She stilled at his question, recalling Roka’s warnings to not let Aven discover the truth of her blood status. “I’ve been practising,” she said evasively.
“Answer me!”
“I did,” Alex replied, remaining as deliberately vague as possible.
He took a menacing step forward but then froze, tilting his head as if listening to something only he could hear.
“No,” he breathed, his eyes quickly looking around the clearing until they fell on his companion. “Calista, stay here and keep them occupied for as long as you can. Then come and find us.”
The woman nodded and turned her focus back to D.C. and Bear who remained suspended in the air.
“You,” Aven said to Alex, capturing her in his burning gaze. “You’re coming with us.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Alex argued, raising her blade defiantly.
Aven didn’t so much as blink as he said, “Jordan.”
Alex dreaded the thought of continuing the fight with her best friend. But this time Aven’s order had a different meaning, and she discovered his intent a moment too late when Jordan reached out to grasp the Meyarin’s shoulder and they both disShe wasn’t quick enough to tap into her new senses again before both her hands were yanked behind her back and her sword was forced from her grip. A’enara disappeared immediately and she hissed at the pain of her arms being tugged almost out of their sockets. Before she could so much as cry out, the pommel of Jordan’s sword smashed into her temple.
She was unconscious before she hit the snow-covered ground.
A stinging pain forced Alex back to half-consciousness, and a second sharp slap to her face woke her completely.
Ouch.
She opened her eyes and winced at the throbbing pulse beating through her skull. Aven stood directly above where she lay in the icy snow, looking down at her with flared nostrils.
“The reason you’re still alive is because I need an answer. If you tell me quickly, I’ll be merciful and end your life just as fast. If you delay, I’ll take great delight in prolonging your pain.”
“At least one of us will be happy,” Alex slurred. “That’s something.”
Clearly her damaged head was affecting her judgement. Note to self: don’t antagonise the murderous psychopath.
Aven snarled at her.
Oops. Too late.
“Answer me!” he demanded loudly, causing Alex to wince in discomfort.
“It might have escaped your notice, but I can barely remember my own name after that sucker punch, let alone what I’m supposed to be answering,” Alex said. “And where are we, anyway?”
They weren’t in Raelia anymore, that much she could tell. But judging by the colour of the forest surrounding them they were still somewhere in the Silverwood.
“How did you fight Jordan when you couldn’t see him?” Aven repeated his question, barely reining in his temper.
“You didn’t tell me where we are,” Alex singsonged. “Quid pro quo?”
Before she could draw a startled breath, Jordan was kneeling beside her in the snow with the point of his sword resting against her windpipe. “Answer him!” he growled.
Alex couldn’t utter a single word, she was too consumed by the fiery blue eyes staring at her out from her friend’s face. She reached out her hand without thinking and stroked his cheek, whispering, “Oh, Jordan.”
His gaze flickered with what she thought was genuine emotion at her touch, but as he pressed his blade into her skin reality washed over her. This wasn’t her best friend. This was Aven’s puppet. And he was willing to kill her for his master.
“Answer him now or I’ll slit your throat,” Jordan threatened.
Alex stared from his eyes to her hand on his cheek and back again. On her third glance, something other than his hardened expression caught her attention. Maybe it was because she was dazed from the bump on her head, but the swirling darkness in her Shadow Ring seemed more beautiful than usual.
A whispered memory came back to her.
“When your need is great, you’ll be able to activate the Shadow Essence contained within the stone… But you’ll have to immerse yourself fully in the Shadow to do so.”
Then another memory came to her.
“Alexandra, we’re all born with Shadow inside us. But, as with anything, it’s up to us to decide what we do with that Shadow. We can succumb to its power, or we can overcome it and use it. Our level of control depends upon our ability to resist the Shadow’s hold on us. It’s a choice we must all make.”
A choice. That’s what Caspar Lennox had told her. So, she would choose.
“Help me up, will you?” she asked Jordan. “I won’t answer while this wet snow soaks through my clothes. It’s icky.”
Jordan looked to Aven, seeking permission. At the Meyarin’s terse nod, Jordan kept his blade steady against her neck with one hand while he used the other to yank her to her feet.
The Silverwood blurred in Alex’s vision while she wobbled on her unsteady legs and fought the urge to vomit. Okay, that wasn’t my smartest idea.
When she could see clearly again, she sought Jordan’s eyes. “You’re my best friend,” she told him quietly. “Remember that I love you. Bear, Dix… we all love you. Don’t forget.”
His eyes flickered again but his grip on her remained strong.
“Don’t give up,” she whispered thickly. “We’ll find a way to save you.”
“Time’s up, Alexandra,” Aven cut in. “Answer the question, or I’ll have to motivate you.” He dropped his voice and added, “And I can guarantee you won’t like how I choose to do that.”
Alex looked at Jordan one last time before she turned to Aven. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you?” she said. “I’m surprised. It’s so obvious.”
His blistering glare spoke more than his words ever could.
Throwing caution to the wind, she smiled darkly at him and said, “Allow me to show you, then.”
If I can fight like a Meyarin, maybe I can run like one too, Alex reasoned. It was worth a shot, anyway. She took a deep breath to centre herself, elbowed Jordan in the stomach, forced his sword away, and sprinted off into the forest.
The scenery whizzed by at an alarming speed, and her throbbing skull rebelled painfully against the rapid movement. She could hear Aven screaming at her, and her heightened senses picked up that he was following close behind—too close. But she only needed a head start, and that was what she’d achieved.
Using the same principle Roka had taught her, Alex concentrated on her surroundings. She felt the air as she ran, she smelled the wood of the trees and the fresh snow at her feet. She heard her footfalls and those of Aven catching up to her. She saw everything in crystal-clear detail. And when she held out her ring hand and narrowed her gaze, she saw even more. In, around, and through her very flesh swirled light and dark, both battling for dominance. It was beautiful. Entrancing. But Alex couldn’t pay it the attention it deserved—she had to focus.
“We’re all born with Shadow inside us… We can succumb to its power, or we can overcome it and use it… It’s a choice we must all make…”
Alex knew the choice she had to make, and what she had to do to make it. Caspar Lennox had told her, months earlier.
“… Immerse yourself fully in the Shadow…”
Alex closed her eyes as she ran at an impossible speed. She didn’t need to see where she was going—she could feel everything around her. Trusting her heightened senses, she acted on instinct, scrunching her hand into a fist and focusing inward at the Shadow swirling within her body, encouraging it to move down her arm and towards the ring.
The spine-tingling sensation was unlike anything she’d felt before. The effort to maintain her concentration caused her head to throb more painfully, and she nearly lost both her grip on the Shadow and her ability to keep running when her attention wavered. But then she thought of her friends—D.C. and Bear, who she needed to make it back to, and Jordan, wh
o she had to leave behind for now—and that gave her the strength to hold on.
When she felt like the weight of the world was in her fingers—or really, just the one finger—she acted instinctively again and threw her fist forward, away from her body. Her eyes opened in time to see a thick cloud of dark, swirling Shadow fly from her hand and engulf the wintry landscape in front of her.
One step, two steps, three steps, and she launched herself into what she presumed—and hoped—was a Shadow-fuelled portal. Although she had no idea what she was doing, her intuition told her to channel her thoughts towards her destination—just like with a Bubbledoor—so she did exactly that, coercing the Shadow towards a single place: Raelia.
The darkness surrounded her, pulling at her clothes and slamming her body into invisible walls as it fought for her submission. Alex remembered Caspar Lennox’s words, how he’d said that Shadow was powerful. Dangerous, even. He’d warned her about the need to resist. Not fight; just resist.
So, that’s what Alex did.
Instead of fighting her way through the darkness, Alex recalled the rest of Caspar Lennox’s words.
“The Shadow surrounds you. But the Light within you… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Light. That was what Alex needed to focus on. Not the darkness, but the light.
She thought about the faces of her friends. Bear. Dix. Jordan. She remembered the day they’d first entered Raelia together, how they’d joked and laughed even in the most worrying of situations.
Then she thought about the other special people in her life. She pictured her parents and their enthusiastic zest for adventure. She remembered Kaiden dancing with her at the palace in Tryllin, just as she remembered Declan hugging her and promising to keep her secrets. She thought about Roka’s trust in her, Kyia’s approving smiles, and Zain’s annoying ‘little human’ jabs. She recalled Darrius’s kindness, Karter’s grudging respect, Hunter’s faith in her and Fletcher’s unending concern for her well-being.
They were her light. And they were what kept Alex from yielding to the Shadow, which was trying desperately to overwhelm her. Rather than submit, she fortified her mental defences and screamed out a single, commanding word: “RAELIA!”
This time the Shadow listened to her, surrendering to her control.
The disorienting force abated instantly and Alex fell to her knees as the ground became steady under her once more. She opened her eyes and they widened in surprise. The Shadow Ring had done exactly as she’d ordered, delivering her directly to Raelia, but it wasn’t the Raelia she’d been expecting. Instead of the snowy landscape, she was in a moonlit clearing.
Moonlight.
As in, nighttime.
What…?
Not only was it nighttime, but there was also no trace of snow. The landscape looked exactly like it had the very first night Alex had stumbled upon the clearing months ago.
“Enter in, if you dare,
As one who’s been to Meya;
Be strong of mind and pure of heart,
For your journey began at Raelia.”
Alex jumped to her feet, swayed on the spot and pressed a hand to her throbbing head. She knew who the singing voice belonged to, even if she couldn’t see the owner.
“Lady Mystique?”
“Hello again, Alexandra,” the old woman said, appearing in the middle of the circle.
“How—how did I get here?”
“You activated the Shadow Essence in your ring,” Lady Mystique said. “A dangerous undertaking, especially for one so full of Light. But you managed to gain control over the Shadow, and now you’ll be able to do so with much less resistance in the future. Two Walks remain in your ring. Use them wisely.”
Alex shuddered at the idea of ever having to use the ring again. “What I meant was, where’s the real Raelia?”
“You’ll be back there in a moment, child,” the old woman assured her. “But I wished to speak with you, to give you a warning, before you’re reunited with your friends.”
Alex wasn’t sure she could handle any more bad news. “What is it?”
“It won’t take long for Aven Dalmarta’s power to rise again, despite Meya’s best efforts to resist,” Lady Mystique said gravely. “There are too many Garseth hiding out in the city, ready and willing to serve him. King Astophe and Prince Roka will need all the help you can give them.”
“Me? What can I do?” Alex asked. “My part in all of this is over. I was supposed to keep Aven from getting through the doorway, and look how well that turned out.”
Alex was barely holding her emotions together. It was as if shock had finally settled on her and she was completely numb. She couldn’t think about anything, least of all what Aven was going to do next.
“Alexandra, listen to me,” Lady Mystique said. “Your role has barely begun. You have much left to do, more than you can possibly imagine. You must—”
“No,” Alex interrupted with a firm shake of her head. “I must nothing. In the last hour I’ve given Aven free access to Meya, I’ve watched a classmate die and I’ve been attacked by my best friend—who I’ve now lost to my worst enemy. I’m sorry, but I can’t have this conversation right now.”
The old woman’s face softened and she reached out to take Alex’s hand in her own. At her touch the throbbing pain in Alex’s head disappeared, along with all the other aches from her fight with Jordan.
“I know you don’t want to hear it,” Lady Mystique said softly, “but it’s important that you listen to me. You must train, Alexandra. You must train with the Meyarins.”
Alex stared at her. “What?”
“You must build your stamina,” Lady Mystique continued. “You must learn how to call upon the Meyarin blood in your veins at a single thought, without hesitation. It won’t take Aven long to realise how you managed to escape him and why you fight so well. He’s cunning, dangerously so, and when the time comes, you must be ready to face him—and win. You can only learn so much with a human instructor, regardless of how capable your Karter is. You need to learn how to use your Meyarin abilities from a Meyarin.”
“That’s not—I can’t—” Alex took a deep breath and tried again. “I don’t want to fight Aven.”
“I know, child, I know,” Lady Mystique said, squeezing Alex’s hand. “But when the time comes, you may be the only one who can.”
Alex struggled to control her emotions, overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility she felt resting on her shoulders.
“There’s something else you need to know,” the old woman said, her tone gentle but firm. “They are words written of old. To what they refer, no one is certain. But I believe you must be made aware of them.”
She released Alex’s hand and pulled a faded piece of parchment from her coat. It was withered and crumpled and looked as if it had survived more years than should have been possible.
“Open it,” Lady Mystique urged.
Alex hesitantly did so, finding a beautiful script in an unknown language, with a translation directly underneath.
When Day and Night combine and fight
Against one Enemy
Then Dark and Light shall meet mid-strike
And set the Captives free.
She read it a few times before turning her eyes back to the old woman. “Am I supposed to know what this means?”
Lady Mystique just looked steadily at her. “You will when the time comes.”
Alex didn’t have the strength to fight for more information. She tried to hand the paper back, but the old woman said, “Keep it.”
“What happens now?” Alex asked, looking around the clearing.
“Now you go back to your friends. They’ll need you in the coming times, just as much as you’ll need them.”
Alex felt her throat close painfully, but she forced out a whispered, “What’s going to happen to Jordan?”
Lady Mystique stared at her for a long moment before she answered, “That will depend on you, Alexandra.”
&n
bsp; With her declaration still echoing in Alex’s ears, the old woman disappeared, as did the darkened clearing. Alex’s head spun at the abrupt change in landscape and she closed her eyes. When she reopened them, it was daylight again, and she was standing in the middle of the snow-covered Raelia.
And she wasn’t alone.
appear ed.
Twenty-Six
The clearing was full of people—beautiful Meyarins, mostly—and all of them were looking at her with startled expressions. But her attention was solely on her two friends sprinting her way.
“Alex,” D.C. sobbed, slamming into Alex and wrapping her arms around her. “We thought—We thought—”
D.C. couldn’t finish her sentence, but she didn’t have to. Her fierce embrace said enough, as did Bear’s tormented face when he reached them and circled his arms around the both of them.
“Jordan?” Bear whispered against Alex’s hair.
Alex knew what he was asking. She wished she could tell him what he wanted to hear, but she couldn’t. She shook her head and held her friends close as her own tears began to trickle down her face.
Alex felt Bear shudder in anguish and she absorbed D.C.’s sobs as they racked through her entire frame. The three friends held tight to each other while they grieved for their friend, remaining like that until someone cleared their throat nearby, breaking them apart.
Alex wiped her eyes as she stepped back and turned towards the source of the sound. “Zain?” she croaked, unsure whether or not he was real.
The Meyarin’s face was alarmingly pale and he held himself as if he was in pain. But he still smiled at her and said, “It’s good to see you, little human. You scared us all for a while there.”
Alex released a broken breath and launched herself at him, hugging him fiercely. He grunted but wrapped his arms around her in return.
“Aven said you were dead,” she whispered into his solid chest. “He said the Hyroa blood would kill you.”