***
She was chained to the wall, and, as much as I hated to admit it, Fudicia was surprisingly beautiful. Her thin eyebrows arched high on her brow, lining up with her pale hairline. The blonde hair fell in front of her boney cheekbones, and her pitch black eyes studied us with a lingering lust. She licked her broken red lips at the sight of us entering her cell, and her face lit with excitement, not fear. I had never sensed such dominance, yet I was more focused on her age. She couldn’t have been older than I was.
“I wasn’t expecting to meet the first descendant so quickly,” she said, and I stepped forward, studying her facial structure, hoping to recognize her for who she was as a human. She flashed her teeth. “Even you should know our bone structure is different when we transform.”
I met her eyes, controlling my movements as if I was preparing a lie. “What do you want?” I asked, knowing Bracke, Urte, and Camille stood behind me.
Fudicia’s pupils fluttered beneath her warrior-like eye shadow. “To gather information on you actually,” she said. “You’re a lot weaker than I was expecting.”
“Darthon must be in a worse position if he had to sacrifice someone just for me.” My expression never faltered. I kept my muscles in place.
Her lips twitched, briefly but noticeably. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she said, leaning against her chains. I could smell her sweet breath and the dried sweat on her skin. “This is far from a sacrifice.”
I didn’t move. “You won’t be released for a very long time.”
“I’m already gone,” she said, and I stepped back as her body turned as transparent as glass. Urte shot forward, grasping at the air, but it spilled through his fingers like water, melting over the ground.
“I’ll be back for you,” she said. “Might want to learn the truth before then.”
Her body, as solid as it had been, was gone, and fog replaced her. The truth?
“Go on alert,” My father bellowed down the corridor. “Fudicia escaped.”
Sirens screeched through the rocky shelter, and I covered my ears, wincing at the deafening noise. She’d be back. I closed my eyes, listening to her words over and over again, blocking out the chaotic world surrounding me. And she’d confirmed what I already thought. I didn’t know everything. But she did, and she was gone.
“What time is it?” I asked over the noise, and Urte waved his hands, ordering shades from the halls to search the forest.
“Late, why?”
The nameless shade I was training. She’d be by the river. Someone would find her.
“I have to go,” I said, rushing away, and my father latched onto my black jacket.
“You can’t go out there,” he said, his face burning.
I pulled away, splitting into the shadows before he could stop me. My skin and muscles tore as if I was being unwrapped, and I grasped my chest as I solidified outside the forest. Shadows of fog and mist pushed out around my body, and I wavered on my knees. I had transported too quickly.
“Shoman.” The girl rushed to my side, and her black hair waved in front of her face. “Is everything okay?”
“No.” I laid my hand on her arm before dragging her toward the road. Shades wouldn’t risk being seen by cars. “You need to go home,” I said. “It’s too dangerous right now.”
“What?” She attempted to stop, but I led her closer to the street. I wasn’t going to let her linger any longer than she already had. “What is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything later,” I said, lampposts spreading golden light across our white skin. It didn’t even color us.
She clutched my arm when I dropped hers. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” I lied.
“And I’ll see you again?”
“Of course.” I didn’t lie. I wanted to see her as soon as I could. I didn’t want her to be targeted by Fudicia or anyone else for that matter. “Be here in two days at our usual time. I’ll be here.”
She beamed. “See you then,” she said, vanishing with ease.
I stepped back, struck with the two powers I’d seen. Fudicia was young—too powerful for her own kind—and so was my trainee. Might want to learn the truth before then. Fudicia’s words struck against the reality of their abnormal powers. I’d always known something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know Fudicia was aware of whatever that was.
Minutes Before Sunset Page 30
