on its face.
It was the corrupted Water user. Acid dripped from its fingers, the ground hissing everywhere a drop made contact.
“Have you ever heard the sizzle of flesh as it burns from the body?” the creature hissed, its eyes closing as if in ecstasy.
Lucian was fast, but the creature was faster.
A ball of the green liquid splashed down and the air was filled with screams.
Effie slid her blade out of the monster, sliding its length along her leg to clean it before turning to the next.
Time held no meaning on the battlefield. It slowed or sped up as it wished, each moment lasting forever only to be completely replaced by the next. It was survival in its purest form. The ability to see only what is right in front of you until you are safe enough to address the next threat.
Effie scanned the forest, assessing the needs. There were three remaining Shadows, each engaged in battle with one of her friends.
She wasn’t surprised to see that Kael had arrived. Kael’s weapon of choice was his hands, he moved faster than her eyes could track as he tore apart his opponent like it was a ragdoll and not a power-infused monster.
Kieran was engaged with the last of the Earth wielders, and Lucian . . .
Effie’s mouth opened in a silent scream.
Lucian was crab-walking away from the Shadow that stood over him, green acid dripping from his fingers. Solely focused on the monster above him, he wasn’t aware of the threat behind him.
The purple flames devoured the trees until a wall of dancing flame stretched as far as she could see.
A wall that Lucian was scrambling straight for.
Another battle—another man—and a death so brutal she’d never survive it a second time filled her mind.
“Lucian, no!” she screamed, her body flying as she ran to him.
The air was knocked out of her lungs as an arm like steel wrapped around her hips and pulled her back.
“Not so fast.”
Effie didn’t check to see who grabbed her. Friend or foe, it made no difference. She threw her elbow back and simultaneously lifted her foot up. There was a grunt and she was free, running once again.
“Effie!”
She didn’t falter. Screaming, filling the forest with the sound of her battle cry, Effie threw herself at the Shadow that continued to corral Lucian back against the Shadow Fire.
She may as well have flung herself at a brick wall. She bounced off and hit the ground hard and the smell of burning flesh filled the air as the acid splashed over her. But her blade jutted out of the monster’s chest.
The monster turned its head to face her, its sadistic grin growing wider. Acid rained down upon her as the Shadow threw itself on top of her prone body.
“You wanted my attention so badly, little girl. It’s yours.”
The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air, and Effie didn’t even recognize the screams that were torn from her throat as the Shadow bit down on the side of her neck.
Pulling.
Chewing.
Tearing.
Everything hurt. Her body was on fire.
But Lucian . . . at least the Guardian was alive.
He glared down at her, his eyes a black so dark she could get lost in them.
He was yelling at her, but she didn’t hear a word he said. She was too focused on the fact that this time she’d be the one who burned.
Chapter 28
Kieran dropped to his knees, letting the Shadow Kael had thrown fly over his head and into the wall of purple flame. He laughed and stood to face him.
They watched as the corrupted Fire consumed it.
“Lucian, no!” Effie screamed.
Kieran’s heart dropped in his stomach before he even turned around.
Effie was sprinting over to Lucian as he was trying to scramble away from the monster that stood above him.
Kieran needed only a second to figure out what had triggered that sound of horrified desperation in her.
The purple flames were less than a body length away from Lucian, and once they made contact with his skin, he’d be consumed by them. She was lost to the memory of a previous battle—one where the flames had won.
Kael tried to stop her, grasping her about the waist to keep her out of harm’s way.
She dropped him to his knees with two unexpected and efficient strikes, the first to his gut, and the second to his manhood. Kieran winced in sympathy.
Effie was like a blinding streak as she pumped her arms and legs and launched herself into the air. Her blade slid through the Shadow’s chest, but the momentum propelled her forward, her small body no match for the monster’s brute strength. She bounced off him and landed on the ground with enough force Kieran felt his own teeth clack together.
Lucian was finally able to push to his feet and Kieran was moving, both men zeroing in on the Shadow that threw himself on top of Effie.
His stomach rolled as she screamed. He wasn’t going to get to her in time, but Lucian could.
The Guardian grabbed the Shadow by the back of his neck, tearing him away from Effie’s spasming body. Green acid, red blood, and black ichor pooled away from her in some macabre imitation of a rainbow. The Shadow had torn out a piece of her shoulder where the muscle met her neck. Kieran could see the bone jutting out through the wound.
It was too much.
He heaved, dropping to his knees as his stomach emptied itself.
Lucian’s face was twisted in rage. Kieran flinched from the heat of it even though it wasn’t directed at him. He swung that blurred sword of his, decapitating the monster in one clean move before spinning around and looming over Effie.
“What the hell were you thinking, you little fool?” he shouted down at her.
Kieran crawled over to where her body lay, his lip curling back in disgust. “Can’t you see she’s injured, you fucking asshole?”
Shock flickered across the Guardian’s face. He hadn’t known, hadn’t had a chance to see what the monster had done to her.
Kael joined them, his hand cupped over his crotch. “Is it bad?”
Kieran looked down at Effie just as she smiled, and her eyes fluttered closed. It was so peaceful. So out of place here in the aftermath of their battle. Wordlessly, he looked back up at the Guardian.
Kael paled, his skin chalky and gray.
“You have one job!” Kieran shouted as he tore a piece of his tunic off to press against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “You were supposed to keep her safe. She should not be the one worried about saving you.”
Grief clouded Lucian’s eyes, but any trace of emotion vanished as he knelt down and took her limp body in his arms.
“Who knew someone so tiny could be so fierce?”
Kieran didn’t think Lucian knew he’d said it out loud.
Sorrow tinged Kael’s face as he stared down at the woman cradled in Lucian’s arms. “She’s a brave one, our little warrior.”
“Elder’s rotting teeth, you two act as though she’s dead and gone. Let’s get her back to the citadel before you kill her with your premature mourning.”
His bravado was forced. Effie didn’t look good. In fact, Kieran had seen
fresh corpses that looked better than she did. Some of the Shadow’s acid had eaten away a good chunk of her heavy mass of hair, but what was left was matted and tinged red from her blood. Her skin was leeched of color, except for the deep purple smudges below her eyes and the gray cast of her lips. And her limp, boneless limbs did not resemble anything of the animated woman they belonged to.
If not for the wet rattle of her breaths, he would have thought she was dead.
Effie’s death had never been part of his dreams, but the future could be altered with a single choice. There was no knowing what the catalyst of change would be.
So even though he’d seen a different future, Kieran was no longer sure all of his dreams would come true.
Chapter 29
Effie was aware of nothing before the hushed voices reached her ears. She couldn’t make out the words, just a general sense of worry.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she croaked as the walls of the healing wing swam into view. Kieran and Kael were nearby, both still in their battle-stained clothes. She couldn’t have been out for too long if they hadn’t bothered changing. The room was bathed in soft amber, which meant that it was early evening. She’d only been unconscious for a few hours, at most.
“Take it easy, little one,” Kael murmured, squeezing her hand. “You lost a lot of blood. The healers cleaned the wound and patched you up, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that.”
“I still don’t understand why not,” Kieran muttered from his perch across the room.
Kael rolled his eyes, sounding like a harassed teacher as he explained—probably not for the first time—“We’ve already been over this. While healing is a gift that stems from the Water, branch, blood itself is only partially comprised of water. Healers cannot manipulate life’s essence; thus, they cannot do anything about blood loss. Now shut up, or I’m kicking you out.”
Kael looked back down at her and winked, but some of the usual sparkle was missing from his eyes. He looked worn out. Effie didn’t imagine she looked much better.
