Page 194 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash
And behind them, the witches fought.
…
Ash’s boots crunched against the rocky edge of the volcano, the air heavy with the metallic tang of sulfur. Beside him, Mal descended, her body shifting and flickering like a living shadow, made entirely of smoke and darkness. She didn’t speak as the change started. The swirling shadows around her began to condense, solidifying into something tangible. Smoke gave way to skin, bones forming beneath it, her dark hair taking shape as the last traces of her shadowy form disappeared. Within seconds, she was a wyverian again, standing beside him withsteady breath and eyes that now looked undeniably alive. Ash couldn’t help but stare, captivated by the quiet transformation.
‘Discedere, Nyx,’ Mal commanded the shadow that flew over them until vanishing from sight.Leave, Nyx.
Mal and Ash stood in silence, the weight of grief pressing down on them like the remnants of a collapsed world. The air between them was thick with sorrow, with words unsaid and pain unspoken. Mal's fingers twitched with the aching need to reach for him, to anchor herself in the solidity of his presence before she drifted into the abyss of her loss.
She wanted his arms around her—strong, unwavering, unbreakable. She wanted the warmth of him against her cold skin, wanted to bury herself in his chest and sob for the sister she would never see again. And when the memory of Haven’s face—once fierce and full of life—flashed behind her eyes, Mal collapsed beneath the weight of it. The tears came fast, uncontrollable, carving rivers of despair down her cheeks.
She did not resist when Ash pulled her against him.
She let herself shatter.
Her sobs came in violent waves, torn from the depths of her soul, her body wracked with grief as she screamed her sister’s name to a sky that would never answer her. Against her, Ash trembled, his grip on her unyielding as if he, too, feared that if he let go, the world would finally swallow them whole.
Together, they mourned.
Time became meaningless. The night stretched long and merciless, the only sound between them their shared sorrow. When the silence finally settled, it left them raw, scraped hollow from the inside out.
They sat on the volcanic ground, hands clasped tightly, their gazes fixed on the ruins before them—the drakonian castle, now nothing more than a graveyard.
‘How did you get back so fast?’ Ash’s voice was hoarse, rough fromgrief.
‘Travelling as a shadow allows you to move much faster.’
‘And the d-dead?’ His golden eyes, weary and dim, flickered towards her. ‘How d-did you bring them back?’
Mal inhaled slowly. The truth was, she didn’t know. Her magic had shifted, twisting into something older, something ancient. It felt as if she had become an extension of the gods themselves, their hands pressing against her back, watching—waiting.
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I think the gods wanted to see me fight.’
Ash wiped at his tear-streaked face, his shoulders bowed beneath an invisible weight. ‘Can y-you…’ His voice broke. He swallowed, forcing himself to finish. ‘Bring t-them back for good?’
Mal closed her eyes, the answer heavy on her tongue.
‘No.’ The word tasted like ash. ‘What is dead is truly gone.’
A slow exhale left Ash’s lips, and then, he stood.
Mal followed, watching as he turned to face her, his expression unreadable—his soul worn down to its barest form.
He gestured to the dagger still strapped to her belt. The very weapon forged to end him.
‘Go on, then,’ he said. ‘Do it. I have n-nothing left to l-live for. They are all d-dead because of me.’
Pain twisted through Mal, sharp and unforgiving.
To see him like this—to see all that fire, all that light dimmed into nothing but resignation—it was torment. She wanted to reach inside his chest, to take his pain into herself, to pull him back from the edge of ruin.
‘Do not dare say such words, Ash Acheron.’ Her voice was quiet, but it held steel beneath it. ‘We will find a way to live throughthis.’
His jaw tensed. His entire body trembled with restraint. ‘You cannot sa-save me, Mal. I must d-die.’
Her gaze snapped towards the lava that churned behind them, so close that one single push—one surge of power—would send him tumbling into it. She could watch him disintegrate into nothing.
But he would not be gone.
