Page 49 of A Story of Sinners

“So the boy ventured through the forest and snuck past the fae, the mages, the witches, and the humans who had declared war on his birth world. He entered harrowed hell, not realizing the trap that had been set before him.”

The shadowy figure of the little boy entered the portal at the base of canyons, and the wall transformed. The shadows of the rocks and trees stretched out and morphed into mountains and volcanos, eerie monsters with sharp fangs and claws grasping and lunging as he desperately tried to escape.

“The rift closed soon after he entered, a silver cobweb closing off access to the portal of old. Behind the web, the portal quickly withered away and died, ceasing to exist. He was taken by creatures not long after.”

The shadow creatures that now followed him around beat him bloody, dragging him through the mud towards a castle—no, a palace, high up in the mountains. He was brought into a throne room, his lifeless, broken body unceremoniously tossed before five figures with large horns and scaly wings.

The shade gods.

“The young boy who had once thought himself a god quickly learned otherwise. The shade gods had no use for a half-human offspring, and thus subjected him to the cruelest of realities. He was nothing but a toy to torture and pass the time.”

What played out next had me gritting my teeth and clutching the comforter in my fists. Malachi’s voice trailed off as he described the years of neglect and violent abuse, violations of the darkest, most unforgiveable sort, something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

“Hundreds of years passed, with the boy living in this state, until one day, he gathered an army of broken, battered soldiers and rose up.”

A battle played out.

“Or, at least, he tried.”

The battle ended with him chained and collared, dragged to some dim sublevel of the underworld and left to rot in the darkness.

“But this time, the boy had developed a new ability—the ability to glimpse into the world he’d once lived in. He used the sight to spy on the girl and see how she lived. She was safe and happy, albeit a little foolish,” he whispered in a slight jab, and I rolled my eyes. “But she was beautiful and loved; everything he had never known, everything he had ever wanted. Those small glimpses of her motivated him to live through the dark and lonely nights.”

Small scenes of my life played out on the prison wall set against my own. The artistry of his shadows was truly mind blowing; it was as if I was living my life all over again.

“The spirits of the ether trained him, and over the course of a few hundred years, the boy had grown into a man—stronger, smarter, better. His abilities had fully formed, his wings had grown, and he could command the respect of the entire Otherworld if he so wished. He broke himself free from his prison, freed his small, untrained army, and prepared. This time, he wouldn’t lose.”

This time, he didn’t. When the gruesome shadow battle played out, he destroyed the gods, and rightfully so. With four dead, he hovered over the fifth and tore him to shreds, plucking the crown from his head.

“The final one was my father.”

“Which one was mine?” I asked in a low voice.

Malachi’s shadows withdrew, slinking back into his hands. When he didn’t answer, I turned to face him. “Which one, Malachi?”

His eyes shuttered and his lips pursed. “That’s a conversation for another time, my light. I’m all talked out.”

“Which one?” I asked again.

This time, he snorted and shook his head. “Your father wasn’t any of them.”

“Excuse me?” My brow furrowed, and my mouth dropped open. “There were only five shade gods, and you killed all five. So. Which. One?”

His lips tilted in a smirk as he rose from my bed. “Who said you were part shade? It certainly was not me. Did you assume?”

“What?” I asked, my voice rising as I climbed from the bed after him. “What are you saying? I’m not human, that’s for sure. I have powers beneath these cuffs.”

Malachi raised a brow and stepped forward. “I know you do, and like I said, those cuffs shouldn’t be able to hold something likeyouback.” His fingers brushed against the cuffs, and he tilted his head, meeting my eyes. “I told you I would train you to be stronger if you came with me. The truth you seek comes along with the offer.” He stepped closer, and I gasped. “Why do you think your power is a different color than mine? How is it that we are so similar, and yet so different? Don’t you want to know? Who you are…what you are?”

He stepped back and released a breath. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one confused about your parentage. Your former mate seems to be just as befuddled as you.” Shadows collected around his body. “My offer stands until the end of the summit. Come with me, and I will show you what you really are, where you really come from. I will train you and make you stronger. Smarter.”

The shadows swallowed him whole, and when they dissipated, he was gone, leaving so many unanswered questions in his wake.

My whole life, I’d thought I’d been a shade—the idea of me being anything else was overwhelming.

If I wasn’t a shade, then what the hell was I?

Chapter21

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