White Heart: The Prophecy (The Blackened Souls Series Book 1)

by Hawkins, Destiny

  White Heart

  (The Blackened Souls Series, Book One)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author, with the exception of brief quotas used in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It cannot be re-sold, reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without permission from the author.

  Copyright © 2018 Destiny Hawkins

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  White Heart

  Book One of The Blackened Souls Series

  By

  Destiny Hawkins

  Chapter One

  My heart pounded in my chest as my hands shook at my sides. I knew that I should’ve drawn my sword by now, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. How could I ever fight her?

  The person that I loved most in the world…She meant everything to me.

  I took a deep breath and released steam out into the cold air, then stepped forward. All that separated us was a small pond in the middle of The Gray Forest. The place where the dead roamed, and all life was taken.

  “We don’t have to do this,” I said with a trembling voice. “Please! We’re not enemies!”

  Silence…

  If she just gave me a little time, then I could break through to her. If not, she’d end up dead.

  I wasn’t fully in control of my new abilities yet, and she was no match for me. Not after making me the strongest person in the world.

  Rain slowly began to fall, and the fog in the air slightly thickened. Her figure was hard to see, but I would know when she was coming. The ache in my chest would be my first warning, and then the closer that we became, my entire body would feel as if it were on fire.

  I swallowed the lump forming in my throat as her figure completely disappeared, then looked down into the pond to find my skin turning black. Darkness was slowly covering my face from left to right as my black hair faded into white. All that remained the same were my blue eyes and the green glow in the lower corners of my irises.

  I sighed. She was triggering my magic to go on the defensive, which meant that she was preparing for a fight.

  I can’t kill her, but I can’t die here either.

  “Everyone is depending on me,” I whispered to myself.

  When the ache in my chest pulsated, I steadily reached back and wrapped my cold fingers around the grip of the sword strapped to my back. She was close now. I could hear her quick footsteps over the water.

  Slowly raising my head, my lips began to tremble, but I knew that I couldn’t let myself become weak now. I couldn’t just worry about myself anymore, but the lives of many people, so I whipped out my sword and gripped it with both hands.

  I have to find a way to get through to her…

  Slightly bending my knees, I sent magic down into my feet, then waited until I caught her shadow behind the fog. I was going to make a quick attack, but when she revealed herself, I hesitated. It was as if my feet were stuck in the mud.

  Once I gazed into her tear filled golden eyes, I completely froze.

  How was I going to fight her now?

  She bared her teeth with her daggers out and ready, and the closer that she came, the more I could see in her expression that she didn’t want to do this either, but I knew that she wasn’t going to stop. Once she made up her mind, it was hard to change it.

  Realizing that I needed to defend myself, I exhaled and pressed my back foot into the mud, then pushed off and charged at the only woman I will ever love.

  Gods…please help me.

  ~White Heart~

  Twelve Years Earlier…

  I held up my wooden sword as best as I could, but with the combination of the two metal weighted cuffs around the grip and my small arms, it was hard to do that without shaking. My shoulders, biceps, and triceps were burning as if they were on fire, but I continued to do my best. I just had to remember that the pain was only going to make me stronger. At least that’s what Seri told me.

  My parents, the king and queen of the Dark Elves, were watching my performance, and I had promised myself that this time around, I wouldn’t fail them. My family was the strongest in the Shadowstone Kingdom, and it was customary that the youngest represented our strength during duels, but I always lacked the drive to fight another person.

  I felt uneasy when it came to hurting others, and I always hesitated, but I knew that I would have to do worse than hurt someone one day. We were at a constant war with the Light Elves, and at a young age, we were all eventually sent into battle.

  That’s why from childhood through adulthood, we were put through vigorous training to make Shadowstone the strongest kingdom between the two, and I was trained the hardest.

  Especially, since I was the weakest.

  I stood in the center of the throne room under the circular glass ceiling. The sunlight shining through shaped an invisible fighting ring for us, creating a large circle of light around me and my opponent.

  The other young warriors were standing in a horizontal line between two pillars on my right, and a few veteran warriors stood at my left. Behind my opponent were my parents sitting in their stone thrones, and my older brothers, Seri and Nerul at my father’s side.

  When I looked up at my parents for some sort of approval, they gave me nothing but blank stares, but when my eyes moved to Seri’s, a slight smile hinted at his lips and he nodded. Nerul, my oldest brother, didn’t smile but nodded as well.

  I swallowed and nodded back, then turned to my opponent, who charged at me again.

  In an instant, I was blocking another blow from his attack with my sword, which pushed me back about a foot. He was much bigger than me and obviously physically stronger, so I was having a harder time fighting him than with anyone else. It was customary to put me against the strongest because of the magic within me, but since I couldn’t use it yet, I was practically helpless.

  Stepping forward, I attacked overhead, but my opponent simply moved out of the way and the weight of my sword yanked me forward. Embarrassment filled me when I looked up at my family again, but when Seri’s eyes widened, fear took its place.

  Turning my head at the last minute, my opponent hit me in the center of my back with his sword, causing me to yelp and drop my own, then he stepped in and kicked me in the back of my knee, bringing me down to a kneeling stance. When he raised his sword overhead, my eyes widened and I raised my forearm to block it, but just as he was about to come down, Nerul’s voice echoed throughout the throne room.

  “Stop!”

  My opponent stopped just before cracking his sword against my arm and quickly withdrew, then stood tall with his chin held high and his hands at his side.

  Everyone in the room turned to Nerul, the prince and General of our army.

  I sighed and lowered my head in disapp
ointment as his cold blue eyes came down on me. I couldn’t take being a failure to my parents, but it hurt even more when it came to Nerul. We may not have been the closest siblings, but I knew that he saw potential in me, and I failed him again.

  I had always looked up to Nerul, as did everyone else, because he was the strongest warrior in all of Shadowstone. People respected him, not only because he was the next king to be, but because he was courageous and admirable. He fought on the battlefield, slayed dragons, and led us to many victories.

  He was the person that everyone aspired to be like, but I was just someone that wanted to be acknowledged by him.

  Nerul slowly walked down the steps and stood directly in front of me, but spoke to my opponent, “You did good.” When I looked up, Nerul glared down at me through piercing eyes. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, and the sunlight gave his olive skin an angelic glow, but his black leather and armor was what told me that he was anything but an angel. “The match is over. You both are dismissed.”

  I swallowed and held my gaze until Nerul walked away, and when I turned to face my family, both of my parents passed by, not even bothering to speak to me. Before I knew it, the entire room had cleared.

  The only person that stayed behind was Seri.

  Chapter Two

  “You did better than last time. I’m sure that Nerul noticed that,” Seri said with his hand on my shoulder. “Mother and Father as well. They just don’t give praise unless you’re the best. That’s all.”

  “But I’m the worst,” I lowered my head. “They’ll probably never acknowledge me at this rate.”

  Seri gave my shoulder a soft squeeze to get my attention, then he smiled.

  Being the kinder one in the Sunstar family, Seri was popular with the women but was waiting for the right one to come along. Only being a few years younger than our oldest, he was a young adult with long black hair that he kept held in a ponytail, soft blue eyes, glowing olive skin, and the ideal warrior physique, only he was slightly shorter than our older brother.

  I was basically the female version of him, only I was ten years old and preferred to wear my shoulder length hair down like Nerul.

  “Look,” he offered a smile. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t the best fighter at your age.”

  My eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, right. You and Nerul are almost neck and neck.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I was this great when I was young.” He stood tall with a chuckle. “I was actually always ten steps behind Nerul and thought I’d never catch up to him, but as I grew, I got better, and then finally…our father acknowledged me after I won a duel. I was fourteen years old then. Nerul was already on the battlefield slaying dragons and whatnot, but it wasn’t long before I was fighting at his side, and by that time I could finally use magic.”

  Instantly, my disappointment was replaced with motivation, and a smile pulled up on my lips. “So, I just have to keep trying harder?”

  Seri nodded. “Exactly, little sister.”

  ~White Heart~

  I spent most of the day training in the courtyard until sunset, then was called to dinner by one of the maids and sat next to Seri at the table in the royal dining room. Nerul sat across from us while our mother and father sat at opposite ends, and when the food was served, we each ate in silence.

  My family wasn’t big on talking. Every now and then, I saw my parents speak amongst themselves, but as far as the rest of us, it was only Seri that interacted with me and Nerul. If it weren’t for him, the two of us would probably be lonely. At least, I would be. I wasn’t sure about Nerul, but Seri seemed to be the only person that could get him to crack a smile.

  When dinner was over, I snatched a piece of bread from my plate and quickly tucked it inside my black vest, but just before I could run off, I caught Nerul watching me from the other side of the table.

  Did he see me? The thought was frightening. If he knew why I had taken the bread, then I’d be punished for sure.

  “Goodnight…” I swallowed. “Nerul.”

  Nerul looked away and stood from his chair, then began walking out of the dining room. “Goodnight, Calen.” He disappeared into the hall.

  “I’m off to bed as well,” Seri said as he pulled me into a hug.

  I laughed when my nose bounced off the hard leather covering his stomach, then squealed when he gave me a crushing squeeze. “Seri!”

  Seri chuckled and pulled away. “Don’t stay up too late. You’ll need plenty of rest for your training tomorrow.”

  I nodded. “I know. I won’t!” I ran towards the exit but stopped to let my parents walk through first, then I flew out into the hall and jogged in the opposite direction.

  With a secret destination in mind, I ran up a set of steps, through the torched lit hallways, and all the way down to the dark halls. At least that’s what Seri called them because there was never any light. Luckily, I knew my way around or else I would’ve never made my way through. There were no windows and only one set of doors that were always locked shut and guarded from the outside.

  I was just about to turn the corner when I heard the metal doors open, and as usual, I was going to have to stay hidden until the guards left, then make my way down to the dungeons. Hopefully, they wouldn’t take too long.

  She has to be starving by now.

  Torch fire illuminated the hallways before I heard the sounds of chains rattling and guards barking at the new prisoners. Most of them were usually kept at a prison just outside the palace walls, but the special prisoners ― the strong ones ― were brought down here.

  Peeking around the corner, I watched as the new prisoners were led in the opposite direction with their heads down and their shoulders slumped. I figured that their cuts and bruises were from the battle field, but some of them were too fresh, and they wore rags instead of armor. They had to have been beaten before brought here.

  “Hurry up!” one guard yelled. “Move!” He pushed one Light Elf forward, causing him to fall onto the floor. “Get up!” The guard kicked him in his side when he didn’t move right away, then reached down and pulled him up by his long white hair until he was back on his feet. “I said to move!”

  The prisoner shook with anger and fear but did as he was told.

  I couldn’t help but feel bad for them even though they were the enemy. I was sure that our treatment towards them was fair since that was probably how they treated our warriors, but still. It seemed cruel.

  Nerul once told me that this was a cruel world after coming back from The Battle of Crow Castle. It was the first time that I had ever seen him upset. The following night of his return, I overheard him pleading to our father to end the war and make peace with the Light Elves, but our father refused to do anything of the sort.

  It just simply couldn’t be done. The war, the killing…it was in our blood.

  Nerul clearly saw differently after losing the love of his life in battle. He questioned the point of it all, and I wasn’t sure that he ever came up with an answer. If anything, he just carried out his duties as a warrior. I guess after a while, he had grown numb to the loss and pain.

  It wasn’t until a year or so later that I was taught of how the war began…

  It all started with the God of Light and the God of Darkness.

  Both were opposing gods that couldn’t sort through their differences, causing chaos in the heavens, so the Heavenly King cast them down to our earth.

  The two gods fought relentlessly until ancient elven druids around the world came together and used every ounce of their magic to trap the gods in a sealing stone. They ended up killing themselves in the process, but because the gods’ powers repelled each other, two stones were automatically created.

  The Stone of Darkness, and The Stone of Light.

  Years of peace had passed before two elves, Dal Jaya and his best friend, Zotas Sunstar, came across the stones during a dare to enter the forbidden cave. The result of their foolishness was the stones attaching themselves
to their bodies, creating a Dark Elf and a Light Elf with unimaginable powers.

  Dal and Zotas, two young men that were once best friends, had instantly become enemies with the will of the gods within them, splitting their peaceful kingdom into two.

  On the east was the Shadowstone Kingdom, ruled by Zotas Sunstar, and on the west was the Brightstone Kingdom, ruled by Dal Jaya. Where one king represented darkness, the other represented light.

  It was said that over the years, because the elves of both kingdoms were exposed to so much magic, they began taking the form of Dark and Light Elves. While Dal Jaya’s followers formed fair skin and grew white hair with either gold or silver eyes, Zotas Sunstar’s followers formed olive or brown skin with black hair and either blue or green eyes.

  In some way, they all resembled the king that they idolized.

  Thousands of years passed since the war between kingdoms began, and since then, the stones have been passed down from generation to generation, leaving only the royals with the ability to use magic.

  It was a Dark Elf king that was the first to distribute the power of the stone to his immediate family after hunting down the sealing stones, and once the King of Light caught wind of what was going on, he also called for a search.

  Because of the sealing stones that the druids left behind, kings and queens had the choice of passing magic down to their children without losing their own, therefore creating a powerful family.

  At the end of the day, this war wasn’t just over our unsorted differences, but over power.

  Chapter Three

  I waited for the guards to lead the elves into darkness before silently following behind them, then watched from the doorway at the end of the hall as they disappeared down the dark spiral stairway.

  Once they seemed to be far enough down the steps, I began tip-toeing behind them, then eased around the last bend of the steps to see where they were headed. Relieved that they were walking in the opposite direction of my destination, I released a breath and tip-toed to the right.