Chapter 35

35

REYA

A rkynn has sent a message letting me know there's a rebel meet up tonight and asking me to meet him at the secret tunnel. I'm sitting in Shadow History and Culture class with my fellow Shadow Kissed. Today we are learning about the Night Borne. Their history has always intrigued me. Because we have such limited knowledge of them the Asen's rarely talk about the Night Borne.

"So, I'm hoping we all know all our history on Gaia and her sons, and the creation of the four realms?"

Saveya shoots her hand up in the air and waves it frantically. "Yes, Saveya?"

"Gaia is the Mother Goddess. She created Asen and filled it with her beloved crystals, each one given magical properties. She birthed three sons. Arawn god of the shadows, Aster god of the night, and Aelius, god of the sun. As the sons grew up, they grew jealous of their mother's realm and wanted realms and creations of their own, so they each created their own worlds and competed to create the strongest and most abundant realm, making their beings, stronger, faster and more powerful. Arawn created the Shadow Realm, Aster the Night Realm, and Aelius the Flame Realm. Gaia was angry with her sons for their deceit and the power they had given their creations that could threaten the sanctity of her people on Asen, so she enthused three crystals with the power to harm their creations."

Master Aven throws Saveya a celestite sphere as a reward. "Perfectly recited. So, the Night Borne feed and gain strength from the fears and nightmares of others. They live under an eternal night sky full of stars and they worship their creator, Aster. The Shadow Borne wield shadow magic and they worship their creator, Arawn, and then we have the Flame Borne who wield fire magic and worship their creator, Aelius. When Gaia cursed each realm with a crystal that could weaken and destroy them, little did she realise that by doing this she would cause a war that would last for hundreds of years." He pauses and looks out at us all expectantly. "What do we think caused the great war?"

A girl from the south wing raises her hand to ask a question. "Greed?"

"Fear," Melara from the north shouts out.

"Jealousy," Tyria adds into the mix, and Master Aven nods his head in agreement.

"It resulted because of all of these. The Flame King saw the Night Realm as a threat to their existence. The Night Realm landscape was full of vast mountains of sunstone and selenite. Sunstone could help them take down the Shadow Borne but the Night Realm was also rich in selenite, which weakened those borne of flames. With control of the Night Realm, the Flame King knew he could eviscerate the threat to his own people whilst mining sunstone in substantial quantities and win the war against the Shadow Realm. After centuries of war and signs of dwindling resources in the Flame Realm, they brokered a peace deal and married the niece of the Flame King to the widowed king of the Night Realm. For a short time, peace prevailed."

I look around the room and everyone sits in complete silence, soaking up the story of the great war. I raise my hand. "What caused it to end?"

He grimaces. "All the same things that started the war in the first place: greed, fear, jealousy. It is well documented that the Shadow Realm was not happy when the Night King wed the flame princess and, on the night of the feast of Aster, they invaded the kingdom, poisoning the king as he celebrated and staked him in the heart. No one understands quite what happened, but the death of the king brought about the death of the entire realm and all its people."

There are puzzled looks around the room at this.

"So, when the king took his last breath, they all died, everyone in the realm?" a girl from south dorm asks.

"Many believe that to be the case. From that night onwards, nightmares stopped existing, and no one ever saw or heard from the Night Borne again. No one has ever accessed their realm since."

Just because no one has seen or heard from any Night Borne doesn't mean that they don't still exist, though. Maybe they found a way to close off their realm to all others and they are happily living their lives under the stars. But if that were the case, then wouldn't they need the nightmares to feed from and sustain their realm?

"Okay, homework for next week, I will assign you a point of view—either night, shadow, or flame—and you will write an essay arguing why the war began from your kingdom's perspective. Okay, we're done for today, ladies. Off you go."

I leave class with more questions than answers. When the Night Realm perished, it caused the war to come to our doorstep. Somehow the end of their realm enabled gateways into Asen and saw the arrival first of the mutts first, and then of the Shadow Borne, and now we are the realm stuck in the middle of this war, sacrificing our young men and women. And why had the Mother Goddess not intervened? This realm was her creation. She nurtured and loved it for centuries. None of it made any sense.

After our evening meal in our dorms, I retire early, using the excuse of menstrual pains and needing my bed. Orna asks me if I need anything and fusses over me, but I tell her I just need a good night's sleep and ask that I am not disturbed until morning. As soon as it is dark enough, I sneak out onto my balcony and take the same path I had done a few weeks back. I make it to the meeting point without being seen, and I smile when I see Arkynn sitting on a rock of Onyx, waiting for me.

"No issues?" he asks me as he takes a quick look around us and uncovers the hatch down into the tunnels.

"Nope, I snuck out in-between the patrols of the perimeter. You?"

He smirks. "Of course not. I've always been adept at sneaking out." He lifts the hatch open and gestures for me to climb down. He isn't wrong about that. We'd often sneak out after bedtime to watch the stars or study the mutts beyond the wall. It's hard to keep it from Ark that I have been home and seen my brothers and his family, but Raegal swore me to secrecy. Plus, I'm not ready for the grilling I'll get from Arkynn about why the Lord Commander took me home. Even I'm still confused by his actions.

We walk in single file along the narrow tunnel with Ark leading the way. It will take us about ten minutes to reach the village just outside of the valley, so I use this time as an opportunity to ask Ark more about the rebellion.

"Hey, Ark. I've been meaning to ask; how many rebellion members are there across Asen?"

Ark looks back over his shoulder at me and shrugs. "I don't have exact numbers, but they stretch to their hundreds and with more joining every day."

"And who is the big leader? Who is in charge?" I ask, curious to learn how and when the rebellion began.

"The principal leader wishes to remain anonymous. Only a select few get to speak with him, but he finances our cause and helps us with strategy and intelligence."

I frown so they don't know who their main leader is? This concerns me. "What if it's all a big trap? What if the leader is a Shadow Borne posing as a rebel?"

Arkynn scoffs in front of me like my suggestion is nonsense. "He isn't a scath, Reya. His intelligence and supplies have already claimed shadow lives. Do you honestly think they'd sacrifice their own people to bring us down?"

It's my turn to shrug my shoulders. "Perhaps some may see it as a necessary evil. So, he's Asen then, the big leader?"

Arkynn turns to face me and walks backwards as we talk. "Well, what else would he be if he wasn't a scath?"

"What about the Flame Borne? They have a vested interest in bringing the Shadow Borne down."

Arkynn looks at me like I've grown another head. "Come on, Rey. The Flame Borne can't access our realm. What matters is that the man at the top wants what we want, and that's bringing the scaths to their knees and driving them out of our realm."

He turns and stalks ahead of me and I hurry my steps to catch up with him. "They suspect, you know, that there are Asen soldiers here working for the rebellion. If you're caught, Ark…"

He whirls around so suddenly that I bump into his chest and stagger back. "If I'm caught, then I'll face the consequences and I'll die for what I believe in. Are you willing to do the same?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ark sighs, and he rubs at his chin. "Nothing, forget I said anything." He turns to give me his back again and I reach out and grasp his arm.

"No, come on, spit it out. You clearly have something to say to me!"

He clears his throat. "it's just you seem to be content in their company. There are rumours flying around about you and the Lord Commander."

I glare at him, and he shuffles under my glare. "I'm in their company because I have no choice. They are my teachers. You know how I feel about being here and their part in all of this. You, out of everyone, should know how I feel." I huff. "And what do you mean, there are rumours?"

He looks uncomfortable, but he's opened this can of worms so he can damn well finish what he started. "Some soldiers say that you're lovers."

I reel back at his words. "That's just ridiculous!" My cheeks heat. "You believe that I'd touch one of them?" Even as the words spill from my mouth, images of me kissing him, of him reaching under my skirt, flick through my mind. I'm a terrible person. I literally am cavorting with the enemy.

"I know! I know you wouldn't, but I've seen the way he looks at you, sunshine. He looks at you like you're something he shouldn't want, but he does."

I snicker. "Trust me. He hates Asen women. He's said so to me." I step up closer to Ark and meet his eyes. "There's nothing going on between me and the Lord Commander. Trust me." The lie slides off my tongue.

Guilt flicks across his features. "Gods, Rey. I'm sorry. You're right. I am aware that you would never sink to such a level. It would kill me if you ever chose one of them."

"Then you need to make sure your illusive leader gets me out of there at the reaping because otherwise I'll have no choice but to be tied to one of them for the rest of my life."

I grimace inside at what a terrible person I am. Enough is enough. Whatever this thing is between me and the commander, it has to stop. My loyalty is to my people and my realm and not with a foreigner whose kisses bewitch me.

"Come on, we're going to be late. Let's get moving," he urges, and we carry on the rest of our journey through the tunnels in silence. Guilt settles heavy on my shoulders and weighs me down.

We make it to the meeting just in time, slipping in at the back. I keep my hat on, and my head tilted down so no one can see my eyes. I remember my mother once making a crystal eye for one of our villagers when a tragic accident cost him his eye, she made it from clear quartz, and it makes me wonder if one could grind and sand it thin enough if a crystal such as lapis lazuli could alter the appearance of my eye colour and make them appear blue. If I was to go into hiding after the reaping ceremony, I would need to do something about my eyes. If only I had access to my mother's tools from her workshop, I could put my theory to the test.

Corlan updates us on the drive to bring in new members and emphasises the need to keep sharing the story out there that the Shadow Kissed females weren't kidnapped, but they were rescued and willingly sought salvation from their destiny.

An older man with a greying beard raises his hand from where he sits with beside a younger man that going off appearances could be his son. "What about the nightmares? Rumour is that people are having them again. We have enough trouble on our hands with the scaths; last thing we need is the Night Realm joining in." There are mumbles of agreement and expressions of concern from around the room, and Corlan holds up his hand to silence them.

"Our leader believes that there have always been Night Borne living amongst us here in Asen. He believes that the Shadow Borne are also aware of this and working to hunt them down and kill them before they can open the gateway to the sleeping realm."

There are gasps of shock from around the room and it erupts once again into a flurry of expletives and hurried conversation as people process this news. The Shadow Realm stood to lose a lot if the Night Realm gateway opened. If what my professor had told us this morning was true, then Vespera, as the realm was known to its people, had an abundance of sunstone mountains. The very crystal that could kill a Shadow Borne.

Corlan calms the talk down and ushers everyone on to the next item on the agenda. I zone out, my mind still fixed upon the news that there could be Night Borne walking amongst us. My mind drifts back to my mother's dying words and her warnings to me about the Shadow Borne. ‘ Never let them know who you truly are' A cold chill runs down my spine as I add up the dots. ‘ The Night Borne can project your worst fears as if you are living them'

It couldn't possibly be, could it?

There is no way that my mother could have been warning me I was of night blood?

"Reya! Asen to Reya!" I blink, finding Arkynn waving his hands in front of me. "Where did you drift off to?" he asks, chuckling at me, but when I don't laugh back, he sobers. "Are you okay? You've gone awful pale."

I shake my head and plaster on a smile. "I'm fine. I was just daydreaming. It's been a long day." I look around in surprise when I notice the others are all leaving. Has the meeting finished?

"Corlan would like to speak with us in private once the others have gone," he explains when he sees my confusion.

"Oh, Okay," I reply, nodding. My mind is still reeling from the crazy idea that I could be one of the Night Borne living here on Asen, but it was nonsense. I'm allowing my imagination to run away with me. The very idea itself is crazy.

As the last member leaves, Corlan gestures us over to his table and we join him, each taking a seat opposite him and Izan.

"Reya, it's good to see you. Tell us how are classes going? How are you faring against the other girls?"

I bob my head from side to side. "I'm not in the top five yet, but I have been working with one of my dorm girls to practice my sewing and my dancing, so I'm improving. Adding combat to the curriculum has helped me gain valuable points."

Corlan looks pleased at this news. "This is good. Keep up the good work. We must thank you for the intelligence about the shipment of onyx. Hopefully we'll be able to intercept it and create a dint in their supplies." He leans in and lowers his voice. "I have something important to show you, Reya." He gestures to Izan, who reaches under the table and pulls out a wooden case. He sets it on the table and, smiling, he looks up at us as he slides back the wooden lid. Arkynn and I both lean forward to glance inside. It looks like a crystal stake. The end has a sharp point that looks like it could do serious damage. I blink when I take the time to further examine it.

"Is that sunstone?"

Corlan grins and points his finger at me. "It is. It's incredibly rare and not found here on Asen."

I frown. "This is lethal to the Shadow Borne."

His smile widens as his eyes flick from me to Arkynn. "Stick this directly into the heart of a Shadow Borne, and it removes their shadow from them, killing them within seconds." He pushes the box towards me. "This, this is what you will use to kill the prince at the reaping."

My eyes dart up to meet his. "Wait! You want me to kill the prince? With this?"

I startle when he reaches out and grabs my hand. "You are our only hope, Reya. None of us will get close enough but you. He will walk right in front of you at the reaping. Even his guards won't expect a pretty young girl to attack their prince."

I cast my eyes upon the sunstone stake and draw in a trembling breath. "I've never taken a life before." Even as the words leave my mouth, memories of the night the mutts entered Terleigh run through my head. That night I'd pictured them taking Mayla's life and a few hours later they did exactly that. I shudder. "You need to find someone else," I tell him, pushing the wooden case back towards him.

Arkynn leans in closer to me. "Reya, remember what will happen if you're chosen at the reaping? They will take you through the gateway, and you will never see your brothers again or me and my family. Is that what you want? Do you want our men to keep dying fighting in their war?"

"Of course not," I reply. He knows how I feel. "You're asking me to take a life Ark. There's no coming back from that.

"I understand Rey, trust me, I understand, but think about the lives we will save if we defeat them," Arkynn says, reaching out and enveloping my hand in his.

"I need time to think," I tell them all. "I wasn't expecting this. I need time."

Ark goes to speak and Corlan shakes his head at him before looking back at me. "Of course you can have time. I'm aware we're asking a lot, so you sleep on it, but Reya, I can't stress enough that you're the only one who will get close enough. You need to stop thinking of the prince as a person and start thinking of him as the one who is responsible for everything here on Asen."

I chew on my lip, my eyes fixated on the crystal stake. Izan slides the lid of the box closed then he picks it up and places it under his chair on the floor. "You just concentrate for now on getting one of those top spots. The rest we can figure out nearer the time, okay?"

I nod my head, unable to formulate words at this point. My mind is reeling with so many thoughts. I need to get out of here and feel the cool night air against my face. "I need some air," I tell Ark as I hurriedly stand and make my way towards the door. I don't hear what Corlan says to Arkynn, but he's beside me in seconds, following me through the yard back into the back of the inn. I keep my head down as I barge through the crowd, knocking shoulders with a few revellers in my rush to get out of here. I step out into the night, and dart up the side of the inn, breathing in much needed fresh air. Arkynn appears in my line of sight, but he hangs back and gives me a few moments.

"Were you aware that this was their plan?" I ask him, and he visibly winces.

"Reya, you're the strongest girl I know. I'm confident you can do this." He glances back to the main street as some drunken revellers leaving the inn pass by. "I don't think we should talk about this here. Let's head back."

I don't remember the walk back to the tunnel and I don't speak as I climb down the ladder. All I can see in my mind is the stake in my hand and it dripping with blood.

When we climb out of the secret passage, Ark asks me if I'm okay.

"I'm fine. It's just a lot to process. I need my bed, and I need sleep," I snap, and he steps away from me and places his hands in the air.

"Whatever you need, Rey. I'll try to speak with you soon." He reaches out to touch me and I take a step back.

"Ark, you know nothing will ever happen between us, right? Things are different now, I'm not the same girl you knew from Terleigh."

A look of hurt flits across his face. "I know that but how do you think it makes me feel when I hear rumours about you and him…" He clenches his fists and turns away from me.

"I can't be any clearer that I have been, Ark. There is nothing going on between me and Raegal and there will never be anything between the two of us either." I sigh. "This night has been a lot. I need time to think. I'll speak with you soon." I turn on my heel, before striding away from him as quickly as I can. I somehow make it back into my room with no idea or memory of getting there. I sit in a daze at the end of my bed and run my fingers through my tangled mane of hair. My mind turns to my mother's notebook and I'm on my feet and pulling out the bottom drawer in my chest of drawers and reaching underneath to locate it. I release a breath when my hand touches it and, pulling it out, I hug it to my chest. I open the cover and my chest tightens when I see my mother's handwriting. Mother Goddess, I miss her so much. What I wouldn't do for one more day with her? I flick through the first pages and frown when I realise the notes are all about amethyst and how to combine it to strengthen its natural properties. I'd always joked with her about how much amethyst we had around our house, and she'd said it was because of its natural calming and healing properties. My palm closes around the heart-shaped pendant on my chest. This was the last gift she gave me. I look outside and realise by the placement of the moon in the sky that Raegal will be here soon. In the distance, I hear the chorus of howls from the mutts. I overheard one of the serving girls here at the mansion telling another about the rumour of there being around five hundred out there now. I walk over to my chest of drawers and hide the notebook back under the drawer. Not that I don't trust Orna, but I just need to know it's somewhere safe. As I place it back, my hand brushes over silk and I remember the silk hanky I found in Mother's workshop the day I left Terleigh. I pull it out and kneel back on my heels as I inspect it. Whose initials were these and why did my mother have it. Small, embroidered gold stars decorate the initials, with one larger black star in the centre. My professors' words replay in my head from class this morning.

They live under an eternal night sky full of stars and they worship their creator, Aster.

There is no way I can be right about this. It is ludicrous. I mean to think that I am some descendent of a forgotten realm with the powers of the night. Shaking my head at how crazy I am being, I fold up the handkerchief and place it back on top of my mother's book before returning the drawer back into its place. Hopefully, a good night's sleep will clear my head of these crazy ideas.

I strip out of my clothes and, after hiding them behind the back of my wardrobe, I climb into bed. I've no sooner lay my head on my pillow when I sense his presence. His shadows weave their way towards me, and they cup my face like a tender caress. I close my eyes and savour their touch.

"Terror, you seem troubled."

"I'm fine." I sigh, sitting up and pretending not to stare as he strips out of his shirt and pulls off his trousers. "I'm just tired and I've got a headache."

Raegal frowns and studies me as he walks over to the bed. "Do you need me to heal you?"

I hold out a hand. "I do not. You can keep your shadow lips to yourself tonight."

This earns me a smirk as he pulls back the covers and climbs in beside me. I turn to face him, and I'm struck dumb for a second as the moonlight falls across his face and those grey eyes shine like silver. Gods, he is handsome.

"What is the prince like?" I ask him out of nowhere and his face turns from a relaxed expression to one of hostility. "I'm curious."

He lies down and gestures for me to do the same so that his shadows can wrap around me.

"The prince is a man haunted by the demons of his past."

I lay my face on my hands and stare at him while he looks up at the ceiling, appearing lost in a world of his own.

"That sounds lonely."

Raegal nods his head and offers me a tight smile. "He is alone. He doesn't really fit in anywhere anymore."

I scoff, comprehending that emotion all too well. "I understand how he feels. I was always an outsider with the kids my age at home."

"And now you're here, with the other Shadow Kissed?"

I ponder his question for a beat, feeling his eyes on me as he waits for my answer. "I don't feel like I fit in here either."

Raegal continues to watch me, and I risk a glance his way. Once he holds my eyes, it's hard to look away. It is like he has placed a spell on me. "Perhaps you're trying too hard to find reasons not to fit in. I think you seek reasons not to get close to the other girls. That way, you won't get hurt."

I swallow. It's like he peels back my armour and sees the rejected girl inside. "I've managed just fine without any female friends so far."

He nods. "And when you're in my realm and you are in an unfamiliar world, wouldn't it be nice to have other girls to lean on who are experiencing the same anxieties and fears as you?"

I frown. If I'm honest, I've always tried not to think about life after the reaping ceremony. In many ways, I've lived in denial. The image of the sunstone dagger flashes in my mind and with it so does knowledge that if I do as Corlan asks then I won't be stepping a toe through that gateway to his realm. "Maybe no one will choose me."

He snickers in response. "Trust me, Terror, someone will choose you." His eyes linger on my lips, and I swallow, aware of how close we are and how his shadows cover every inch of my body. Need uncoils low in my stomach, and I curse inwardly at my treacherous body and the way it responds to this man. My eyes flutter open and shut as I fight the tiredness that's trying to pull me under.

"Sleep, Terror. I've got you."