Page 5 of Return of the Darkness
“What would you suggest, then?” Sadira snapped. “I cannot escape the battlefield quickly, and while I can use my power to block and deter, I cannot physically impact the soldiers for long. Any vines I manage to entrap them snap with far more ease than normal.” Sadira wondered if Caligh’s control was why their powers proved less effective against the soldiers. Perhaps his power was interlinked with the soldiers’ bodies, and this stopped the rulers from directly affecting them with the usual strength of their power. Larelle had used a wave of water to repel the soldiers but had failed to make the soldiers choke on any she attempted to conjure internally. Could that be because of Caligh’s presence in their veins—his control in their minds? Even Soren had explained her vines barely held a soldier down, but since they were children, Soren had only ever used her power to decay Sadira’s own, so she had no measure as to whether her sister’s vines were strong enough to begin with.
“Create somewhere safe.” Soren shrugged. “You’re strong enough. You grew a tree through the stone floor at your engagement ball.” Caellum tensed. They all knew Soren referred to the moment she had stepped back, letting the creature kill Caellum, which it would have had Sadira not intervened. Sadira frowned when Soren glanced away, kicking her foot in the sand. Baelyn, one of the sable-coloured twin wolves, pawed at Soren’s leg until she stopped kicking.
“Can you do it again?” Caellum asked. “Can you create a treeline? It would be somewhere to shield the archers.” Sadira looked down at the battle again; the moat had already created a smallbarrier. If she grew trees outside of it, it would be far enough from Elisara’s flaming vines and awkward enough to keep the copper soldiers from reaching it.
“I can attempt it, but it requires a sturdier foundation. It could be weakly rooted compared to the vines I used during the battle.” Caellum gripped her hands, smiling with encouragement.
“I believe in you. They just need to keep you safe. That’s all I care about.” Sadira rested her forehead against his. The beating of their hearts thrummed in her ears, intertwined with the matching rise and fall of their chests. “How can I live a fairytale without my queen by my side?” he murmured. “This is just our first chapter. I intend for us to reach our happily ever after.” Eyes watering, Sadira stood on her tiptoes to plant a promise-filled kiss on Caellum’s lips, relishing the warmth and security they offered.
“I will give you hundreds of happily ever afters.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” Caellum said, kissing her back. Sadira turned to focus on her power but caught Soren staring before hurriedly looked away. Sadira frowned. Something had been different about Soren since the first battle. Sadira opted to push the thought aside until everyone was safe and Caligh was defeated. Raising her hands, she curled her toes, trying to imagine the feel of the sand against her feet, despite the laced boots protecting them from the heat. She always felt more connected to her power when barefoot. Inhaling deeply, Sadira closed her eyes and focused. She thought of the power twisting like vines in her blood, calling to be planted. When she opened her eyes, she flipped her palms, and trees shot through the ground and grew around the moat. They appeared slower than the oak tree she had summoned in Garridon, but it did not take long for the leaves to bloom. Their trunks were not as thick, nor the leaves as big, but their curving branches and foliage provided enough coverage for Sadira and the archers. One day she would spend her time travelling the rest of Novisia to catalogue every plant in her mind.
At the same moment Sadira felt her power cease, Elisara’s armyshifted, rattled by uncertainty as Caligh finally moved. He flourished his hands, and his own shadows seeped from his fingertips. While they did not form corporeal bodies like Elisara’s shadows, they moved with clarity and speed as he directed them to weave amongst the army.
It was time for the rulers to face darkness yet again.
Chapter Two
Soren
Uncertainty gnawed at the heavy weight on Soren’s chest, uncertainty of how she should feel and act. To her left stood Sadira and Caellum, a pair bound only because Soren had saved him on the battlefield. Yet Soren was confused by her actions. Why had she saved him? Something about the memories of Sadira with Caellum had triggered Soren to act—to rescue him. Yet she eventually did as Caligh asked, separating Elisara and Kazaar, and freeing the path for Caligh to kill Vala’s commander.
Before her, Tajana was trapped between Osiris and Arik on the battlefield—one of her oldest friends, bound by chains.Friend. Soren frowned. Tajanahadbeen a friend, and yet Soren unknowingly sent her away to become a monstrosity. The slumped, defeated woman was not the fighter Soren knew. A stabbing pain pierced Soren’s heart as she questioned what else Caligh had done—or could do—to her. Why would he hurt someone he knew was Soren’s friend? It was not only Tajana. Another old friend, Talia, was dead too. Grief swam amongst her other feelings, but the weight of the unknown overpowered everything else as she watched Caligh.
While her headache had stopped, Soren still recalled odd flashes of memories. There was something detached about them, like she was watching them unfold behind iron bars. She remembered none of them. It was like her mind was trying to tell her something, but what? All she could focus on was her next steps. The battle had two possible outcomes, and she was uncertain about her place in either. Should Caligh win, would he grant Soren her kingdom?Or would he cast her aside, disappointed in her efforts? If the rulers won and defeated Caligh, what did she have then? Caligh promised Soren the Garridon throne. She was entitled to it, but if Caligh died, who would praise her efforts or stand by her side? Would Sadira ever forgive her? Why did Soren care?
Scanning the sands, Soren’s mind whirred as she decided what to do. A flash of white fur crossed the edge of Sadira’s treeline. Varna was ready and waiting should Soren need her, which meant the rest of the pack was scattered amongst the trees. Baelyn and Tapesh flanked Soren, tucking their sable bodies close to her side. Though Soren had commanded them to join the others, they were unusually reluctant, and Soren lacked the energy to make them leave. At the very least, they would be there for her, no matter what happened next.
A different tree tarnished her vision—the large oak tree on Doltas Island. Two young blonde girls ran circles around it. Soren closed her eyes and shook her head. The same memory kept returning, but she could not decipher its meaning or focus.
A flurry of movement began to her left. The rulers were moving. Farid launched into the sky as the Novisian army began their march, their collective footfall echoing on the hard-packed sand. Soren was momentarily mesmerised by his uniqueness as sparks fell from his wings, raining in his wake. He soared towards the clash of copper soldiers and shadows. Nyzaia and Elisara strode forward, allowing Novisia’s army to consume and hide them as they made for the moat. The shadow attached to Elisara’s side appeared to be scouting ahead on her behalf. They were going after Caligh. A ringing filled Soren’s ears as she searched for the man who had guided her from childhood. Her heart thundered in her chest as she whirled in all directions. Still, she had little understanding of what she was doing or fate’s path. All she knew for certain was she needed answers. She needed his reassurance that no matter what happened, she would be okay.
Soren followed the path forged by Caellum and his armytowards the eastern treeline, ensuring it appeared like she was on Novisia’s side. She made a show of focusing on the safety of Garridon’s soldiers and people.Caellum’s people, reminded her mind. Soren glared at Caellum’s back as he led the moving army with Sir Cain at his side. He glanced at the treeline, where Sadira was perched in the canopy. Caligh’s victory or defeat hardly mattered when Soren had still failed. Caellum lived. Killing Garridon’s king was Caligh’s first request, and she had not even managed that.Should that be my priority?Caellum appeared distracted by his army and betrothed. Perhaps he would not see Soren coming.She needed to know what Caligh wished for her to do.
Focused on seeking his guidance and approval, she scanned the battlefield until finding him, her Lord of Night. Grinning, Caligh stood amid the warring copper and shadow armies. His black cloak fluttered around him, blending with the shadows he wielded, making it difficult to ascertain where the shadows began, and he ended. His shadows differed from Elisara’s. Caligh’s darkness was unceasing, promising nightmares and torture, a stain on your soul, as it wrapped around you and pulled your bones so tight they broke in seconds. They called to Soren, as if recognising her allegiance and dedication.
Yet Elisara’s army was also dark—there was no denying it. Her eyes, as vengeful as the shadows themselves, shifted with the sword in her hand. A light smokiness appeared, like there was some good within, clinging to the possibility of redemption rather than death. Although they took the lives of copper soldiers, they did so swiftly and quietly, as if placing them in an eternal slumber.
Caligh’s shadows twisted around the members of Elisara’s army, attempting to halt them. Frowning, he planted his feet firmer in the sand. His shadows sharpened into threads and began stabbing at the army, trying to dissipate them. He pierced through one, obliterating the shadow into pieces and watching it fade. The shadow acting as Elisara’s scout halted, peering back at his queen, who remained hidden among the soldiers. Soren couldjust make out her stumble as Nyzaia reached forward, gripping her arm. Caligh’s smirk showed he had seen it too. A moment later, shadows drifted from Elisara again, until pieces of the fallen soldier reformed and ran back into battle.He cannot kill them. Can anything?
Caligh had only defeated one, and not permanently, yet hundreds swarmed the copper army, forming a protective ring around him, Osiris, Arik, and Tajana. Tajana. She locked eyes with Soren, a silent plea for help as she stumbled under the weight of her new wings. Soren looked back at Caellum. His death could wait. Soren would rather protect the Lord of Night. She threw herself into the centre of battle, trying to reach him and Tajana, her only loyal friend.
Whistling lowly, Soren summoned the rest of her pack. The wolves stalked from the trees as Garridon’s arrows flew overhead. They halted and lowered their heads, raising their hackles as they searched for an entry point into the battle. Baelyn and Tapesh still flanked Soren, while Octavia, Serene, and Varna formed a triangular formation with the pack leader up front. Soren looked for Seiko and found his deep grey fur behind her, protecting their pack from the rear. Together, they continued through the clearing path.
Larelle stood on a raised dune beside Alvan and a handful of soldiers, creating the path ahead. As Novisia’s soldiers approached the moat, Larelle pulled at the lapping water, allowing Sadira to create a bridge of vines between both sides. The soldiers filtered over in pairs, no more than ten at a time, but enough to tackle the copper soldiers circling the shadows in their attempts to reach the Novisian army. A woman screamed, and Soren whipped her head towards the sound. Elisara doubled over in pain while Nyzaia held her upright. At least fifty shadows fled from her at once to rejoin the fight. Soren looked at Caligh. The first soldier he took down had simply been a test. Practice. His shadows now skilfully and confidently threaded through multiple of Elisara’s soldiers atonce, taking them down in one fell swoop. In doing so, more copper soldiers were free to make for the moat where Novisia’s army resided.
A flash of light captured Soren’s attention as Farid flew towards Nyzaia and Elisara. The surrounding army retreated to give Farid the space he needed to land. Though it was not long before he was air bound again, this time carrying Elisara into the thick of the battle towards Caligh. Elisara’s shadowed guard was by her side in seconds as they landed, readying to battle any approaching copper soldiers. He backed away when Farid returned with Nyzaia. Soren looked at Caligh. They were close. They might succeed.
Soren took off at a run towards the vine bridge expertly crafted on the eastern side. To her left, Seiko howled as the rest of the pack pulled into formation on either side of her, protecting Soren from all angles. She shoved past the soldiers waiting to step foot on Sadira’s bridge and moved with unwavering certainty, rushing across to the island, where the battle was in full swing. As soon as they touched sand again, Baelyn and Tapesh ripped into the exposed legs of two copper soldiers, sinking their teeth behind their knees and tearing through the flesh. When the soldiers fell, the shadows descended, blanketing them momentarily before they rose once again.
Up close to the action, Soren struggled to see. Flashes of copper and darkness swarmed her vision in amongst blood as her wolves continued their path of destruction. She considered swiping a breastplate from a fallen soldier, like she had before, to allow quicker entry through the battle. She remembered the black veins creeping from the wounds of the fallen in the first skirmish, slayed by Sadira’s imbued weapons. Was that a sign the sword had claimed them? She had little time to check the wounds of the fallen, to determine precisely how Elisara’s shadow soldiers took the lives of Caligh’s men. Could he really control this many people at once?
Soren stumbled at another memory—she and Caligh stood in a clearing, shadows still hiding his identity whilst her youthfulface hid the atrocities she was capable of. Varna nuzzled her side, keeping her upright as Soren pushed her braids from her face and rested her hand on the wolf’s back for balance. She drew her hand back at the wetness on Varna’s snow-white fur, now streaked with blood. Any thoughts of her plan vanished. Soren stooped and ran her hands through Varna’s fur, searching for the wound. Only when she found none did Soren’s breathing even. The blood was simply a marking of her victories. Seiko nudged her from the side before she heard the whines of Baelyn, Tapesh, Octavia, and Serene. The pack circled her amid the sound of clashing metal. The copper soldiers fought not only Elisara’s shadows but now Novisia’s soldiers, who had breached the island.
“Get up!” A gruff voice shouted from her right. Soren glanced around, remembering herself. She looked up at Sir Cain. “I may not like you, but you’re one of our best fighters.” He drove his sword through the gap in a soldier’s armour and shoved the fallen body off his weapon. “Get the fuck up!” he yelled, spinning in the opposite direction. The wolves stalked forward, forging a path for Soren towards the centre. Elisara’s army blocked her path. Would they know Soren’s intention if she tried to break through? She had no time to think as a rope of shadow she knew all too well pierced through the line of defence. Soren did not hear Elisara scream this time; she no longer knew where she was. How close were they to reaching Caligh? As the soldiers dissipated, Soren saw her opening. A small gap between the last line of copper soldiers offered a view of Caligh, controlling the darkness. Elisara and Nyzaia were not there.
But Tajana was. Her old friend knelt and draped her leather wings around her like a weight, cocooning her until only the crown of her head was visible. Osiris frowned and rolled back his shoulders, glancing between Caligh and Tajana to check if he was watching. Quickly, Osiris loosened his grip on the chain around Tajana’s neck and rested a hand on her shoulders to pull them back until the wings no longer consumed her, the tips resting behind heron the sand as Tajana hung back her head with relief. A moment later, Osiris resumed his rigid stance, like he had not moved or helped at all.
