Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

EMRYS

C hills raced over my skin, causing my exposed flesh to pebble in the soft daylight that was slowly becoming obscured by the eclipsing sun. Deteriorating white marble pillars with soaring dragons carved into the stone stood tall and held up the cracking ceiling of an abandoned temple.

My recollection was hazy still, memories fogging and fading into the abyss before fully forming. But I could almost recognize this once grand place, its ivory walls faded and decrepit the further we progressed.

Crushed rocks and broken glass littered the ground as my captors' undead creatures stormed through the temple, shredding any remaining tapestries still dangling from the stone walls. Their decaying feet stomped over the old candles that were still scattered on the dirt, snapping the waxy sticks with every step. With torches of fire in their deteriorating hands, they snarled in my caged direction, their blackened eyes and souls thirsting for my flesh.

Only his vile beasts of darkness stormed the temple, desecrating it with their gloom. The brutal Kingsguard that served my captor had formed a perimeter around the marble place of worship, their metallic armor rustling as they marched in procession. The stomping of their booted feet mere yards away only made the foreboding feeling worsen because I had a suspicion this wasn't to be our new home.

The daytime sky darkened further as the moon passed between the earth and the sun, beginning an eclipse that caused the air to become colder, more heart-wrenching. Iron cuffs encased my wrists, their heavy chains weighing down my emaciated form. My tattered shirt, still stained with my blood, shifted along with my body as I glared at the disgusting male who had kept me as his prisoner for months.

That oddly captivating and unnerving crown of spikes sat upon the male's head, the blackened barbs digging into his skull as he lifted his hands towards the open sky of the central courtyard. That same large obsidian necklace lay upon his velvet-covered chest, the golden metal glimmering in the weak sunlight as the stone absorbed the surrounding light.

He was dressed in royal regalia, a black knee-length overcoat with golden stitchwork to match the glittering jewels on his wrists and fingers. More finery adorned him than I'd seen over my time in his captivity and I wondered if he was dressing for some sort of audience or celebration.

There was no time to ponder his choice of attire, no time to wonder what hellish torture he had planned for me next as my vision shifted to the whirling moonstone embedded in the crown. Like a horse to water, I was enraptured by its culmination of power.

Within the darkest corners of my mind, the corrupt magic of the circlet crept in. Shadows of gray and crimson lashed out with barbs, digging into the core of my being.

Those vicious webs dug into my thoughts, my dreams, my wants and desires, and most importantly my nightmares.

A shudder of depraved power moved through the temple, shaking the remains of this once sacred place and causing more debris to fall as images of familiar faces and voices came forth in my mind.

Sunshine hair with amber eyes and tanned, russet skin. A silky, smooth voice, like chocolate decadence, turned guttural as she screamed out in agony, flames licking up her flesh. The warmth of love and light and joy was snuffed out as angry waves of grief and sorrow came forth.

My heart fractured as visions of my mother, so full of youth and wonder, played out before me. She ran through the fields of datura flowers in the soft moonlight, glittering constellations writing out her undeniable fate in the stars. Friends and family of her tribe gathered around her before the High Lord of the Umbran Court toted her off to his estate in marital bliss.

She never knew what the future held for her, never knew who the Fates decided to intertwine her soul with.

Right before my eyes, I watched my mother's abhorrent life play out.

I watched the memories of her love, tenderness, and pain—so much fucking pain I could hardly bear it. Twisted nightmares continued to take the familiar shape of memories as that agony of heartbreak and betrayal flooded my veins.

My consciousness was free, free from the shadowy confines of his power.

My father.

And her murderer.

The High King of Atrium smiled down at me, cruel and wicked, as my shattered heart pounded heavily in my chest, the jagged pieces cutting up the inside with each beat. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, muting the torment until the only thing I could feel was tenacity and rage.

So much fucking rage.

A leather strap was wrapped around my jaw, holding a horse's bit in place to keep me from speaking the obscenities I so badly wanted to voice at the male who had murdered my mother for his power. Other little snippets filtered through my brain, familiar flashes of emerald and gold and moonlight. Soft, lingering touches and joyous laughter with that blazing woman on fire… My soul's other half.

My moonlight, my Mate .

But those compelling memories of her didn't bring me the serenity they once had.

All they brought was wrath and fury and vengeance .

Because I knew this male had taken her from me too.

That's all he ever did.

He took and took, bending one's will to his own until nothing of that soul remained.

My scarred hands fought against the bindings, iron singing my already ruined flesh. I would never stop fighting him, never stop trying to get back to those almond-shaped emerald eyes that my heart yearned for.

I would never stop wanting his blood upon my ruined soul or his heart in my grasp. My vision grew hazy as agony radiated up my spine but I didn't stop shooting daggers with my eyes at the corrupt ruler creating a vortex of power around us. Whirls of opalescent colors swirled together in a tornado, hues of blues, reds, and yellows all meshing as his elemental powers formed as one.

His stolen magic fused together, the colors melding into a deep, murky black as the day grew darker. The twister shrunk in size, turning into a slow sludge as Durreos absorbed his essence once more, black veins crawling up his pale neck. The shining moonstone in the center of the diadem pulsed, its bright light moving almost in tandem with his heartbeat.

Holy Gods…

He was binding himself to this helm of darkness and terror.

Soulless onyx eyes met my own as he continued grinning at me before taking a step towards my cage. With dark fire at his fingertips, he melted through the iron holding me and grabbed me by my stained shirt, throwing me from my cage. I landed in a heap of pain on my still open wounds, blood gushing onto the ruined floor as the Raken snickered, seemingly enjoying my torment.

I was the Shadow of Death and Destroyer of Realms. The Prince of Bloodshed and Lord of Nightmares, haunting my enemies even in their death. But there I lay surrounded by decaying and hissing corpses, like a broken bag of bones.

Like I was nothing.

The soft rustling of metal outside of the temple quieted, as if all sounds outside of this place had been snuffed out from existence at the High King's command.

"You are nothing," Durreos spat while gripping my dirty and matted hair, his tendrils of darkness still prickling within my mind. "You were born worthless. Just like your mother." He dropped his hand and sent a kick to my gut, pushing me back over as I coughed against the metal bit in my mouth.

"You should be thanking me!" he roared, his fury potent and electric. "I gave you everything! I made you into what you are and you betrayed me? Your father and your king?" Another kick into my stomach, harsher than the first one, sent blood flying between my teeth. "But now you will give me what I have always asked for. You should be thanking me because you will now die with a purpose. You will finally be something to this world, because of me ."

The High King stopped his assault and held a throbbing hand against his forehead where the Crown of Daemonium still fought against him. Durreos bared his teeth, his fangs lengthening as fire racked up his form and made him appear larger, like a demon from the fiery pits of Infernum. The moonstone in the center of the circlet kept pulsating with power as his form flickered between that of a normal High Fae and a beast of hell.

Darkness enveloped the entire temple as the moon met its position in the sky and completely blocked out the sun's reflective light. The torches lit by his fire extinguished within an instant, the Raken blending into the darkness. The total solar eclipse… right on Bruma, the shortest day of the year, when darkness prevailed. Nowhere near as powerful as the Moons of the Divine but still potent in its magical force nonetheless.

Moving onto my knees, I pushed against the bindings that caused friction with every flick of my wrist and though I knew it wouldn't free me—I would never stop.

Something golden and bright flashed out of the corner of my vision as the High King started chanting in an old and forgotten language that had been eradicated from this earth. " Potentia of Infernum. Ignis of Infernum. Princeps of Infernum. Audire meus clamor. Potentia of Infernum. Ignis of Infernum. Princeps of Infernum. Audire meus clamor." A melodic voice met his as he chanted those same words over and over, only the softer voice spoke of a prophecy instead.

"The stars and Fates have spoken:

A God with the power of the moon, broken.

Chaos ends only where it begins,

All will ultimately answer for their sins.

Blood of fire, soul of shadow,

Power to gain will only end in sorrow.

Two must become one beneath the darkened sun

Before the realm is rendered undone."

In a flurry of words, the temple shook but instead of the debris falling further into the darkness, the broken shards glowed with embedded magic and lifted from the ground. As if they were reforming into their original state as the High King keeled over from the power of Infernum infusing with his soul.

Working on my bindings, I let the iron singe my flesh as I tried to pop my thumb from the socket. Sweat rolled down my skin, musky and dirty as the air heated to an uncomfortable temperature. The scent of brimstone and fire overwhelmed me as I gritted my teeth, trying to force my hands from the confines.

That flash of golden light swept in again, right behind the High King's toppled form, and I could've sworn it was pure starlight by how brightly it shined and burned my irises. My heart sped up in recognition as my soul careened towards that golden tendril, like everything within me needed to be closer to whatever that was.

My very being ached to hold that light, to see it in all its greatness and never let it go for all of eternity.

The High King's large form straightened and his chanting ended while that light disappeared once more. My soul darkened, as deep and black as Durreos', at the loss of that pure luminescent tendril. The moonstone upon the circlet illuminated the newly forming temple as the High King stepped towards me once more.

He clenched a dagger made of black obsidian in his fist so tightly that I was surprised the stone didn't crack under his hold. I started scooting backwards on my knees, attempting to put as much distance between us but the smell of decaying flesh overtook my senses as two Raken came up behind me, their taloned hands holding me in place. Bright crimson-colored eyes took the place of Durreos' usually black ones as he loomed over me and the moonstone shined brighter with every word, " Potentia of Infernum. Ignis of Infernum. Princeps of Infernum. Audire meus clamor."

Another flash of gold, too quick for my eyes to track, was behind the High King one second and then gone the next. Biting down on the iron in my mouth, my teeth started to crack from the pressure as I fought against the Raken's grip. There was no cruel smile on my father's pale face, his expression was completely void.

There was always a scowl marring his face, leaving its permanent indents, but this male before me was no longer recognizable. That pale skin had hardened where there were once stress lines and wrinkles, chiseled and hard edges taking place. His features kept reshaping and morphing, cheekbones rising and falling as he snarled down at me, smoke billowing from his nostrils.

Red eyes blazed into my being, his thirst for power shining through them as he brought the dagger down and straight towards my heart.

The bruising grip upon my shoulders loosened as a slicing hot pain went through the back of my skull before the piece of leather holding the horse's bit into place fell to the ground. The High King's crimson eyes widened and his hands wouldn't move any further but he was no longer looking at me with those devilish eyes but behind me, his nostrils flaring in anger.

Turning my head to look behind me, all I could see through the darkness was a glittering cloak, like it was made of pure starlight, and bright emerald eyes ringed with gold.

The eyes I had dreamt about for centuries.

My savior and my Mate.