Page 106 of The Rose in the Shadows

I drew my attention back to the cavern, and to the man seated on the throne of skulls and bones. His eyes sparkled when he realized that I finally understood. I knew what I needed to do.

“I need to go back,” I told him.

“So, go.”

Ididn’t stop to look if the Mark had returned to my skin. I knew it hadn’t, just as I knew I didn’t need it. Not anymore.

Digging my fingers into the grass beneath me, I forced my legs to move, to push up on shaking muscles until I stood before her. My teeth mashed forcefully together as I pushed against that wall inside me, the wall that blocked me from my power - my birthright - with all my might. It held fast and strong, and I groaned against it.

Camilla turned from her place in the circle, and her lifeless eyes met mine. Icy fear lingered in my veins and I shivered against it. That terror grew as her shadows slowly began scrounging through the grass towards my legs and began their assault once more.

But I did not cower.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” She teased, laughing at me.

I spit my blood on the ground before me and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The scarlet droplets no longer scared me. They were the reminder of who I was. She couldn’t take that from me. No one could.

“I’m fighting back, bitch.”

The wall shattered, and the rush of electricity, familiar and natural, was so overwhelming it nearly drove me to my knees and brought tears of relief to my eyes. For once, I didn’t temper it down. I didn’t shy away from that pit in my stomach. That much power may be abnormal and make others suspicious of me, but it was part ofme. It was who I was and, by the Gods, Iwas done hiding it and hoping those around me would trust me despite it.

I was the last Descendant of Hyrax, and they were about to feel my wrath.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Letting go of that power was effortless. It exploded out of me, crashing into Camilla and sending her flying haphazardly through the air. The other Witches gasped in shock, falling over themselves as they tried to get away from me, eyes wide with fear. They should be afraid. They wouldn’t be able to escape me now.

“That’s not possible!” Camilla screeched, voice filled with hatred and anger. “I power-stripped you!”

I wanted to prove to her just how wrong she was, but at that moment, a monstrous roar sounded through the skies, shaking the surrounding trees. The Witches clutched at their ears, glancing up worriedly around them, and I felt my stomach somersault. Not in fear but in anticipation, the way it did for only one person in the world.

“What was that?” One teen screamed, grasping at a woman who must have been his mother.

I didn’t need to look up at the sky to know what was coming for us, but I did so anyway. Because even though I could feelhim,I wanted to see him with my own eyes. And I grinned like a child when I saw the enormous golden dragon fly over the tree cover. By the Gods, he was nearly as large as the entire palace gardens. His enormous jaw opened, revealing rows of deadly teeth, and a plume of fire filled the sky. He was terrifying in the most beautiful way. Deadly and utterly breathtaking.

I had never been more enamored by him.

“What’s the matter?” I laughed, meeting the eyes of my attackers. “Don’t you recognize your Crown Prince?”

The armies of Athenia were coming for me. They were leagues away still, but I couldfeelthem. I could feel the movement in the air as they pounded towards us. Rankor was leading the charge, Kent beside him. They were all coming. And my power extended so far that I could feel their hearts miles away.

I was with them, even when I wasn’t.

That godly power connected me to them all, and I was everywhere.

Camilla stood and summoned the shadows to her. They swirled dangerously around her feet and hands, climbing up her limbs slowly.

“Brothers and sisters,” she called. “I need your help.”

The Witches traded looks amongst each other and fell to their knees within an instant. The awareness of what was coming was sudden, too sudden for me to stop them.

“No!” I screamed, as they lifted the blades to their throats.

None hesitated, not even the teens. As they took their dying breaths, the bodies heaved, shaking as shadows escaped their eyes and mouths and flowed easily into Camilla. Her breathy moans turned my stomach as she welcomed the power into her and the ground trembled.

“I wasn’t strong enough to fight you by myself when you first came to Athenia,” she hissed. “But I am now.”

She flung her head back and shadows flew from every pore on her body, leaking out until day momentarily became night. Until the darkness took shape. Wide eyed, I shivered as her shadow-army rose. Some assumed the form of a human, while others were larger and far more disastrous. Some took to the skies, while others slithered on the ground.

---