Page 92
Story: Devoured By Shadows
“Let him in.” It was Arden’s voice, but it sounded distant. “Submit.”
She wanted to scream, to fight, but she couldn’t move from where she lay on the altar. Soon, her entire body started shaking as the darkness filled her. It felt like every cell was splitting in two.
You’re everything I hoped you’d be,came the voice of the Everdark in her mind, rumbling like a great presence had awoken from the deep. His voice sounded like the rippling waves from a collision of stars—and the desolation that remained in its wake.
She struggled to remain conscious as her body continued to seize.
Elias,she thought as her mind grew hazy, wanting his face to be the last thing she saw if she was to die in this place.
You’re my blood,the Everdark hissed.You must accept that you are part demon if you’re to survive my entry.
That was impossible. She was human and fae and nothing more.
“The shadows don’t speak to the shadow fae,” came Arden’s voice. “At least, not those who are fully fae. The Everdark taught me this. It’s how I knew you were different. Only those who also possess demon blood can awaken the shadows. That was how we knew you were here when the zaol chased you. You’d spoken to the dark, which summoned us.”
The darkness billowing through her hummed as though in agreement.
Her mind reeled, and she wanted to ask just what it meant to speak to the shadows. But she forced her mind to focus on the present.
Allow me to unlock the demon magic within you, and you will have more power than you ever dreamed, the Everdark said.All it needs is a key to unleash the torrent of your potential.
Again, the darkness pressed into her, and it felt like her veins swelled with the onslaught of power.
Suddenly, her head smacked against the stones and her body began seizing. Spots formed in her vision. She was going to lose consciousness, and soon.
I’m not a demon, she thought.I’m nothing like you.
“You’re going to kill her,” Arden said, his voice closer now. Was that a hint of concern in his tone? “You must go slower. If you don’t, she’ll die.”
The darkness blasted out into the cavern, filling every space until there was nothing but the impenetrable dark.
She heard a thud on the stones and wondered if the fae prince had been blasted backward.
She can take it,came the voice of the Everdark.Shewillaccept me.
Distantly, she realized the greater demon must be able to speak into both her and Arden’s minds at once.
Slowly, she slipped into unconsciousness, barely clinging to the will to fight this presence—this greater demon.
Mygrandfather?
Then the torrent closed over her.
One moment, she was on the cool stone altar, and the next she was in a place of darkness—just like where she’d dreamed of Elias.
Black stretched in every direction. There was no horizon and no end.
Similar to her other dreams, her skin glowed with a gray-white light.
“Granddaughter.”
The Everdark’s voice was as fathomless as deep space. If she wasn’t careful, she knew she’d fall into that dark and never find her way out.
As she glanced around, she couldn’t see him in this formless landscape.
Just what kind of greater demon was he? What sort of powers did he have? She’d never heard of the Everdark before nor had she faced anything like this. Had he just tried to kill her? Was she already dead? And why was she in this dreamscape again?
“I’m not your granddaughter,” she said as she turned again. But when she looked around, there was nothing but unending darkness.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92 (Reading here)
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128