Chapter 9

9

RAEGAL

I carry her unconscious body into the great hall and lay her down gently on a blanket that Jasiel has quickly laid out on the floor. The room is littered with many injured residents of the town.

"Is she okay?" he asks me. His eyes scanning her body for injury.

I study her sleeping form, just as perplexed as he is. I can see no visible wounds on her and no evidence that any of the mutts have fed on her.

"Reya! Let me through!" I look up to see Arkynn fighting to get past my men. Her two little brothers tailing behind him looking lost and bewildered, one of them sobbing uncontrollably.

"Let them through," I order. He's not going to leave until I let him see that she's alive.

Arkynn drops to his knees on her other side, and he looks like all his greatest fears have come true. "Is she dead?" he asks me as he gently strokes her cheek with the back of his hand. Corym and Elian come up beside him, their faces contorted with concern for their sister.

"No. She's unconscious," I inform him. My shadows itch to push him away from her, whispering in my ear that she's ours. I fight them down, telling them she isn't ours and they laugh from within me. ‘Ours. Only ours.' The possessive fuckers push at me to claim her. My eyes turn black as I fight them, and I snarl when Jasiel places his hand on my shoulder.

"Everything okay, Raegal?" he asks, his voice filled with concern.

I close my eyes as I fight against my own shadows. "I need him away from her." I hiss quietly so that only he can hear, as I fight with all my might to stop my powers from attacking the Asen soldier who is touching her.

"Okay, my friend. You've seen she's okay. Please have a healer check on the boys. Reya would want to know you're looking after them." I hear Jasiel order him as he grips Arkynn by the arm and guides him away from her. I hear the young Asen protest, but Jasiel reminds him of his duty as a soldier and assures him she is okay, and we will protect her.

My shadows unfurl from their tight coil as he leaves, and I kneel beside her to continue my inspection of her body. "Something's wrong."

Jasiel leans down beside me. "Could it be something from within?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Cover me," I order him, and he glances around the room as he shields me from view. Hovering over her, I stroke her cheek before I place my lips against hers and my shadows spill into her mouth and work their way into her body. I don't know how, but something has singed her flesh on the inside. My shadows quickly work through her body to heal each wound.

‘Claim her' they whisper to me, urging me to mark her with my shadows and show the world she is mine. ‘Mate, ' they whisper to me.

"No," I growl out loud harshly, reining them in as one sneaks from my hold and places a small mark on the inside of her right wrist. "Stop," I order, pulling them back within me. They leave her body and reluctantly retreat inside me as I pull my mouth away from her plump rose-coloured lips. "She'll be okay now," I say through gritted teeth, still fighting an internal war with my shadows.

Jasiel grips my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I can tell from the concern on his face that he has some idea of my internal battle.

He leans down so he can speak quietly into my ear. "It's okay to want her, you know. You can't punish yourself over Haysen forever."

I wince at the sound of his name. The brother I failed to protect. Hearing his name strengthens my resolve. After Haysen died, I swore I would never let anyone close again. It is nothing more than I deserve. He would still be alive today if it weren't for me. I straighten and stand up, distancing myself from the Asen female who seems to have cast a spell over my shadows. "Let's go. She'll be fine now. We're needed back out there," I order my men. Jasiel lingers, looking over my shoulder to where Eretreya lies unconscious. "Healer!" I shout across the room and a small greying woman rushes over. "Tend to her." She bobs her head and rushes over to Eretreya, placing her hand on her head and checking her over.

As we exit the great hall, my shadows pull fiercely back in the direction we just came. They demand I stay with her, but I won't let them dictate my actions. I roar loudly inside my own head, silencing them until they retreat like a sullen child.

We head back out to the square and I order my men to scour the town for any survivors.

"It's the strangest thing, don't you think…" Jasiel says, as we load another dead body onto the cart. A young girl, she only looks to be around twenty.

"Go on," I urge him, as I place my hand over her eyes and close them. That's better. Now she looks like she is sleeping.

Jasiel shrugs his shoulders as we enter a house that has had its front door brutally ripped off. It's now lying in shreds, hanging on by a single hinge. "It's just an odd coincidence that the protection on the walls failed the night after we arrived here."

My eyes snap up to meet his. "You think someone took it down deliberately to harm us? No one here has the power to do that."

Jasiel bobs his broad shoulders and runs a hand over his beard. "Maybe it's all connected to her."

"Eretreya?" I say, knowing he is voicing what I've been thinking. There is something about her, something different.

"Ever since those mutts picked up her scent in the forest, it's like they're possessed," Jasiel says, studying my reaction. "I've never seen them so fixated on their prey to the point where they hunt together. They're lazy creatures. If the hunt proves too hard, they move on to easier prey."

He's right. The mutts' behaviour is out of character, and it's been that way ever since they found her. "You think they followed her back here, to Terleigh?"

Jasiel chews his bottom lip as we lift another dead body into the cart. "It's something we should consider."

I nod my head in agreement. He's right. All of this might be tied to her. There is something about Eretreya Lockwood and I can't quite put my finger on what it is—but I will.

R eya.

Pain. So much pain. Then warmth and joy. My body hums as the warmth spreads through me, filling up my pores and blood and easing the pain. Then, as suddenly as it came, it is gone, and I reach for it with my mind, begging it to come back to me. The pain is gone now, and I can sleep.

"You did this," screams Mayla, her eyes wide with accusation right as the mutt takes her down and feeds on her.

"NO!" I scream, sitting up, frantic and sweating.

"It's okay, my sweet girl. You're okay."

Beside me, holding my hand, I find one of our healers, Mirela, and the sound of her voice grounds me, helping me to breathe more easily.

The mutts!

The screams!

I survey the large room and take in all the injured. "It's all my fault. I did this."

Mirella looks at me with such sympathy and she pats my hand. "You're confused, but you'll be okay."

"I did this," I tell her, my voice barely a whisper. "I had a dream last night." I shudder as the memory of that dream runs through my mind. I called them here and I…Oh heavens, I dreamed of them attacking Mayla. I clutch a hand to my chest. I'm a terrible person. I don't deserve to be alive when so many others aren't.

Mirella leans in and strokes my cheek. "I'll hear no more of this. I mean it, Reya. You need to rest and try to keep your stress levels down."

I search her face. Why isn't my confession a shock to her? Why is she so calm about this?

"She knew something," I say out loud, sitting up despite her protestations. What did she mean it's time to face who I am? Does she mean as a Shadow Kissed? What kind of monster am I that I called them here?

"Reya!"

I glance up to see Arkynn heading towards me. I see a look of relief wash over him as he scans my face. He drops to his knees beside my bed. "Are the boy's okay?"

Arkynn nods. "They are safe. Surviving children are being looked after at the schoolhouse. We thought it best that they don't see the bodies."

I swallow and nod my head, bewildered. Reaching out, I brush his hair out of his face. "You look tired. You should rest."

He shakes his head firmly. "There is too much to do. I wanted to come and check on you." In the past, his touch would ignite a flurry of butterflies within me, but I sense nothing this time. "Thank Mother Crystal, you are okay. Reya. If you had died…I…"

I shush him, placing a finger to his lips. "I'm fine. In fact." I sit up in the cot. "I need to help." I attempt to swing my legs off the cot, but Arkynn places his hand on my knee to stop me. I glower at him. "Don't you dare try to stop me, Arkynn. I have to help. I need to make it right."

He frowns at me as he moves his hand away. "Make what right?"

I pause. Something stops me from confiding in my lifelong friend. "Nothing. I mean, I just need to be out there helping instead of lying here." I swing my legs out and close my eyes as a wave of dizziness hits me. "I'm fine," I insist, before he tries to push me back down. Arkynn offers me a mug of water, and I gulp it down greedily. My throat feels like an arid desert. He steadies me with a hand at my waist when I stand to my feet. "Stop fussing," I order him, gently pushing his hand away. I don't miss the way he flinches when I reject his touch.

"You'll never forget it, will you?" he asks me, his eyes full of pain and regret.

For a second, it's as if no one else is in the room as I gaze into the eyes of my best friend and the only male I've ever yearned for. "All this changes nothing," I confirm, and I watch with great sadness as he swallows deeply and lowers his head.

"Come on then," he says in a low voice. "If you insist on being out there, then you work alongside me."

"Fine with me," I agree. I gesture for him to go before me, and I try to stem the heartbreak I feel at losing my mother. I need to be strong now for my brothers.

My steps falter when we get outside, and my eyes sweep across my hometown. My breath catches in my throat when my sight falls upon the line of covered bodies that run from the gatehouse to the left turret watch tower. I place a hand over my mouth to hold in a sob.

"There are so many," I whisper, my voice cracking in pain.

Arkynn's eyes follow mine and linger on the line of bodies. "We lost many last night. Without the Shadow Army, we would have suffered greater losses."

"Your family?" I inquire. Hoping to the gods they are all okay.

"They're all fine."

I breathe a sigh of relief. Arkynn's family are like an extension of my own. During my childhood, I frequently spent my time at their house. Arkynn's father taught me how to wield a sword and fight like a soldier. He has been a surrogate dad to me since I lost my own in the mining tragedy.

I hear a baby cry and my head whips around toward the noise. "You hear that?"

"Yes." Arkynn nods, already striding off toward the sound of the infant's cries. We follow the noise until we reach the house it's coming from and step inside.

"Oh god!" I exclaim as my eyes fall to the bodies lying on the floor before us. Erina and her husband, Toreen are dead. Their bodies dried up and withered, with only their eyes untouched, although filled with the look of terror they felt when taking their last breath. "They protected their baby."

Arkynn leans down beside Erina's body and closes her eyes. The baby cries again, reminding us of its presence. I climb the stairs to the first floor as quickly as my legs will carry me and find the little one in its cot—face red and blotchy from the distress of its unheard cries. "Hello, little one," I coo, leaning over the cot and smiling in reassurance. "It's okay. You're safe now. I've got you." I gently lift her from the cot and tuck her into my chest, her tiny head rests on my shoulder and the poor little thing takes in ragged breaths. "You are safe now, little Elmera."

I remember when Toreen had shared the news in the inn that they were expecting their first child. His eyes had been brimming with excitement and anticipation. When little Elmera arrived safely in this world, he celebrated in the inn the very same night with his fellow miners. He gushed over how perfect his little girl was and how she was the image of her beautiful mother. I close my eyes at the tragedy of their deaths. If I called them here, then I am responsible for all of this. I am a cold-blooded murderer.

I wrap the little one up in a warm blanket and cuddle her to my chest. My presence and touch soothing her. As I descend the stairs, I see Arkynn has covered her parent's bodies with blankets, ready for them to be collected and added to the long line of the night's victims.

"Is she okay?" he asks me. Coming over to check on the baby, he gently strokes her cheek. "Hey, there little one." I watch, fascinated as his usual frown disappears, and he smiles softly at the wee baby.

"I'll take her to the school to be cared for and I'll collect a cart on my way back to transport their bodies."

Arkynn nods his head and as I leave him, he puts out the warm fire that heats the cosy cottage. A home once filled with a loving family with dreams for the future. What will happen to little Elmera now that she has become an orphan?

I walk through our devastated town, lying silent and devoid of life. Usually, at this time of day, the sounds of village life fill the air as people go to work and take their children to school. Instead, there is nothing but deathly quiet. A reminder of the horrors that unfolded here last night. As I round a corner on my way to the school, I yelp as I almost slam into a solid male form.

"What are you doing up and about?"

My eyes run up his solid chest until they meet his pale grey eyes. A deep frown mars his perfect face.

"I'm helping with the recovery," I inform him, patting little Elmera's back as his stern voice startles her. "You're scaring her."

He seems to notice the little one in my arms then, and his concern spills over to her. "Her parents?"

I swallow and look away from him. "Both dead. She needs a nursemaid. I'm taking her to the school."

"I will accompany you. We need to talk," he says, stepping to the side and gesturing for me to lead the way. He falls into step beside me and the warmth I sensed earlier returns.

"We do?" I ask, feigning ignorance. Does he know? Does he suspect this is all connected to me?

"What do you believe occurred here last night?" he asks me. I feel him watching me from the corner of my eye.

I shrug my shoulders, concentrating on the path in front of us. "Well, it appears the mutts somehow breached the walls. I'm not sure how, but somehow, they did."

He nods his head, walking with his hands behind his back. "It's odd, isn't it, that the attack happened while we were here?"

That gets my attention. My eyes snap up to meet his. "You think someone did this on purpose?"

Raegal shrugs his shoulders, his eyes never leaving mine. "I think something, or someone. caused the protection in the walls to fail last night. The mutts have been behaving strangely since the incident in the forest."

A cold chill runs through my body. Does he suspect it's all linked to me?

"What did that girl mean when she said that you had done this?"

I do my utmost to keep on a straight face and I guffaw. "I don't have a clue. Mayla and I aren't exactly friends, but why she said what she did, I haven't the foggiest. I would imagine people say strange things when they are fleeing for their lives."

He nods again, not saying anything. His silence and continued scrutiny causes me to flush red. "Could your presence here have anything to do with it? Maybe your shadow magic caused the protection to fade?" I feel like such a bad person for trying to put the idea into his head that maybe some of this was his people's fault, but better that than he thinks it's my fault.

He stops outside the doors of the school, forcing me to face him. "We have been present in Asen towns many a time and our presence has never affected the protection of the walls." He pauses before he opens the large wooden door and holds it open for me. "I think something called those mutts here last night. Something or someone."

I clear my throat. "Well, I best get this little one inside. I'll see you soon, Lord Commander."

"Raegal," he says, causing me to pause in my stride. "I think you and I have moved past formalities."

"Very well. Raegal."

Something flares in his eyes upon hearing his name on my lips and I flush and lower my gaze, rushing past him. What was that? Did the commander and I just have a brief connection?

I avoid Raegal as best as I can over the course of the next day. When we hold the ceremony to say farewell to our loved ones, he and his men choose to sit at the back of our temple. They have their own gods and beliefs, but I think it's kind that they attended the burials and paid their respects. Perhaps my opinion of Shadow Borne folk is misplaced. Maybe they have some redeeming qualities, too.

I still can't believe our mother isn't here anymore. Last night before I went to bed, I looked inside her desk drawer, and it was full of notes about how to strengthen the effects of amethyst. Pages and pages of notes about replenishing energies without awakening the source. Anyone else looking through these notes would say it's the ramblings of a woman that had lost her mind, but my mum was as sharp as anyone I know. I take her notebook and place it with my things, determined to read more when I get time.

My dreams for the next two nights are ominous. In my sleep, I travel through the night, able to sense where the night mutts are. When I find them, I'm astounded. They're gathered together. Over a hundred of them. They seem to be waiting for something. Then my dream shifts, taking me to that clearing in the woods where the strange split in the air emanates a low hum.

"Wake up!" says the eery voice again. "Wake up and free them."

"Free who?" I say out loud in frustration. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"Wake up!" It hisses again before falling silent.

I sense a presence behind me and warm breath against my neck.

"Who are you, dream walker?" The deep, male voice asks me. I shudder as his power runs through me. I sense an unexpected surge of warmth on my back.

"I'm no one," I reply shakily. I want to turn around and find out who this man is. Whoever he is, he is powerful. For some reason, however, I cannot move.

He laughs then. A cold, sinister laugh that sends an icy chill rushing through my veins. "Oh, I don't think that is true. I have searched for you for a long time."

I wake up abruptly and scan my surroundings in a state of panic. I breathe a sigh of relief when I realise I am in my mother's bed, in my house, with my two brothers sleeping soundly either side of me. It was just a dream. A strange one, yes, but a dream all the same. It felt oddly real. I touch the back of my neck where I felt the stranger's warm breath. I frown when I notice a small black line on my wrist. What is that? I wet my finger and rub at it, frowning when the mark doesn't wipe away. I carefully climb from the bed, being mindful not to wake my brothers, then cross the landing into the bathroom. Quietly shutting the door, I pour fresh water into the basin and I scrub the mark with a cloth. I scrub and I scrub, but the damn thing doesn't go. Whatever it is, it's left a permanent mark on my skin.

The town is still in mourning, so the inn remains closed today. I get the twins ready for school and then head over to the great hall to see what I can do to help. The hall is already full to bursting when I arrive. I sneak in at the back and I scan around the crowded room. So many people wear a haunted expression from the horrors they have witnessed and the loved ones they have lost.

"Hey." Arkynn comes to stand beside me, studying me as I concentrate on our chief. "How are you?"

I shrug my shoulders, sighing. "We're surviving."

"The Lord Commander and his men were up most of the night, reaffirming the walls' protection," Arkynn says. I glance around the room until I find him. He's standing up at the front, speaking quietly with Chief Veles. He has dark shadows under his eyes. I rub at my wrist where the strange dark mark is, and he instantly looks up, his eyes meeting mine across the packed-out room.

"Attention everyone," Chief Veles shouts, clapping his hands together to get the crowd's attention. The chief and his wife lost a grandchild in the attack, so I know he is feeling as distraught as many here, but he has to put on a brave face and play his part. "We've faced a terrible event here in our haven of Terleigh. I know many of you have lost loved ones and we have many injured that are being cared for by our healers. I would like to thank the Lord Commander and his Shadow Army for coming to our aid. I fear we would have lost many more without their help. They have also worked throughout the night, ensuring the protection of our walls."

"How do we know it's safe?" Someone in the crowd shouts.

"Why did the wall fail?"

"Is because of what happened to our Shadow Kissed?"

I lower my head at the mention of me and what happened to me the night before everything unfolded.

"Okay, if we can have calm, please," Veles asks, holding his hand up to shush the crowd. "Commander, would you like to speak?"

Raegal nods his head, stepping forward to address the room. He's in his all-navy Shadow Army uniform and with his black hair and contrasting pale grey eyes, he is a sight to behold.

"I can assure you the walls are secure again. I'm afraid we don't know how or why the mutts were able to enter the village. Is it linked to the attempt on your chosen one's life? I cannot say. Let this be a stark reminder to all of you of the importance of your Shadow Kissed. You should cherish and protect her, and if anyone knows anything about who was involved in her abduction, I suggest they speak up."

I study the room, my eyes falling on Mayla's two friends and then onto Koen, who looks like he might wet his pants any moment.

"It was Mayla!" wails Calla, as her friend Ashara tries to cover her mouth and stop her speaking.

"Step forward," Raegal orders, his furious eyes zeroing in on her. "Speak, girl," he says, glowering down at her.

Calla shakes and clutches her arms around her middle as she faces the shadow commander. "It was all Mayla's idea. She's always hated her. Had we known the consequences, we wouldn't have assisted her. We didn't really do anything, though. It was the guys who bundled her in the trunk and tied her to that tree."

Raegal doesn't flinch, even when she starts to cry. "Who else was involved apart from you two and Mayla?"

From the corner of my eye, I see Koen gulp, sweat pouring out of his pores. He's not so tough now, is he?

"Him and him," Calla says, pointing into the horror-stricken crowd at both boys.

Raegal's shadows fly out of him and into the crowd, grasping the two boys around the neck, then dragging them in front of him, dangling them off of the ground.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" He growls, glancing between them. His eyes virtually black. Now I know where he gets his fearless reputation from. He's scary when he's mad.

"We didn't mean to leave her out there all night," Koen says, his voice shaking as Raegal's eyes burn into him. "It was a joke."

"A joke?" Raegal repeats coldly, leaning into Koen's face. "Was it a joke the other night when they came into your village and killed almost half of your people? That's what fate she would have met if it hadn't been for my men." Raegal looks up at two of his men and bobs his head at them. They step forward and grab hold of both boys, pushing them down onto their knees. "Attempting to murder your Shadow Kissed is a serious crime. The penalty for such treachery is death."

I rush towards the front of the hall, placing myself between the two boys and Raegal and then put out my hand. "Stop! There has already been enough death. They have both lost loved ones, and that is punishment enough." I turn and face Calla and Ashara, who stand clutching each other, sobbing. "I forgive you for what you did—all of you."

Raegal leans forward and looks at them all with disdain. "I'm going to let Eretreya decide on your punishment. If it was up to me, I would sever your heads from your bodies."

I shake my head, releasing a deep sigh. "There has been more than enough death in this town to last a lifetime. Let them live with the shame of their actions and work to redeem themselves in the eyes of our Mother Goddess."

Raegal nods his head with a deep frown. I sense he feels I'm letting them off lightly. "Let this be a lesson to you. It's because of her good grace that you leave here today with your hearts still beating. Leave this room now, before I change my mind," Raegal barks at them. They all scurry to their feet and rush over to the safety of their families who greet them with looks of pure disappointment written across their faces; they quickly and quietly leave the hall.

Chief Veles clears his throat, his face ashen. "Now we have that sorted this sorry business, we shall move on to the next order of business."

Raegal takes that as his cue to leave and the crowd parts for him as he passes, allowing him a wide berth. As he walks by me, he briefly nods my way before he exits.

The chief informs our fellow residents that some of the surviving boys who are between sixteen and eighteen will need to take up work in the mines to make up for the shortages due to the number of miners who were lost in the attack.

"When do you leave?" I ask Arkynn under my breath.

"Tomorrow," he says with a deep frown. "I feel like I should stay and help you with the twins."

I shake my head. "No. This is what you've worked your whole life for. We'll be fine and your mum has already offered to help with looking after them."

"And when it's your turn to go?"

I push up from the wall and beckon for him to follow me outside. He follows me out and up the steps of the town walls. I stop halfway along the west rampart and sit myself on top of a barrel stored there. "The boys are going to move in with your parents. I haven't told them yet. They have experienced so much trauma, and I don't think they've even thought about what will happen when I have to leave."

Arkynn nods his head. "I should have known they'd offer." He clears his throat and frowns, looking down upon the square. I follow his gaze and spot the commander and Jasiel, deep in conversation, walking towards their encampment at the back of the town. "I don't like the way he thinks he has some kind of claim over you."

I blink. "Come again?"

Arkynn rolls his eyes at me. "He thinks he has some claim to you. I don't like it. He looks at you like he wants to crawl under your skin and leave his scent all over you."

I laugh at the absurdity of his comment. "He can't stand me anymore than I can stand him. You know how I feel about them." Even as the words come out of my mouth, I struggle with them. He saved me the other night, and he saved countless other lives during the attack. Even I must admit that he perhaps isn't as cruel as I first believed him to be.

"Which is why we should join the rebellion."

I shush him, swinging my head left and right to make sure no one is around. "Walls have ears, remember? You'll end up getting yourself killed. You saw what he can do with his shadows? Besides, the attack serves to remind us that without them and their protection, what can happen." I sigh when he shakes his head at me in disagreement. "I need to make a start on tea for the boys."

I'd swapped my shifts around with Weylynn so that I could be there at the end of the school day to pick up the boys. Tonight, I have a shift from five until sundown and Breela will come over to take care of the boys until I finish my shift. Our mother's absence is like a gaping hole in our lives. I woke up this morning and for a second, I forgot she was no longer with us, and then it hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. She is gone. I'll never walk down the stairs in the morning to the sound of her singing folksongs as she prepares our breakfasts. Arkynn and I part at the wall, and I make my way through town towards home. It feels strange calling it home now; without my mother here, it no longer feels the same.