But then I saw who they’d already captured.
Dae and his brothers were forced to their knees, upper bodies fully bound in iron chains.
The darkness crowding my lungs was something stronger than fear. It was a thing of the most horrifying nightmares. Sadness and despair and desperation so great the world seemed to stop.
My heels stopped digging in, unable to resist getting closer to Dae. In my mind, I screamed, cried out, begged for mercy for Dae, for his brothers, but no sound escaped my lips. They placed me next to one of Dae’s brothers, the fire wielder, Jai.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the young man I’d never get to know who’d risked his life for me. Dae had found and lost his brothers within the span of a week, all because of my hair-brained scheme. I should’ve told him everything I’d learned, but I knew he never would have let me go through with it.
I glanced around, studying the faces of everyone present. The Eleven. Members of The Order. No sign of Kasia. The one saving grace of this entire debacle.
“That was…quite the stir,” Marvoe said, breaking from his perfect line formation to casually pace before us. “Clever, I’ll admit, to let word slip of the light wielder.” He huffed a laugh. “You know as well I do what these miscreants will do for a taste of glory. But that’s never been your motive, has it, Dae?” He stared at Dae with a gentle smile, as if they were old friends.
Dae remained silent.
“You know, I always wondered why the great tiger shifter in our camp didn’t line up for an opportunity to gain more magic. Respectable humility, I assumed. If I had seen it for what it truly was, silent non-compliance, I might have decided to use your death as an example.”
Jai attempted to break out of his ropes, but to no avail.
Marvoe spotted the reaction, his nearly black eyes darting between the two brothers. His face lit up. “Ah,” he said, “family. Judging by your dramatic coup, I doubt you’ve brought them here for the cause. Well,mycause. I see you have a cause all your own.” His eyes shifted to me. The inky black lines on his face slithered away, giving me an unstained view of the man he once had been.
He tsked. “More things I should have questioned about you, Dae.” Marvoe closed the distance between them, crouching in front of Dae until they were at the same level. “But your strength and power are something that I’ve admired since you showed up here. I thought to myself, before this is over, Dae will successfully enter the Black Pool and rank among us, standing by my side. He’ll go down in history!” Marvoe rose and turned away, raising his arms high, proclaiming the future he’d envisioned.
“Fearsome were the members of The Order of Darkness, wielding dark magic for the first time in a century. Possessing all the elements among them, shifting into animals that tore apart those who opposed.” He dropped his hands to his sides and sighed loudly.
“Such a shame.” He faced Dae again, clasping his hands behind him. “But, I suppose, there are always lessons to be learned. Plans that need to… evolve.” His voice dropped, sending a shiver down my spine.
Members behind us moved, placing their hands on Dae as they brought him to his feet.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? NO!” I yelled, unable to stop myself. With every step they forced him forward, he moved closer to the water’s edge.
I scrambled to my feet, but the world blurred. When I cracked my eye open, there was a pounding pain radiating from my skull, and my cheek pressed against the ground.
A high-pitched ringing overtook my ears, and my body sloppily tried executing what my brain told it.Get to Dae, it said. My hands were awkwardly smashed underneath the weight of my body, tied together.
Dae stopped, and those who were prodding him along hastily retreated. My vision focused from its tumbling state as I watched vines emerge from the Black Pool and creep toward him.
“NO!” He’d warned me about what happened to those who dared beckon the Pool. It perceived him as an offering, the tendrils sniffing out his feet and slowly twining around his calves in earnest interest.
Dae didn’t balk. He didn’t resist or run. Gods, I wanted him to. The man so beautiful he could have descended from the heavens, been born of stone carved to perfection, who sacrificed his life to keep the people he loved safe, even after it robbed him of himself. He never wavered. All strength and courage and devotion.
The last moments I would have of him were blurred. My tears formed faster than I could blink them away.
Those tendrils wrapped around his entire body. Fragments of my soul split apart when they ripped him from this world into the murky unnatural depths below.
My voice wasn’t my own as I screamed. The forest around me woke, like it gasped.
“The Pool feeds on magic, on power. Dae’s sacrifice will further the cause. His death is honorable.” Marvoe held his chin high, glaring at the rippleless surface.
My jaw hung wide, my body shaking. The inside of my heart had been hollowed out by icy claws. I summoned everything in me and rose to my feet, charging after him.
I would follow Dae into those depths. Seek him in the dark and press my lips to his and give him my last breath. He would not leave this world alone.
I made it all of one foot before brute force tackled me from behind, sending me into a nosedive. Recovery would have been quicker this time, but the oppressive force remained, keeping me down. “NO,” I shouted, staring at the black water. The still water.
Too still.
Until it wasn’t.
