Page 3 of Shadows of Air and Earth (Remnant Archives)

" T hrough the shadows she climbed, racing along the Nocturnes, determined to pull the eternal flame from the nuckelavee in order to stop the plaguing eclipse. A solar disease that had cut the sun from the sky for three long weeks."

The tavern was on edge, their voices hushed, no one moved. Even the bard relinquished his platform listening in, enthralled by her stories.

Xi Lanora Chin.

For a fae that did not like attention, she fell into her own when it came to epic tales, especially ones of the great General Remnant Dark. And if one didn’t know better, they would have thought that Xi Chin admired the great legend. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The truth was, she was goddess damn nervous and without an outlet for her nerves, she told stories instead. Clearly, Remnant Dark was prominent on her mind. As it was for us both.

It had been six months since we fled the City of Light, six months we had been looking over our shoulders every minute of every day. Six months of Xi being convinced that we did not get away unnoticed and that it was only a matter of time before the shadow fae general came for us.

Hands waved in grand gestures as she spun her tale, I watched with the same enraptured attention as the rest of the poor bastards in the tavern.

All of us fell for her allure, mesmerized by the sound of her voice and the way her hair swayed over lush lips, eager to catch just a glimpse of the hidden beauty beneath those silky white layers.

I wished she felt confident enough to show off her beauty. Her olive skin and stunning grey eyes, the color of the sky after calming from a storm, were a sight to behold, and right now they gleamed with such a teasing brightness, I felt myself grow hard just watching her.

But that was never anything new. When it came to my desire for her, it was never calm, always wanting, always needing. And if she did one day decide to unshield her face then that meant I would have to share her with others. Selfishly, I did not want that.

I had killed others for a lot less than looking at her. Besides, I liked the fact that I was the only one she trusted to see her true face, no matter how much of a curse she thought it was, no matter how much we occasionally took other lovers. Her true self was always mine to behold.

Grinning, I took another swig of my spiced ale when gasps ensued, the tension I had been feeling in my shoulders melting from my body only to increase somewhere else .

Draping myself against the bar, I shifted from the increased tightness of my arousal and watched her with pride, feeling the eyes of others fall on me every so often as if asking my permission to admire her.

My grin grew. We were known as many things—lovers, friends, the elemental twins of the plains, but one thing we were always known for was being one.

The times when we were not were now a long distant memory.

Tied by our need to protect what we loved the most we had stayed together from the time of the Blood Wars till now.

Passionate in our agenda to always support the fae of the elemental court.

That was our mission. Especially since Deirdre's rule seemed to steadily strip away their freedoms.

Licking my lips, I continued to enjoy the pleasant buzzing of the alcohol in my system. It was the most calm I had felt in weeks. Perhaps we truly had nothing to worry about.

"You better watch out Riley. Your girl is gaining enough attention that you may have to fend off some suitors."

Looking at the bartender, I gave him a wink, "You know we don't work that way Ura."

The fire elemental shook his head at me, nodding towards Xi, "I know it, and I tell you the same thing every time. Don't be a fucking goddess damn fool Riley Dragoon."

Tilting my head in his direction, I raised my glass to him, my green hair falling over my brow. "And don't be a goddess fucking buttinsky, Ura Purn."

He snickered, sliding a tray of liquid shots towards me.

It was his newest concoction called Hydra's Piss. Meant to keep fae fucked up on a euphoric high that was not easily burned out of our system by our healing capabilities. It was what half this crowd was in here for aside from Xi’s stories.

"Make yourself of use, Dragoon, and pass these out to your girl’s admirers.

I want to see them pissed enough that they drop all their coins on my bar tonight.

Between her storytelling and these drinks, it's sure to be a good night for me even if it won't be one for you.

Your bed will be empty by the looks of it. "

Laughing, I set my ale down, grabbing a shot for myself to shoot him a sardonic look. "You know I don't work here right?"

Ura arched a brow at me as I chugged the foul drink back, "And you know I never charge yeh or your female. Now be off."

Numbness flowed through my body, a steady warmth that spread from my stomach outwards, the Hydra Piss easing that last bit of tension pinching between my shoulder blades. Picking up the tray, I carried it over to the crowd that hovered around Xi.

Placing it on the table in front of them, Xi paused and looked up at me. Smirking, I slid a shot towards her. "You look parched."

She rolled her uncovered grey eye, but took the shot from my hand, my air whispering over her fingertips like I always did—enjoying the way her body shivered.

"On the house from Ura," I called out to the onlookers, who eagerly lunged for the drinks.

"Oi! Boy, push off, can't you see the lady is telling a story, she isn't interested in the likes of yeh!" shouted a crass sounding fae from the back of the room.

Xi laughed, setting down her shot without taking a sip.

I winked down at her, "Ouch, say it isn't true, Xi?"

She shook her head at me, white hair swaying over her shoulders, the sharp angled cut allowing her to cover her face easily.

"Come on bro, she is in the middle of the story and we want to know what will happen next," another complainer called out.

Xi grinned, blowing me a kiss, "The mob has spoken, Dragoon."

Planting my arms on the table I leaned into her space, loving the way her eye flickered down my body before stopping herself.

Ura was a prick…there was no way my bed was going to be empty tonight.

I had a feeling that it was going to be a lovers more than friends kind of night.

I licked at my bottom lip watching her eyes darken with need. "I'll remember this later, earth baby."

She inhaled sharply. A sound only I could hear because it was the best sound air could make. Sexy and stilted. Oh yes, she would be mine tonight.

Pulling away, I flourished my hand, "By your leave, my lady."

Her uncovered grey eye flashed with annoyance and amusement.

"Finally!" someone breathed out. "Tell us what happened! How do you know her shadows command the dead?"

Xi turned back to them and she held up her hands, "Easy, easy.

I was told so by the witch of the goddess plains.

He said when they roam over the plains those that died on the fields are ripped up from their resting place, and then they hunt.

But this time the shadows took on a new fight, the spirit realm, during the night of The Wailing. "

I shivered. That was the worst night of my life.

Samhain…when the veil between the spirit world and the real one thinned.

During this time, the fae celebrated. We drank with lost souls, danced with loved ones, and fell into our deepest desires through the unlimited illusion of the spirit realm.

Except that wasn’t what happened when Xi and I had made the long pilgrimage to the sacred lands.

What happened had been goddess damn carnage.

Instead of the veil thinning the worlds collided, melding into one, and the spirits took over—possessing thousands of fae gathering for revelry.

With sterility plaguing our people, many had joined together for an excuse to celebrate life when we could no longer experience the joy of it ourselves through future progeny.

But instead of drunken debauchery and sloppy seduction, there was blood and death.

The spirit realm turned fae against fae, friends into foes, brethren into enemies.

I had almost lost Xi that night.

Shuddering, I studied the animated half of her face, and ignored the image of her soaked in blood, her throat sliced open from the end of a scythe and the damning choice I had made to save her.

She remembered only the final end of that day.

Never knowing the way I had scooped her up in my arms, my hand slick with her blood, while I did the one thing I had never done before when danger came my way.

I ran away. Away from the slaughter while I screamed, raged, and prayed to the deaf ears of the goddess to save her.

Except, that wasn’t how life worked. Begging, pleading, and prayers did nothing for the fae of Faerie…

especially for me. Sometimes one had to take fate into their own hands and tell destiny to fuck off, even if it meant using a dark forbidden power I once vowed to my parents to never ever use. Not for any circumstance.

When her beautiful grey eyes finally flashed open that night, I practically drowned in my own relief and guilt.

Holding her tightly, we recovered and watched in eerie silence as darkness suddenly rolled in across the valley.

It was quickly followed by wind, fire, and earth.

Finally coming to our aide, walking side by side, the queen of Faerie, Deirdre Seelie and her shadow fae war general, Remnant Dark, faced the spirit realm without a flicker of fear or uncertainty.

That was the first time we had seen the infinite power of the shadows and realized one very important lesson. Remnant Dark's power far surpassed that of the queen of Faerie.

On cue, Xi’s story picked up where my memories had led and I turned my attention back to her.

"Together they walked through the blood soaked lands, silver and black, with all the elements forming a tidal wave of death that met the spirit realm with not even a single flicker of fear.

Taking on the task of closing the spirit veil, the queen left General Dark's side for her to face hundreds of mad rabid fae on her own.

Dancing across the plains, with her black sword whirling in the night, she cut down spirits without mercy.

But it was her shadows, her loyal pets of the damned, that instilled fear into every surviving soul there.

Their darkness latched onto the possessed fae and drained them slowly of all their life forces…

" Leaning forward, she peered into the silent crowd, every single soul here, including myself, hanging onto her next words, "and you know what she said as they did it?”

Enamored and drunk on Hydra Piss, I didn't even notice that the tavern had gone quiet. The air was still as if collectively they all held their breath, fearful eyes no longer on Xi but directed beyond, towards the entrance.

I inhaled sharply when the darkness crept in waves from the open doorway and then snapped swiftly in a puff of smoke to the very table Xi sat at.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She was here. Remnant Dark, the general of Faerie's throne, the most powerful shadow fae alive was fucking here.

In the dead silence the chair across from Xi scraped harshly against the floor, pulled out by a lean, toned arm full of swirling tattooed ink.

Wearing fitted black leather, Remnant Dark sat down gracefully.

With her hair pulled back sharply in a ponytail that trailed over the back of the chair, the shadow fae general's famous green eyes were distinguished even more, highlighting the current bright light and mirth held within their emerald depths.

Xi met my eyes briefly in panic before her singular one stared back at the shadow fae sitting across from her. The darkness undulated in waves from the chair, forcing the fae around us to step backwards on whispered feet while I did the exact opposite.

Stepping into deadly shadows, I stood behind my friend. For if we were to face death, then we would sure as fuck do it together.

"Go on then," Remnant Dark said, tapping on the table with a single digit. Her voice was unlike anything I ever heard. Dark and commanding but also safe, alluring, like it had the power to change the world. "Finish the story, Xi Chin. What exactly did I say?"