Can you feel it? the voice asked.
Jinji didn't bother to glance up. Her eyes remained glued to Janu, and she wasn't sure if she would ever look away.
"Feel what?"
The dragon. Can you feel it burn your chest?
"I can." Jinji sighed, wanting to ignore the words, but at the same time unable to deny the sensation tickling her heart, the new awareness that part of her was alive somewhere else in the world. "Why can I?"
Because it is part of us, our powers brought to life. Fire. Earth. Water. Air. Four dragons, one for each element. Made to protect the world when I cannot, to keep my spirit realm safe when I am gone or when I cannot be everywhere at once.
"Why haven't I felt them before? Where are the others?"
Only the riders can bring them life. The fire dragon chose Rhen, so now they are as one—one mind, one body, one power. You must find other spirit humans and you must bring them here to undergo the trial. We must wake all four of the dragons before it is too late.
Suddenly everything clicked into place. Jinji gasped. "Is that why the shadow has been killing the spirit users? So we cannot wake the dragons?"
They are our only weapons against the souls he will bring through the ether, the only chance we have.
"I—"
But the moment her mouth opened, the body in her lap shifted, dragging her attention away. All thoughts of dragons, of shadows, of spirits, completely fled her mind. There was nothing but her brother, resting in her arms, miraculously brought back from the dead.
"Janu," she murmured. "Can you hear me?"
He stirred. But remained silent.
Jinji cupped his cheek, leaning over him. "Janu, come back to me."
The corners of his cheeks lifted and her heart soared. Did he recognize her voice? Did he know she was there? That she was watching over him? Or was it just the shadow, playing another cruel trick?
Jinji pushed the thought aside.
Nothing would destroy this moment.
She bit her lip, looking down, waiting. All the while memories flashed across her thoughts. Janu waking her in the middle of the night, holding her hand when she had a bad dream. Janu running through the forest, charging ahead as she rushed to keep up, laughter filling her ears. Janu holding her arms, shifting the bow in her hand, teaching her to fight in secret.
Her twin brother.
Her best friend.
Her other half.
Jinji squeezed his fingers. His callused hands closed around hers, holding tight. Then his eyes opened. Warm brown, the color of dirt glowing golden in the sun, laced with tree sap. Kind. Loving. Wet with unshed tears.
She couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
"Jinji?" his soft voice whispered, laced with disbelief, full of hope.
Elation seized her chest, bubbling hot. But at the same time her heart broke.
Janu was alive.
He was the shadow.
And she would never have the strength to kill him.
20
RHEN
~ THE GATES ~
The dragon landed, settling its wings, burrowing the fire back under its skin. For a moment, it looked at Rhen through the falling embers, questioning. And then slowly, the dragon extended its neck, placing its head right before Rhen's waist.
Grinning, Rhen extended his arm.
The moment his fingers touched the warm scales, a clamp closed around his chest, tight binds wrapped around his heart. Rhen wanted to step back, to step away, but he was frozen in place. Could not move. Could not run. And then the ropes gathering under his skin traveled up, clenching his brain until he believed his head might burst from the pressure. Heat coursed through his body, burning, painful. His vision flashed white. His lips opened in a scream but no sound came out.
As quick as it began, it was over.
Rhen stumbled, stepping back. A new awareness blossomed to life in the back of his mind, as though a piece of him had drifted free of his body and rested somewhere else. A new feeling pinched his heart, tightening his chest. A second heartbeat, slower than his, thrummed through his veins, liquid lava, on fire.
Rhen looked up.
The dragon sat on its hind legs, watching him, waiting.
Rhen stepped closer and the dragon shifted, lowering its wings, slithering as flat as it could go, offering its back. Rhen brushed its scales, pleasure gathering to life in the back of his mind, distant, as though the feeling were his and yet not.
Taking his time, Rhen climbed onto the base of the dragon's neck, finding a secure hold as the beast shifted below him, rising to a standing position. Rhen gripped the sharp rocks cascading down its scales, but they did not break his skin. Beneath his touch, they softened as though made for his palms to hold.
And then nothing.
They sat. Did not move, did not shift.
A lingering sense of impatience filtered across Rhen's thoughts, foreign and familiar. The beat drumming in his veins grew faster.
Curious, Rhen let a single thought fill his mind.
Fly.
Wings pumped beneath him as they surged up, quickly leaving the ground far below as air rushed all around him—air and fire. In seconds, they flew free of the stone room, breaking through the open roof and into the sky. Blue and orange filled Rhen's vision and he held on tight.
Nerves circulated with the growing height—nerves and excitement. And something else—a sense of stretching old muscles, of awakening from a long sleep, almost as though the dragon and he were one.
Left.
The dragon shifted below him, arching to the side in a wide swoop as the flames ran off his skin, brushing over Rhen in a warm blast before tumbling back into the sky.
Right.
They changed directions.
Down.
Wings flattened as they plummeted toward the sea, diving straight down, until at the last second Rhen commanded they soar up. Tail whipping the sea, water splashed across their bodies as the cloudless sky filled his vision.
Rhen's stomach flipped but laughter tore free of his lips. The dragon was him. He was the dragon. Somehow their minds were one, their bodies were one—almost as though Rhen had never been whole until this moment. He had always been missing something, had always felt out of place, alone. Not anymore.
There was only one thing left to do. Something he had ached for since youth, since the first time his pudgy fingers had sunk into a flame unscathed. A power that had always alluded him. A control.
Fire.
The dragon roared, deep and booming, and the air around him trembled with the sheer force of the sound. A blaze traveled beneath the scales, scorching Rhen's hands, until finally flames exploded into the sky, a river of heat. Though it came from the dragon's mouth, Rhen felt that fire in his heart, as though it tore free of his palms. And then he sucked it all from the sky, burrowing the heat beneath his muscles.
Finally, after pretending for so long, Rhen truly was a Lord of Fire.
He could create it.
He could smother it.
He could ride it.
Closing his eyes, at peace, Rhen let the hot wind lick his cheeks.
And then he opened them, turning his gaze south, mind and body focused on one thing—home. Rayfort. His family. His people. They were counting on him and for once, Rhen would not fail them.
But for a moment, Rhen looked back over his shoulders to the white mountains below. Drawn there. Not sure if he should leave.
Jin.
Rhen had yet to see her since he woke. Was she in danger? Was she hurt? Was she in trouble? But it was her choice not to wake him. To leave him. To exclude him. Where had she gone that she did not want him to follow?
Rhen's heart split down the middle, torn between the people he had abandoned and the woman who had abandoned him.
He wanted to land, to find her, to make sure she was safe. But at the same time, Rhen's thoughts drifted to the army of ships barreling down on his home. Were they there? Had the siege begun? W
ere his people already dying? His family? The baby?
Jinji was strong—stronger than him.
But his people, they were surrounded, waiting for a miracle.
Decision made, Rhen gritted his teeth and turned the dragon south, urging the beast to fly faster as he pushed thoughts of Jinji from his mind. Wherever she was, Rhen was sure she was safe, was sure he would feel it in his gut if she needed him. And he would return for her, would come find her after the war was over—after he ended it.
Water rushed below them, white caps flashing and disappearing beneath the turquoise waves. From so high, the sea stretched in all directions, ground shifting color depending on the depth of the floor so far below. Dark blue grew lighter, more aqua, clearer as the sand increased in elevation.
Rhen glued his eyes to the horizon, waiting, hoping.
A black line separated two shades of blue.
Land.
Faster.
His heart sank as the scene grew clearer and ships burst to life, gleaming gold at the front as metal glinted in the sun. Ash and rock exploded into the sky as they neared. The Ourthuri had Rayfort surrounded. Ship catapults centered on his home and buildings started to crumble with the onslaught. The white stone wall was becoming lost to the sea, broken in some parts. The guards looked small from this height as they raced to fight back, outnumbered and outmatched, unable to stop the chaos flying toward them.
Rhen remained in the clouds, circling the sky, surveying. On land, the traitors of Whylkin crept forward. Arrows blurred black across the green grass, flying toward his home, the barest hint of orange as fire laced the sky. Siege towers rolled over dirt, moving ever closer to the wall surrounding his home, not pausing despite the rocks being thrown by his guards on the wall.
And in the center of it all, the castle waited untouched.
But it was only a matter of time before the fighting reached those walls. Rayfort could withstand any attack from the land, but cornered on all sides, even his fortress of a city would fall. Already, the people raced through the streets, confused, cornered. If he listened close enough, through the booms, he could hear cries on the breeze, could smell blood, could taste their terror.
Anger fueling his actions, Rhen dove.
Bursting through the clouds, the dragon roared, shaking the rubble in the streets. For a moment, the entire city seemed to pause. No arrows. No catapults. No fights. Rhen felt a thousand eyes caress him, staring.
And then a cheer rose.
Shouts of joy.
Screams of excitement.
A new sensation filled his veins—hope, power.
Rhen circled the castle, surrounding it in flames, careful not to burn anything as he soared over his people, letting them know they were safe, that he had not forgotten them, that their Lord of Fire would not fail.
And then Rhen drifted wider.
Fast as lightning, he buried the harbor in flames. With enough heat, even metal burned. Beneath his wings, sails singed in seconds. Wooden decks scorched black under the fire. Ourthuri screamed, diving into the ocean, trying to escape a fire so hot that even water did not cool it. The surface of the sea grew orange as it blazed. An entire fleet was destroyed—as easy as breathing, as quick as blinking.
Rhen turned toward the land, to the men already running from the walls. The grass beneath him ignited as arrows burned to a crisp. Siege towers and catapults became dust in seconds.
And somewhere, his family watched on. His mother. His brother. His nephew. Somewhere they were praising his name, thanking him, eyes wide in disbelief, wet with tears of joy.
Pride surged in his chest, filling Rhen up. Overflowing into a wide grin across his cheeks. Screeching, Rhen landed on the tallest tower of the castle, stretching his wings wide, blowing a blanket of flames deep into the sky, claiming this city.
Everywhere he looked, there was fire. The sea was gone. The land was gone. The wall of Rayfort was now a glistening fire, an inferno protecting the city. Orange and red raged into the sky, billowing in the breeze.
"Lord of Fire!"
"Lord of Fire!"
The chants echoed across the sky. His people were calling his name, celebrating his victory, already turning him into a god.
Just as Rhen went to slip free of his seat, to leave his dragon and find his people, to join in the cheers, his stomach rolled. An invisible fist punched his gut, doubled him over until he collapsed against the scales beneath him, clinging to the dragon for strength as pain suffocated him.
The flames closed in.
The fire burned.
And suddenly, Rhen could feel his skin melting away, could feel it bubble and burst, could feel it take his life again and again.
But it wasn't his skin.
It was theirs.
Rhen opened his eyes, looking beyond the wall to the thousands of people dying in his fire, falling beneath his flames, scorching and burning. He could feel their pain, their terror, their fear. A new awareness blazed away every truth Rhen thought he knew.
Vomit filled his stomach, surged up his throat—bile.
Wrong.
This was all wrong.
But no, Rhen shook his head, the Ourthuri were the enemy. They were going to kill his people, his family. He had done the right thing.
No.
Rhen shook his head. Mind in turmoil. Body fighting against itself.
No.
He was supposed to help them all. Protect them all. Keep them safe.
His people. Those people. All people.
The dragon shifted below him, turned its head until Rhen met its eye—bright red. Steam sizzled from the surface of its skin, right at the corner of its lid, a small trail of smoke. Tears. Burned away before they even had the chance to form.
The dragon was crying.
Crying for all the souls Rhen had forced it to kill.
"I'm sorry," Rhen whispered, shaking his head.
What had he done?
What sort of monster had he become?
Without hesitation, Rhen pulled on the flames, tugging on the fire, urging it to obey and sink below his skin. The heat grew to an inferno. Rhen watched the orange flickering around him, glowing red and yellow, scattered with black shadows.
Rhen peered closer at the ebony flashes.
Narrowing his eyes.
Deep within the flames, a vision burned to life, searing his thoughts.
A memory flared, filling his veins with dread.
21
JINJI
~ THE GATES ~
"Jinji?" Janu repeated, awed, unsure if he could believe his own eyes.
She reached down, cupping his cheek, and whispered, "It's me. I'm here and I won't ever leave you again."
Janu paused, lip trembling, and then rose like an ocean wave, arms wrapping around her with his sudden burst of energy. And then he was shaking, hugging her close as tears fell free of his eyes. Jinji pulled her own arms tightly around his thin waist, hugging her brother to her chest, catching his cries with her body.
"I'm here," she said once more to make sure he believed it. Janu didn’t move, didn’t break. His head was tucked into the nook of her neck as his body fought the sobs racking his frame. Jinji remembered the nights he used to hold her like this, when the nightmares came and she could not sleep. Now they had changed places and Jinji wasn't sure if she could bear to learn what nightmares plagued his years, what the shadow had done to her twin, what his life had become.
You'll never kill him, the voice whispered—a statement, not a question.
Jinji didn’t respond. Just shook her head—no.
I feel your love and it's strong. Too strong for me to break. My shadow-self was right—I cannot control you and I never will. But eventually you will ask for my help.
Help.
A dangerous word. Help kill Janu? Help destroy the shadow?
Helpless was more like it.
Jinji was helpless, floating in a void, unsure of which direction to take, of how to move forward.<
br />
My shadow-self will bring armies of his souls to this world and just like before, they will kill anything and everything in their path. Are you prepared to watch the world fall apart around you?
Jinji shifted her gaze, to the fires disappearing on the mountaintop, to the blue skies, to the other peaks of the Gates, to the sea. But no matter where she looked, she could not escape the voice inside her own head.
There is no other way to banish my shadow-self from this world. No way but death. Do it now and there will be no suffering. Or give in, let me have control, and I will do it for you.
As much as she wanted to, Jinji could not relent, could not kill the man weeping in her arms, could not let the voice murder the brother cradled against her side. She held him closer, letting her own tears fall, dropping soundlessly to the stone floor below them.
Jinji glanced up, trying to dry out the water, but instead the liquid pooled stronger when her vision landed on a dragon flying free of the mountain.
Rhen.
Drenched in fire, Jinji still saw him, still recognized him on the dragon's back, just like the painting the phantom had showed them. They soared left, right, disappeared in a downward spiral, only to lift back into view in a trail of flames.
What will the fire user say when he watches his family die, his people die, when he realizes it's all your fault?
Her heart clenched.
Her breath grew uneven.
Shaking her head, Jinji shouted at the voice, He'll never know. I'll figure out a different solution.
The voice just laughed across her thoughts, foreboding, menacing. Oh, he will know. He'll sense the shadow, he'll feel the darkness, and eventually he will understand who your brother really is. And when he does, what then? Will you kill him to keep the shadow safe?
Jinji squeezed her eyes shut against the thought, not willing to think about it. There had to be a way to save them both, to save them all. There had to be something the voice never thought of, never tried. Jinji had come too far to give up now, to stop fighting for everyone she loved.
The Spirit Heir (Book 2) Page 23
