And what his mother finished.
It was like wings took flight as his soul filled every single one of the dabarnes, his command cold, smooth, and unbreakable. He breathed, walking around the flames as they towered toward the sky. In the middle of the courtyard, Bresslin now fought for her life, the dabarnes attacking her ruthlessly under Adair’s command. Steel flashed as Bresslin wielded the Curse with lethal precision, but it would never be enough.
Adair dove into that pool of magic, and then he was flying. The black smoke swirled around him, choking his senses, until he materialized at the end of the forest, his eyes scrounging the tree line.
Where is she; where is she; where is she?
“Adair.”
Just the sound of his voice sent him spinning, as Adair slowly turned, exhaling hard. Marquis was covered in blood, his jacket and shirt ripped, his chest heaving. His hands shook, the bloodied sword trembling in his grip.
“What have you done?” Marquis asked him.
He slowly rolled his neck, the bones cracking, and he purred, “Marquis.”
Run, Marquis, run, Adair thought.
Dropping his palms, the emerald fire pooled in Adair’s palms, the flames reflecting in Marquis’s gaze. He coolly regarded the prince. “I hope you have been enjoying the change of pace. Now, you have two choices: join me or die.”
Marquis’s face paled, but defiance sparked in his eyes. “If you want me, come and get me.”
No. The thought resonated deep in Adair’s core, a part of him wishing his friend was already sailing across the Black Sea—far away from him.
The fire flew from his palms with great force, but the prince rolled out of the way, his hair singeing.
As they circled each other, Marquis said, “This is not you, Adair. You can stop this. We don’t want to live through a war in our lifetime.”
Fire flew from his palms. “It’s already begun.” Raising his eyebrows, Adair flicked his wrists, the flame overtaking Marquis’s now feeble attempt to overthrow him.
Closing the space between them, Adair ducked as a wave of water crashed down on his head. Charging forward, his fist connected with Marquis’s jaw, and then gut. Marquis doubled over, wheezing. Adair laughed darkly.
“Your abilities are useless, Marquis. The fact you can neutralize power doesn’t matter anymore. You are not a shield against me, and you are sure as hell not special.” He grinned. “Kiero has never seen a force like me before. This is your last chance, Marquis. I would rather not kill you. Bow to me, be my second, and we can take this world together.”
Pain briefly flared in Marquis’s eyes. With shaking hands, he snapped, “I could never stand with you and accept the war you are bringing down on us all. This isn’t your future Adair. Please stop.”
Adair’s bloodlust thrummed in his veins as he shook his head. “That was the wrong answer, I’m afraid.”
Water roared from the prince’s palms, and Adair plunged into the new power coursing in his body. He could feel the endlessness of the magic. No more limitations held him back. His heart begged for mayhem, and he would make sure to satiate his soul with it.
Pushing forward, Marquis’s wrists snapped, broken. His scream was guttural and animalistic as the blood bubbled from his lips. Dropping to his knees, Marquis panted, “They took her you know. Emory. They’re all dead. I tried to protect her. I tried to get her out.” He shook. “My dad and I survived. We got out through the tunnels, but Emory tried to follow us before Bresslin’s army captured her.” A pause. “Are you ready to have Emory’s blood staining your hands, Adair? Will you look back on this day and be proud of the man you are becoming?”
Adair shuddered, the fire moving up his arms as he licked his cracked lips. Groaning, he pushed back against the darkness, and for a second, he broke through the cages as he roared to the surface, breaking through.
Clutching his head, he stumbled back. “Get out of here. Now.”
Marquis faltered, trying to get up, supporting his wrists. “What?”
“Marquis, run!”
Those inky claws hissed and snapped, dragging Adair back down, down, down.
“You should not fight what you are, Adair.”
He was rocking back and forth on his heels, tears slipping down his cheeks, the reality of his situation slamming into him. The world tilted on its axis, and all he could smell was the blood, smoke, and ash, clotting his throat, coating his skin. His mother’s screams died on the wind.
“Stop resisting us.”
Adair bit his lip so hard blood filled his mouth. He had relished in how it felt to overpower and rip Roque apart, slowly and deliciously, feeding off Roque’s fear, knowing his secrets and knowing that he had never done enough. And he had enjoyed killing him. After him, each life he took was like oxygen to embers, sparking and catching until he was an inferno.
Emory is dead. She is gone.
Painfully, the magic burned through his mind, through his blood, making him retch, his bile mixed with blood. Falling to his knees, the frozen earth beneath him crunched. Adair’s fingers scraped along the ice; his nails should have ripped off from the force, but his skin remained flawless.
Howling, his anguish cut through the woods and the emptiness of the Academy.
“You are ours.”
The pain he experienced before was nothing, nothing, compared to what seared through his body now.
A cold sweat coated Adair’s skin in a glistening sheen as the magic pulsed faster through his veins. Fire ignited first in his arms, racing down to his torso, chest and legs. His heart palpitated as his bones felt like they were turning to dust, and Adair’s screams begged for relief.
Voices bounced around his mind, but they weren’t memories. They weren’t anything at first, just soft whispers, echoes of places and people that he had once known. Of the secrets he had learned, the knowledge of men and their lies, of broken crowns and hidden truths, of the madness that cultivated it all.
“You will do our bidding to remake this world.”
The vision sharpened, and Adair stood, looking at the still pool of water, afraid to go to its edge. A dull throbbing ached in his temple as he shuffled toward it.
“We will do great things together. Rid the world of this weakness. And start to purify the magic.”
Staring at the water, the surface rippled as his quick breaths hit the surface. Inspecting his reflection, he stared back at the shadows curling before him in the water, deep purples and blues ribboning below the surface with every second.
It was there, at the edge of the pool that Adair saw what truly had overtaken his body. His reflection shimmered, skeletal bones jutting out beneath his parchment like skin, his eyes scooped out, his smile strange and unknown. There was no humanity left—he had become the nightmare.
Whimpering, he scrambled back, but the water continued to churn, the pond lapping at the edges as the shadows crawled toward him, slick and persistent. They rushed and crashed at him, blotting out any light, and overtook him, covering his legs, his arms, his torso, his eyes until that’s all that was left of him.
Adair drew in a deep breath and, not for the first time today, he woke up, lying on his back. Blinking, the sky took on an odd filter, hazy and unclear. Sitting up, he dusted off his jacket, eyeing the edge of the forest. All that stared back at him were the trees encased in ice, the downy flakes of the snow coating the world.
Standing, he turned, staring at the skeleton of the building resting on the hill and the hundreds of creatures coming at him.
Slowly, Adair stood, dusting himself off. Looking back toward the Academy, he walked to the army of monsters now at his disposal. Cutting through the ice and leaving the forest behind, ashes skittered amongst the fallen.
A dabarne loped to him, its long snout flaring as it smelled Adair. “You are not like the other. Not even the man and women who set us free from our cage. Who are you?”
Taking in the gashes on its hide, its rippling muscles and unyielding eyes, Adair
slowly walked toward it, placing a hand on its mammoth shoulder. Growls rippled throughout the army, but the dabarne watched as blackness ran down Adair’s arms, flowing through his fingers and flaring underneath his palm. Flesh started to knit itself back together, sealing the wounds, and he could feel that same magic stirring in the monster’s heart.
He lowered his hands and bellowed for all to hear, “I am your KING!”
It was like watching grass flatten against the wind, as the dabarne in front of him bowed the front half of its body, the army following suit. As they all bowed, the air around him crackled, and he drank in the sight.
Behind the army, in the broken courtyard, a ring of ash lay, a lifeless body in the middle. His gaze skittered over the woman indifferently, but glinting in the rumble, her sword was beside her, its cruel edges and duel blade with sharpened teeth. Striding through the lines, the army’s answering roar echoed around him, and he drifted through the ranks like a ghost.
Reaching the middle, he picked up the blade, gripping it in his hands. It was heavy, the hilt cold. Looking up to the Academy, Adair raised the blade in the air, his yell more guttural as his army whispered and chanted throughout his mind.
“Our Dark King rises; he rises; he rises; he rises.”
His world was filled with inferno and rage as the Academy ignited in emerald flames. Lowering the blade and turning, Adair said, “I think it’s about time we pay the capital a visit, don’t you?”
There were ear-splitting roars rose around him, and Adair grinned viciously. His blood thrummed; his skin rippled with goosebumps. He could never get enough of this intoxicating elation. Nothing would ever be enough for his hunger. He would walk to the ends of the world and take and consume and never feel satisfied.
As gravity left him, his army galloped behind him, their footfalls like rolling thunder shuddering across the world. He was consumed by magic and smoke as he shot across the sky like a celestial body, and for the first time in his life, he knew exactly where he belonged. He dove and twisted, his dark soul consumed by power, and he left the ruined scene behind him, allowing the Academy to burn until it was nothing more than a scorched memory.
Chapter Twenty
Emory
In a split second, her world had crumbled around her. The girl who was worried about her first crush, bored of waiting for her future to begin—she was gone.
The metal collar constricted around her throat, and she choked, her breath coming out in labored wheezes. The monster was dragging her deeper into the dark enchantment of the winter forest, constantly looking behind, as if expecting to see the army born from darkness chasing at their heels. If she was being honest with herself, she did as well.
Dried blood coated her skin as she looked at her chained wrists. Was it only a few hours ago that her mother was reminding her to be on her best princess-like behavior in front of the King and Prince of the Isles? That they were honoring the teachers and students that had been killed in a celebration of life? Tears brimmed her eyes, and she felt the panic claw up her throat, thick and fast, as her world and mind spun.
They were gone. Gone.
Stripped away from her, baring her soul for all to see. She forced her feet to move as the sharp slashes of betrayal cut deeper and deeper into her heart when she replayed what had happened.
She had tried to escape with Marquis when the killing had begun. One moment, he was helping her up. The next, the screams shattered through her, and then with a sweep of darkness, the lights had gone out, and Bresslin Stratton had exploded into the room, commanding the army of demons that had rushed in behind her. She wielded the Curse, her sword, with such finite skill, the massacre had been a blur—but the Academy never had a chance.
***
She relived those final moments repeatedly. Emory was in so much shock that she couldn’t move as the screams rose around the dining hall. Marquis had grabbed her hand, dragging her, yelling at her, and all she heard was a sharp ringing slicing through her; all she could feel was the sensation of her body leaving the ground and Marquis’s comforting warmth radiating through her.
He was the only person Emory had ever encountered that she could touch without her ability draining a person’s life force. It was anchoring amongst the chaos. Almost comforting.
Tadeas had bellowed to Marquis, “This way, hurry!”
They had cut across the space, and her stomach churned repeatedly. The darkness closing in on her.
She was having a panic attack, the cold sweat clinging to her body, and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get away from the sounds of her friends and family being slaughtered around her, of forces that she didn’t understand playing against her. Of her parents’ best friends destroying the dream they had worked so hard to build, to achieve peace.
They had almost reached the King of the Shattered Isles when pain flared up her calf, and she was ripped away from Marquis.
“Emory, NO!!!” Marquis screamed.
Her head cracked against the ground, and she dug her nails into the cool floor, trying to stop. Her nails scraped against the concrete, but it wasn’t enough to stop her, and she was quickly ripped away as she screamed.
Her captor’s magic shivered through her, clouding her mind, clogging her senses. The creature’s power was ancient as it shivered through her veins. Twisting her body, Emory slammed her boots hard against its chest.
Lashing out, punching and clawing, screaming in frustration. Decayed flesh connected with her jaw, slapping her head back, and stars erupted in her vision. The cool snap of metal froze her as she felt the collar lock around her neck and wrists. A flame flickered in between Emory and the monster before her when she was wrenched to her feet.
“Well, look what I have here.”
This thing was born from the eternal depths of darkness. It had saggy grey flesh, a menacing silver gaze that bore into her soul. The creature loomed over her in a skeletal stance, tatters of rags clung over its lower abdomen. It smiled, and Emory cringed.
The rest played out before her in flickering moments as she fell into shock. The chains were spelled, neutralizing her ability, and she was dragged through the war of the Academy. Warm blood dripped down her leg, as they wove and wove until they raced through the tunnels and hallways, breaking through to the courtyard. It was chaos, the charging assault of the remaining students being torn through and ravaged.
This world was made from ice and blood, and she was ensnared.
The creature cut through the edges of the fight, growling to her, but she didn’t hear a word. It could have been minutes or centuries, but one voice brought her slamming down into reality.
“Well, it would seem we meet under unlikely circumstances.” Bresslin Stratton circled her with a hunger burning in her eyes.
Emory lunged, the chain snapping her back as her body was whiplashed.
“You will want to keep that fight for as long as you can. You will need it.” With that, she had turned back to killing everything and everyone Emory loved: her home and her future.
And all she could do was watch. For the first hour, she had fought, pulling and snapping at the chains. The second, she had stood there, as ice and ash floated through the air, clenching and unclenching her hands until she ripped into her palms. The third, the doors exploded, and her heart nearly burst out of her chest when she spotted Memphis and Brokk in the throng of the fight. She collapsed to her knees as student after student fell, the storm raging around her.
They are not dead, not dead.
Then the storm had stilled, and the creature tugged at her chain, growling in pleasure. He lumbered forward, and her body complied, the metal digging into her flesh. Jutting her chin out, she stood tall as they walked through the army of rotting flesh and gleaming eyes. Creating a pathway, the monsters awaited command, their gazes following them hungrily. She practically growled back, but her heart plummeted when she saw why the contagious tension rippled amongst them.
Brokk locked eyes with her, screaming wo
rds that she didn’t register. All she saw was his golden eyes burning like molten: the grief, the rage, and determination. The world bled away, and it was only them. She saw in him everything that fiercely coursed through her.
It was the briefest of seconds before he ripped his gaze away, and everything crashed around them. She swayed when he shifted, fear immobilizing Emory as she watched Brokk charge the army. Her screams were lost in the chaos as she lost sight of him. She couldn’t lose everyone she loved.
The chains snapped back, and the creature rumbled, “You are coming with me, little heir.”
Swiveling around, she slammed her boot down on the creature’s leg, her calf screaming as the wound tore open even more. She threw her body weight backward, pulling toward Brokk. He was lightning streaking across a stormy sky, and she cried as he was closed in, his fur covered in blood. She became feral when he stumbled. The binds that held her to her humanity untethered when he fell.
“NO!!” She was spinning into that eternal blackness that clutched the edges of her world, dragging her down. There was a crack like thunder, and she snapped her head up, honing into the completely obliterated doorframe of her home. Adair stood there, looking out at the courtyard with a bored indifference.
And the world exploded into flame.
Being wrenched back, she clawed at empty space as she watched her best friend turn into someone she didn’t recognize. She looked to the creature as he forced her to stumble after him.
“We have to go back!” she cried. “I don’t care if you kill me, at least let me save my friends. Please.”
It stopped for a moment, flashing her its grotesque teeth. “You really don’t know? Your friend back there, he’s the reason your parents are dead and is the reason that the darkness that once held the world will rise again.” She balked, and he laughed, tugging her harshly. “As I said, that is our cue to leave.”
They plunged down the rolling hill, and she swallowed hard against the bile clawing its way it up her throat.
No, no, no.
The forest loomed before them, looking like a city carved from ice, and as they ran into its cover, all she could smell was smoke and ash.
Heir of Lies (Black Dawn Series Book 1) Page 21
