Page 142 of A Kingdom of Shadows

My eyes snag on one of Aeron's daggers sheathed across his armor and where Aurum stands. My anger spikes again, thinking about what he is doing to Darius and seeing him now on the ground, kneeling under Aurum's will and restrained. It unleashes something horrific in me.

I turn toward Aeron, yanking that blade off him before I lunge for Aurum and jab it straight through his eye. He cries out, stumbling backward as he reaches for the dagger lodged in the socket of his eye.

My triumph falls short as he backhands me so hard that I hit the ground. I brace my hands against the floor and bring my fingers to the side of my lip. As I draw my hand back, I glance at the blood staining them.

"You vile piece of human filth!" Aurum's hand fists the back of my hair and drags me toward the dais. I kick and buck in his grasp as I cry out my rage, hearing Darius bellow my name. Arlayna is trying to get to me, but Aurum's shield goes back up, blocking her, Faye, and Aeron away from me. "I always knew you would bring me problems," Aurum says, ignoring Darius's insults and threats. "But we can work that out, can't we?" I'm let go for a moment until he grabs me by the throat, and this time, I can see the ruins of his eye. The swelling, the blood, and the hope it is so far gone that it will never heal.

He lifts me to my feet, and I continue thrashing at him. "Oh, Darius!" He sings. "I hope you are prepared for the next part that is to come. I would hate for you to miss it."

"Fuck you," I hiss, but his hand tightens around my throat, crushing my windpipe as the word fizzles out on a choke.

He smiles at me before he takes the dagger I had used against him and plunges it into my abdomen, twisting and deepening it until all you can see is the hilt. My scream turns into an agonized gasp, knocking all the air out of me as Darius yells again. I can feel the broken panic in his voice just as searing hot pain travels through my core. My gaze latches onto Aurum's hateful gaze, and it's not shock that shines in my eyes. It's power, it's promise, it's confidence that I do not fear this moment. My adrenaline rides strong, and that smile of his loses its edge for a second as he takes in my countenance right before he withdraws the weapon.

I don't know what happens first.

The cold flame coursing through my wound or the impact as I hit the ground. I press a hand over my abdomen, blood spilling between my fingers as my head turns to the side, and I look at Darius. I stretch my other hand out toward him, and every bit of love I have for him floods me as he tries to free himself, fighting furiously to get to me.

Aurum steps over me and glances between us. His eye still bleeds, but that no longer phases him as he admires our struggles. He turns to Darius, chuckles once, and breathes out in satisfaction. "Bite her."

Two words.

Two words that make my soul bleed.

Darius's arms slacken, his expression full of defeat and torture. I attempt to shake my head, but it only makes the room spin.

Aurum snaps his fingers, and Darius's shadow restraints disappear from his wrists. "Go on," he says. "Bite her."

Unable to fight off that demand, Darius slowly rises, but I shout at him, "Darius, no! Fight it!"

He looks at me in agony, and even in this state, I wish to kill Aurum. I wish he was not attached to Darius because I would do anything if it meant ending him.

"Darius," I say, my voice brimming with despair.

He is now at my side, pulling me into his arms. His voice breaks as he whispers my name back and traces the side of my face with his fingers, wanting to feel and be with me.

"I am waiting," Aurum taunts. "And remember... you are not to heal her."

Darius grabs my arm, and I am confident he is telling me to do anything to stop him, but I am too weak.

Please, is what I make out from the movement of his lips. He is begging.

"We are meant for the skies," my whispered promise sounds gurgled from the copper taste of blood filling my mouth.

Darius squeezes his eyes shut, resisting the urge to concede to Aurum's wishes, but the more he fights it, the weaker he seems to grow as he grits his teeth in pain.

"Bite her!" Aurum's echoing yell cracks the walls, and Darius can no longer fight it as his fangs lengthen, but the second they touch my skin, Darius is pulled away from me by Aurum and Thallan. I'm still holding his hand before the fiery flame of his golden eyes is the last thing I see as the tips of our fingers brush against each other, and I no longer feel him.

Elven guards are unsheathing their swords while swirls of fire start hurtling above me, followed by a large sound resembling a bird's caw. I drown it all out as I weep, thinking of everyone I love, knowing I have failed. And as the cries of an oncoming fight surround me, the world before me dies.

Chapter Fifty-Five

I fight to open my eyes as my limbs feel weighed down by something soft and plush. It's difficult to figure out what when I can hardly see. I groan lightly, turning my head to my left. My head is throbbing, and I wince, looking at how everything is a blur as I try to adjust my vision.

With my sight returning, I blink at the person I am seeing right now and wonder if this is the afterlife I am in or if I am truly awake.

"Illias?" I croak, my throat parched, yet I'm full of hope at the sight of my brother.

He is seated beside me, with Iker standing behind, leaning against a cabinet. I attempt to sit up, but Illias presses his hand on my knee. My gaze goes to his two fingers and then to my abdomen. I'm wearing a soft linen dress material in white when panic suddenly has the need to break through the barriers of my mind.

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