Page 95 of Shadowed Fate

I reach for that familiar darkness within, hoping to wrap myself in its arms, remembering Marius’s words to me. I close my eyes and let go, inviting the shadows to come forth.

Nothing happens.

The power that usually pulsates beneath my skin is eerily silent.

"No," I whisper. I try again, desperately grasping for even a tendril of shadow. Still nothing.

The cell must be warded.

The realization that I’m completely helpless in here hits me like a physical blow. I sink to the floor, feeling the cold of the stone floor through my thin clothes.

The Council is supposed to be fair. Democratic. Just. They rule unchallenged, but it’s for the greater good, or so they say. Without the Council, Eira said, the supernatural factions would be in a constant state of war.

When the Raven King was defeated, all the leaders of the various kingdoms came together to form a united superpower of all the different factions, and they would all rule in perpetuity—for the good of the realm.

Right now, the Council doesn’t feel like protectors. They feel like oppressors.

I wrap my arms around myself, fighting against my fear of being isolated, this time potentially forever. In the flickering torchlight, my own shadow seems to mock me, a reminder of what's been stolen.

Uninvited, the thoughts come to me. I want them to regret doing this to me. I want them to run in fear from me.I want to be the thing in the dark that makes them cower and hide.

But just as quickly as I think about these things, I shove them all back down. That’s not who I am. That’s who they think I’ll become.

Callen said he’ll tell the others. They’ll come for me. But as the shadows deepen and the silence stretches on, doubt creeps in like a poison.

Will they?

Chapter 40

Marius

I watch from my hidden recess in the wall. Two burly guards drag a smaller figure down the corridor—Brigid. Her dark hair obscures her face, but I'd know her anywhere, in any lifetime.

The larger guard grunts as he wordlessly shoves her roughly into a cell.

The door clangs shut with a finality that’s muffled by the oppressive silence. Faint shimmers of magical wards dance across the walls, pulsing with sickly green light. Designed to suppress her powers, no doubt.Clever.

As the guards' footsteps fade, I emerge from the shadows. My lips curl into a smile as I approach the cell door. Brigid's pale face appears in the small barred window, her gray eyes widening as she spots me.

"You."

I lean against the wall. "Me." A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. "Is that any way to greet your liberator?"

“Did you have something to do with this?” Her voice is edged with suspicion, the words hanging heavy in the stagnant air between us.

I raise an eyebrow at her accusation. “So quick to assign blame. Have you considered that perhaps the Council had their own motives for locking you away?"

Confusion moves across her face, marring her normally composed countenance. Her brow furrows. Confusion, but also something else. I wonder if Brigid understands more than I realized.

"What do you mean?" Locked up in a cell and she’s still defiant.Good girl.

I step forward, my boots scraping against the floor as I trace a finger along the cold iron bars across the narrow window in the door. "Let's just say the Council's intentions aren't as pure as they'd have you believe. They fear what they can't control." My eyes lock onto hers. "And you, little bird, are especially uncontrollable."

For a moment, her guard drops, and her face softens, but it’s quickly replaced by a hardened expression.

"Why should I trust you? You always seem to show up when there’s trouble, conveniently.”

Laughter escapes in a dark chuckle. "Right now, I'm your only chance at freedom." I pause for effect, letting the weight of my words sink in. "Unless you prefer to rot in this miserable cell? Maybe you want to wait around to see what the Council has planned for you?"

---