Page 139 of A Kingdom of Shadows

Darius wraps his hands around Aurum's throat channeling all his rage when Aurum says, "You will yield before me."

I can see it; I can see how hesitation has Darius in a tight hold. His arms stop straining, and then he lets go of Aurum, collapsing onto the side with a wince.

None of it phases Aurum even as he rises, dusting himself off with a satisfactory smile.

Rushing toward Darius, I kneel beside him. His pain-filled eyes meet mine, and I almost break.

"It is so great to be back in this body. I certainly do not miss being a powerless Elven." Aurum cracks his neck on each side.

"How," I say. "How can it be when Sarilyn—"

"Killed me? That is where Aias comes in." Wild excitement flashes in his eyes before he places a hand on his heart and sighs. "Poor Aias, an Elven who had wandered into our territories, looking for an escape after his mother's death only to find the same destiny for himself."

My teeth smash together. "You killed an innocent boy."

"See, but I didn't, Nara. That is the beauty of it." He looks down at us with a grin as he starts to explain. "I already knew I was losing against Sarilyn. Every seer I requested to speak with would tell me the exact same thing as the rest. That I would die at her hands." Lowering himself to the ground, his palm uncurls, and shadows dance between his fingers. His words form stories within his magic. A woman holding a newborn child in her arms then disappearing into a sun and crescent moon. "But something else they mentioned was of a future Rivernorth to be born of my sister Aurelia and a reincarnation of Crello whose other half would happen to be a mortal."

I stare as those shadows turn into different scenes. Ones of two children playing with a marble and growing into adults as they meet for the third time in that shop.

"This," Aurum emphasizes as another moment shows up of Darius and I entering the Screaming Forest. "This is what they showed me. This is what they told me would happen if I played my cards right." The times turn back, and a silhouette of a child with pointed ears walks through the threshold from Terranos into Emberwell. It switches to another man, showing him the way to Aurum castle, and I wish to be there and warn Aias myself. "Aias was my opportunity, so I took him in, a naïve child who adored me and saw me as their king. I told him he was safe, and when the time came, I made my trusted witch switch our bodies on the battlefield."

The following images will haunt me forever as I watch it change to thousands of people fighting. Even the shadows of it all do not hide the chaos Sarilyn brought onto the Rivernorth's. And Aias... I can see that he was confused by how he looked around, wondering what was happening. He had no time to speak, no time to plea that it was not him who was inside Aurum's body because Sarilyn drove the Northern Blade through him, and the switch had already been made.

Aurum's shadows disintegrate from his hand, and I look at his face. Rage rolls through me, knowing I was trusting Aurum this whole time.

"Did you kill her?" I ask, and he knows who I mean.

Golrai.

His back straightens, looking nothing apologetic as one should. "She overheard me sharing my plans with the king. I couldn't let her tell you, but it was entertaining to watch you blame it on Thallan."

My body shudders. The look I give him is more than the definition of hatred. It's repulsion. I raise my hand, prepared to hit him, but he catches it before I can so much as graze his cheek.

His grip is firm around my wrist as he pouts at me with disappointment. "That wasn't very nice, Nara, or should I say Solaris?" He grins the vilest smile as he yanks me upwards, and Darius groans from the ground, trying to reach me.

Aurum traps me with his other arm around my waist, and I try to push him away with my free hand but to no use. He has me locked tight.

"Let go of her," Darius breathes low and too painfully.

Aurum chuckles, a sadistic sound to match his rotting personality, as he tightens his grip, making me gasp and unable to breathe. He's crushing me. "Oh, my nephew, ever the dashing rescuer."

Darius is almost able to stand when Aurum kicks him down, and my anger whirls freely through my veins.

"You are just like your mother, Darius. Loved too hard—" Aurum kicks him in the abdomen this time, and I shout out Darius's name in a plea "—Cared too much." He looks at me. "Isn't that right, Goldie?"

I glare at him, and before I know it, I spit in his face, causing him to grunt with disgust as he releases me onto the ground. I gasp for air as I try to crawl toward Darius and turn him over, begging for him to be okay, but a bitter laugh leaves Aurum's lips as he glances at us.

I'm trying to lift Darius with me, but his weakened state drags me down. A blast of shadows then sends me back, nearing the pit's edge. I grab onto one of the pillars to steady myself before patting the side of my leg in search of my dagger.

I do not care if it isn't the Northern Blade. I am going to kill him.

A guttural cry tears from my throat as I launch Aurum's way. He twists around as I raise my blade to his throat, and shadow tendrils wrap around my wrist, pulling me in Aurum's direction. The dagger is snatched from my hand while the other wrist is captured in another of Aurum's shadows. He pulls them forward, and I jerk with the motion until my chest is against his.

"Do you think you can kill me so easily?" He grits, an unhinged look in his eyes. "I was born from the Northern rivers of Emberwell. I am the true ruler of dragons. Nothing, and no one can change that."

Defiance sparks inside me as I struggle to break free from these shadow bonds. "I can try."

He laughs, shooting a flame at Darius's chest. I gasp with agony as he writhes in pain on the ground. "And what will you gain from that?" Aurum asks. "Plunging this dagger through my heart will only cause the death of the one you love."

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