Page 31

Kiara

While I pray the sun returns, I fear for people of the realm. Peace may reign for a time, but war will inevitably break out. It is simply human nature to find a new foe to fight, and in the light of day, they will turn on one another.

Found in the diary of Juniper Marchant, Sun Priestess

The storm raged, lashing out at my face with furious winds.

I could hardly see a few feet in front of me, the fog thick and the air suffused with grit, but my friends were on the other side. There would be no turning back.

I’d been alone for most of my life, save for Liam. The journey through the Mist had taught me I was stronger with support, and I’d brave any storm or obstacle to get to Jude and my friends now.

Pins and needles tickled my palms. The black and blue scars slowly came to life, a soft glow pulsating in the dim. They were reacting to this place. Welcoming it.

Which could only mean I was in trouble.

My body grew heavy, invisible hands pressing on my shoulders, a weight settling in my chest. And while weakened, my scars dazzled, wisps of night seeping from my pores, winding up my exposed arms.

My steps wavered as regret soured my thoughts. The winds were too harsh, the air too dense, and the dark clouds disoriented me to the point where I couldn’t recall from which direction I’d entered.

Minutes passed, and yet I’d only made it ten more steps. I crumbled to my knees when I attempted another.

Get up , I urged. You’re stronger than this.

But I didn’t feel so strong or confident now, not when the air turned foul and I swore I heard the distant ringing of laughter.

All I could focus on was moving, and I failed at even that. My arms were frozen in place, my fingertips numb as though they’d been dipped in ice.

The shadow beast inside of me surged forth, the darkness invading me, taking control. It shuddered as a gust of wind tossed me to the side, my head cracking against the ground. My vision swam.

This was a trap. Maybe the night had wanted me to choose the storm after all.

Stinging pain shot across both hands. In horror, I watched as my scars grew, the black stretching up to my forearms like voracious weeds.

No, no, no, no…

I didn’t want to die here, suffocating in the cruel breeze. Each inhale felt poisonous.

Something approached. Movement from my periphery.

I lifted my head with a groan .

The same panic I’d experienced when I was eight years old and alone in the Pastoria Forest resurfaced.

Before me hovered the very creature that haunted my nightmares.

It’s back . It came back to finish the job.

A shadow beast.

Cocking its head, its empty eyes assessed me like a snack. Swirls of black clouds churned where its mouth should’ve been, but I imagined it was smiling at its trapped prey.

It wasn’t my darkness holding me back. Not the monster imprisoned inside my flesh. No. It was me . I’d been reminded of that time all those years ago when I’d felt small and helpless.

Terrified.

Suddenly, staring up at the faceless creature of quivering smoke, I yearned for Arlo. His steady presence. How he could dispel my fears by showing me a new trick with a sword or dagger. He’d been the one to tell me I was capable of greatness should I want it badly enough.

He never held me or coddled, but his harsh but bolstering words… Gods, I needed them now.

I found my voice, the only thing I seemed to be able to control.

“Isn’t it rude to play with your food?” I said with shocking calm. I wouldn’t quiver before it.

The beast went utterly still, and even the shadows that curled around its form paused.

It hadn’t expected me to fight back, for my voice to remain steady. I’d taken it by surprise, and because of this, I grinned.

Never again. I wasn’t that same little girl crying for her mother and father, bloody and screaming in the woods. The monster in front of me wasn’t the same creature who’d left its mark. It was just another foe I had to take down.

And that was something I’d done countless times before.

“Come on, what are you waiting for?” I goaded, the numbness in my fingers lessening.

My fear was still there, but battling it was my will to survive. I had so much to live for. So much to become. I wouldn’t allow this beast to ruin my future as it had stained my past.

Yes . Remember who you are. Fight. I could practically hear Arlo whisper the words across my mind, his stern voice hacking away at the panic holding me down.

I met the vacant stare of the monster that lived in the corners of my mind.

I won’t go down easily.

The shadow beast lunged toward me, and then my body split apart.