The safe house was empty. Not a single Fae in sight.
Chapter 3
Kade
My vision blurred to black, consuming me in unending night as I walked silently down the steps outside the palace.
The lack of sight didn’t deter me. My feet confidently carried me down the well-memorized path toward the courtyard. I’d stood there so many times before. As predator and as prey.
A pinch in my chest flared to life, aching as it had so many times before. An invisible force tugged me, halting my steps. The hesitation lasted barely a second before the suffocating darkness curled around my dead heart, snuffing out the calling before I could give the feeling a second thought.
My master summoned me forward, tightening his hold on the swirling darkness within me, urging me on.
The shadows in my vision parted, revealing Thames standing in the middle of the courtyard. Darkness hovered around him like an aura of absolute power. The slight breeze shifted wide, as if even nature feared venturing too close to him. Not a single strand of his mahogany hair lay out of place, erasing the greasy black-looking locks I’d seen on him when he first returned to this world. His restored, eerily perfect porcelain skin made him appear more like a marble statue than Fae. His thin lipstwitched, drawing up slightly, holding a triumphant gleam in his eyes, as I descended the stairs.
My chest tightened as a small swirl of my own magic desperately fought back against him in the internal battle wearing me down day by day.
Our new majestic king curled a finger toward himself, summoning me to his side. I obeyed without hesitation and kneeled before him. Thames’s Guardians had been gathering the citizens of Mysthaven to pledge their fealty to him. My public display of loyalty exhausted me as the days went on for reasons I did not understand.
I forced my head to remain bowed low, waiting for his approval. Just as I had waited for my father’s approval time and time again.
“Rise, my monster.” Thames’s voice lost the grittiness he first had when he emerged from the void. Now it echoed loudly around the mountains with a charismatic lilt.
Obeying without a second thought, I rose, taking my place at his side. Waiting for his next command like the obedient servant I’d become.
Yet my magic still tried to fight his orders. My shadows clawed at my mind against my wishes, aching for me to hold ontosomethingI couldn’t remember.
Peering beyond the line of guardians on bent knees before us, citizens stood in clusters, waiting for today’s show. Concern lined their brows, etched into their tired faces.
Though they were crowded around the gates as usual, the typically rambunctious attendees remained silent. Unlike the wild circus my father allowed, Thames ruled with an iron fist, serving swift punishment for any and all who dared to cross him.
Or perhaps he’d spread so much of his darkness, there weren’t any uninfected citizens left in Mount Legion to protest his rule.
How long had it been since Thames released me from the burden of the crown? Only two days? It seemed like a lifetime. The amount of instant chaos he created had thrust Mysthaven into darkness, as if he’d merely flipped a switch and his new, more powerful world arose.
“My Guardians. My fighters. My people. I stand before you a humble servant. A ruler, fair and just,” Thames bellowed to the crowd. His obsidian crown glistened in the afternoon sun.
Shadows leaked from my fingertips, responding to his presence, dancing a dangerous line with the darkness thrumming within, as if speaking to me.
Listen. Fight.
My body jerked, twitching. Momentarily.
Return to the light.
Closing my eyes, I didn’t fight back like I had before the exhaustion set in. Were they speaking? A vice tightened around them, but they shouted, louder now.
Return to her.
Shaking my head, I aimed to rid myself of these futile treasonous thoughts. My attention returned to the task at hand.
“I will restore our land,” Thames shouted. “Restore all of Atheria to its former glory. Our world will no longer be bound by this curse to remain separate. We will be one kingdom again. We can take back the fertile land that always should’ve been ours.”
A few Fae in the crowd cheered wildly, pushing their way to the front, while others whispered in confusion.
Rumors spread fast, thanks to the army of dark ones he and my father created. They took to the streets, to cities and towns, whispering about the powerful new king who’d been trapped by the evil rulers of Brookmere. That they’d used dark magic to divide our lands and keep the riches and power all to themselves. Leaving us with nothing but death and despair.
Thames positioned himself as Mysthaven’s savior while promising to infuse our people with more power.
