Page 72 of Her Shadow so Dark and Lovely
Vika stares at me, the sound of our uneven breathing bouncing off the walls, my half-hearted attempts to annoy Vika with my shadows constantly cut off by glittering shards. I wait, standing firmly between her and Lorel’s prone form. If there is one thing that is always true, it is that Vika’s patience is shorter than a breath.
“You’re always so fucking sanctimonious,” she snaps, darting forwards. She dodges my talons easily, shreds my shadows as I push her back again.
“Always so brash.” Vika tries to sweep at my legs, and my shadows react in kind. She tries to grab me around the waist to unbalance me, and I slip from her grasp. She lets out a frustrated growl and returns to her favourite technique— trying to beat me into submission.
I take each hit as she intends, and hold my ground, striking back whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“Losing your temper, Vika?”
“Just give her up. How can she possibly be worth giving up your queen and betraying us all?”
“There it is,” I say, kicking her in the stomach. She falls back again for a moment of respite. Her shoulders heave with her frustration and anger. Her hurt. “I haven’t betrayed you, Vika.”
“You have! You?—”
“I do not wish to kill you, Vika. Were we not friends?” I ask, soft in the face of Vika’s rage.
Her eyes flicker, looking behind me to Lorel. Her face is cold with fury.
“You would invoke that word, now, would you? To save your skin.”
“If I wanted you dead, you would be.”
“You’re full of shit, Sila,” Vika snarls.
She moves again, darting across the space at me. And fine, I am tired of holding back. Shadows surge and curl around her. Vika shifts and dodges. She cuts at me with her shards and I lunge, withdrawing my talons as I grab her by the throat, digging my nails into the skin. This time,Isnarl.
“Let us go, or I will put my talons through your throat and tear out your heart.”
“Are you sure you’re willing to risk that?” Vika says, grinning. Battle rage colours her features manic. The soft, gentle sound of metal shards echoes behind me. It would almost be a pretty sound, only it fills me with dread. I glance over my shoulder, to where Lorel is kept up by my shadows. All I can do is grip her tighter to prevent her from slumping into the choker of razor-sharp shards threatening her life.
“I could have them cut her thr?—”
I tighten my grip on her throat, drawing blood. Fear, sharp and cold, grips my insides. “I do not want to kill you, Vika, but if you harm her, you will not survive what I will do to you. And trust me, my dearest, oldest friend, when I tell you that there isno one who knows your fears as well as I do. No one else who can make sure each and every one comes true,” I whisper, leaning in closer. “We were friends once, and mutual destruction is not what I want for you.”
Vika’s grin fades. “She’s just a scribe. She’snothing, Sila.”
“She is mine,” I hiss, feeling it in my bones and the shadows that envelop us. Vika flinches. “Now call them off. I do not wish to kill you.”
“You have more to lose than I do,” Vika snarls. We stay locked together, Vika breathing heavily, my nails sinking in a little more each time her body shifts.
“I do,” I say, trying to keep as still as possible. I know her shards can react as quickly as my talons. I have faced down a King today for Lorel, kept her alive through multiple attempts to kill her. I can only hope now that whatever camaraderie Vika and I shared, it will be enough to let us all walk away from here.
Vika’s face twitches as if whatever she’s thinking is causing her pain.
“Fine,” she hisses.
All her shadows melt away from her, and another quick look behind me shows they’re gone from Lorel’s throat. I let her go and she stumbles back, straightening sharply. The whites of her eyes are no longer black, though that same dark thick blood we share drips languidly from her fists. Her’s or mine, I could not say.
“We were friends, once. So go, and know that if we meet again, there’s no walking away.”
“Thank you.” I let my own shadows fall away, until I am little more than a weary woman. My shadows lower Lorel to the floor gently.
Vika watches her still, eyes sharp. Closed off. “Go,” she says, setting her jaw. “Before I change my mind.”
I collect Lorel from where she lies, her face soft in repose with dark shadows under her eyes. A phantom memory of that sharp, mind-rending pain slices through my thoughts. Her magic carries a heavy cost. I can already feel the heat of her fever rising under her skin as I hold her close.
This magic is going to tear her apart if we do not get it under control.
