Page 25 of Shadows Rising

"It's happening again," I breathe, watching the shadows gather around her. "Just like when my father—" I stop, the words catching in my throat. "When he disappeared."

Kieran's ancient eyes fix on me. "Your father understood, at the end. Before he vanished. Why the corruption wanted Absentia." His gaze drops to Kaia's unconscious form. "She's not just connected to this place. She's bound to it, just as you are."

"Great," Finn says, though his hand hasn't left my shoulder. "No pressure or anything. Just realm-saving destiny and ancient evil. Totally normal Tuesday."

A laugh threatens to break free despite everything. Trust Finn to find humor even now. The corruption pulses darker across Kaia's skin, but before we can act, a familiar wisp of shadow approaches.

Walter settles over one of the black veins, his strange, ethereal form pulsing soft gold where he touches her skin. For once, he's focused—nodrifting or chaos, just stillness and light. The sight is unexpected, this strange shadow, usually so detached from everything, now focused entirely on healing.

More shadows surge forward, not chaotically, but in perfect formation. Bob directs them with military precision as they line up, each one touching a different spot where corruption threatens to spread. Patricia's normally frantic note-taking pauses as she joins them, her shadowy form pulsing with gentle light. Even Finnick's chaos stills into something deliberate and focused.

"They're working together," Kieran says softly, ancient eyes tracking their movements. "Different types of shadows, with different sources, somehow united in purpose."

One by one, more shadows come forward, some I recognize from my years in Absentia, others completely new. These others gathering now—new, unfamiliar—seem drawn not by duty, but by something deeper. Recognition. Belonging. Each one adds their light to Walter's, creating a barrier between Kaia and the corruption trying to claim her.

"This is how it starts," I breathe, watching their coordinated effort. "Not just finding them, but bringing them together."

Finn's hand squeezes my shoulder gently. "Leave it to Kaia to turn an army of Valkyrie shadows into a really efficient nursing staff."

Kieran's head snaps up, his ancient eyes suddenly fixed on Finn with unsettling intensity. "What did you just say?"

"Valkyrie shadows," Finn repeats, looking confused at Kieran's reaction. "At least, the original ones are, Bob, Patricia, Finnick, and the others. They're the souls of fallen Valkyrie warriors who bound themselves to Kaiacenturies ago. But these new ones gathering here in Absentia, we don't know what they are yet."

A strange stillness comes over Kieran. For a moment, he looks almost shaken. "How do you know this?"

"Kaia told us," I say, watching his reaction carefully. "When her wings first manifested. Her original shadows, the ones she's had since the beginning, are her mother's sisters-in-arms. They chose to bind themselves to her through the Heart of Eternity. These others gathering now seem different, but they're responding to her just the same."

Kieran's gaze returns to Kaia, something complicated and ancient in his expression. "Solveig's sisters," he murmurs, so quietly I almost don't catch it. "They survived after all."

The information seems to transform something in Kieran's approach as he returns his attention to the corruption. His movements become more deliberate, more certain, as if a missing piece has finally fallen into place.

This is more than just healing, it's proof of something I think we've all felt since meeting her. Kaia doesn't just gather people around her; she gives them purpose, makes them stronger together than they ever were alone.

The corruption retreats slowly, unable to break through the unified barrier of shadow and light. It's not a cure, but it's hope. And watching the shadows work in perfect harmony, I finally understand what my father was fighting for before the darkness took him. What my mother sacrificed everything to preserve when she forced me through that portal.

Not just power, but possibility. The chance for something broken to become whole again.

"Stay with us," I whisper, pouring more of my own power into the ward. My shadows join the others, slipping into place as if they've alwaysbelonged. "We need you." My voice drops lower, meant only for her. "I need you."

I see it then, the slight movement of her wings, the twitch of her fingers. The shadows continue to gather, drawn to her from every corner of the sanctuary, moving with renewed purpose. Standing in this room where I once sat as a child while my father treated wounded soldiers, I can't help but wonder: what happens when they all return? What happens when the lost are finally found?

The question pulses in my mind, heavy with everything we've seen. Whatever the answer, I'll be there to face it, with her, with Finn, with all of them.

This time, no one gets left behind.

Chapter 13

Kaia

Consciousness returns in fragments, like trying to piece together a shattered mirror. Each shard reflects something different—echoes of feelings, scattered sensations, fractured memories I can't quite grasp. The wrongness running through my body has subsided, thank the void. I thought it was going to kill me.

The first thing I notice, before I even open my eyes, is Mouse pressed against my side, his familiar warmth grounding me. Something washes over me in gentle waves—healing magic maybe, though it feels different than anything I've experienced before. With my eyes still closed, I sense my shadows nearby, their presence stronger than I remember, more tangible somehow. And there are… others? New shadows I don't recognize, their energy hovering at the edges of my awareness, cool and curious against my consciousness.

When I finally force my heavy lids open, I freeze. A man stands nearby—but no, not a stranger. Something about him tugs at me, an invisible thread pulling so hard it steals my breath. Something in his face holds me there, breathless. The pain in my chest builds until it's almost unbearable.

"You're safe," he says softly, and his voice sends fresh waves of agony through me. It's deep and resonant, like the low hum of a distant storm, with an accent I can't place—something that doesn't belong to any realm I know.

My throat locks up when I try to speak. My gaze darts around the unfamiliar room—Malrik stands close, his silver eyes intense with barely contained emotion. Finn hovers near him, his usual grin replaced by genuine concern. The twins maintain a protective stance nearby. But my eyes keep being pulled back to the stranger, like a compass finding true north.

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