Page 16 of A Song of Shadow and Starlight

“Aren’t magic wielders born with magic?” I look back at the others for confirmation.

Nyx rubs the back of his neck. “I can’t say I’ve met anyone who develops magic at…” he narrows his eyes before guessing, “Nineteen?”

“Twenty-One.”

“Yeah,” Finn interjects, wiping his glasses with the corner of his shirt before sliding them back on. “It is rather odd. Are you positive this hasn’t happened to you before?”

I slap a palm against my forehead. “Oh, right, I must have forgotten the last time I trapped myself in a golden bubble.”

Finn purses his lips and Nyx and Eris snicker. Nyx pats Finn’s back and smirks “You got to admit, she’s funnier than we thought she’d be.”

"Get some sleep," Atlas instructs. "We have a long way to walk tomorrow."

The brothers managed to grab their emergency packs from the sinking boat and I'm glad they did. They managed to snag a sleeping bag for me and some basic supplies for the journey ahead. Though I am uncomfortable on the ground, as soon as I slip inside my sleeping bag, I close my eyes and fall asleep.

Six

"Oh,Ilaria,youlookstunning!" My mother kisses my cheek, tears in her eyes. "I always knew you'd make a lovely bride."

I wipe my hands down the front of my tulle skirt and sigh in relief. It's my wedding day, thank the Father! That kidnapping business with the Tronovians must have been a nightmare. I can't wait to see Bastian's face when he watches me walk down the aisle. In a matter of minutes, I will be his wife.

My mother comes up behind me and slides her hands over my bare shoulders, turning me to face the gold trimmed mirror in my bedroom. My hair is pinned up in a romantic loose bun. I gasp – my hair is white and my eyes are grey.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I drop my bouquet on the white marble floor and run my hands over my head. "This can't be happening!"

"What's wrong, Ilaria?" My mother doesn't seem fazed by my unnatural appearance.

"My hair is white! Can you not see it?" I whip around, but when I face her, it's not my mother standing behind me. The strange woman has white hair and grey eyes that match mine. "Who are you?"

"I'm looking for you," the woman whispers. "And I won't stop until I find you."

"Who are you!?" I shout, but instead of answering me, the woman taps a finger to my forehead with unnatural speed. Suddenly, I'm falling through my bedroom floor into darkness. I scream for help, but the last thing I see as I descend deeper into the abyss is the woman's face.

I gasp, waking myself up before I hit the bottom of the black hole I was thrust into. It's then I realize that I'm not in my bedroom on my wedding day, but in Bava, surrounded by my Tronovian kidnappers.

The humidity of the jungle intensifies with the rising sun, and I miss the dry heat of my desert home more than I did yesterday. Alertness instantly replaces my grogginess when I see a giant cat covered in orange and black spots with four spider-like legs protruding from its back, prowling through our camp. I open my mouth to scream, but a hand clamps down on my lips before I have a chance to warn the others.

"Don't move," Atlas whispers in my ear. His body is flush against mine, and even though I'm terrified, his sudden presence eases some of my fear.

I bob my head, showing him I understand and will obey his instructions, so he slowly lowers his hand from my face and rests it against my lower back. I'm sure it's just my fear ricocheting through my body, but for some reason, his touch sends a tingling sensation through me.

The beast continues to skulk through the camp. Its monstrous snout rises and sniffs the air before suddenly whipping its head toward us. Our eyes meet and that's when the creature rushes for us, barreling across the camp, beelining for me. The animal roars, exposing a mouth full of hundreds of jagged teeth. I'm not sure how this leopard-tarantula hybrid intends to kill me, but neither being swallowed whole or ripped apart by his razor-sharp claws is the way I want to go. My first instinct is to run, but where would I run? I can't outrun it, and I can't outclimb it. There's no way to escape.

I squint my eyes and wait for the blow, but a shadow bolt slices through the air and stabs the beast through the chest and flies out its back before disappearing.

My eyes dart around the camp, but I don't see a trace of the shadow bolt or where it came from.

The beast is dead, lying on the soft ground with its six beady eyes glazed over and what appears to be a burn mark around the hole in its chest.

Nyx hops to his feet, knives in hand, but quickly sheathes them, a disappointed look on his face. "I guess I missed the action this morning."

"Was I supposed to wait for your ass to quit snoring before defending myself?" Atlas snorts as he lets me go. I don't know why I miss the feel of his hand on me, but I shoo those unwanted butterflies from my belly. He stands up and examines the unholy beast. That's when I put two and two together and realize that Atlas is the one who struck the creature with a shadow bolt.

"Wait!" I shakily rise to my feet. "You killed it?"

Atlas glances at me as he crouches in front of the animal and nods. "I suppose my secret is out now, Princess. I have shadow magic."

Despite being my enemy, he has saved my life twice now, and I would be an absolute brat if I didn't express my gratitude. "Thank you."

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