Page 4 of Shadow Fall: Part Two

"Wane," someone said, their voice so twisted and warped to my ears that I didn't recognise the speaker.

Panic flowed into my soul, but terror had me in its fist and wouldn't give me up. My shadows roared in response to the cruel, threatening power choking the air all around me, and my own magic erupted in a wave so thick it blacked out the glowing cells.

"Zivai!" Haley yelled, her voice warped and thick. I only knew it was her because of that name. It flowed through me and gave me strength even as I shook and—screamed. I was screaming, howling my fury and defiance as my shadows roared in a maelstrom around us.

I reached for the dagger at my hip again, wrapping my fingers around the spiral handle. You're safe, and I'll always protect you—but you can use the knife to stab your enemies in the throat yourself. You're a badass, too.

The lump in my throat was hard to swallow, but I fought through the haze of fear, pushing my shadows further in the prison, reaching for the lock on a cell and snapping it off. I threw that broken shadow aside, shuddering at its touch, malevolent. Scarring.

I clenched my teeth when they chattered and reached for the next lock and the next, sending more limbs of shadow to more cells, keeping that name—zivai—in my mind, like I'd kept Haley's name in my mind during every bit of torture the titan put me through.

The people in these cells were his victims, too. Maybe one of them was his future pet. Rage echoed through my terror now, casting deeper with every heartbeat. I sent my magic into the chasm, snapping open the locks of cells buried in the dark, freeing their prisoners. I wasn't the titan’s pet; he wasn't my master. I was zivai, I was Wane van Khama, and I had a family and a mate.

At some point I stopped screaming, a threatening growl pouring from me instead, and as my magic shattered the locks of cages, I felt Haley's fingers lock with mine, squeezing hard. I squeezed back, her name for me repeating through my mind. Zivai, zivai, zivai…

I didn't linger near his magic, tearing my shadows away from every cell the moment it snapped open, but I felt the sickness leech into my magic, spreading like an infection. His sickness. With a gasp, I flinched away from my own magic. I tasted blood, felt the blade carve my wings from my back, so slow that I would never forget the excruciating pain.

Panic drummed through my soul, and when I realised it was Haley's, not mine, I snapped myself out of the memories. I was so close, only three hundred more cells to tear open. I could do this. I squeezed her hand tight, gripped my dagger with my other, and gritted my teeth as my shadows swarmed higher, reaching the very top levels.

I abandoned the intricate work of ripping off locks and tore off whole doors, the glossy stone collapsing to wisps of shadow as it crashed into the chasm. My heart skipped. The power was … defiant. Furious. The shadow he stole from me had been manipulated into this vile prison, but it hated him. Like it was sentient.

"Wane!" Haley screamed, tearing her hand from mine to shake my shoulders.

My stomach dropped when I tore off the next door, and—oh gods, the magic didn't hate Cronus. It hated me.

Because I was weak, because I'd allowed it to be stolen, because—

"Wane!" Harvey roared, assaulted my soul with panic from every angle. I recoiled from it, and the howling storm of shadows tore off the final door and snapped back inside me, bruising my insides.

Panting, breathless, I stared at the ceiling. Why was I on my back?

"Fuck," Haley choked out, bowing her head. Crying—she was crying. And not just a few tears; she was sobbing, her breath hitching, eyes overflowing, and her soul was a riot of panic and desperation. "Wane, look at me. Gods, your eyes…"

What? What was wrong with my eyes?

Harvey grabbed my shoulder in a bruising grip, scanning my face until he was satisfied I was alright.

"I opened the cells," I breathed, my voice more hoarse than usual, my throat raw.

"You—" Haley shoved my chest hard, her bottom lip shaking and tears flowing faster. "Do you think I give a shit about the cells? You almost died!"

I blinked. I hadn't.

She grabbed me, hauling me into a hug, her body shaking against me as she gasped for air. I folded my arms around her, reeling.

"You stupid bastard," Kai muttered, dragging a hand through his red hair. "You pushed too damn hard, asked too much of your magic. This whole place is fucked up; you went too deep. You had a fit."

I swallowed, processing that. "I can—feel him here. It's hard, but I'm okay."

Emlyn made a sound in the back of his throat, growly and pissed off. "Never do that again. Never."

"I don't understand what I did," I said helplessly, my eyes stinging now and my chest tight with anxiety. I’d let them down. Angered my family. "I'm sorry."

Haley dropped her head on my shoulder, my neck streaked with her tears. I fucked up. I—I should have pulled back, I realised, when she first called my name.

I looked up at them all from the ground, my stomach clenching when I saw Verena staring at me with wild eyes, fear in her tense posture. Apollo stood a few paces back, watching me closely.

When Haley let me go, Wynvail held out a hand and pulled me to my feet, squeezing my hand a moment longer than he had to.

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