Page 47

Jude

There are no known cures for shadow beasts, although some believe they can be saved when in their humanlike form. These scholars claim that since they live and breathe like mortals, they possess a soul. And souls, they say, can be healed like any other ailment.

Excerpt from Asidian Lore: Legends and Myths of the Realm

With outstretched arms, blazing wings sprouted behind me—twin weapons of cruel beauty.

Magic streamed forth, gold erupting from my pores, my eyes, my open mouth. I wasn’t human at that moment, not even slightly. I felt like a god. A vengeful one.

A humming sensation rattled my rib cage, an ancient heat boiling my blood. Each exhale was a scorching flame, every swallow raw. And while I’d become a raging inferno, there was no discomfort, only weightlessness. It had my body flying through spindly branches, arms shoving aside blackened leaves and debris, racing back to the temple where this all would end.

For Kiara, for our friends, I’d push forward. She’d given me a gift, and I would not squander her sacrifice. I prayed she still breathed, had to believe it. My greatest fear was her below the earth, back in the Moon God’s temple, with Isiah. Helpless, and waiting to be killed.

The traitor. My duplicitous brother.

If my initial strike hadn’t wounded him, he’d kill her. If he hadn’t done so already.

She could’ve saved herself, but the insufferable girl saved me.

Again.

A snarl ripped free from my throat as I pushed my muscles to the point of pain. There was no sign of life in the woods, and wherever Kiara had sent me was a decent way from the temple. Meaning time was of the essence.

Why did she have to choose me? Again and again?

I was hardly worthy of the life destined for me—I was selfish and irritable, and I despised most people and things. And I’d been fine with that reality for most of my life.

Kiara changed everything.

Soon, the sun would rise; I felt it, the nearness of its approach. When that time came, I planned to be standing over Isiah’s remains. Though if he touched her, hurt her in any way—I’d prolong his torture. I would take my time with him and revel in his agony. The gruesome images might’ve sickened anyone else, but I had been raised by evil’s guiding hand, and I feared what I would do should Kiara be gone.

I razed a forest when I wasn’t able to touch Kiara. Gods knew what atrocities I’d perform if she was taken from me.

As the temple drew closer, the heat inside of me began to mutate, to bend and reshape into something new. Whole . All three pieces were reuniting, fusing together.

The proof rested in the way my pace quickened, how my exhaustion slipped from my body like a loose cloak. All three orbs seemed to sing as they fused into one single entity.

There was also something else swimming in the core of my power. A dark shard of magic. Kiara’s darkness. And without her shadows or her scars, she was just a human, unable to travel, unfit to enter the Moon God’s inner sanctum.

I squeezed my eyes and focused on her face, trying desperately to Travel as I had seconds before, but Raina’s magic was too strong, and it overpowered all else. Only because of Kiara’s guidance had I been delivered from danger. There was nothing I could do to command the shadows—at least not to the same extent.

I growled in frustration, the feral noise shaking the trees. They swayed when I sprinted by, their deadened branches curving into a mockery of a bow. The whole forest quivered, the ground my boots pressed upon softening like it was coming alive after a long, brutal winter.

Ahead, the pointed roof of the temple emerged, tall and proud, a prison of lies. I hungered to storm its gates and break it apart piece by piece. To ruin Isiah’s temple before I ruined him, the Godslayer piercing his heart.

Yet as much as I hated to admit it, that final thought was a hollow one. Less of a triumph and more of a loss.

My relationship with Isiah had never been real to begin with, and I’d do whatever was necessary to defend myself and the others. The people that cared for me.

My boot landed on the temple’s first step when a series of bone-chilling howls rented the air.

Tinny and high-pitched, the sound reminded me of the masked men. But that couldn’t be possible. The borders were far from here, and—

“They’re coming. I’ve called them because you can’t see reason, and now that you’re… whole , I can’t take any chances.”

Spiraling shadows parted, revealing Isiah, standing in all his glory beside his cursed temple. He strode with purpose, Midnight Blooms crunching beneath his boots. The rest surrounding the temple began to wither, slowly turning to black.

Fire raged at my fingertips, aching to be set free. My eyes glowed, the scene in front of me cast in tints of red and yellow and orange. The power of the sun goddess was eager for carnage.

“What did you do?” I seethed as new screams and howls hailed from the trees. But selfishly, my focus wasn’t on the undead creatures marching to Isiah’s aid. “What did you do to Kiara?”

“I left her in the temple,” he replied coolly. “She’s free of the gift the shadow beast awarded her. Utterly mortal now.” He cocked a disdainful brow as he glanced at my hands, to where Kiara’s scars covered my fingers, my hands, and my arms. Her final gift.

Sizzling flames sparked across my brow like a vicious crown. I was going to end him. And I would take my damned time. I’d enjoy it.

Footsteps struck the earth. Whatever Isiah had released was nearly upon us.

“The masked men answer to me. And since you refuse to save your kingdom, I’ve invited them here, hoping they might…sway you to hand over the blade. You made this difficult, Jude. Not me.” Isiah clenched his fists, his eyes glassy when he stared at my flames. “You were the closest thing I’ve ever had to a friend. What a disappointment you ended up being.” The last part was a whisper, and I doubted he meant to say the words aloud.

“You were my friend,” I said, my eyes prickling. “But friends don’t manipulate each other for years! They don’t pretend to care when they plan to sacrifice the other!”

“It’s for all of us!” Isiah argued. “It’s for all the people you could save. The entire realm. Your precious Kiara. I know you’ve always wanted to be a hero, a true hero, and now, I’m giving you the chance.”

I couldn’t believe this was the same man who held me that night when I made my first kill for the king. He shushed in my ears and brought me tea, rubbing my back until my lids grew heavy and sleep claimed me.

“Was it all a lie?” I questioned, mostly to myself. “It had to be, or maybe you’re not even him.”

Perhaps he’d stolen his face. No one could possibly keep up such an act for years . The Moon God was notorious for shifting appearances as often as it suited him—

“I am who I’ve always been. Regardless of how this has to end, I’ll always care for you. But that’s another testament to how far I’m willing to go to save the mortals from their own destruction. I’d sacrifice the most important person in my life. My brother.”

A twinge pulsated over my chest, Kiara’s scar awakening. Against all hope, I prayed it meant she still lived. I resisted reaching for it, knowing Isiah might see.

“You are not my brother,” I said, bitterness lining every syllable.

Shadows curled from Isiah’s shoulders and neck, rising into the air and forming wings. They were similar to those Kiara had grown, and yet, while hers glimmered with silver, his were horrifically heart-stopping in their size, the rugged wings devoid of any light.

My own flames whooshed from my back, rising high, the glow they emitted casting the field in gold. Even as the moon pulsated overhead—reacting to Isiah’s magic—my power settled me, a physical reminder I wasn’t the same helpless boy Isiah had manipulated for years.

We were facing each other, fire and darkness, the true kind, and my heart cleaved in two. Isiah had been the lone bright spot in my life for so, so long. Without him, I’d have broken long ago.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

“I see your reluctance, dear boy, your hesitation, and it warms my soul.” Isiah’s shadows settled, twisting around his neck as if nothing more than a pet snake. “If only you didn’t need to die. But I promise I’ll try to make it quick if you let me. I’ll immortalize your name, and you’ll live in my heart long after your body is gone. This I promise.”

He struck so quickly, so suddenly, I didn’t have time to react.

Blackness shot out from his hands, the blast sending me soaring across the clearing. I struck the ground hard, landing on my right arm painfully. I coughed, hacking up steam and spitting out a black, viscous liquid. It seeped from my lips and fell to the soil, turning to soot where it dropped.

I should’ve attacked when I had the chance, but like a sentimental fool, I wavered.

“Come on, Jude. You can do better than that! I taught you better! If you’re not willing to accept your destiny, then at least try to fight me.”

I shut my eyes, shoving his words out of my head. Instead, I focused on a striking face framed in gold. My scar ached as Kiara’s ethereal picture became clearer, her features soft yet fierce. Lips I’d tasted and kissed, quirking into a coy, devious smile. Eyes that had always been reminiscent of the sun from my dreams.

Placing my hand over my aching scar, I rose. The fight hadn’t left me yet.

Before Isiah could muster up some inane taunt, I flung out my power, fueled not by hurt or rage, but by what Kiara inspired. An emotion I cherished and wished to carry inside my heart until my final breath.

Fire licked over the earth, shooting toward the God of the Moon.

My flames advanced, striking him hard enough to knock him onto his back. Not allowing him a chance to recover, they circled him, trapping him in a ring of unholy heat, his white cloak billowing about his tall, muscular frame.

His ensuing smile caused me to pause.

I realized why a second later.

Screams of the undead filtered through the trees and toward the temple. Glinting eyes of steel shone, all aimed at me, their intentioned prey.

“They’ve arrived,” Isiah said, flicking his chin in the monsters’ direction.