“Focus,” Ian hissed at our fighters.
This dark one was stronger than his unconscious friend, so I stepped back, putting some space between my opponent and me. Ian circled around, and soon we had him cornered. There was nowhere for him to go.
His eyes bulged, and despite the defeat swirling in them, he lunged forward, trying to stab Ian with his blade. He didn’t stand a chance as Ian rammed his sword clean through his chest, and he fell to the ground.
“That was a close one,” I murmured to Ian, who looked none too pleased.
He turned to our companions. “Don’t make the same mistake again. You may bear witness to any number of untold creatures in this world during these battles. Do not let them distract you from your mission. Your life may depend on it.”
They eyed each other warily, before nodding, mumbling apologies under their breath, and proceeded down the street. Ian and I followed closely behind.
Soon, we approached the large town square, normally used as a bustling marketplace filled with joyous laughter, but not today. The winds swirled around us, hot and angry. When we first arrived, Ellevail felt too still. Today, nature seemed agitated with a vengeance, enraged by the interlopers in our capital.
A rumbling over the ground stopped me in my tracks, and a cloud of shadows loomed ahead, distracting me from our mission. The sound of Fae running refocused my attention on the task at hand. I forced myself to move toward the commotion. Ian remained at my side as we navigated the last few streets and faced the gathering group of dark ones.
Ian pulled us under a nearby window box filled with wilting red roses.
As we settled ourselves in the flower bed beneath, I felt Kade’s shadows swirl up my leg before he came into view on a small platform in the middle of the square.
“You’re here. We missed you. Stay hidden, we will protect you.”
“I missed you too.” It took every bit of determination to keep my light within me and not allow it to greet the shadows. If our plan were to work, they needed to behave and stay hidden.
As quickly as they came, the shadows left me, continuing to entice the dark ones, inching them closer to where Kade stood. He commanded everyone’s attention from his platform.
His mussed hair fluttered in the wind as his darkened eyes searched the crowd of dark ones who answered his call.
“Step forward, my brothers in darkness,” he bellowed to the group of evil beings. “Closer, I have a message for you from our leader.” The dark ones crowded even closer to the platform. Their bodies twitching in a wave amongst the sea of evil. “Thames has sent me to you. It is time to take all of Brookmere. It is rightfully ours. Come join me as the soldiers of Atheria. Your master has commanded it.”
Dark ones continued to flood the area, striding toward the square with their eyes fixated on Kade. They seemed entranced by his calling. His shadows pushed them forward, moving them as if rounding up cattle for slaughter. While I knew Kade allowed the darkness to surface in order to play the part of faithful servant, there was still a part of me desperate to run to him and let our magic mix together to squash the darkness back to the depths of where he hid it.
“The remaining Fae against us must turn or die. They have no right to this kingdom. They mean to hold us back, to destroy us. We must restore Atheria to its rightful ruler.”
Kade clenched his hand at his side as he spoke, his eyes shifting back and forth from grey to black. My poor mate. He hated the darkness inside of him, yet he willingly accepted his role to help start our battle.
Letting the darkness within him creep to the surface, even momentarily, was a huge risk, but one that we had to take. My presence was nonnegotiable since I was the only one capable of banishing the darkness. It already took so much to bring him back to the here and now, but I was confident in my ability do so. My magic practically begged to be released, to save him. I wish there had been another clear way to accomplish our siege.
But we’d gone over so many strategies. No others were plausible.
Kade had been given a mission by Thames. He needed to capture me and bring me back to Mysthaven. If any dark ones were connected to Thames, it would look like Kade was still fulfilling his mission. Still controllable.
The minutes crept by, but a shift in the winds made me take notice. Approximately fifty dark ones now stood in the town square, and Kade’s shadows grew exponentially. The clouds of shadows grew from the ground up, crawling to cover the dark ones entirely.
“Are you ready to fight for your leader?” Kade shouted as he stepped down off the platform and walked toward the group. Sweat beaded on his brow; the physical toll it took to only allow the darkness to simmer at the surface and not fully take control was exorbitant.
“Yes,” the dark ones shouted their answers. “We will fight.”
Kade smiled, the sinister smile that sent goose bumps up my spine.
Ian whispered in my ear, “He really is terrifying when he looks like that.”
I didn’t bother responding and kept my eyes fixated on Kade as he walked through the crowd, greeting the dark ones as if they were friends.
I wanted to vomit.
The shadows finally reached the top of each of the dark ones, now entirely out of view, and I couldn’t help but hold my breath.
In an instant, the shadows responded to Kade’s command and cracked the necks of every single dark one. Their bodies fell to the ground with a loudthud.
