Page 15 of A Rising Hope (The Freckled Fate #3)

15

OREST

I leaned against the wooden wall of a rustic cottage, picking at the dried blood underneath my nails with a sharp dagger.

“Damn, this bath is nice.” Zora loudly moaned in the room behind the wall. The door was opened wide and though I stood behind it, unable to see directly into the room, I couldn’t resist occasionally glancing up at the reflections on the perfectly polished brass pitcher across from me, slightly fogged up from the heat. My eyes hungrily staring at the murky silhouette of her bare body half-submerged in the water. “Nothing beats a good old bath after a battle,” she hummed, lathering on the soaps.

Whatever family that lived here prior left quite rapidly, fleeing the growing frontlines. I stared at the hand-crocheted tablecloth with intricate designs, at the trunks of clothes they left behind, the toys and books and all manner of items they deemed unworthy to take, as they ran towards the cities, hoping to find refuge away from the brutality of the front lines.

They left, but there was no escaping what was to come. Today’s battle was another reminder of that. The town of Rosefront withstood only a few hours of siege, surrendering quickly under a blast of fiery arrows.

They surrendered, but that was never enough.

Not for me.

Absolute loyalty was what I desired. Loyalty to the throne, to the Destroyer, to Gideon Bellator, to the Destroyer Empire. They all lied, but no matter how cunning they were, how well they wove their web of lies, I always knew the truth.

Absolute fucking loyalty and nothing less. Loyalty to the man that was not in the battle today, nor yesterday, nor the day before as his armies marched forward. His flaming swords of Justice Fire missed in battle. The lack of raw fire magic on the fields was noticed by many. Soon our enemies would know he had left his armies, soon they’d gather as vultures to pick us off, one by one.

As if reading my mind, Zora called out from the room.

“When do you think he is coming back?” She too was aware of the growing unease. Yes, we won this battle, but we would quickly lose the war if Gideon and Finnleah were not here to unite the rest of the Destroyers in the True Order.

“Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.” I lowered my head, inspecting the sharp dagger in my hands, twisting its hilt. My weapons were nothing like the bedazzled, heirloom-worthy relics that Gideon liked. No, my daggers were artless, menacing in their simplicity.

A cold chill ran down my skin—a glaring contrast to the warmth of the day. My eyes darted to the windows in the room. Both of them were closed shut. Afternoon sun rays peeked behind the translucent floor length curtains. Not a single cloud in the sky.

“Do you think Finn is okay?” Zora probed again.

“If anyone can handle Insanaria, it’d be her,” I replied, keeping my voice casual, indifferent. Though my eyes still lingered on the window, little goosebumps prickled the back of my neck.

Something was off.

An invisible shift in the air.

Untraceable. Unnoticeable.

I silently reached for another dagger at my hip.

“I can’t wait for Gideon to come back so I can make fun of him for losing his wife the same day he married her,” Zora mumbled, her tone forcefully lighthearted.

I didn’t reply. Every cell in my body became alert.

“Something is wrong,” I cautioned Zora, not second-guessing the unsettling feeling in my gut.

“What?” Zora asked, not hearing me. But I was already inside her room, checking the two windows near her. “What the hell?” she growled, submerging deeper into the water, but she didn’t ask me to leave. A thought I’d usually cherish and obsess over again and again, but this time I made myself focus, shoving aside the curtains to look outside.

A few soldiers passed the nearby garden, chatting. Everything looked normal. Almost too normal.

Except nothing felt normal. I threw the towel lying on the chair near me to Zora.

“Get out. We have to go,” I commanded, not willing to take a chance. My eyes glued to the window, scanning for anything odd. Not allowing myself even a blink.

Something was very, very wrong. Even if I couldn’t see it.

“What? I just got in!” she protested, dipping her head into the water as she soaked her hair. “If you have to go somewhere, go by yourself. I am sick of being chained to you day and night,” she whined, massaging the potent soap in her hair, a scent she knew would make me go absolutely feral had it not been for the growing unease in my bones. “I haven’t bathed in a few days now. If you are so worried, go call on Gia to take over babysitting duties if you must leave.”

There. That seamless flash. A blink.

My eyes narrowed.

A little crackle of black amid a cloudless sky. Far on the horizon.

My stomach dropped to my feet, and my mind equipped with the sharpest armor.

“We are going, now. ” I twisted on my heels. Zora opened her mouth to object, but I didn’t care.

We had a minute if we were lucky. Maybe less than a few seconds.

I yanked her body from the bath, throwing her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, her perky bare ass near my face, making me almost forget my name.

“What the actual hell ?” Zora swiftly kicked me with her leg. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” She fought me, but I held on tighter to her slippery legs, not letting go of her as I raced down to the cellar.

A heatwave rolled through the surroundings.

“Fuck,” I rasped, forcing my body to move fast. Zora froze as she felt the earth rumble beneath my feet.

“What the fuck is that?” she gasped while I melted the locks on the rusty doors to the deep winter cellar.

There was no longer light on the skyline. Sun swallowed by total darkness. The temperature was dropping rapidly as frost crept up the walls.

“Those are wild Black Shadows.” I rapidly climbed down the ladder into the deepest part of the cellar, melting the heavy iron door shut.

I summoned the strongest shield I could wield around Zora. My gaze finding hers in the dim light.

“When they come. No matter what you see or hear. You do not let go of my hand. Do you understand?” I ordered. Zora nodded. “Keep your mind as black as possible. And do not let go under any circumstances,” I repeated, my fingers interlocked with hers, and I squeezed her hand tighter.

My heart paused mid beat, and for the first time in so many years, I felt a little tremor in my hand.

The earth shook under our feet. I closed my eyes, tethering myself only to the feel of her hand in mine.

The shadows filled each crevice, sentient and alive, devouring whatever light, whatever warmness that stood in their path until it reached the cellar.

The destructive winds shrieked and roared outside. And horror-filled screams erupted a moment later, followed by unnatural silence.

The Black Shadows were here.

I wrapped all my powers around Zora’s mind, shielding her while exposing myself like bait, open and ready to be devoured.

I didn’t blink, staring straight back into the inky, heavy darkness that now filled the cellar entirely. The shadows clawed at the stone walls. Their foggy smoke filled my lungs, ready to feast on my fear, to reap my horror. And I let them. I let them scavenge my soul, tear it to pieces, shred my guarded walls I’d built for so many years, until they saw an aged mark already there, one they had left so many moons ago.

“ Haeaeth . . . ” I whispered under my breath, a word I wished I didn’t know. The shadows swirled at the sound, recognizing it. Their darkness reflected in my eyes like a mirror. They lingered for a second longer, intrigued to see a part of them forever entrapped in my destroyed soul. Another breath and the shadows left, leaving me unscathed.

The shadows left, but the light did not return.

Dense darkness, like an impenetrable black fog, had swallowed the world, extinguishing the last echoes of hope.

There was only one reason the Black Shadows would roam the world so freely, consuming everything in their path.

One reason only.

All Justice Wielders were dead.

And the Justice Fire was gone with them, leaving the world in darkness.

The universe was no longer in balance.

And Esnox had fallen into the haunted realm of nightmares.