Page 22 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

Nova

“I saw someone use tech today during morning grunt training. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, even from afar. I meant to tell Celeste about it, but there was another protest. Seven eadi were hung at the gallows, and she refused to talk to me for the rest of the day.”

T he first night we lay in our new beds felt like coming back to life.

My roommates were asleep only moments after they hit their beds.

The boy’s snores were loud, his constant moving even louder, but the girl slept softly.

I, on the other hand, took a few moments to secure our room.

Like I often did with the door to my lab back home, I willed ours to disappear beneath a cloaking charm.

Then, just to be safe, I warded it too, ordering not only my magic, but my shadows as well to block the entryway.

How well I did was debatable. This was new, the thrumming and burning inside of me so different than what I had tested for the last twenty-five years.

Which meant that the wards could easily fail or not even exist, but all I could hope for was the opposite.

Over the next three months I would be able to learn. That had to be enough.

Turning, I stared at the two sleeping forms. Our room was small, the three beds lined up against the back wall with thin wooden cabinets between them and windows above them. Nothing else graced the floors or the walls, though we each had belongings at the foot of our beds.

While neither of the sleeping trainees were cores, I couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t hurt me.

Everyone here seemed to despise me at least a little.

Expected, but awful all the same. Sometimes, I thought maybe I despised myself too.

As I lay in my bed, which was thankfully farthest from the door, I let myself think something even more heinous.

If only I had been born into a different family.

It was despicable. Maybe it even made me worse than the core families. At least they were honest about what they were. Meanwhile, I openly defended the stars while cursing them in my mind. I loved and stood up for my family to others, but had the audacity to wish for a new one when I was alone.

Allowing myself to think such things only led to horrible nightmares.

Watching them die at my hands—by my magic—over and over again, just as the stars had shown me, was the theme tonight.

They screamed for mercy, but I simply laughed at them.

The places and circumstances and scenarios themselves changed, but it was always me slaughtering them. A true elite.

It wasn’t until Altair showed up in the terrors that I hesitated. He walked towards me, his borderline evil smile on his face as he casually strutted. “Oh, Little Void, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

In my dream, I released my sister’s hair, her yelp echoing across the vast black sky filled with stars. A blade was in my hand, and I squeezed it tighter as Altair approached.

“You know, killing them won’t make you any less worthless. You’ll always be an akhata. Nothing will change that.” I didn’t so much as flinch, my hand still firmly around the dagger, as he neared. I caught sight of something moving up his arm. Twisting and…slithering.

A black snake.

“How sad, that you try so hard and still won’t ever be one of us. You’re like a lost puppy. A pathetic, weak little thing that should be put out of its misery.”

Celeste’s cries went silent, her presence gone as she faded into the blackness that seemed to pulse around me.

Altair was only a foot away, his sinister smile replaced with something almost soft.

His pale cheeks warmed to a pinkish color, making the set of deep dimples I hadn’t realized he had more prominent.

“I can do that for you,” he cooed, his hand coming up to cup my jaw. His palm was as cold as ice, burning as if hot. When I recoiled at his touch, his other hand flew up and locked around my neck, holding me in place. “You’re better off dead, Tershetta. Trust me.”

Jolting upright, I opened my eyes to find I was in my barracks room, the darkness nearly as eerie as that of my dreams. Nightmares, really. Sweat drenched my sheets and assigned nightwear, the slick material sticking to my clammy skin.

More than anything, I wished to scream. To fight. Or, even better, to be in my lab. And why couldn’t I? There weren’t technically any rules against leaving. I hadn’t been informed of any wards limiting who could come and go from the island. So, other than the obvious risk, I probably could leave.

But what if I shadow walked somewhere dangerous? We hadn’t been focusing much on magic these last few days. Our only goal was to fight and survive. Even if I did successfully get home, I would need to get back, and I wasn’t adept at cartography.

But I knew who was.

Finding Zade’s room wasn’t as difficult as one would think. The cores had their own floor, the top, where no unnecessary people would be. No one above them. A metaphor of their own making.

From there, all I had to do was consider where in their little ranking he would be. Altair had insinuated once that Zade was just below him, which I took as suggesting he was second in line for whatever imaginary throne they had concocted.

My feet carried me past the many doors, so many that had to be empty since only six of them were attending. At the very end of the hallway were two, each a fair distance from their neighbors. Spoiled brats.

But which door would be Altair’s and which would be Zade’s?

I didn’t want to run into Altair at any time, but tonight in particular. Nightmares like mine stuck with a person, and I couldn’t convince myself that I wouldn’t cower at the sight of him.

For a few moments, I simply eyed the two doors, contemplating.

I had only known Zade and Altair for a few days. Not nearly enough time to study their patterns or their routines. I had no idea if one preferred the sight of sunsets or sunrises. Couldn’t begin to guess which would favor whatever neighbors were beside them.

But I did know one thing.

Altair wanted to feel superior. Anyone who paid attention could see that he craved dominance and thrived on attention. He wanted to feel as if he was winning. So, which of these two rooms would give him that?

I quietly turned, gazing down the dark hallway. The stairs were on the left from this vantage point. I began counting, seeing if the amount of doors were the same.

Yes, ten on each side, enough for every core family.

Less than our floor, which meant the rooms would be bigger, probably even containing their own bathroom with tech that allowed for running water and lights.

But, despite how big they were, one would be smaller to account for the stairway.

And seeing how the doors across the hall were slightly off from one another up until the final two, I would say that the room that took the hit would be the last one, which was clearly meant to be bigger than the others.

That was when I got it. Only one room was actually larger, probably reserved for the core boy I knew was sleeping beyond the door. Altair.

Taking a deep breath and praying to the stars that I was right, I faced the door on my left and willed myself through it.

Shadows consumed me, the darkness so like my nightmares that I had to clench my eyes closed.

But then the soft sound of snores met my ears.

I opened my eyes, nervous despite the logic I had put into the choice.

There, on a four poster bed triple the size of my own, wearing only his undergarments, was a sleeping Talon Zade.

At some point in the night he had kicked off his blankets, revealing his toned upper body and legs littered with shadow marks.

The room had two wooden dressers, one wide and one tall, as well as a closet and another door that likely led to the bathroom I pictured earlier.

A wide window took up a large portion of the far left wall, allowing moon and starlight to illuminate the space.

I needed his help, but nothing was free. I stepped toward him, the floor creaking as I did. What would he want from me in return? Before I could so much as guess, Zade gasped loudly and then shot up in his bed. Our eyes locked instantly, not an ounce of grogginess on his face.

No going back now.

“Nova?” he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep. No anger. No yelling. Not even any fear. Well, it seemed I was smart picking eadi to rob. Shaytan clearly weren’t afraid of me in the slightest.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to invade your space.” Wrong. I was definitely trying to do that. “I just need your help with something.”

“Help? I don’t understand.” He looked around, his gaze lingering on his window.

“Yes, Zade, it’s late. Again, I’m sorry. I just need you to show me how to get back to the barracks by shadow walking. I’m not confident I can do it, but I have to leave the island for a bit.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, standing up. He stretched, the muscles on his chest and abdomen flexing and contorting. I hated how much stronger they were than I was. How they were bred for this.

“Nowhere,” I huffed, crossing my arms. Not exactly the best way to get someone’s help. Still, it was none of his business. Zade smiled like he knew what I was thinking. “Can you just help me, please?”

“Yeah, I can help you, Supernova.” His smile widened as I groaned, the nickname ridiculous and far too friendly. Who was I to make demands though? He had the upper hand here.

Slowly, he walked my way, looking far closer to eating me than helping me. Who knew? He could have some sort of disgusting, twisted animal fetish and—like Altair—think me more beast than person.

“Magic is easier than you think, even tech.” Zade took my hand in his, raising it up until it was level with my chest, palm up. “Your mind is your most powerful weapon, but I imagine it has to get overwhelming in there sometimes. Magic doesn’t need your mind though.”

“Of course it does,” I muttered. But I wasn’t sure. Zade of all people would know. He was probably learning about magic before he could walk, being honed every day after until he was awarded magic on his twenty-fifth birthday.

“You of all people would say that,” he huffed in return.

I resisted the words that had found their way to the tip of my tongue.

Don’t act like you know me. Now was not the time to argue.

“Magic is a tool. All you need to do is use it. The louder your mind, the harder it is to use. The more you think, the less the magic understands. When you walk, does your mind think over each step? Do you watch your feet? Consider the bend of your knees? Contemplate what part of your brain is doing the heavy lifting?”

He had me there. Had I been overthinking magic this entire time? I had learned mostly through guides and educational texts. But maybe that was my problem. While I wasn’t bad at magic, I still wasn’t naturally exceptional like I wanted to be. Was it my tendency to overanalyze that was the problem?

Zade’s grip on my hand tightened, his other lifting.

“Want to know what I tell my magic to do?” He paused, looked at his hand, and said, “Show me Dajahim.”

A spark of silver ignited in his palm, the fire-like burst spreading and brightening as it began to form shapes. They crafted a stunning depiction of our world, the continents odd in places but unnervingly accurate in others.

Magic was mostly subjective, it only knew what the wielder did unless they possessed immense strength.

Obviously he didn’t know much about the other continents and islands.

However, the districts were stunning and bright, just as the island was.

When he used his fingers to tug on parts of the map, it moved, the view growing closer and more specific.

Soon, he had a layout of our building floating in the air.

“You don’t need some complex understanding.

A lot of the time, your mind knows already, and the magic just has to be told what to do.

Sure, there are some things that require more focus, but the more you overthink, the harder it becomes,” he whispered, his dark eyes locked on mine. “Now show me yours.”

Closing my eyes, I resisted the urge to dissect the steps and whispered, “Show me Elite Academy.”

Magic vibrated against my palm just before a burst of light shone from beyond my eyelids.

I opened my eyes slowly, a gasp diving down my throat when I saw my own version of the island.

It was the same silver glow, but there were differences to our maps, each of our knowledge, or lack thereof, showing.

“Thank you, Zade.” Awe coated my hushed voice, my gaze locked on the tech before me. I did it.

“My pleasure, Supernova. Feel free to visit my room any time,” he teased, finally releasing my wrist. Rolling my eyes, I quickly thought of my home, daring to will myself away without another word to him.

One moment I was standing before him, the next I was in front of my house, the outside obviously unchanged despite how different I felt. A few days truly could change everything. Especially since I hadn’t thought I would see it again for months.

As I snuck inside and creeped down the stairs of my lab, I realized that Celeste was right.

I was not the same, and I no longer fit here.