Page 93 of Scalebound

“That’s what I was taught growing up,” Clemmy said as she huffed green strands of hair out of her face.

Abner’s hands went to work, swiftly repairing the tear I scorched through the tops of the trees. The trees knit themselves back together; the vines trailing behind, reclaiming their place above us. My mind was racing so quickly that I couldn’t even form an apology.

“So interesting,” Loker's voice drifted up from where he remained sprawled on the ground, his attention fixed on the overturned log before him.

“Well, I need to go to bed,” Angie abruptly stated, rolling her eyes. “Tomorrow is the day. Everyone else should go get some sleep as well,” she muttered, rising to her feet and leaving for the tent that she and Abner shared. She was right. We decided that tomorrow would be the day we confronted Tobias or whoever else was involved with the Deathlies. We had to go to the castle to find the tethered connection.

***

Everyone sauntered to their assigned tents, ready to get some rest for the night. My mind felt heavy and exhilarated, thoughts clouding it. Despite my weary body, I couldn’t get myself to lie down. The recent revelation of myWaxmau13maxz,concerns about the state of my kingdom in the face of the Deathlies, and the looming question of whether I could fulfill my quest to vanquish them once and for all kept me restless.

Twigs snapped behind me, and warm tattooed arms wrapped themselves around my neck. I looked upward at Damian. “Go ahead and go to bed. I’ll be in soon,” I said, inviting him to share my tent with me again. Pulling away from his arms, he grasped tighter, releasing a giggle from my mouth. He then loosened his grip and joined me on the log where I was sitting, his hand finding a comforting place on my thigh.

As we watched the dancing flames of the diminishing fire, he broke the silence as he said, “What’s on your mind, Moon Goddess?” I didn’t think he would ever get over it. Annoyed, I bumped him on the shoulder and he just laughed, with that deep chuckle that I dearly loved.

Listening to the crackle of the flames, I attempted to unravel my thoughts.

“I can’t help but feel anxious about everything. Going back to the castle tomorrow, wondering who started this, finding out that mymaxzwith Belle is theWaxmau maxz, the unknown is eating me on the inside.”

My fingers gripped the sides of the log with anxiety. Sighing, I released them, moving my hair behind my ears.

“Want to practice?”

“Practice what?” I glared at him through the slits of my eyes.

In a quick response, he swiftly withdrew the knife from his boot. The second knife that he kept with him. The same one reflected the moon's silvery hue off its sharp blade.

I smirked, realizing that he wanted to spar. Right here. Right now.

“Two can play,” I said, more confidently than I felt. Abner said that I had to practice to perfect themaxz. I knew that I could shadow wield. With that in mind, I wanted to perfect that ability.

I was a weapon. I was going to use my fear to fuel the weapon I was.

Damian stood up, bowing as his hand reached for my own, helping me off the log and by his side. He then lunged, and I pulled the shadow from the nearby trees to come between him and me, creating a barrier between the knife and my stomach. The chill of the shadow sent shivers down my spine, causing the fine hairs on my arm to bristle with goosebumps. The shadow was physically solid, forcing Damian to stop in place, unable to move the knife further.

He raised his other hand, and my gaze instinctively darted to the shadow stretching beneath him, cast by the moonlight. Quickly, I used his shadow, lifting it, grabbing his hand. In disbelief, my eyes widened. It physically grabbed him, and was manipulating his body how I wanted it.

Grabbing a shadow from a nearby tree, I pulled it with the mental thread that I connected to it, flicking it our way, knocking the knife out of his hand, making him drop it with a plunk.

The burnt smell from the embers of the fire filled my senses, reminding me that we had put it out hours ago. We had been outside for the majority of the night, and couldn’t see the clouds as the trees draped across, but they must’ve been sad as tears continued to leak through, patting our faces and the material of the tents.

“I’m impressed, my Shadow Queen.”

Shocking Damian, I let the shadows loose and grabbed him myself. “Don’t call me your Shadow Queen,” I uttered, my voice more confident this time.

“What about my Moon Goddess?” he questioned, whispering.

Not removing eye contact, I lifted my leg, grabbing the weight of the dagger Damian had given me, grasping the hilt filled with gems between my fingers. Smirking, I gently tilted his head with my left fingers, the knife held in my right.

The reflection of my golden eyes shimmered in his own. Pausing, the tension was palpable as I lifted the knife in my right hand up to his throat. I was caught by the irony of it: I was holding the exact knife he had held up to my throat before. Power coursed through my fingertips. The stars on my nails glimmering as they matched the sky above.

Power. Control. Freedom.

I was strong, and I accepted my fate as the Shadow Queen. I had come so far and had gone through so much. No one could tell me what I was or what my fate was. I had the power to accept it, to choose it. Whether Scaleborne, scale slum, princess, non-heir, it didn’t matter. I would decide my own fate. I would decide what people called me.

I held him close. He smirked as the knife was prickling his soft skin right beneath the facial hair that covered his chin.

“Call me your demon. Call me the one that dragged you toHaxnau14. The one that made you taste of death.” He couldn’t control himself, and all I had on my lips the rest of the night was him and the taste of his sweet tattoos lining his body that I claimed as mine.

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