Page 5 of Son of the Drowned Empire

The gryphon was chasing another, far smaller and quicker. An arrow from the larger gryphon’s rider just missed the smaller gryphon’s head, and with another display of fireworks, the sky lit up, revealing the color of the smaller one’s wings. Not bronze, not gold. But bright orange. It was a gryphon of the Afeyan Lands.

The Afeyan gryphon soared upward, and I could make out the vague outline of another. The sky was too dark to reveal its color, but I knew in my gut it was also Afeyan.

Screams erupted on the field as the bells began to ring again, louder. The pattern was urgent, persistent, one I’d memorized as a boy and dreaded hearing every time it rang.

Akadim.

Ice-cold fear filled my body, rushing out through my limbs.

Immediately, Dario sobered, our group becoming still and silent as we counted the bells.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Five akadim had breached the Glemarian border.

My hands felt cold, almost numb at my sides. I registered the distant screams now, the sounds of battle beyond the noise of the music and instruments sputtering to a halt. At the edge of the fields, approaching the crowd, a head was visible, several feet taller than everyone else’s. It had a pale, grotesque face with bright red eyes. Demon eyes. A soul eater. An akadim.

Shit. Five akadim hadn’t just breached the Glemarian border, they were all the way inside, and at least one had made its way to the fields, which meant the rest of them would be here soon. We had no time. We had to evacuate everyone we could, get them inside to safety, and take the akadim down. Now.

Soturi were everywhere, but too many of them were passed out and not only useless but in grave danger. Auriel’s Feast Day made everyone sloppy; the idiocy of the after-party mixed with the complacency that we were still in summer, the season where akadim were least active. It had left us vulnerable. Weak.

Apprentice soturi, including Thorin, the soturion I’d been bound to through kashonim , were already screaming orders, ushering guests away from the threat, while others were brandishing their swords, preparing for an ambush.

I met Garrett’s blazing blue gaze; the severity of the situation was already reflected in his face. My heart was pounding, the sudden need to escape awakening inside me. But this need was nothing against my need to fight, the instinct to protect my own, who were all over this field.

The chaos had already begun despite the soturi trying to maintain decorum. It looked like everyone who could run was running, and those who couldn’t were being carried or dragged away by their friends.

“Aiden,” Garrett mouthed, his face turning white.

“Kenna,” I breathed, something twisting in my chest.

They were both mages, strong and fierce in their own ways but completely unable to fight akadim. The demons were impervious to Lumerian magic. With nothing more than their mage strength and staves for defense, they’d be dead in seconds.

Dario had sobered under the threat, but I knew with one look at his balance that while he was able to think clearly and his own protective instincts had been activated, he had far too much alcohol in him to go up against an akadim. Not tonight. Not if he was going to live until tomorrow.

The first three rules of being a soturion raced through my mind—the way they always did when faced with danger.

One. Stop the threat.

Two. Become the weapon.

Three. Follow the chain of command.

We weren’t anointed, weren’t part of a legion. But the chain of command between us had always been understood.

As the Heir Apparent, and the Academy’s best fighter—when it was a matter of life and death—they all bowed to my will without question.

“Dario,” I ordered. “Kenna and Aiden. Get them out of here. Now!”

He didn’t argue, only nodded solemnly, his hand pressed to his chest, two fists against his heart, and this hand flattened. “With my life,” he swore. “Me sha, me ka.”

Garrett’s lips crashed against Aiden’s, one quick kiss before they pulled back, holding each other’s gazes. I turned toward Kenna, with a lingering look, my eyes unable to move from hers, from my friend, from someone beautiful, someone, I realized, I truly did care for.

Her large brown eyes found mine, my name on her lips. “Rhy,” she mouthed.

I felt frozen to the spot—not wanting to move. Not wanting to look away from her. My pulse quickened.

I fought the urge to run to her side, to sweep her up in my arms and take her to safety myself. But that wasn’t my job. Exhaling, I faced Garrett, who’d released Aiden to Dario’s protection. Garrett’s chest heaved, his eyes widening with fear, but I gripped his shoulder. He needed to be steady, to focus on the fight rather than his worry for Aiden’s life. Dario was one of our strongest fighters, even drunk. He’d die before he let any harm come to Kenna or Aiden. I knew that without a doubt. I needed to remind Garrett of this as much as I needed to remind myself.

Garrett took an anchoring breath, his eyes tracking Aiden’s retreat.

“Stop the threat,” I said, tapping his leather armor.

“Stop the threat,” Garrett repeated, his throat working as his expression slid into one of determination.

The akadim roared across the field, its steps making the ground shake. Mages, untrained novice soturi, and musicians—who’d all abandoned their instruments—ran in terror in a mob toward us, trying to escape.

Garrett and I sprang forward. Our boots raced across the field, our hands synching as we both reached for our swords in the same moment. I gave myself one second to worry, to look back and see Dario take Kenna’s hand, surprised at the relief I felt in knowing she was with him and would be protected, as they, with Aiden, headed to safety through the crowds. I prayed to the Gods that the three friends I cared for most in this world, all of whom had become my family, would find shelter and safety tonight as I fought beside Garrett. And I prayed Garrett would be safe. I needed him as much as I needed the others.

My heart was suddenly shattering at the thought I might not see Kenna again.

I could almost feel her lips on mine, her breath against my skin, her reassuring warmth against my body.

No. No. I would see her again, hold her, kiss her. I had no time for any other thoughts. I would not die tonight.

Gazing ahead, my mind cleared. The sounds of horror around me hushed, all thoughts and memories gone. There was an enemy, and it was up to me to become the weapon of its destruction. To see it as nothing more than a rope I would tear apart.

I swerved in and out of the onslaught of the crowd, screaming for everyone to move as I ran faster, my breaths coming in rapid succession. Garrett was right at my side, and within a few more steps, the field had been cleared of partiers. Only the akadim remained ahead, and barely a dozen soturi had stayed. Most of those on the field who were sober were still trying to escort everyone else off though half a dozen soturi already lay knocked out on the ground before us—caught unawares or too drunk to fight back.

The akadim before us was a beast, standing at least twelve feet tall. Dingy scraps of clothing clung to its body, most ripped so thoroughly that I saw little reason for the material at all. Red veins cut angrily through its pale skin, extending to its clawed hands. An apprentice soturion raced forward, releasing a battle cry into the night, but with one swipe of the akadim’s claws, he was thrown across the field. A bone-shattering crack echoed when he landed.

I tightened my grip, assessing the scene: the position of the monster, its focus, and the placement of every other soldier on the field. We had to be careful and not attack all at once, not unless we were organized—which we were definitely not.

No one was taking charge of the attack. Most of us had barely gone over battle formations. Sloppy formations against the strength of an akadim spelled death. I looked to Garrett. We’d practiced together, knew how to read each other’s body language as easily as we spoke. But we needed to strike at the right moment, and not one second sooner. Akadim did not offer second chances.

Another soturion attacked in front of us, and then two more, but the akadim easily took down them all.

One of Dario’s ex-lovers stepped forward, his sword raised, and I could see fear grip him as the akadim roared. Piss pooled between his legs, and he turned, running in cowardice into the trees.

The Academy did what it could to prepare us. The training was rigorous and brutal, sometimes cruel and unforgiving. Not everyone survived. But the truth was, nothing but facing one of these monsters could ever show a soturion what they were made of or how they’d react.

I’d seen over a dozen akadim since training had begun. I’d stopped nearly pissing myself after the third. My heart had stopped feeling like it was going to kill me with its pounding after the fifth. But I’d never seen one this big, this powerful. I didn’t fault the soturi who were running; the desire to live felt far more present in me than it had in months, as did the awareness of my heart beating, and my lungs breathing. I felt suddenly so alive. And what shocked me most of all was simply this: I could feel.

Kenna’s face flashed in my mind.

I blinked and refocused.

We needed to stop the threat. If one of us didn’t take it down soon, it would plow through the Academy, and our lives would be forfeit either way.

The demon’s muscles flexed as it extended its elongated arms, its claws out, eyes reddening, and sharpened teeth bared into a snarl that turned my stomach.

Another soturion charged forward, his sword out, glinting in the firelight. He was a member of Ka Gaddayan, one of Kenna’s cousins. With a battle cry, he made one swipe at the akadim’s arm, but its claws sliced through his shoulder. He stumbled back, blood gushing down toward his wrist as the akadim wrapped its hand around his waist. It picked him up and hurled him at two more soturi racing toward the fray. With one maneuver, the demon had all three soturi in a pile on the field.

My eyes met Garrett’s. We had to strike. Now. “Go right, I’ll take its left.”

Garrett nodded, and we raced forward.

Another two soturi charged at the akadim, trying to distract it, as a third appeared from behind. She jumped onto the beast’s back, her arms wrapping around its neck. The akadim roared, reaching around and bringing her forward, its claws tightening around her waist as she released a blood-curdling scream right before her body went limp.

Garrett froze in his tracks and shook beside me. I grabbed his hand, sucking in a breath.

I’d expected the akadim to rip through her armor—to eat her soul, to do worse. But he left her—ignoring the prey. Like he was seeking out something else—something more.

I didn’t want to know what.

Garrett’s aura shook beside me.

“Stop the threat,” I said quietly.

His throat bobbed, but a sudden fierceness washed over his expression as he steadied himself.

I dug my heels into the ground.

More bells rang, the continuation of the warning. Five akadim were still inside Glemaria. Our soturi were failing.

I tried to clear my mind of it all—where the others were, why this was happening, where my mother was, and if she was safe. If noble protocol had been properly followed. I was here, and I had a threat before me. Letting my mind wander now would spell death.

The bodies of our soturi, mangled and bloody with twisted and broken arms and legs, were piling up as the akadim raced away from us, attacking anyone in its path. Many of the soturi who weren’t unconscious, who had turned around to fight or stayed concealed in the shadows, had begun openly retreating in fear.

Where were my father’s men? There was no sign of the arkturion’s legion or the elite members of the Master of the Peace. Both Kenna’s and Dario’s fathers should have rushed into battle, and ordered reinforcements. Even Garrett’s father’s forces were notably missing.

The few soturi who remained had encircled the akadim, attacking the way we’d been taught in a five. But each one failed as the monster tore through their cloaks and armor.

Soturion after soturion fell until I realized only Garrett and I still stood. The akadim had fought two dozen of our warriors in what had felt like seconds. Its red eyes landed on us as it kicked the fallen soturi out of its way and charged forward, not seeming to notice when it stepped through a fading bonfire.

This was it.

Garrett’s jaw tightened, his neck stretching side to side before he charged forward, racing for the akadim. He leapt into the air, brandishing his sword and slicing his blade across the demon’s arm. Blood spurted above its elbow as it roared. Garrett crashed down behind it, stumbling forward onto the grass before he regained his bearings. He turned instantly, racing back for the akadim, this time running past it while his blade cut through its thigh.

I started forward, my fingers tightening around the hilt of my sword. But my feet didn’t move. I froze as a roar sounded behind me.

Two akadim were now on the field, and there was still no sign of my father’s soturi. Not a single Glemarian legion.

I spun and charged at the new beast. My sword lifted, and with a leap, I soared past it, my blade slicing through its arm. But as my boots hit the ground, Garrett screamed, the sound so full of fear my heart stopped.

Turning at once, I found Garrett bleeding. His leathers had been ripped straight down the center. The akadim had torn through his armor and tunic to the point where the pieces hung limply off his shoulders.

Gashes across his chest and stomach were gushing with blood.

The akadim was going to eat his soul. It had unobstructed access to Garrett’s heart, the place where his soul would leave his body. Garrett stumbled backwards, his grip on his sword too loose for him to fight back. The akadim advanced, but Garrett wasn’t paying attention—he was staring ahead, at me.

Auriel’s fucking bane. No. No. No.

“GARRETT!” I screamed, just as he yelled my name.

I barely had time to glance back and see my akadim reaching for my belly. The sound of its claws ripping through the topmost layer of my leather burned in my ears as I ran forward, barely avoiding being snatched.

Garrett seemed to have caught a second wind. He’d run from the akadim, which now pursued him; I’d never seen an akadim move so fast. But as the akadim made a move to grab him, Garrett suddenly turned around. He ran straight for it.

I held my breath. Garrett had to make the hit. His armor was gone, and it would be too easy for the akadim to take his soul. But he could do it, he could fucking do it. He had to.

His eyebrows furrowed as he slid under the beast, his sword slicing between its legs. The akadim fell to its knees as Garrett leapt to his feet, spinning and swinging his sword at the akadim’s neck. His blade hit it again and again as the akadim screamed in agony—until it stopped, leaving behind a haunting silence. Garrett’s blade sang as it swept across the beast’s shoulders. Its head fell to the grass with a grotesque thud, rolling beside a fallen soturion.

My eyes widened in shock. He’d killed it. He’d really fucking done it.

But we weren’t safe yet.

“Rhyan!” Garrett roared, racing for me, his sword still out. He’d retrieved his dagger from its sheath, both of his hands equipped with weapons, as a third roar erupted on the field.

Time seemed to slow down as I heard the yells of soturi in the distance and saw two akadim closing in on us. One akadim was dead, but it had been immediately replaced. And there were still two more out there doing Gods knew what. Garrett tripped, his blood loss starting to slow him down. One more hit, and he’d be dead. He was already exposed with his armor destroyed, and if I didn’t get to him soon, he was going to die.

“Garrett!” I screamed. “To me!”

I ran, my arms pumping, faster than I ever had in my life until Garrett was within reach. If I could get him behind me, I could go for the two akadim until the soturi got here. They were getting closer and louder. We’d be okay. We’d have to be okay.

Then another akadim appeared from the shadows of the trees.

“FUCK!” Garrett yelled.

I felt like the wind had been knocked from my lungs. This new demon made the others look like children, and my heart stopped as I fell under its gaze. Its eyes ran down my body, and I knew in that moment death was on the horizon. This was maybe my last day, and Kenna was perhaps the last girl I’d kiss.

Though the sudden return of my heart beating was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard, and the numbness I’d worn like armor was cracking, I knew I could still accept death in this moment. If I could save Garrett, then at least my death would be honorable, would mean something. If anyone deserved to live, if anyone had something to live for, it was him.

The new demon struck at me, too quickly for me to react, and I screamed as blood ran down my arms. I kept running, still reaching for Garrett.

“RHYAN!” he roared.

I sped faster, the breath of the demon hot on my neck, its claws slicing through the back of my armor, while another reached both of its giant clawed hands for Garrett.

We collided. The backs of my leathers started to tear, and before I could react, Garrett wrapped his arms around me.

The demons had us surrounded. Fuck. FUCK. We were dead.

Pain erupted in my belly in a sharp tugging sensation as my boots lifted off the ground. My heart lurched into my throat. But I wasn’t in the grasp of the akadim.

The sounds of battle and the roar of the monsters vanished. The fields of Seathorne were gone, as were all of the fallen soturi and dead akadim. Disoriented and dizzy, my heels touched the ground with a heavy thud, and I slipped forward on slick river rocks.

No. No. No!

Fuck. Fuck! I’d traveled. I’d abandoned the fight. I’d abandoned my friend when he’d needed me most. I’d broken the first rule of being a soturion: stop the threat.

And worse… I’d been in charge. Garrett had been counting on me, had trusted me—and I’d…fuck!

The rush of the river beside me swelled in my ears, and I stumbled forward, trying to get my bearings, my boots still slipping. I had to go back. I had to travel to the fields. I had to save Garrett.

I closed my eyes, picturing the trees, imagining the exact spot where Garrett stood, imagining the monsters, the blood, and the carnage.

“Rhyan?” Garrett asked, his voice shaking.

I opened my eyes. I was still by the river. And so was Garrett.

By the Gods. I’d brought him with me. He was safe. For a moment, relief coursed through my body. But it was quickly replaced with fear. And complete and utter dread. I’d just exposed my vorakh.

“Garrett?”

He was on the ground, bleeding, breathing unevenly, his face pale. I rushed before him, unsure what to do. His breaths were coming in loud, uneven huffs against the rushing river and the sound of gryphon wings soaring overhead.

His throat bobbed as he stared up at me in pure terror.

My entire body was shaking as my mind raced with excuses, lies, thoughts of taking him out to keep my secret. Thoughts of admitting everything to him and making him swear an oath to never speak of what he’d seen again. Threatening him to take this knowledge to his grave.

“Garrett,” I said slowly, trying to keep my voice calm and even. “I… It’s not…” I fumbled. What was there to say? Two and half years I’d carried this secret, this burden, and not once had I exposed myself like this. “It’s not—”

“Rhyan, you can’t tell anyone, not even Aiden. We can’t burden him with this knowledge.”

Watching Garrett get shakily to his feet made me realize I was trembling, too. It had been months since I’d last traveled. I hadn’t since I’d started sleeping with Kenna and learned to fully shut off my emotions. Since my heart had gone hollow.

Garrett lost his balance, and I reached out my hand for him to take. He stared at it, and his face hardened as he made no move to touch me. I slowly withdrew, my heart sinking.

He didn’t see me as me anymore. He saw my curse. He saw a monster.

“Garrett?” I tried again.

“I’m sorry, Rhyan,” he said.

My breath caught in my throat. I waited for the damning words to come, for the look of disgust, of hate. I waited for him to break our bond of friendship and turn me in. My shoulders fell forward, my head down.

I’d failed him. Failed my mother. Myself. Glemaria.

“I… I didn’t mean to do that,” Garrett said slowly.

I snapped my gaze back up. “What?”

“I didn’t mean to—fuck. I didn’t mean to leave without stopping the threat. To dishonor you, but… myself to fucking Moriel. Rhyan, it was right there, about to grab you, and we were surrounded, and I was losing blood, and fuck. Fuck!” Now his own head fell forward in defeat, his aura releasing an agonized and painful flash of nerves. “I couldn’t let them…let them get you. Or me. Because, if I became akadim… became akadim the way I am, with…you know what would happen. How dangerous I could become.”

How dangerous I could become…

I stared at Garrett, my eyebrows lifting as the realization dawned on me. The usual exhaustion I felt each time I traveled wasn’t present. It seemed impossible, and yet… The realization was slowly coming together in my mind. It wasn’t me who’d traveled, wasn’t me who’d used vorakh.

“You,” I started. “Wait—Garrett. You mean…you…”

Garrett nodded. “I’m a vorakh.”