The sight pulled at something inside of me.How annoying.Why couldn’t it be Gray wandering about the fucking tree line instead of these two?
I squeezed my fists tight at my sides. As much as I needed Gray, it pissed me off when I thought of not having her. I needed to fight for our bond. Even if I couldn’t truly feel for her like I once had, I knew she was important to me. And I knew once she joined me in the darkness, all would be as it should.
I shifted upright, pushing my back off the tree. Thetree boughs shook from my movement, causing the two Elementals to pause their stroll and look around. With their senses now on alert, they searched the tree line. I felt their awareness grazing against mine, scanning for the threat they now knew was present.
My anger peaked. I fumed at their lack of self-preservation and, more importantly, the security of their queen. The wards were nearly collapsed, and they didn’t seem bothered that Kinetics could attack and kill Gray in a matter of days.
I unveiled my shadows and stepped out into their view, my hands shoved in my pockets. “You might wanna tighten the wards on this place. You guys are still a bit exposed.” Even I could hear the deadened tone in my voice. How it lacked any life to it, compared to how I’d sounded the last time I was here.
The couple froze. Their skin paled even beneath the gold sheen of their skin. “Ch-Chrome?”
“Surprise,” I replied with a shrug.
“How?” Aster demanded, stepping in front of Lake as if he could protect her from me.
My eyes tracked the movement, and I grinned, cocking my head ever so slightly to the side. “I wondered when the two of you would get together.”
“I’m gonna go tell the queen,” Lake whispered from behind Aster, who kept his stare on me.
I raised my brows. “Oh, that would be great. But honestly, I’d love to get her attention in a more dramatic manner.” My shadows lurched from my body, latched onto Aster, and yanked him closer to me.
A shrill scream resounded from behind him, sounding throughout the entire lodge. I shoved more shadows out to enter Lake’s mouth, silencing her as I began to funnel Aster’s soul with my shadows to feed my own.
Aster’s eyes went wide, and his mouth formed a perfect O as I forced him to stand before me while I consumed his soul. I had become a death-bringer, the type of Infernal who specialized indevouring souls. So similar to an Endarkened, but with my mind intact, and a lot less repulsive. An Infernal’s magic was determined by the Tempest they were bound to, and the strength of that Tempest’s magic. Being bound to Celanea, it made sense that I was a death-bringer.
Lake fought against my shadows, kicking and swinging her fists as she tried to get to her partner. Her water magic would be useless against me.
I groaned as Aster’s soul fueled me, feeling a euphoric high that I could revel in with no remorse. I’d been suppressing it for so fucking long because my morals and emotions blocked me from my true potential. Now I was truly liberated. Free to be my true self with no shame.
After several minutes, Aster’s body grew limp in my shadows’ grasp. Once I knew that he was completely drained and only a corpse remained, I let his body crumble to the earth.
Energized, I stepped closer to Lake while using my shadows to grip her throat. “The wards are weak. Protect the queen. Otherwise, I’ll keep picking you off one by one until onlysheremains.” Releasing Lake from my shadows, I shrouded my body in darkness again, blending in with the night before turning around and walking through the woods, using my shadows as a buffer between my feet and the leaves on the forest floor.
Lake’s anguished screams reached the skies. Somewhere deep down, I felt that pit, but the high of the depletion had me buzzing too much to acknowledge it.
I thought about the Seraphite Stone that Celanea demanded I find for her. I smiled to myself. I’d find it. But it wouldn’t be for her. I’d get it and take it for myself. Its properties would allow me to control the aether in Arcadia. But until then, I would continue pretending to be her compliant soldier.
Chapter Five
Gray
Iate a late lunch in solitude while I processed last night’s events. Everything about Shadow in the alley kept chafing my brain. Between his ability, his familiarity, his power, and his threats...
Frustrated, I tore off a piece of tomato sandwich with more force than necessary before shoving it in my mouth as my thoughts turned to the dream from last night. Or was it a dream? If he were here, wouldn’t the rest of the Hollow know of his presence? And every time I thought of Slate, nothing but pure anger ravaged my soul. How could he have watched me from a distance for so long, knowing I grieved his fake death? I just couldn’t…
No longer hungry, I ate the smallest amount of food possible in order to keep my body nourished. I pushed away from the empty table in the dining hall, ready to fight off my pent-up aggression.
The training room’s scent consisted of wood, dust, and sweat. Oddly, it always slowed my heartbeat and eased the heaviness in my chest. As I approached the dummies, I found Void moving through stances on our usual sparring mat. I strode toward him. I still might not have been his favorite person, especially after the events at theKing’s Palace two months ago, but he wasn’t outright disrespectful, which I appreciated.
“Princess,” Void said with his back to me, his shoulders tensed under the twisted locs that draped over them.
“Void,” I greeted, my tone bland. “Shall we?”
The lead combat trainer for the Hollow turned around, his dual-ringed silver irises glowing at me as if he knew what I was doing. “Sure.”
I shook out my palms at my sides, not bothering to stretch beforehand. The two of us squared up, and I waited for him to make the first move. That was always the best choice when it came to Void. Being on the offensive with him would be playing right into his hands. He wasn’t one to allow blindness to hinder him. Instead, he seemed to turn it into a superpower of his own.
“Wait,” Slate’s voice cut in, crushing my peace.
