by Emily Rose
Aiden’s hands rumbled with white light in front of him, but it was no use. With a single hand, King Xavier muffled his flames.
Dread filled my chest, my heart still pounding. There was no way out of this.
He grabbed Aiden’s face in his hands, forcing their eyes to meet. A dark shadow passed between them as Aiden struggled under the grasp. But King Xavier was strong. Stronger than any human. Even Aiden.
I shut my eyes again. Within seconds, Aiden would be lost forever to the control of this evil. I needed him. I needed him alive, and with me.
“We need you, Ophine!” I yelled out loud this time, not caring who heard my cries for the goddess. I wasn’t sure if it was my plea, or the desperation that had been building inside me, but heat erupted through my body.
I didn’t think. I didn’t have time to. Instead, I ripped my hands free from the guards’ grasps and threw everything inside of me, every last bit of heat and anger that I was feeling, toward the father and son kneeling next to me. The light that escaped from me was so bright, I flinched against it.
If Ophine was here, she did not show herself. She did not appear as the white flame engulfed the pair, fighting the shadow that lingered between them. In the corner of my sight, I even saw my own shadows back away a few steps.
A horrified scream filled the air. For a moment, I thought it was my own. I’m not sure how much time went by. Maybe a second. Maybe a minute.
I opened my eyes. The King was lying next to Aiden. White ash covered the ground around them.
The guards froze. Not a single person moved, not even the fighters who had scattered into the shadows.
The shadows.
The ghosts I was surrounded by just moments earlier were gone.
Vanished.
When I looked around me, I saw who’s scream I heard earlier. Harvey was standing just feet behind me, cowered down to a near slouch. Her and Riley were bending over something, yelling things.
Ringing filled my ears as I crawled to them. What I saw, though, was no object. And it was no coincidence.
It was Jax.
And he was covered in burnt ash, lying unconscious on the Courtyard floor.
He must've been too close when I released the flame. Trying to help me, no doubt. Oh, Jax. A sob erupted in my chest. Riley was shaking his shoulders, begging him to wake up. Harvey’s face was dripping with horror. When she looked at me, her expression didn’t change.
Riley did not bother to look up from his brother.
What had I done?
Jax’s perfect, golden face was covered with the same ash as the King and Prince. His uniform was burnt, hardly hanging over his body.
“What did I do?” I muttered to Riley as I sagged on all fours next to them. “What did I do?” Riley glanced up at me with a disgusted face.
“You witch!” he yelled through gritted teeth.
This couldn’t be real. I was not this person. I could not live with this, responsible for Jax’s death.
I had to do something. Think. Focus. Isobel’s conversation in the tent. She said I needed Aiden, we needed each other to release the true power of the goddess.
I had to try it. I had to try something. Anything.
I crawled back through the frozen guards again, over to Aiden’s unconscious body. He was still breathing.
“Aiden,” I whispered. My voice was hardly working. His skin was hot, but his body showed no signs of burns. No signs of damage. I said his name again, willing my voice to get stronger as I shook his shoulders.
But he was not waking up. I placed my hands on his chest and dropped my head. Aiden, of all people in this world, was my one hope. The familiar shock of electricity flooded my hands where our skin met. This was something. A start. I harnessed the energy. I let it flow through my body, fueling me as my anger had done so many times before.
Only this time, I was not angry. I was drowning in my own shame. I could not live with myself if Jax was not alive. There was no point. There would be no coming back from this if it didn’t work. No redemption.
Then, as I pulled everything I could from my connection with Aiden, Ophine appeared in front of me.
I could recognize that golden light from anywhere.
“Ophine,” I breathed. “Tell me what to do. Tell me how to fix this and I will. I will do anything.” Aiden’s chest moved under my touch. Ophine’s voice sang through my ears as she spoke to me.
“You have done much, child. But not enough. The evil lies within the King still. You and the Prince are connected now. Use it.”
“But how? What do I need to do?” Weakness swarmed through my voice. Broken.
“You are the fire, Ruby. Let it burn.”
Let it burn.
I understood now. All of my dreams, all of the prophecies. Humans were not meant to harness shadow-defying power and survive. I was not meant to survive.
I took a deep breath. Calmness flooded my veins. I would not be able to redeem myself in life. But in death, perhaps something good would come from this.
I placed my forehead on Aiden’s chest. Roses. With one deep breath I pulled everything I could from his body, his consciousness. Heat and fire. Power.
But it was not just power. It was purpose. Riley’s screams cut through the air behind me. Horror. Terror. Shock. My body was not my own. My consciousness was not my own. My vision faded to black as Ophine guided me through darkness.
17 The Redemption
Everything went still. The screams were silent. I saw myself, standing from Aiden and moving toward the King. Toward the vessel of evil. But I did not see a body. I saw a black, disgusting figure. A shadow, but darker. Something more vile, more sinister was intertwined with it.
I watched myself from above. My body stalked toward the shadow. My face was blank. Emotionless. I was not afraid. I was not confused. This was my destiny. My only chance at redemption. At revenge.
The shadow shot toward me, but I was faster. I did not need to know where it would move next, because Ophine already knew. She controlled me, gracefully throwing the white flame across the air. There were no signs of malice. Only determination.
The shadow and the flame met with an abrupt flash. It didn’t last long. The King suffered under the goddess, overtaken with the heat. He cowered backward, retreating.
But Ophine showed no mercy. I showed no mercy. I felt heat, hotter than anything I had felt before. I let it consume me. I did not try to control it. I did not try to stop it.
As the final, enormous blast of fire hit the shadow, my world went white. I was ready to die.
“You are done, Ruby. You can rest now.” She said as I returned to my body, standing in the Courtyard.
I was so tired. The white light surrounding me seemed so warm. So comforting. So peaceful.
When I looked to my left, though, I did not see peace. I saw the mess I had made. The damage I had done. Jax, Riley and Harvey. What would they think of me? Would they remember me as a murderer? As an evil flame wielder?
“No, please. Save him, please,” I begged Ophine. My voice was hardly a whisper, but I know she heard me. She heard my plea.
The golden light came closer. “It is not that simple, child. The balance between death and life is fragile. Your friend will face many consequences if-”
“Please, just save him. I owe him my life. I owe him everything. And then I will rest. I have done everything you asked of me, please. I do not deserve life. I deserve nothing, less than nothing. But he is good. He is kind. He deserves to live.”
Without another word from the goddess, I gave into the warm light.
“Hey. Just look at me. Breathe.”
A familiar voice filled my head, breaking my sound mind. My body was freezing. Every part of me burst with pain. Was I dead? I had begun to ask myself that question a few too many times.
I blinked my eyes open.
Aiden.
Either we were both dead, or I was very much alive. I tried to lift my head up, but his warm hand
s held my shoulders down. His touch was so hot against my cold skin, I almost flinched away from it.
“Don’t try to move,” he said. “I don’t know what happened, but he is dead. My father is dead. You did it, Ruby. You just saved my life.”
His words rang through my ears. I did it. We did it. I had killed the King, but I had also just killed Aiden’s father. The death on my shoulders was becoming too much to bear.
I could tell he wanted to be happy, but grief swam in his eyes. I never wanted to see that look again, even if it was on Aiden’s face. The smell of roses was comforting as I let him pull me to a sitting position. The shadows I had been seeing were still gone, and most of the fighters were lingering closer to the Courtyard. The guards were incapacitated, dripping in confusion as they looked around the scene. Where the King’s body had been just moments before was a pile of unrelenting white ash. I looked beyond him.
Jax. He was breathing.
Riley grabbed his face and laughed through muffled sobs as Jax coughed for air.
She did it. Ophine had saved Jax.
Tears fell freely down my face. I leaned into Aiden beside me as I let myself feel the one thing I hadn’t felt since before the attack four years ago: Relief.
“Everyone’s okay. It’s okay,” he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around me. And in that moment, Aiden was right.
18 The Journey
“So she just let you live? She didn’t even tell you why?” Jax asked. His shoulder lightly bumped into mine as we strolled through the City streets. I could still smell the sun lingering on his skin.
“Nope. And honestly, I think I’m better off not knowing.” I eyed Jax carefully. I didn’t tell him what Ophine had said to me that day, that Jax would face consequences. He seemed fine so far. I could only pray that it lasted.
It had been three days since I killed King Xavier. It felt amazing to tell Jax the truth about everything. After almost killing him, telling him the truth was the least I could do. He had bombarded me with questions about the flame and about Ophine. Most of the questions, though, were ones I couldn’t answer.
I wasn’t sure what I expected to feel after the King was dead. Satisfaction? This was something I had wanted since I was 13. Since my parents were killed. But there was still so much left unanswered. I still didn’t know why the King’s guards had killed my parents years ago. Neither did Aiden. I didn’t know why Ophine let me live, or why Aiden and I were the only ones who could access this magic.
“Look,” Jax said as he turned to face me. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you did to help Riley. Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there.” His face was grim, but his eyes were bright against the golden sun.
I placed my hand on his arm and smiled. As much as I tried to stop it, I couldn’t help feeling guilty for everything that happened the past few weeks. Especially when it came to Jax.
“Of course, Jax. And I would do it again if I had to.”
Jax opened his mouth to speak again, but we were interrupted by a loud yell from across the street.
“Ruby!” Soren yelled. “Wait up!” Him and Aiden jogged across to us. I didn’t miss the way Aiden glanced between Jax and I, a questioning expression on his face.
“Hey guys,” Soren continued when they reached us. “You ready to go?”
“Hell yes,” Jax responded. The trip to the Shadow Forest was Soren’s idea, and Jax was quick to support it. We had so many questions left, and the villagers needed answers. The two boys turned toward the entrance of the City, leaving Aiden and I in the street.
“So you and Jax, huh?” he asked when they were out of earshot. A short giggle escaped my mouth as I shoved Aiden’s arm.
“It’s not like that,” I said. “Is that jealousy I’m sensing?”
He put a hand on his chest and opened his mouth in a dramatic gasp. “Me? Jealous? Never.”
I closed the distance between us and placed a quick kiss on his lips. I still wasn’t sure where things stood with him. After we returned from our trip to the Shadow Forest, Aiden would be named King. That, however, was a problem for later. I took a deep breath and let the calming smell of roses relax me. We would have to take this one step at a time.
“I guess we should get going then,” I said as I glanced toward the Shadow Forest. Harvey and Riley were already jogging ahead, and Opal followed behind them.
Yes, Opal. I used every argument I could think of to get her to stay here. I mean, she tried to kill me. Twice! But Soren had warned that we needed all the help we could get in the forest, especially with an unknown evil lurking around. Other people weren’t so fast to volunteer.
I rolled my eyes as she walked through the City gates, following the rest of them. “Does she really have to come?” I asked Aiden. He took my hand and guided us in their direction.
“Why Ruby, is that jealousy I’m sensing?” he teased.
Aiden didn’t let go of my hand as the giant, wooden doors opened to the streets of the City. The beautiful white stone glimmered in the sunlight as I looked around, taking a deep breath. Children were splashing in the pond ahead of me, screaming and laughing as water was thrown into the air. The sight of everyone together was something I had only dreamt of seeing for the past few weeks.
The future was unknown. I was starting to feel like I would never be able to dig myself out of this hole. We would have to rebuild Aslan from scratch, patching all the vile holes that evil had created. Most of the fighters chose to stay in the City, and most of them were just as relieved as I was that we wouldn't have to fight again.
I wasn’t sure what would happen tomorrow or the next day. But everyone I cared about was safe. I squeezed Aiden’s hand as we walked into the street ahead. I let myself take in the peace. I let myself walk through the crisp, cool air. I let myself be happy.
And just when I thought I actually deserved a glimpse at happiness, one lingering shadow of a girl in the darkness reminded me that I was not finished. The ghosts of my past were still here. A black raven flew across the sky above, serving as a silent message from the Shadow Forest: our journey was far from over.
THE END
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About The Author
Emily Rose
Emily Rose is a 22 year old who recently graduated from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville with a degree in Computer Management and Information Systems. She has been an avid reader of young adult fantasy for years, and has wanted to write her own book for as long as she can remember. With support from her mother and a giant leap of faith, she released her debut novel, All The Crown's Shadows, in July 2020 in hopes to pursue a writing career.
