Slaugh narrowed his eyes at Aolis, and I watched the exchange, fascinated despite myself. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked, remained one of your most loyal supporters, given you my council repeatedly. Yet you do nothing but cower inside the castle, refusing to use your magic, letting the other houses run roughshod over the kingdom. You’ve become weak, King Aolis. Unworthy of the throne, unworthy of the powers the shadows have gifted you.”
“Fine,” Aolis snarled. His handsome face mottled with fury, and blackness swallowed his eyes, from the depths of his pupils all the way to the corners of his whites. “If you won’t do it, then I’ll kill all of you!”
He took a step toward me, shooting a tendril of shadow my way. I dodged, but before he could strike again, Adara jumped in front of him, putting her body between Aolis and me. Pride and anguish swelled inside me as I watched her—she was like an avenging goddess, her lavender-blue hair and the skirts of her gown floating all around her as she commanded the raging flames.
“I’m your opponent, Aolis,” Adara said in a voice like hardened steel. “If you want to get to my friends, you’ll have to go through me, first.”
Aolis sighed. “If I must,” he said, closing his eyes. Every light in the room winked out as he pulled the shadows to him, and a wave of terror rose inside me as the shadow tentacles coalesced into a monstrous, hulking form behind the king. It towered over both of them, larger than any flames Adara could hope to summon on her own. She would survive the assault, but she would be completely drained of magic, and Gelsyne would be left to Aolis’s mercy.
I couldn’t allow that to happen, but I knew that my magic was useless here. There was only one thing I could do…
“Adara.” I stepped into the fire, allowing the flames to lick at my skin as I came to stand by her side. Adara whipped her head around to look at me, the flames flickering as her concentration wavered for a heartbeat. My heart ached as I looked into her face—behind the determination, I could see the terror, the exhaustion, the grief etched into her soul. This close, I could make out her wounds—a gash on her arm, a knife wound in her thigh, and numerous nicks and cuts.
Without breaking her gaze, I unclasped the cuff around my wrist and fastened it around her upper arm.
“What is this?” she asked, looking at it.
“It belonged to Daryan.” I swallowed hard, then added, “To your father. The primal stone in it has vast fire magic reserves.” I stepped back, but instead of withdrawing, I stood behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders. I couldn’t offer her my magic, but I could offer her strength and support. “Use the primal stone, Adara, and defeat King Aolis. The throne he sits on belongs to you, and it’s high time you take it back.”
35
Adara
Isucked in a breath as Einar’s hands curled around my shoulders. Strength flowed through my body, and I knew it wasn’t just from the primal stone he’d given me. No, his very presence seemed to seep into my bones, warm and reassuring, bolstering my resolve. My heart swelled—for once, we were united, our differences fading away in the face of our common enemy. I felt as tall and strong as a giant, as mighty as a tsunami, as fierce as a firestorm. Like nothing could stand in my way, not even a wicked king overflowing with dark magic.
I didn’t have to ask how to use the primal stone—I could already feel the energy humming along my wrist, just begging to be released. Silently, I opened myself up to it, and gasped as pure magic rushed through my veins, making me blaze from the inside out. I felt like I was bursting with power, and I gritted my teeth, my body shaking as I struggled to control the sudden surge of energy.
“Step away from her, dragon,” Aolis sneered, raising his arms. The shadow monster moved through him, stepping in front of him like a champion ready to fight on his behalf. “She’s mine.”
“No, she isn’t,” Einar said. “Adara belongs to no one but herself.”
I flung my hands out, releasing every ounce of power inside me. The flames roared as they barreled through the shadow monster, punching a hole straight through its chest. The firestorm engulfed Aolis, and the king let out a deafening shriek as the flames ate at him. He fell to the ground, flailing and thrashing as the shadow monster evaporated, trying to douse the flames with his magic, but my fire was stronger. I pushed relentlessly, powering through the gusts of wind until they became feeble wisps, and finally, the king succumbed, his screams fading as the flames ate through his vocal chords, his lungs, his heart. Fierce pleasure whipped through me as I watched his entire body crumble to ash, and a heady wave of relief nearly threatened to take my knees out from under me.
“It’s all right,” Einar murmured in my ear as I sagged against him. “I’ve got you.”
I tilted my head to look up at him, and for a heartbeat, it was just the two of us. “Thank you,” I murmured, my forehead brushing the underside of his chin. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
He pressed a kiss to my brow, and we said absolutely nothing. There were many things unspoken between us—questions, thoughts, revelations we would have to discuss.
But for now, it was enough that we were here, and that we’d won.
The flames finally winked out as the last of my strength left me, and my vision swam. “Adara!” I heard Mavlyn cry, and the next thing I knew, she was at my side and I was sitting in a chair, trying to regain my bearings.
“Are you alright?” she asked, placing a hand on my forehead, but I was barely looking at her. My gaze fixed on Gelsyne, who had passed out on the floor, still between the guards. The heat must have gotten to her, I thought dimly. I needed to check on her.
“My mother…” I began, but then I noticed movement coming from the charred husk of Aolis’s body. My blood turned frigid as I watched shadows curling upward from the ashes, far too thick to be smoke. A sinister laughter filled the air, and I watched in horror as the shadows traveled through the air, heading not toward me, or Einar, or even the guards, but straight toward Mother.
“No!” I shrieked as the shadows engulfed her. They poured into her through every orifice—eyes, nose, mouth, ears—and I ripped myself from Mavlyn and Einar’s hands, rushing over to grab her shoulders. “No, please!”
Mother’s eyes opened, and my heart sank—they were filled with pure blackness. A smile that could only be described as pure evil spread across her face, and she sat up, her movements far too fluid and graceful.
“What’s the matter?” she asked in a sing-song voice that was both hers and not hers. There was an undercurrent of darkness beneath it that made me want to gouge out my eardrums, and I recoiled instinctively as I felt something sinister shifting beneath her skin. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Adara?”
“You’re not her.” I stood up, backing away. Not-Mother rose to her feet, and before my eyes, she transformed. Her stringy hair turned dark and lustrous, her haggard skin smooth, her ragged dress into a flowing black gown. She looked regal, powerful, and if the magic humming in the air around her hadn’t been so dark and ugly, I might have been relieved. “Who are you?”
“You can call me Nox,” she said. “Mother of Shadows. I’ve been waiting a long time for you to come and kill Aolis, and you’ve brought me the perfect vessel to top it all off. I can’t thank you enough.”
“What are you saying?” Einar demanded. He stepped up by my side, Mavlyn joining me on the other, and I was grateful for their presence—I felt like the world was sliding out from beneath me once more, everything I thought I knew changing. “Youplannedfor Adara to kill King Aolis?”
