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“Hmm? What’s this we have here?” He grins wickedly at me. The wrinkles under his eyes give away his sick joy at finding me. “You are different, aren’t you, little hatchling?”
The man takes in a long inhale of my hair. What the fuck?! “Ahh,” he exhales loudly, his hot breath making me feel fucking sick. “L-Let me go, you asshole!”
“I knew I smelled something different in here. Hmm—I wonder why they stuck you in here with the Tauris, though…”
“He can join our allegiance if he wants. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.” Kai’s face fills with devotion. Allegiance? I smile weakly. That’s right—Corvus, he’s talking about Corvus. I’ll fill him in on Martin later. “You make it sound like we’re in this for shits and giggles.”
“Honestly, I don’t have anything to live for anymore. Not after what I lost back home.” Kai’s voice falters. I lift a brow. It’s weird to hear him be serious. Although I’ve only known him for a matter of minutes, it feels fucking wrong. “But with you and Corvus, I know we’ll survive. We’ll all get out of here.”
“We’ll always be running toward the sun.”
“There is no sun, not anymore,”
Fuck—it takes everything I have, but I reluctantly drop to a knee. I’m not just giving up my pride by kneeling, I’m giving up the dignity for all those who are dead as well.
escape. I cock my head to the side to try and shake whatever this is… Have I been fucking drugged or something? It’s calling to me, telling me to unleash all the hate and grief onto those deserving of it. I should be standing with them.
“I think it’s intentional. Either they’re keeping us separated on purpose or… or they’re killing those who didn’t meet the cut.” My eyes widen and I instantly think of Terra… all the other people my age and younger. They’re dead? ”There’s something bigger going on here. Have you two ever seen magic like that before? We must be vigilant and pay attention to anything that seems odd.”
I step out of the room and head for the open front door, eyeing the mushy mess in the doorway. Ugh. I know it’s wrong but I still don’t feel anything… I want to—I know that I need to—but whatever this Shadow is… it’s not letting me feel anything about it. Maybe I should just be grateful.
“Or.” He lets the whisper hang between us as he reaches for my shirt, pushing a hand beneath it and cupping my breast. I gasp as his cold palm meets my hardened nipple but the fire in his eyes heats my core. “Or I can teach you another type of lesson, sweetheart.”
“Teach me.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re asking for, kid.” He dips down closer and presses his pelvis into mine. He’s hard, and the fact that I can feel it all the way up to my belly button sends a wave of excitement through me.
I lean up and press my lips against his. He flinches but doesn’t pull away. His lips are soft and the static that ignites between us is nothing short of absolute ecstasy.
Elias pulls back like he’s been shot. He bites his lower lip like a feral animal, eyes wild. Blood drips from his lip. What the fuck? I push myself up to my elbows and fight the urge to raise a brow at him.
“What—never actually been with a girl before?” I give him my best shit-eating grin because he was acting so tough a second ago. He ignores me and stands, nudging me with his foot as he looks away to wipe his lower...
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A wisp of dark smoke curls around his ankles. I stop as a shudder rolls through me. Is that his… The black smoke solidifies into an enormous beast. It looks like a giant black feline, except the black bones are on the outside like armor.
Its spine is bony and entirely unrideable. Its skull is fuming with wisps of smoke and the eyes are two pits of darkness with small white centers. I’m paralyzed with fear as the insidious creature’s gaze bores holes into me. Elias jerks his head toward Velis. No. No, absolutely not. I will not be riding this demon. It’s evil incarnate.
“I’m not asking again. What’s wrong with you?” He eyes me like he genuinely can’t figure it out. I hate this man with everything in my being. “Where do I start? I’m not riding that thing, I really fucking hate you, and you broke my leg two minutes ago.”
He raises a brow, glancing down at my legs. “You’re not hurt anymore. You are riding Velis. And I hate you too.”
“Does my Shadow have a form like this too?” I let my hand glide across the bones of Velis’s spine. “Yeah. There’s no telling what it looks like until it presents itself to you though,”
“Why does it feel more like a passenger then?” “Because you’re rejecting it. Shadows take time to integrate with you, but the more you reject it, the longer it takes to fully merge with you. When the time is right, it will present you with its name. Only then will it manifest as Velis can.”
“How do the Shadows choose us?” I grip my shirt over my chest and frown as my Shadow curls against my touch. “They are said to be the dust of the bones of gods. Fernestia has harnessed this power and weaponized it. Once deployed, they’re drawn to souls that emanate similar auras. A life force that resonates with their own.”
“But… why do all this?” Elias rests his head on my shoulder. “Why else? Because Fernestia wants to rule the world. There’s no room for anyone less than what Dr. Cein deems pure. Our Shadows are the only ticket into the new world, so don’t fight it. It’ll take everything eventually, regardless.”
“Why are you so harsh?” I mutter, not worrying about the consequences. With all my sass today, I’m sure he would’ve already inflicted his wrath on me if he wanted to. He considers me for a long moment before shaking his head. “You have to learn to be tough, kid.”
“You’re a kid until you’re a soldier. You happen to be the softest brat I’ve ever been forced to share company with.” It sounds like an insult, but there’s a lightness to his voice right now.
“Well, I’m not a soldier… I don’t know what makes you think I’ll just up and join Fernestia. I’m trying to find my brother and friend, not let a psychopath like you brainwash me.”
“There’s darkness in you and it will reach for mine whether you like it or not. You can’t fight it forever.”
“What if it reaches for someone else?”
low growl rumbles in Elias’s throat, making me flinch. He rolls on top of me and pins my arms down above my head. The scent of snapped grass fills my senses and his bruising grasp on my wrist sends adrenaline through my flesh. His gray eyes are wild. Why is he so mad about what I said?
“It won’t,” he whispers in a dangerous tone. “How do you know?”
“Because I felt Velis reach for yours.” I glare at him. “Well, tough shit—I don’t feel my Shadow reaching for you.”
It takes everything I have not to moan at the feeling of his dark being calling to mine. My Shadow pulls beneath my flesh to reach him. I’ve never felt anything so… raw. Like our souls are fated to meld and become an endless sea of darkness together.
He opens his hand and there are six small black rods. I put together that these must be what are on Kallos’s face. “Are these the same things that are on you? The guy in the black cloak called them supplementals.”
“Yup, that’s right. Some of the Darkflies call them that. What they are called isn’t too important as long as they work.”
“Does everyone get six?” I furrow my brow. The Darkflies said that this is how they categorize us, so the number or placement must be in some way identifying, right? “No....
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“I’m the only other six in this regiment. You’d best keep your rarity a secret as long as you can. We don’t find many, and it could ...
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“I told the Darkflies to alert me should there be a six. There were rumors on the way here, but now we know for sure. I will tell you something you should keep to yourself.”
“You are a Solas, among the rarest variants of a Shadow. You’re exceptional, and trust me when I tell you it’s not a good thing. Should you make it past the first exam, you might have a chance.”
Kallos’s hand glows bright yellow with mystical power. The air around us illuminates with gold strands of warm light. He brings his hand to my left ear, his magic or whatever this is pressing against my skin. There’s no pain, no se...
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“Pain… it changes you, Finn. You would be wise to hold that thought closely. It won’t just change you, it changes everyone… everything. Don’t make friends and don't keep old ones. They’ll only die. Don’t make my mistakes. Push them away. It’s better to take this road alone.”
Kallos isn’t a bad guy. Anyone with half a mind can tell just by his very presence. He’s what I would call a broken man—submissive. What are the Fernestians doing to these people… to us?
“Um, wow. Well, you’re right—I am from Navasik.” I rub the back of my head and look away. It was really weird to just be cataloged like that. “Is there something wrong with being from Navasik? And what about Aervin? His eyes are green too.”
“There’s nothing wrong in particular, just those towns are so far up in the mountains that you don’t have much knowledge of the rest of the world,”
“All right, I can’t wait any longer. Tell me what’s going on here. Why don’t I remember anything?”
“Well, the truth is, none of us know how we got here. We can’t seem to remember how much time passed before we got here or why we’re here.” Fucking great. I waited all day for that?
“Really? Doesn’t that make you curious about this place? Why are we all acting like everything is normal? I don’t trust Miss Nora. As nice and proper as she is, she gives off crazy vibes.”
“Yeah, of course it makes us curious, we aren’t stupid. But we’re all well taken care of and we have a squad. We’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on here but they keep us pretty active throughout the day. There aren’t a ton of adults here. Miss Nora, a few other ladies that help prepare breakfast, and the three guards that rotate on the grounds are the only adults we’ve seen,”
“Now that I think about it, you’re right. From what I noticed today there don’t seem to be any kids older than us here. I’m seventeen. How old are you and the others?”
