Page 53 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Elena

A fter Declan left, I did nothing but toss and turn all night.

In the morning the bags under my eyes were purple and puffy.

The fact that Declan hadn’t returned made my stomach churn.

All the things that could have happened while he spoke with the king and Lord Alastor ran through my mind in an endless loop.

Breakfast lay on my side table, but the nerves that twisted my insides erased any twinge of hunger. I threw clothes on and rushed out of the room.

The halls were quiet. Too quiet.

No guards standing on patrol, no servants roaming about with trays in their hands. The eerie feeling made the hair on my arms stiffen as I picked up my pace towards the training ring.

Just as I made it to the doors, Clara rushed in. Eyes reddened, cheeks dampened, she pulled me into her arms. It nearly knocked the wind out of me.

“Come,” she sniffled, tugging my arm towards the opposite end of the castle. “W-we have to get out to the courtyard before it begins.”

“Before what begins, Clara?”

“Alaric is going to punish the guards on duty during the attacks by the beasts. He put Declan in charge of the executions.”

The world around me went numb. Executions? Hadn’t there been enough deaths already?

Clara tugged me along as I tried to shake away my shock. Pushing open the main castle doors, we stepped out into the crowd around us.

All the Royal Guard were present, flanking the sides of the massive courtyard.

Residents of the city overflowed the bridge into the castle, spilling onto the gravel path that lined the grass.

Six guards lined the middle of the open courtyard, shirtless and kneeling in the grass.

Two more kneeled in front of them. All with their hands bound by iron shackles behind their backs.

My breaths became uneven as my eyes frantically roved over the crowd for Declan. I laid my sights on him, draped in black from head to toe. I pulled out of Clara’s grasp and rushed over towards him.

“Declan,” I gasped.

A moment of relief washed over me as I wrapped my arm around his back.

When my palm smoothed over his tunic, his face wrinkled in discomfort.

Declan wiped his expression away, moving my hand away from his back.

I slapped it away, ripping his shirt up so that I could see what was going on underneath.

Horror struck my face at the scars lashed across his back.

Scars that could only be caused by one thing for Elysians—iron.

“WHO DID THIS TO YOU?”

Strong arms wrapped around my trembling arms, holding me still. “Lena, I’m okay?—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Alaric bellowed his name. His distressed eyes scanned over mine.

“You should go back inside.” Sucking in his breath, Declan pushed past me and made his way towards the row of men in the courtyard.

I took a step after him, to tell him he didn’t have to go through with this, but Liam wrapped his hand around my wrist, halting me in my tracks.

Normally calm and collected, Liam silently pleaded with his eyes for me to return to his side. My shoulders sank in defeat as I took my place between him and Killian. Clara and Nayla flanked both captains. All eyes were locked on the Lord of Shadows pacing back and forth behind the guards.

“These men have forsaken our great city. Their job is to protect and shield those in danger.” The king’s voice boomed over the courtyard, hushing the nearby crowd.

“However, they let in the darkness. They allowed our walls to be penetrated by those foul beasts. Their failure resulted in the loss of several precious lives, some of which will never get the chance to see this realm through adult eyes.”

Cries of sorrow spilled from the crowd, piercing straight through my chest to my heart.

Without breaking my stare from Declan, I reached down and grabbed Liam’s hand.

Instead of letting go after a squeeze, he held it tightly, both of us trying to find balance in the terror that was about to unfold before us.

“These men will receive five lashes each. A lash for every life that was lost, whipped with iron tails. Their scars will be a permanent reminder of their disgrace.”

A mixture of cheers and disgruntled cries rang out from the crowd, the division of their opinions clearly evident. Even Alaric’s face faltered for a fraction of a second before regaining composure.

“The remaining two guards will pay the ultimate price. For falling asleep during their duty, letting the beasts slip right through our front gates, and allowing the loss of innocent children, they are sentenced to death. May the gods have mercy on your souls.”

Enthusiasm and cries of distress roared once more, and the two guards trembled with fear.

Alastor handed the whip to Declan and stormed off to join Alaric.

Declan ran his hand through his hair as the faintest wisps of shadows skimmed over his body.

A crack in his ward, a seam torn through his control.

Killian held onto Clara’s hand. Tears streamed down her face as her entire body trembled.

Killian’s eyes glistened in the sunlight.

A tear rolled down the side of Liam’s cheek.

Nayla gently wiped it away. My eyes fluttered closed, and for once in my life I desperately wished that this was all just a dream.

“We can’t allow this to h-happen.” My lip trembled. “We have to s-stop this.”

“Lena, if we interfere now, it will only become more devastating for everyone involved. Including Declan.” Liam scrubbed a palm over his mouth like the words had physically pained his lips.

Numb, we all watched as Declan began the lashings.

The sound of the whip’s tails cracking against flesh slick with blood would haunt me for the rest of my life.

After each round, Declan paused, as if trying to regain courage and composure simultaneously.

By the time he made it to the last guard, the crowd’s voices fell eerily silent and I teetered on the verge of passing out.

Limping towards the edge of the courtyard, the final guard took up ranks with the others. The wind swept in from the sea, sending a chill throughout my body.

From behind the flanks of men, Alastor emerged and stopped directly in front of Declan. Both men glared at each other.

Declan shook his head, lips moving in a silent conversation. Alastor grabbed him around his neck and leaned in close. As he whispered, Declan’s body became taut, and my heart sank to my stomach when the whip slid out of his hand and crashed to the ground.

Clara’s sob beside me was muffled, and I could barely feel Liam’s palm as it tightened around my own. All I could focus on was the stranger who now was staring straight into the depths of my soul.

Once-bright emerald eyes were shadowed and dulled. All that was left was an endless void of black. Life faded from his face, leaving pale flesh behind. Shadows unraveled from Declan’s body at an alarming speed, twisting around him in a turbulent storm of destruction.

Darkened eyes still lingered on mine as the pull I always felt around him tugged against my chest. I leaned forward into the pull. A wave of remorse and shame slammed into me. It drowned me so heavily with emotion, my legs threatened to give until Killian pulled me back up.

Declan’s eyes widened, almost in concern, yet his face remained cold. A burst of air fled out of me as I pushed out the emotions, and I took two steps towards him.

As I did, Declan shook his head, halting me in my path. His lips pursed, like he was fighting whatever had taken over him, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Then he turned and charged toward the men.

My mouth opened to shout when Killian slid a heavy palm over it and slammed me backwards into his chest. “Hush now, Lena. It’s too dangerous to go after him right now. No one will get through to him in this state.”

I was grateful he left his palm over my mouth, because a scream fled my lips a second later.

Declan’s shadows surrounded the two men, tightening around them like rope. He launched them into the air, then slammed them into the ground with a deafening quake. Moans tore from the men as he raised them up once more, feet just barely hovering above the ground.

The Lord of Shadows stepped between them, unsheathing his sword and raising it high. When he spoke, all air fled my lungs at the otherworldly sound that crept out of him

If death had a voice, this would be it.

“Every slash and scrape those who died endured, I will make you feel. You will suffer the way they suffered. You’ll die the way they died, terrified and alone.”

The men’s pleas rained over the courtyard, but were silenced the moment Declan’s blade met flesh. Each slice of the sword was more devastating than the last, and my head thrashed against Killian’s chest.

However, nothing could peel my eyes away from the man hacking the life out of those before me. It was as if I hoped that he’d feel my searing gaze and stop.

No matter how much I hoped, it didn’t end until the ground and Declan were soaked in scarlet. The final blow sent a rain of blood over the crowd, misting my entire body.

Lifeless bodies fell to the floor, and Declan turned to face us. Alastor grinned, his lips moving silently. The delight in his eyes made my stomach upend.

Declan’s chest rose and fell in heaves, his gaze now pinning the six remaining guards off to the side. With a flick of his wrist, his shadows grabbed one of them by the ankle and dragged his body towards them.

“NO!” I screamed, ripped away Killian’s hand and ran towards Declan.

The shadows fell from around the guard and leapt towards me, pushing me down to my knees in the gravel. Shouts rained all around us. His father, Killian and Liam unsheathed swords left and right.

All of it fell away.

The only thing that held my attention was the man stalking towards me, shadows blazing off him like ruinous flames. He towered before me as he wrapped his hand around my throat and dragged me to my feet. Chest heaving, he pulled me in closer until we were only inches apart.

Placing my trembling hand over his heart, I pleaded to the man trapped behind the darkness.

“Come back to me.”

His face contorted and his body tensed as if something inside was battling for control. Fingers tightened around my throat with a bruising grip. Just when I began to feel air slipping from my lungs, all at once everything ceased.

He released me, stumbling backwards, his emerald eyes wild. His knees caved underneath him. Tremors broke out over his body, his breath coming out in short spurts as he stretched his arm towards me.

“Elena,” he gasped.

Our fingertips brushed just as massive arms grabbed me around my middle and lifted me backwards.

Guards.

“Release me!” I thrashed, kicking and swatting my arms at anything I could.

“Elena!” Declan snarled, trying to claw his way to his feet, but only stumbled into Liam’s and Killian’s arms.

My elbow collided with the guard on my right, and my body dropped for a second before someone else took his place.

The last thing I saw was Declan’s outstretched hand grasping towards me as he screamed my name from behind his brothers in arms.

A fist slammed against my head and my world faded to black.