Page 26 of Her Shadow so Dark and Lovely (A Curse of Fallen Stars #1)

Lorel

As the dying Lightkeeper hits the floor, chaos erupts.

Jaime and the blood mage move swiftly. A wave of heat washes over me as fire bursts from Jaime’s hands.

He doesn’t need the simple sigils of everyday magic, not when he has command of the potential burning energy in the air.

Sila counters it with her own darkness, smothering it.

I can feel the way the shadows around me pull, as if it’s costing her to keep me hidden.

I grit my teeth and tug, but the shadows don’t give.

Perhaps it’s for the best. I could hardly be useful even if I were free.

Jaime’s sword lights up with flame as he arcs it through the air to slash at Sila.

Mercias moves to meet him, and the blade glances off a shield of darkness.

Mercias pushes the Lightkeeper back and Sila follows, catching Jaime’s arm with her blade, the two of them moving in a well-practised rhythm of strikes and parries.

Mercias’ form flickers, never in one place for too long as Sila’s shadow self surges around him.

Jaime keeps himself between the blood mage and his opponents.

My heart hammers in my chest. Mercias catches the Lightkeeper’s arm as Sila tries to snare it with shadow.

The rot sets into Jaime’s skin where Mercias’ hand touches.

Jaime’s sword clatters to the ground and I think for a moment that perhaps things won’t go so badly after all.

The moment is broken as Jaime draws a knife from his hip and slashes it across Mercias’ chest.

“ Fuck ,” Mercias hisses, letting go. It’s a shallow wound, barely anything to remark upon, and then Jaime lifts the knife dripping in Mercias’ blood and throws it to the floor by the blood mage.

Sila surges forward, a roiling wave of dark shadow and sharp blades, and Jaime grabs his fallen sword and throws himself at her.

There’s a cry from Sila, a dark splash of her thick, black-red blood against the floor and then Mercias is there throwing his shield into Jaime and trying to find purchase on his skin.

Sila snarls, throws away her blades and becomes a nightmare incarnate, all long talons and razor sharp bloody teeth wrapped in swirling shadow.

“Grab it!” Jaime shouts, shoving back against Mercias and lunging at Sila. Mercias’ form flickers out of sight and back again as Sila clashes with Jaime. She is entirely reckless, and I flinch with each cut, each hit, her body takes.

Mercias flickers and throws himself across the room.

The blood mage grins as he slides to a stop by the knife and grabs it.

Still grinning at Mercias, he raises the knife to his mouth and licks it.

Mercias’ blood coats his tongue and he speaks a word, a command.

Mercias chokes, stills, and drops to the floor like the dead.

I cry out without thinking, but my own enchantment continues to keep me silent.

Keeps me hidden. All I can do is watch Mercias’ skin turn grey. Everything is happening too fast.

Sila lets out one of her fae screeches, and kicks Jaime hard, sending him face first into the stone floor. She turns on the blood mage like a vengeful ghost. He keeps grinning as he reaches down to run his fingers through Sila’s blood, splashed across the chamber floor.

No . He can’t. I scream and not a sound comes out. The shadows do not give way. I feel them dig into my flesh as I try to pull myself free. He licks Sila’s blood from his fingers and he speaks the same horrific word that had sent Mercias crumbling.

And nothing happens.

It takes a moment for the blood mage to register it.

His face turns to shock as Sila bears down on him, and her long talons sink into the flesh of his chest. Blood gushes down her arm.

The look on his face is almost amusing. There’s a pause as Jaime groans, lifting himself from the floor.

Then there’s a sickening crack as Sila tears the blood mage open. I cannot look away.

Mercias’ body heaves as his blood moves through him again. He gasps for air and groans as he pushes himself up. Sila stands between Jaime and the locked door, and he must know the odds are no longer in his favour.

And I know there’s no way he’s going down without a fight.

Sila tosses the blood mage’s remains carelessly aside. I can’t see Jaime’s face, but I can see Sila’s. Her features are warped and monstrous. Her eyes dart to Mercias and then she moves, swift as candle light.

Jaime reignites his sword. He brings it down over Mercias, who throws up a shield between them.

The sword glances off it, and Jaime brings it around again for another strike.

There is fear in Jaime’s eyes as he turns, desperate to take at least one of them with him.

Mercias grits his teeth, his face grim. I don’t know how long his shield can keep up.

It flickers as Jaime brings his sword around.

And then Sila is there between them, catching the sword with her body, the blade sinking deep into her side.

My throat is raw as I scream. It’s a futile, silent thing.

I hope this is some cruel nightmare made up by the Library, because it surely can’t be real.

We’ve only just escaped one horrific fate. This cannot be where it ends.

Sila grins, one of her horrific nightmare smiles that slices across her face. Her long taloned fingers sink into Jaime’s skin and her shadows finally find purchase, gripping him tight.

“You won’t even have the chance to regret this,” she whispers as her shadows wrap around his neck.

He struggles, trying to pull himself away from her.

Shadow creeps over his skin and pushes into his mouth and nose.

He tries to scream as it smothers him. Sila holds him viciously as his body convulses and then she lets him go.

His sword goes with him, clattering to the ground. The shadows holding me weaken.

Sila blinks slowly, stumbling back and Mercias, half-raised on one knee, catches her as she drops. Her form fades back to normal as she does. Her head falls back over Mercias’ shoulder, lifeless. I wrench myself free of the last of her shadows and throw myself across the room to her.