Chapter 46

46

REYA

I wake with a start and see it's daylight outside. I glance to my side and feel a mix of relief and regret at finding he's already left. There's a piece of parchment on the cabinet by my bed, and I reach for it and fold it open.

Everything will work out okay. See you at the ceremony.

Everything won't be okay, though. Nothing will be okay again.

Orna enters my room, humming a tune and looking like she doesn't have a care in the world, and I envy her. I wish my life was that simple. She chatters away and I smile and go through the motions, but I am dead inside. I change into my dress and Orna leaves my naturally wavy hair down. The finished look is simple but elegant.

"Thank you, Orna. For everything," I say, reaching for her and pulling her into a hug. Knowing this is the last time I will see her.

"Oh, don't. You'll have me weeping like a bairn. Besides, this isn't goodbye."

I furrow my brow. What is she talking about? "Oh, you don't know. As you're in the top five and will be chosen by an elite, you'll need a lady's maid. I'm coming with you!" she announces excitedly. "I'm travelling with you to the Shadow Realm."

"What? They force you to go with us?"

"No," she assures me. "We were asked if we would like to go with you, and I jumped at the chance. We get to see a whole other realm. It's an adventure!"

I force a smile, pretending to appear thrilled. When in reality I know she won't be going anywhere, because the rebels are going to put a stop to any of us leaving here. "That is amazing news!" I grin. "I'm so pleased. Well, I guess I'll see you later then," I tell her, pulling her in again and hugging her, probably a little too tightly for someone I would see in a few hours.

She leaves me alone, telling me she'll pack my things whilst I'm at the ceremony. I wait to make sure she's gone and then I rush over to the chest of drawers and pull out the bottom one. Reaching behind, I take my mother's hanky and tuck it into the top of my dress. I stare at the stake in my hand. If I'm going to do this, I need to switch my emotions off like I used to do when I was a child, when Mayla and the other girls would be mean to me. I learned to just switch off and drown them out and become oblivious to it. I tuck the stake in the sleeve of my dress, checking to see that it won't fall out. I stroke the cover of my mother's notebook tenderly. I have nowhere to hide it, so I'll have to leave it here. It was like saying goodbye to a piece of her. I raise it to my lips, kiss it, and place it back behind the bottom drawer.

T he girls are all gathered in the communal sitting room, so I make my way out and Saveya hugs me, and whispers in my ear how anxious she is about whether Eryx has made it into the selection. I hug her and tell her she is the best friend I've ever had, and she wipes a tear from her eye and tells me we'll still see each other when we reach the Shadow Realm. Tyria gathers us all together and we share a group hug and wish each other the best of luck.

Mistress Moryen rings the large bell in the entrance hall, signalling to us that it's time to leave. I clutch tightly to Saveya's hand as we descend the stairs.

"We'll both be okay, Reya. I know it," she insists, giving me a confident smile and I feel sick inside at what I know is about to unfold.

"Come, girls, gather in a line. My elites at the front please," she orders, ushering me and Tyria away from Saveya, and I let go of her hand reluctantly. I can't even say goodbye to her.

"Now, girls, this is the moment we have been preparing for," she says, smiling as she casts her eyes over each one of us. Her eyes pause on the two girls who were kidnapped. They have had so little time to prepare for today's ceremony. "Today you will give my people the greatest gift you could give us and for this, me and my staff are truly grateful. We are honoured to have been a part of your journey. Each of you will make fine wives for our men, and I look forward to seeing you settle and thrive in our homeland. Without further ado, let's make haste to the square, for the ceremony to begin."

This is it.

Unease sits in my stomach. Each step is a step closer to a path I carved for myself and now I'm facing the consequences of my foolish decisions.

Spectators fill the square. Residents of the neighbouring town are given the day off and invited to watch the ceremony. The Asen and the Shadow Borne Army sit in row after row along the left-hand side of the platform. The master of ceremony takes to the stage as we wait along the sidelines. He is a small, portly man with a large round belly and rosy-red cheeks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Asen and Shadow Borne, we are gathered here today to complete the reaping ceremony. Today, twenty-five females chosen by the gods themselves will offer themselves to us and gift us with the continuing survival of our race. In exchange, we will continue to protect your towns and villages for the next twenty-five years. We have lived in peace and harmony as allies through the forging of this agreement and its tradition." He pauses and looks to where we wait. "I'd now like to invite the ladies who ranked in the top five of their studies to come onto the podium, and we'll begin the selection."

The crowd break into a round of applause and cheers and Moryen ushers us out onto the stage. Shalia leads, followed by Melara, then Tyria, with me and Eilana last. I anxiously scan the sizeable crowd assembled before us, all of them with their eyes on us. I feel at my sleeve and ensure the stake is resting on my palm, ready for me to grab it and make my attack. I'm shaking. Am I truly capable of going through with this? Can I take the life of a man I've never met? Can I look him in the eye as I drive a stake through his heart?

"Please welcome our most esteemed guest to the reaping. The royal prince and heir to the throne, Prince Dreyden Nightscar!" The master of ceremony drops into a deep bow, swinging his arm to where a tall male figure steps onto the stage. He's wearing a navy velvet hooded cloak with his face concealed from sight. My first thought is at least with his hood up, I won't have to make eye contact with him as I stab him.

Tyria nudges at me. "What's with the hood? Maybe he's hideously disfigured." In normal circumstances, I would laugh at her jest, but all I can think of is this is the man I have to kill if I want to keep my brothers safe. I wriggle my wrist, and the stake drops into my hand. I curl my fingers around it, hiding my hand behind the skirt of my dress. They usher the prince towards where we wait in line and the crowd eagerly anticipates who he will choose. He stops and looks down the line; the large hood hangs low and hides him from view completely. Maybe Tyria is right, and he covers his face because he is ugly or has some horrific scar. He pauses first at Shalia, not speaking or making any move to remove his hood. He then moves on and stops in front of Melara, and she smiles and curtsies. Tyria is next, and she curtsies and smiles up at him. This is it. I grip tightly at the stake. Preparing myself for what I must do. My heart hammers loudly in my chest. So loud I believe it must be audible to those around me. Then he is here, standing in front of me, and I freeze. I can feel the eyes of the girls on me as they wonder why I am not dropping into a curtsy. I watch as the prince reaches for his hood and pulls it off, and my entire world falls away.

"Hello, Terror." He holds out his hand, his familiar silver eyes holding me captive, and he leans into my ear. "Now, are you going to stab me with that stake you have in your hand, or are you going to take my hand and be mine?"

I stare at him, lost for words and unable to move. My world crashes and burns around me.

"Raegal."

How?

How is this possible?

Chaos descends. A series of explosions detonate. And the crowd screams and, in a panic, everyone attempts to flee, crashing into each other. The force of the blast throws us apart, sending me flying backwards until my back hits something solid, knocking the wind out of me and leaving me dazed. The stake falls from my hand and rolls along the floor. Masked men invade the platform, all of them armed with sunstone daggers and arrows, and I watch in horror as a rebel drives a stake into the heart of a Shadow Borne soldier. He staggers back and attempts to pull the stake from his body, falling to his knees and asking Arawn to save him. And then a bright light erupts from his chest, and screaming, he combusts into nothing but shadow dust. I stare in shock at the space where he was just standing.

"Colonel Graybane, you and your men get the spectators to safety. Jasiel, with me!" Raegal orders, as he releases his shadows and aims them at a rebel who is attempting to drive a stake into the back of a soldier he has pinned on the floor. His shadows race towards the attacker and he rips him in two like butter through a knife. His shadows split and I watch as they race after two rebels, and he rips the head off one and the other has a hole ripped through his chest and his lifeless body falls to the floor.

I stagger to my feet and search for the girls. Tyria is lying on the floor with blood dripping from her head. I rush to her side and call her name, but she's unconscious. "Tyria. Gods, please be okay." I rip a piece of the skirt off my dress to make a makeshift bandage and I press it to the wound to stem the bleeding.

"Reya," she moans, her eyes briefly flickering open.

"I'm here. You're okay." I cradle her head in my lap and look helplessly around me. Saveya! She was at the side of the stage with Moryen and the other girls. In amongst the chaos of the crowd, I spot various lilac dresses, and I can only hope that Saveya is one of them and she is alive and okay.

"Grab her," a voice says behind me. "The top man wants to see her."

A hand grabs me by the hair and yanks me backwards, causing Tyria's head to fall from my lap and bang against the floor.

"No!" I scream, "Let me go. Get off me." I grab out behind me attempting to get his hands off me, but he gets an arm around my waist and, pulling me back against him, he places his other hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming and continues to drag me backwards away from the stage. I fix on Raegal and scream to him in my head and his eyes whip around, searching for me. When he sees me, his eyes turn black, and he drops the man he's fighting with, sending him flying across the stage to land in a heap and he stalks towards me. I reach out a hand for him and I watch as his shadows race towards me. But before they can reach me, the man holding me captive laughs in my ear. "Your prince will not save you today, Princess Darkhand." And I cry out as flames erupt from his body and whip around us until I can see nothing beyond the fire.

It couldn't be.

How can he wield fire?

The roaring flames disperse, and I quickly scan my surroundings. A tall, blond-haired man, around six-foot-three with piercing, strange, amber coloured eyes stand before what I can only describe as a giant split in the atmosphere. The voices I have been hearing every night in my sleep come roaring to life only louder, and it's as if they come from whatever is beyond the strange anomaly.

"Welcome, princess. We have been searching for you for such a long time," the strange man says, stepping forward with a cunning smile on his face. He's handsome, with his head shaven at the sides and his hair on top, long and braided to his shoulders.

"Who are you?" I ask, confused.

He grins and gestures for his man to release my arms from his tight hold. "My name is Calix Pyrebane, heir to the flame throne."

I take in a sharp breath. It isn't possible. There are no Flame Born on Asen.

"You lie."

He bobs his head back and forth. "Do I though? I mean, if I wasn't a flame blood how would I be able to do this?" He lifts his palm into the air and a ball of flames appears from nowhere.

"What do you want with me?" I ask him, my eyes scoping out a potential escape route.

He wags his finger at me and grins. "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. As for what I want from you, well, you asked to be rescued, did you not?"

My eyes flare in recognition. "You're the rebel leader."

He mockingly bows. "The very same. And you are the heiress to the night throne and the key to me ending the Shadow Realm once and for all." He pulls out a small dagger and flips it in his hand.

I take a step back, but his henchman pushes me forward. "What are you going to do? Where are my brothers?"

He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "I do not know where your brothers are. You'd have to ask your dear Lord Commander about that." He waggles his finger in the air. "As for what we're going to do. You're going to grant me access to your realm and then I'm going to mine all the sunstone, exterminate the Shadow Borne, then burn the Night Realm to the ground like my father should have done all those years ago."

"There's one problem with your plan," I tell him, sending him a withering glare. "I have no idea how to access the Night Realm."

He laughs. "My dear girl. All I need to do is cut your palm and place your hand against the opening and hey presto!" He looks me up and down. "I might keep you though and add you to my harem."

"I'd rather die!" I hiss just as his lackey grabs me from behind by my throat and holds me in place as a Calix stalks towards me with the dagger in his hand.

Shadows appear from behind him, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I instantly recognise them as Raegal's. He appears behind us, his eyes as black as night and a menacing and dark expression on his face. Calix yanks me from his henchman and spins me, so he has me held against his chest with the dagger to my throat.

"Let her go, Calix. This is between you and me," Raegal commands, his shadows held in his palms, ready to attack.

"Ah, here is the royal prince, or should I say the Lord Commander," Calix chuckles in my ear, making me shiver with distaste at his nearness. He smells like charred wood. "Had you fooled didn't he, princess, as you did him? Both keeping secrets from each other. Tut-tut!"

This man was certifiably crazy.

"She is a beauty though, isn't she?" Calix says, as he licks up my cheek with his tongue, making me want to vomit. "I might keep her for myself. Fill her belly with my fire seed."

Raegal releases a low and deadly rumble. "Touch her again and I'll rip your tongue from your throat and feed it to you. Let her go."

"Interesting." Calix grins. "How does it feel, princess, to have him deceive you all this time? It must hurt, especially when you gave him your trust."

I bristle at his words. In truth, I am pissed. Raegal lied to me about who he truly is.

"Fuck you!" I spit out, and angle my elbow, jabbing him as hard as I can in his ribs. He clearly isn't expecting it, because for a brief second, his grip on my throat slackens and I duck down and out from under his grip. Raegal's shadows waste no time. They grab me, hurling me away from Calix, sending me careering towards the void, as Calix aims a ball of flames Raegal's way, and he pushes it back with his shadow magic. I stumble onto my knees and place my hand out to steady myself. There's a blast of light and when I glance up, I realise I have placed my hand directly over the crack in the void.

"Reya!" I hear Raegal shout from behind me, but I don't have time to react as the void pulls me in with incredible force and spits me out on the other side. I put out my arms to break my fall and as my hands touch the soil beneath me, a low steady rumble sounds in the distance. I gasp as something visceral and powerful rips through my body, causing my back to arch and my eyes to roll.

Power fills my veins and overloads my senses.

A thousand images flash through my mind, glimpses of the past. My mother creating the gateway to Asen and stepping through. A dying king handing a glowing orb to his guards and taking his final breath. A shadow soldier staking the king through the heart and fleeing. I take a deep breath as I feel the hum of this foreign magic inside of me. So much power. The low rumble grows louder, and I watch with bated breath as a ripple erupts from the ground beneath me, and the overgrown grass and weeds and trees slowly recede to reveal a pathway.

‘End the eternal night,' whispers a voice in my ear, and I spin around, thinking someone is there, but there is no one. Scrambling to my feet, I fix my eyes on the sealed gateway. I have to go back! My brothers need me. I stare down at my bloodied palm. Calix said my blood could open the gateway, so if it let me in, it should let me back out. With my heart hammering in my chest, I press my palm to the closed gate to Asen.

Nothing.

Nothing happens.

I hammer my fists against the gateway and demand the gods let me return home.

Silence.

Turning around, I sink to the floor and look out at the desolate Night Realm, streaming with daylight.

The reality of my situation hits me.

I am trapped here, in a realm devoid of life. Completely alone, with no way of getting back home.

The End.