The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  Then it was done.

  Carth wandered through the fallen, staring at each face, trying to understand what had happened. Nearly a hundred Reshian were here, and all had died. Blood was everywhere, leaving the street covered. Carth wanted nothing more than for the river to rise up and wash it away.

  There were downed A’ras as well, caught by superior numbers. She studied the faces, recognizing some, fearful that she’d find Samis.

  Trista.

  The woman stared up blankly, stabbed through the heart. Carth swallowed back a lump in her throat. Near her, she found Devn, still breathing, but with the wound in his side, he wouldn’t be for long.

  Carth crouched next to him and took his hand. “Devn,” she whispered.

  “Did good, Rel,” he whispered.

  “I wish I could’ve—”

  He tried raising his hand but couldn’t. “You did good. Shouldn’t have been so many. Not sure how… not sure how…” He never finished.

  Carth remained by him, unable to move.

  Devn and Trista hadn’t been her friends. They had barely welcomed her to their patrol, but they shouldn’t have died. Not like this, not against the shadows.

  Why?

  Why would the Reshian attack like this?

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun.

  Samis stood behind her, his sword dipping toward the ground. Blood spattered his face and clothes. His eyes were wide and haunted.

  “Rel?” he said. “This is your shadow magic?”

  Carth didn’t know what to say to him. How did she answer that the Reshian had used the shadows? How could she convince him that she was nothing like them? If she did, would he believe her? Would he ever see her the same way?

  When she stood and sheathed her knife, she started to turn away, unable to answer. Afraid to answer.

  Samis caught her wrist, pulled her toward him, and hugged her.

  23

  The palace yard felt empty, matching the hollowness inside Carth.

  Nearly fifty A’ras and sai had died, their bodies brought back to the palace and prepared for the funeral pyre. A somber air hung about the grounds, and no one really spoke. The classes for the ashai went on, but many of the instructors were gone, never to return. Of the dozen or so sai, only a few remained. Samis. Landon. Brita. Herself. That was it.

  Carth no longer had a patrol and found herself wandering the grounds aimlessly. Most of the patrols had been disbanded, kept within the palace grounds with A’ras stationed along the top of the walls only, leaving the gates closed. She had no assignment, leaving her to wander. It wouldn’t be a problem if there had been anyone for her to talk to, but so many had died, and those who remained living were in nearly as much shock as she was.

  Fortifications along the wall had an urgency to them. The masters and remaining A’ras worked together, leaving a constant burning sensation through her as they used their magic. It might stop the Reshian, but it would do nothing to stop the Hjan. Carth suspected they worked together.

  Alison gave her space, and for that, Carth was grateful. But Samis also gave her space, and she would have liked having him to speak to. It left her with an emptiness.

  More than once, she’d tried going to the palace to find Invar, but each time, either he was gone or the masters were unavailable. Carth couldn’t even be angry. There had been so many lost that she knew her struggles were minor compared to what others were going through.

  In some ways, she felt as trapped as she had ever felt. She might be able to get past the walls, and she might be able to wander the city streets, but she didn’t want to. Not when there were others who could use the shadows, others with a similar ability as hers, only they were intent on destroying the A’ras.

  After the Reshian attack, no one spoke about the possibility of another Hjan attack. The last one had been weeks ago now, and Invar claimed there had been something placed that would protect the city, but that didn’t make Carth any more comfortable with the prospect of what might be coming.

  Late in the third day after the Reshian Massacre—as it was now called—she stood along the wall, running her hands through the ivy, wanting nothing more than for things to be as simple as they had been only a few months before. She might have been trapped on the palace grounds, but she’d been safe. There hadn’t been the attacks on the city. There hadn’t been a massacre of people she knew.

  She reached a place where shadows coalesced and she stretched for them without thinking, pulling them toward her. The wall didn’t prevent her from reaching them as it had. Carth held on to the shadows, letting them swirl around her, before releasing them again.

  “Do you have to do that?”

  Carth turned. Samis stood next to the wall, far enough out that he was no longer in the shadows. “I wasn’t doing anything.”

  “I saw what you did. That’s what happened that night, wasn’t it? They use the shadows, same as you.”

  “They don’t use them the same as me.”

  “Maybe not the same, but similar.”

  Carth traced her hand along the ivy. “I don’t know that they could even use the shadows. They cloaked themselves, but it was different.”

  Samis watched her, and she noted that his eyes were slightly reddened. His hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, as if he were ready to unsheathe it at any moment. “Are they the same as you?”

  Carth flushed with anger. “Have I ever attacked the A’ras?”

  Samis blinked and shook his head. “I’m… I’m sorry, Carth. It’s just that this attack…”

  The night of the massacre, they’d shared a moment, but that felt like so long ago now. She didn’t know how Samis saw her, but the fact that he asked about whether she was like the Reshian made her angry.

  “I know what happened with the attack. Had I not pulled the shadows away, it would have been worse.”

  “I know that.”

  “Then don’t come here accusing me of being anything like them!”

  Samis let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve trained to become A’ras, raised to sai, and thought that made me unstoppable.” He fell silent for a moment. “Do you know the Aren intend a testing?”

  “I haven’t heard from anyone since the attack,” she said. “My patrol was destroyed.”

  Samis dropped his hands to his sides. “Mine too. That’s why I… I’m sorry, Rel.”

  “For what?”

  He rubbed his eyes again and turned away from her. Carth felt a surge of power and realized that it came from all around her. It came on suddenly, and in a rush, making her skin and mouth dry. As she looked around to see where it came from, she noted three masters approaching.

  None were Invar.

  “Samis?” she said.

  He continued away from her.

  Carth knew what had happened then. Samis had told the masters about her ability with the shadows. The others who might know—Trista and Devn—were both killed. Invar knew but had never seemed all that concerned, but that had been before the Reshian attack.

  “Ms. Rel,” Master Harrison said as he neared.

  She turned toward them.

  “You will accompany us.”

  She looked to Lyanna, to Master Erind, and then to Master Harrison. “What did I do?”

  “You admit that you did something?”

  “I didn’t—”

  Lyanna and Erind grabbed her arms. As they did, Carth noted the surge of magic through them and felt how it tamped out the connection to the shadows.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “You will come with us. We have questions for you,” Harrison said.

  “Where’s Master Invar?”

  Lyanna gave a questioning look to Harrison, but he ignored it. “Invar has been relieved as master.”

  Carth tried looking back at Samis and found him standing along the wall, watching her with his reddened eyes. When she caught his gaze, he looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

 
; The masters dragged her along the palace lawn. At first she thought they might bring her to the palace, but they didn’t. Instead, they took her to the small, squat building behind the palace, one the ashai all assumed was meant for storage, though none had ever seen anyone go inside. With a surge of power, Harrison pulled the door open. Stairs led into the earth, descending quickly into darkness. Lyanna and Erind pulled her with them. Carth didn’t even argue. Lanterns blazed on the wall, and it took Carth a moment to note that they had power coursing through them. Not ordinary light, but magically infused so that it pushed back the shadows. In some ways, it reminded her of what the Hjan had used to heal themselves from her shadows.

  They placed her into an empty room. Harrison made a path around the perimeter of the room, layering a barrier of magic as he did. With each layer, Carth’s ability to reach the shadows faded, eventually disappearing altogether. She tried reaching for A’ras magic and found that impossible as well.

  Lyanna and Erind released her and stepped across the barrier that Harrison had created. The three of them used another surge of power—Carth could still feel the effect of the magic even if she couldn’t reach it.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” she asked.

  “We have questioned many in the aftermath of the massacre,” Harrison said.

  “You never questioned me.”

  “There is no need. Those who were there saw what you did, and all commented on the way you used a dark attack.”

  “I didn’t use the darkness to attack!”

  Harrison came closer to the barrier he had placed but didn’t cross over it. “How long have you worked with the Reshian?”

  Carth blinked. This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t believe that she would actually work with the Reshian, could they? “I’m not with them. I’ve been here… studying as A’ras.”

  “You came late for our students. I should have questioned more when you first came, but Avera vouched for you.”

  “Then get Avera!”

  “Unfortunately, she is gone.”

  “Master Invar knows me. He’s been working with me!”

  “Invar. That man has grown foolish in the last few years, always worried about a different threat, ignoring the real threat we’ve struggled against for the last two years. Tell me, Ms. Rel, how did you convince Invar to help you? Did you seduce him?”

  Carth couldn’t even answer. The idea shocked her, but everything else they accused her of doing shocked her just as much. This couldn’t be happening to her. It felt unreal… but here she was, separated from the shadows, separated from everyone she knew and cared about, treated like she was nothing more than a criminal.

  “Where is he?” she asked.

  Harrison stepped back and started to leave.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  Harrison paused. “You’re a danger, Rel. You and the Reshian. You’ve brought destruction into the city, and now we must find a way to restore peace.”

  Harrison left her, Lyanna and Erind following.

  Carth ran after them, but the barrier Harrison had placed pushed her back. She screamed as she struck it, feeling as if her skin were seared, then tried again. Each time, she failed.

  She was trapped.

  24

  Carth lost track of time.

  Her body ached from repeated attempts to cross the barrier, each time leaving her no closer than she’d been before, each time leaving her skin feeling as if it might peel off. Her head throbbed, a steady aching sensation that left her vision blurred at times. Worse, she needed sleep, but each time she tried, she jerked awake, feeling like there was someone watching her.

  Nothing made sense. Why would the masters blame her for working with the Reshian? She’d helped the A’ras, hadn’t she?

  But the Reshian could use the shadows, just like she could.

  Only, she couldn’t reach the shadows here and hadn’t managed to reach the shadows most of the time she’d been within the yard. Only after the initial attack had she managed to reach them again.

  Why could the A’ras withhold the shadows but not keep the Hjan from attacking? Why had the A’ras mastered withholding the shadows but not repelling the other kind of attack?

  Those were the kind of thoughts that plagued her.

  Occasionally, others would come, but mostly to bring food. That was it. Carth had two meals, with water added to them, but the A’ras assigned to bring her food never spoke to her.

  She lost track of time. Lanterns burned brightly in the room and the walls were a white stone, almost as if everything was meant to defeat the shadows.

  When a door opened above her, she thought it might be time for another meal, but the last had not been all that long ago. How could it be time for another?

  Soft footsteps came down the stairs. Carth turned toward her captor, expecting another one of the A’ras. It was Harrison.

  “Master Harrison?” she asked.

  He stood on the other side of the barrier, his hands clasped behind his back. He appeared thinner than she remembered, his face almost ruddy, and the skin sagged on his cheeks. “Ms. Rel. I admit I am sorry that it came to this. We thought we could help you before it did.”

  Hope that Harrison might have come to release her faded as he stood on the other side of the barrier. He remained there, as if perfectly aware of how far he could step before he reached the edge and did not want to cross beyond that.

  “Why? What are you talking about?”

  “You are Ih-lash.”

  Carth’s breath caught. “You knew?”

  “I didn’t know, but Invar… that fool thought to help you while know that the Reshian were descended of the Ih-lash.”

  Carth’s heart flipped. “Invar?”

  “Invar knew the challenge.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “We wanted to know if you were with them. He doubted that you were. Invar thought your story was too traumatic, one that he didn’t think you would be able to fabricate, but it was possible. That was the reason he sent you on patrol.”

  She closed her eyes. “Not because I deserved to be elevated.” Could Invar really have lied to her about that? He’d led her to believe that she could be one of the A’ras after so much time spent doubting herself. Because of Invar, she had almost allowed herself to imagine finally becoming one of the A’ras. She was the one who had been the fool.

  “It is possible that you have the necessary talent, Ms. Rel. Invar could not have gotten away with it if you did not, but I suspect you have other ways of demonstrating your ability, don’t you?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Harrison paced along the edge of the barrier. “The Reshian have grown bolder the last few years. They haven’t pressed into the city—the patrols served to keep them back—but they have attacked the A’ras caravans outside the city. I thought it possible that you might know where to find them.”

  “I’m not with the Reshian,” Carth said.

  “When you noted the first attack, we still didn’t know. You have never been able to reach the A’ras flame nearly as easily as others, but there was no questioning the fact that you did, in fact, reach it. That is the reason you were permitted to remain.”

  “Harrison—”

  “And then the Hjan attacked. Invar reported that you led him to them and claimed to fight them off. That wasn’t even Hjan, I suspect, but Reshian.”

  “I did fight off the Hjan.”

  “Perhaps. Trista claimed that you helped her and Devn in the streets, but again, that was against the Reshian. You see the challenge, don’t you, Ms. Rel?”

  “I don’t see anything.”

  “Hmm. If you work with the Reshian, you would say that, wouldn’t you? The Reshian have grown too powerful lately, and now, after the massacre… well, we are not strong enough to withstand another attack. If we fall, the entire northland falls, and the A’ras will not be responsible for that. We know what the Reshian want, and we know that they ar
e powerful enough to overwhelm fully trained A’ras, which is why we have sought an alliance. In exchange for peace, they asked only one thing.”

  Carth couldn’t think of what allies he might mean. Would it be men like Jhon? He had some abilities, though she hadn’t determined what those were. Or was there something else?

  “What did they ask for?”

  “You.” He turned to the stairs and paused. “In some ways, Ms. Rel, I am sorry, but then I remember what you have done to us.”

  “Who? Who wants me?”

  “I do not know what they want of you, but if it prevents additional attacks and pits them against the Reshian, the price is worth it.”

  “Who do you mean?”

  “It doesn’t matter to you anymore. They will take care of the Reshian threat. They have proven they are capable of it. That is enough.”

  “The Hjan? That’s who you mean?”

  “Goodbye, Ms. Rel.”

  He started up the stairs, leaving her trapped in the room.

  The masters had made an agreement with the Hjan. And they had agreed to trade Carth for perceived safety.

  “There is no bargaining when it comes to the Hjan!” she shouted after him.

  The door opened and then closed, leaving her alone. Carth paced around the inside of the barrier. She needed to reach the shadows, or the A’ras magic, anything that would help her find a way to get free. She didn’t have to be stronger than the barrier Master Harrison placed, only find a way to disrupt it, much like the Hjan had disrupted the barrier around the wall. A barrier she now knew was intended to hold back the Reshian.

  She attempted to throw herself at the barrier but had the same experience she had before. Pain surged through her, but terror gave her renewed focus. She did it again, and again, but the outcome was no different.

  She sagged to the ground.

  If she couldn’t get free, eventually the Hjan would come for her. When her stomach flipped and the nausea came, she’d know her time was up.

  When it came, she still wasn’t prepared.

  Waves of nausea hit.

  They came over and over. Carth imagined the flickering as the Hjan appeared.