by Dahlia Leigh
In an instant, Rozalind was gone but her vision still filled with shadow smoke. Soon, not only her vision was overcome, but the shadow’s smoke pressed against her, filling her lungs to the point she felt suffocated. Ashlynn realized in a brief moment of clarity she was being kept in the shadows too long against her will. Edmund’s words of getting trapped in the shadow realm rang in her ears.
Hazy, distant voices came from somewhere beyond the shadows, though she couldn’t quite make out the words. Vaguely, she registered that the voices belonged to Darien, Taegan, and Edmund. They were in the background of all the haze, calling to her. Their faces flashed before her eyes: Darien, Edmund, and Taegen. The castle was there, too, calling to her, attempting to pull her back to him but he was so weak. Ashlynn had no idea how weak Asteroth truly had been, but for some reason she could sense him more in her current state.
Ashlynn moved to and fro with the desires and whims of the shadow smoke. She didn’t know which way was up or down. But their voices, calling to her, still remained in the distance. She wanted so desperately to hear what they said to her.
Rage grew in Ashlynn’s chest. She was pissed off she couldn’t hear their voices. The anger cleared her mind and gave her focus. Ashlynn’s necklace warmed deeper and she tapped into her power. Using her emotions to guide her magic, she pushed back against the shadows and whatever Rozalind had attempted to do to her.
Her magic connected with the castle and she could feel the shadows lessen. Ashlynn sensed the guys’ power building behind her, supporting her, strengthening her. She felt light magic at her feet as it swirled up her legs and around her body.
With one last blast of Ashlynn’s power, she pushed it at Rozalind and severed the unnatural connection she had held her with.
Ashlynn came out of the shadows, gasping, to find Darien holding a knife coated with the light spell at the throat of the Unbound who still had his hand on her head. Taegen and Edmund stood close by, each gripping swords pointed in the shadow’s direction as well.
“Are you the last one here?” Darien asked, growling. When the Unbound didn’t respond he asked again, poking through the shadows until the knife pierced the beast’s flesh. Outraged and shocked, the Unbound turned fierce, glowing eyes filled with hate against Darien.
“Yes, I am the last as you are a traitor.”
Darien growled. “I have a message I want you to send back. Tell my father, I demand a meeting. Oh and the betrothal to Rozalind is off.” Darien pulled the Unbound away from Ashlynn and without releasing his grip he roughly escorted the hulking beast of a shadow down the stairs and away from the castle.
Taegen pulled Ash into his arms and looked deep into her eyes, examining her for something then, satisfied, he gave her a nod and a smile. Edmund then shockingly pulled her into his embrace as well. “You had us worried.”
“Nah, I had total belief our girl could pull out of it on her own. And she did,” Taegen said with a boyish grin.
“Yes, she did. Darien will ensure the Unbound gets out the castle boundary. You need to rest and sleep off the effects from the shadow realm,” Edmund said and escorted her toward her room.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Rozalind
Back in the cave of the cracked crystal, Roz met once more with her demon underlord. Agitated, Roz paced back and forth before the crystal, waiting for Salvator to arrive.
“Why so upset, pet?” His voice reached her ears at the same moment she felt his presence emerge on the other side of the crystal.
“I had her trapped! I had that little minx trapped in the shadows of her mind. She shouldn’t have been able to break free of the shadow control so easily… but she did.” Roz rambled on at her failed attempt to hinder Ashlynn. Rozalind’s intent at trapping Ashlynn in the shadows was so she could more easily access her mind when her time came to strip the Sentinel of her power.
“Interesting. The information is still valuable.”
“What information?”
“She is strong even in the shadows. I did not expect that, I’ll need to calculate that in to the next test.” Salvator seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Roz.
Remembering why she approached her underlord, she turned on her sweet charm. “Salvator?” she purred. “Could I request the resources you promised me to use against the castle’s defenses? I suspect my use of the Unbound and Shadow Shifters might soon be unavailable to me.”
“Yes, I do think the time is approaching for the next phase. You will have unlimited resources at your disposal—an army even—if you can weaken the castle enough so I can join you for the final part of your plan.” His words caressed her need for power.
“I like the sound of that.”
ROZALIND
Rozalind met the alpha back at the encampment they had used as temporary headquarters not far from the castle. Alpha Berone was just receiving word from the Unbound shadow who had been inside the castle. He had a message from Darien. Roz stopped outside his tent and listened.
“What did you learn while in the castle?” the alpha asked the Unbound.
“The castle grows weak, but they have developed ancient light magic spells. I was hindered from many areas within the castle. Callun is no more, he got caught.” The Unbound would have sounded sad if it weren’t for the raspy winded sound of his voice. “I caught the Sentinel and delivered the message from Rozalind to her. But she was strong and Darien and the others came to her aid. He sends a message to you.”
“What does he say?”
“He demands a meeting with you and he breaks the betrothal to Rozalind.”
The alpha’s face was a mask of rage. “How could he defy me like this? I will meet him all right.”
Roz recognized another voice as it emerged within the tent—Shado-Heim, one of the alpha’s most loyal Unbound shadows.
“I have done the checking you asked me to do with my connections in the Void. I have information, though vague, on what Rozalind’s involvement with the underworlder could be.”
Rozalind’s throat clinched. So they had found out she met with a demon. This could be bad, she thought to herself. Finding a rip in the fabric of his tent, Roz peered inside to watch his reaction.
“Go on,” the alpha’s voice hesitantly said.
“It seems she was seeking a way to take the Sentinel’s power and ultimately her throne.”
The alpha’s eyes glowed with pride. Surprised, Roz took a step back then looked again to insure she saw correctly.
Alpha Berone’s voice boomed. “Finally, someone who can take initiative and bring more power and status for the pack. I knew she could be trusted all along. There had to be a reason for all her actions.” He laughed. “I could have a loyal member on the inside of the castle, in a place of power at that, for the Shadow Shifters and the Unbound. I could give the freedom we’ve always sought for our brethren below in Nightstead. The daughter I always wanted… she’d been setting it all up for me.”
“What of the scrolls, alpha?” Shado-Heim asked.
The alpha thought for a second. “She must have been preparing a back up in secret, in case her plan didn’t work out. Perhaps she feared I would cast her out of the pack if it went wrong.”
Rozalind felt the blood drain from her face. He had searched her room—her private room—and found her scrolls. Her only true security to provide her safety if all went bad. She could have overlooked him taking all the credit for all the plans and hard work she had gone through to get what she wanted, but he had gone in her room—the only place she thought was her own.
“Call for Roz to be shown in, she should be arriving soon,” the alpha said.
Roz backed up into the forest to appear like she had just arrived when she saw Shado-Heim spot her. Quickly, she internalized all her pent up chaotic rage and pasted on her sweet persona. After all, in their minds she had done nothing wrong.
“Come see the alpha, Rozalind.”
She entered the tent.
“Rozalind co
me to me, child,” the alpha called.
“Alpha.” Roz acknowledged and inclined her head.
“I have two things to address with you. The first, I am remiss to tell you. But Darien has gone back on his agreement to mate you. He has broken the betrothal.”
Roz placed her hand at her heart and hung her head. Though she already knew the information, she played her part of the heartbroken female. In truth, she was pissed off and wanted to tear his or the little Sentinel’s head off.
“I am sorry for that, but we will find another position suitable for you.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Secondly, it has come to my attention you have been working on a plan of your own. I was surprised to hear of it. I do not condone members of this pack making plans which involve the pack without my knowledge, but I understand why you did.”
“You do?” Roz asked, feigning ignorance.
“You are attempting to secure the throne of the Sentinel for us to have access to the Void and thereby putting the pack in a position of status and power for the world. Your foresight for the pack is most inventive. I only wished you had run it by me so I could offer assistance where you might need it.”
Rozalind was dumbfounded he was so blinded by his trust in the loyalty of his people. At her silence, he continued.
“I understand why you did it in secret, though. I might have been tempted to do the same, but you should know your status in this pack is secure even if my son doesn’t protect it.” The alpha pulled out her box filled with the various scrolls from the Void she had taken such care to procure.
No longer caring about pleasing the alpha, she allowed the rage at seeing her personal items in his hand taken without her permission to rise within her. “Please, may have my box, alpha?”
“You collected many offers for pardon into the Void by many families of status down there. I must say I’m most impressed by the volume and the inclusions. This must have taken you much time and patience to gather. I could hold onto these for you to keep them safe while you secure the Sentinel’s throne. You collected these in the event things went wrong, and you felt you would be cast out of the pack for taking action on your own initiatives, did you not?”
“Alpha, may I have my box please.” Rozalind cringed hearing the slightest hint of desperation in her voice, something she had never allowed into her persona.
But something in the alpha’s eyes changed as he watched her. “You didn’t do this all for the pack did you?” His voice escalated as realization began to dawn on him. He raised the box in his hand out of her reach. “Did you?”
Roz felt the rage flash in her eyes. She half wondered if they glowed blue based on the slight flinch on the alpha’s face.
“No,” she shouted. She knew she had lost control but, for the first time, didn’t care. Emboldened by her new status with her demon underlord as a partner, she no longer needed Darien or the alpha or the pack. “No I did it for me. I’m tired of being cast over for the true power I deserve. So I did what I had to do to gain it for myself.”
Without a thought the box in the alpha’s hand—the box containing all her parchments of citizenship and pardon—was surrounded with shadow magic. The box and the papers with it instantly turned to ash. All her hard work, her entire backup plan… gone.
Roz refused to react, but his deed fueled her anger. She shifted into her shadow beast and fled the tent before he could hold her there. On the heels of her shadow, she heard the enraged roar of the alpha echo through the forest. The alpha had been unprepared for her, assuming she was loyal as she always had been. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Rozalind had to flee the pack.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ashlynn
In the lower levels of the castle, Ashlynn led the guys to a hidden room. The room was in the opposite direction from the entrance to the underworld and resided behind a sealed door in a small dark cavern below the earth. Only the power of a Sentinel Queen—or a Sentinel with the power of the queens’ pendant—could open the door.
“I remember coming in here as a child with my mother, though the memory is faint,” Ashlynn said as she stood at the threshold of the door. Darien, Taegen, and Edmund stood supportively behind her. She focused the magic of the pendant, combined it with her own magic, and then placed her hand against the door. The seal clicked as the mechanism unlocked, and the door swung open.
Inside the small room was nothing more than an altar of sorts, made of large, chiseled stones, right in the center of the space. Ashlynn moved in closer to the altar. On the altar, in a secured setting of iron, was a glowing, green crystal.
“This crystal is the heart of the castle. It’s where the source of Asteroth’s magic is stored,” she said with awe as she explained the stone to the guys. They too moved around the stone, mesmerized by the sight. She watched as the stone slowly pulsated with life, and Ashlynn gasped in horror. “Look how slow it beats! I had no idea his energy was this drained. Asteroth is running out of time. We are running out of time.” Ashlynn was shaken by the truth of what the “heart” revealed. The earthquakes had taken the extra toll on his life. Asteroth wouldn’t live much longer.
The three men surrounded her with care as a single tear slipped out of her eye, down onto the crystal. Ashlynn felt the impact in her own heart when the tear landed. Her power was connected to this very point of the castle. She let the knowledge of her connection with the castle be known to the guys. Too much was at stake for her to keep the secret to herself. “If the castle fails—if it dies—my power, too, will fail.”
As they walked back into the main parts of the castle, Edmund gently spoke of an idea he had to protect Ash from the castle’s weakening effects. “Ashlynn, I want to be sensitive but as you mentioned, time is short and too much is at stake.”
Ashlynn watched Edmund struggle for a moment with what he wanted to say. “What is it, Ed?”
“I can’t help the castle, but I have an idea that would enable you to stay strong so you could.”
Everyone stopped and looked at Edmund with apprehension and anticipation at what he was about to say. Ashlynn nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“The two of you share a bond connected by the magic of this castle, it is also the source of your Sentinel power, correct?”
She nodded.
“Essentially, my idea would provide a buffer… or a cap to the amount of energy flowing between you and Asteroth.” At Ashlynn’s shocked expression he quickly clarified. “It wouldn’t sever your connection to the castle, but merely put it on hold for a time until Asteroth is strong again.”
Ashlynn nervously bit her lip. “Your idea makes sense, Ed. The decision is a hard one for me to make. I don’t know how my magic will change, if at all, or if the connection could ever be re-established.”
From the knight in shining armor statue at the base of the stairs in the front entrance where they convened, Asteroth spoke, “Do it.”
Hearing the desperation in Asteroth’s voice convinced Ashlynn Ed’s idea might be her only option to save them all.
“Thank you, Edmund. Let’s do it. I need to stay strong to protect the castle.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Darien
Darien had run to his room for a much needed break. His feelings for Ash had been growing stronger the longer he stayed in the castle near her. He fought his feelings long enough. All he wanted was to be with her and take care of her. She grounded him, physically and emotionally, in a way he didn’t think was possible. She gave him something to cherish, to protect, and a mission greater than he had known. But his duty to his pack and his family had been pulling on him until he realized his father wouldn’t see eye to eye with him, didn’t respect him, and he had a greater purpose in the castle with Ashlynn.
The passion she stirred within him was a feeling he had never experienced with Rozalind. With Roz, he felt obligation and duty. With Ash, he felt free and alive in a way he never felt when he ran with the shadows. Then a realization struck h
im in a way he could deny no longer… he didn’t want to return home. He cared for his pack, and still wanted to see the best for them, but he didn’t want to be among them. He wanted to stay with Ashlynn if she would have him.
As if on cue, Darien sensed the shadow shifter’s alpha, his father, approach the castle barrier. Darien ran back down the stairs toward Edmund’s lab to inform them of the alpha’s arrival, but the three others were already on their way to find him.
“My father got my message to meet me. To keep him from attempting to blast down what’s left of the dome’s energy, I will go meet him outside the borders to give you, Edmund and Ashlynn, time to complete the ritual to cap off her connection to the castle. I don’t know what my father has in store, but I want Ashlynn to feel the least effects from it possible.”
Ashlynn was about to protest when Taegen interjected. “I’ll go with him. Get his back if need be.”
Ashlynn smiled at Taegen and nodded her thanks. “Ok then, go out and stall. Edmund said it won’t take long so we will join you as soon as we can.”
Darien nodded and moved to the door with Taegen behind him. “Take care of her, Ed.” He wanted to be there with her but, to his surprise, he trusted Edmund with Ashlynn.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Darien
Darien walked out of the castle with a new sense of self and pride. For the first time, he found something he wanted to be a part of; something that could be his own and not part of the pack. For the first time, he was at home and in control of his destiny.
“Taegen, this is between me and my father. Will you stick close to the castle border in case there’s trouble?”
“I will. And Darien? Don’t let your old man push you around too much.” Taegen smirked and gave Darien a salute as he found a place out of the way.
