Page 30 of Queen of Stars and Shadows

There’s nothing to do but press on, deeper into the labyrinth.

I dart forward into the opening closest to me. The hedges are closer here, barely wide enough to move through. As I move more quickly, jogging to escape the darkness behind me, I can’t help but brush the metal leaves which seem hungry for a scrape of skin, a droplet of blood. I weave in and out, taking any path that seems to lead deeper into the labyrinth.

Whereas before the doorways were spaced far apart, now there seems a new path every few feet. I turn down corridors only to reach a dead-end almost immediately, requiring meto backtrack. Or I pick one that takes all turns in the same direction, leading me back almost to where I started. My heart races faster and faster, not just from running. The darkness is getting closer, and I’m running out of time in more ways than one. I’ve been in this place for hours now, I can’t find Lilette, and I don’t have much longer before the demon escapes.

I don’t know how long I’ve been running. Sweat covers my body, along with cuts from the hedges, and my breath comes in ragged gasps. The darkness is so close now. I can’t see over the hedges to tell if I’ve made it far at all. Am I anywhere near the heart of the labyrinth, or am I going in circles?

I’m going to die here, swallowed by nothingness, alone.

My legs give out and I stumble, scraping myself along one of the hedges as I fall to my hands and knees. Shaking, I look over my shoulder. It’s almost upon me now, maybe a dozen feet. This looming wave of shadow high above, ready to swoop down on me. Tears burn at the corners of my cheeks. It can’t end like this. After everything…

A nightmare cannot succumb to darkness, whispers a voice in my head.Youarethe darkness.

I go still, sniffling and sucking in a sharp breath.

Remember who you are. What you are.

I’d lived my entire life not knowing where I came from or who I truly was. Lived in fear of my magic, suppressing it for fear of the High Priest and his power-hungry gazes. I hadn’t known that I was Queen of Nightmares. Not just queen, but a rare queen possessing nightmare blood. I have a darkness inside of me. Icommandthe darkness.

Shoving with the last of my physical strength back into a standing position, I turn and face the shadows advancing on me. I clench my fists and open my mouth and I scream with everything inside of me. Every bit of pain I’ve felt these lastfew weeks, everything I’ve endured and survived, it all comes pouring out of me.

And my darkness comes pouring out of me, too.

The nightmare within, the beast that lives inside me, the creature of midnight and rage. I feel my eyes turn dark, feel my body go rigid with the power flowing through me. Shadows spiral up and around me, my hair flying back as if in a storm. My scream dies and a feral growl vibrates through my chest. I stand there and stare into the wave of black that’s now no more than three feet away from me.

The wall of shadow stops, then slowly retreats.

Trembling and triumphant, the nightmare within me lets out a final growl.

“Sarielle?” comes a faint, shaky voice behind me.

I spin, my inner beast still in control, my shadows still unfurled around me like giant wings. Lilette stands there, face dirty and bloody, and when she sees me, the color drains from her face. My golden eyes shot through with black, the menacing shadows towering over me. The thing within me surges forward, sensing an intruder, a threat. Power crackles around me as I take a step toward her.

But the part of me that knows Lilette, that knows she is my best friend, shoves down against the darkness, pushes the beast back. My inner nightmare snarls and claws for the surface, but I lock her away and take control once again. She growls and bucks within me, and a shudder runs through my body.

Then she is still.

“Lilette,” I whisper, my throat dry and hoarse.

“Sarielle!” She rushes forward and pulls me into a hug. After a moment, she steps back and looks at me, eyes wide. “What was that?”

“My nightmare side,” I say softly. “It saved me from the darkness.”

“Does that mean your powers are back?”

I shake my head. When I speak, my words come out hesitantly. “No. There’s my normal magic, which sometimes taps into that part of me. But then other times, she actually takes over, and my magic is… different.”

“She?”

“It’s hard to explain.” I sigh. “It’s like there are two parts of me, two sets of magic.”

Lilette nods slowly, but the way she’s looking at me I can tell she doesn’t understand. Not that I would if I were her. I don’t fully understand it myself. I just know that every time I tap into that side of myself, I’m always unsure if I’ll ever be able to let go again.

“We need to reach the center of the labyrinth,” I say, exhaustion claiming me once again. “And then we need to find a way out of here.”

“Is there a way?” Lilette asks, despair clinging to her words.

“There has to be. The High Priest must have somehow come into this place and left again.” I point straight ahead. “We have to keep moving.”

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