Agni’s expression fell, pity filling his sapphire eyes, a mirror image of her own. “None of uswantto hurt others, Adara. But sometimes we have to do what we have to do to survive. You’ll make the right choices when the time comes.” He took a step toward her and gathered her in his arms. “I know you will.” He squeezed her tighter, then pulled away and held her at arm's length. Despite her being born first, he always acted like an older brother. “Besides, I’ll always be there to help,” Agni said with a gentle smile.
She opened her mouth to respond, but words never came because realization struck her like lightning. Shock coursed through her nerves, sparking and igniting in alarm.
This wasn’t real.
She remembered this exact moment. The exact day that her life turned to Hel. The day that her life became the gods’ to command.Her life was theirs for the taking. The day Moira, Goddess of Fate, had stolen her destiny and molded it in the gods’ favor. Nothing more than a weapon to be used.
Adara stared at her twin blankly. She had no clue what to make of this. She was dreaming. She had to be. Yet his skin felt so real when she’d touched him. His embrace had been so warm, fueled by the fire deep inside his veins. And his face—gods, he was as old as she was now. But it didn’t make sense. Adara hadn’t seen her brother since that day, back when they were nine years old.
Did this mean he was out there somewhere, alive and well, trying to find her?
She shook her head. Agni was gone, along with the rest of her family. It was only her mind playing tricks on her. Perhaps, since he was her twin brother, her mind was using her own features to conjure up the image of him in her dreams. That had to be it.
Because her family was gone.
Blemythia was gone.
And there was no returning to it. Not without the Realm Fracturer.
A feminine voice shouted their names, drawing Adara out of her thoughts and back to the disturbingly realistic dream. “Adara! Agni!” the woman called again.
Both of their heads turned, their attention locked on the woman standing outside the portcullis.
Adara’s jaw dropped, letting out a relieved breath. Despite knowing that none of this was real, she sprinted toward her mother. It was only a dream. What harm could come from seeing her family one last time?
She smiled as she crashed into her mother’s awaiting arms, nearly knocking them both to the ground. “It’s all right, my little flame. I’m here now,” her mother said as she gently stroked Adara’s hair.
Adara pulled back, holding her mother at arm’s length, studying every feature she never memorized before she was taken. The long auburn hair that cascaded down over her shoulder in a flawless braid. The bright blue eyes and sloping nose she’d gotten from her mother. After all these years, Adara had forgotten the warmth and love in her soft, pearly-white smile.
Adara’s smile faded. Something was off. She wasn’t sure what. Maybe it was because it was a dream, and she didn’t remember her mother’s face that well. She’d been so young the last time she’d seen her family.
The chill that ran up her spine told her it was something far worse than not being able to remember her family’s faces. Her lips pulled into a frown. “Where’s Father?” Adara asked quietly, afraid of the answer.
“What do you mean?” her mother said sweetly, cupping Adara’s face in her icy hands. “He’s been gone for years.” Her mother’s features suddenly hardened, contorting into an expression of accusation. “You should know. You were the one who got him killed.”
“No,” she gasped, shaking her head. Her breathing intensified as her mother’s face morphed into something monstrous. Her pupils expanded until there was only darkness where her eyes used to be. Her mouth twitched into a nasty snarl as black smoke swirled at her fingertips.
A hand wrapped around Adara’s throat, one she knew no longer belonged to her loving mother. She struggled to breathe beneath the crushing grip. Clawed at the hands around her neck, but it was no use. There were no longer hands gripping her. Hands could bleed.
She could not destroy the shadows that replaced her mother’s entire body, tightening fiercely around her neck as she choked on sobs. The shadow leaned in closer. Though it had no face, Adara could clearly see the disgust it aimed toward her. “You killed him, just like you killed the rest of your family. Like you killed your friends. Like you’ll kill everyone in the rest of the kingdoms!” it snarled in her ear.
“No!” Adara choked out, barely able to speak as its fingers squeezed harder. Talons pierced into the sides of her throat, warm blood dripping down her neck in their wake.This isn’t real. You’re dreaming,Adara reminded herself. But the sharp claws digging into her skin, the stinging pain, felt real.
“Oh, but I am, Adara,” the shadow responded to her thoughts. The voice was deep, terrifying. It echoed in her skull, thousands of voices converging into one.
It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.She repeated the words over and over and over again, trying to calm her panicked breaths as she struggled against the darkness holding her inches above the ground.I am eternal. I am eternal.
Adara closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she remembered she was asleep on the ship. How pathetic the Andreilians would think her to be if they heard her crying over a bloody nightmare. There was no way in Hel she was going to let any of them see her like this—especially not Dominic.
Her eyes shot open. She stared darkness—death—in the face. She was done running. It wasn’t the shadows that hurt her in her nightmares. It was her own mind. And she knew how dangerous her mind could be when mixed with emotion and power. She had promised to control it—to never let it get the better of her, or anyone else—ever again. The scars on her hands were proof enough of the weapon she could become the moment she lost control.
She was made to be a weapon. Light was meant to chase away the dark.
Fire shot through her veins, igniting in her palms, taking shape of a flaming sword. Infinova materialized in her hand, the familiar ruby in its pommel glowing like an inferno. She had named her sword Infinova for a reason.Stars infinite,she thought to herself.Light prevails,Alec would tell her every day, knowing that somewhere out there, the sun was shining. Even while they rotted in the dank dungeon.
With an upward thrust of her sword, she sliced the shadow creature’s arm clean off. A gasp escaped her throat as the hand released her neck. It turned to black mist that slowly dissipated, but the monster’s arm only reformed with more dark smoke.Before it could reach for her again, Adara swung her sword at its neck. When the flaming blade connected with the swirling darkness, a terrible screech reverberated in her ears. The figure crumpled to the ground, fading into the night.
Lowering her sword, Adara turned to meet her brother’s gaze, but was only met with anotherdrevlic. It had no features, yet it stared into her soul, picking apart her brain to find her deepest fears and regrets. She shuddered and raised her sword. “Not real,” she murmured to herself.
