Page 29 of Knox

Daniel’s user name appeared on the screen.

BookBoyfriendLover69:Dude, HOLY SHIT! Turn on Channel 5! NOW!

Adrian’s blood ran cold.

That couldn’t be good.

He grabbed the remote and flipped to Channel 5, and the image that filled the screen made his breath catch in his throat.

"What’s going on?" Knox asked.

Adrian didn’t know what to say.

The television showed the Bay Bridge, a majestic span of steel and concrete connecting the city to the peninsula. But instead of the usual flow of traffic, the bridge was a scene of utter chaos. Cars were swerving, horns blaring, the roadway itself seemed to be buckling and twisting as if caught in the grip of an unseen force.

A news helicopter hovered overhead, capturing the scene in chilling detail. The reporter’s voice held all the shock that Adrian felt.

"We’re getting reports of… impossible events occurring on the Bay Bridge," the reporter shouted over the roar of the wind and the panicked honks of the cars on the collapsing structure. "The bridge… it’s falling apart… these people are going to… Oh, my God… it’s… it’s unbelievable!"

The camera zoomed in, focusing on a pool of swirling shadows forming on the asphalt of the road that spanned the bridge. A tall, elegant figure emerged from it, its form shifting and shimmering as if woven from darkness itself. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural light, hypnotic and chilling.

Adrian recognized him at once.

It was the Shadow King.

"Caelen," he whispered.

Knox was already on his feet, looking ready to jump into battle. "I have to stop him. Where is this bridge?"

"What are you going to do?" Adrian asked, fear gripping his throat. This was happening too fast. His mind struggled to keep up.

"I’m going to confront him," Knox said, his voice hard. "It’s like you wrote. I did terrible things. Now I have to deal with the consequences of my actions."

Adrian studied the incubus before him silently for a moment. "You really think it’s your fault that Caelen is the way he is." It was an observation, not a question. Definitely not an agreement.

"I fucked both his parents and killed them."

"I know that," Adrian said impatiently. The Night Court had ordered the assassination of Caelen’s parents, the king and queen of Elucia, a small country on the continent of Veridia, because they had sworn loyalty to a dark God, and each year offered more of their citizens as blood sacrifices. "The Night Court made you do a lot of things that were wrong," Adrian said. "But the mad king needed to be killed."

"And in killing him I created another one." Knox gestured at the TV with a bitter smile. "I won’t let him shroud this world in chaos."

"But you can’t just go to fight him by yourself," Adrian blurted, the words escaping his lips before he could stop them. "Don’t be stupid."

"I know exactly what I’m doing."

No, you don’t, Adrian wanted to cry. You don’t even know what a TV is.

That wasn’t what Adrian said. Instead he said: "You don’t have your friends with you! You’re not prepared!"

Knox’s eyes narrowed. He pointed at the TV again. "Should I just let him keep on doingthat?"

They both looked at the screen. Adrian fully expected to see the Shadow King wreaking havoc on it, but that was not what was happening.

It almost looked like Caelen was using his power to stabilize the bridge.

"Oh my God…" the reporter cried out. "It’s… it’s a miracle! He’s saving them!"

Confusion flickered across Knox’s face. It was the same confusion that Adrian felt deep in his guts. "But… why?" he muttered, more to himself than to Adrian. "Why would he do that?"