10. Eldrion

TEN

Eldrion

S uranna, the Sunborne who has been trying to flirt me into marriage for the past two hundred years, approaches with a quiet confidence. There was a time when I found her attractive, but that was before I realised there was absolutely nothing behind her eyes.

No humour, no fight, no spirit.

She is all poise and grace, and it is terribly fucking boring.

But now, as her eyes turn to the sky above the castle, her facade cracks a little. Not to show anything worthy of intrigue, but to show a flicker of some emotion at least.

Even if it is fear.

"What happened here, Eldrion?" she asks, her voice cool and smooth. Honey on snow. "We all saw the clouds gather. We felt something shift. There are rumours that a..." She hesitates, glances at the Shadowkind guards and servants who are moving through the courtyard, and lowers her voice. "There are rumours that a demon was seen in the sky. Everyone is in hiding, my lord. Only a few of us dared even leave our houses to come and speak to you."

I roll my tongue over my teeth.

Alana had been about to walk away from me, but she is still here. Watching. Her arm hooked in Briony's as if they are sisters or, at the very least, friends who have known each other so long they have become family.

"There was an incident, but it is under control, Suranna."

Suranna tucks a strand of jet-black hair behind her ear. Her dark skin glows in the sunlight, and the way she chews her lower lip reminds me why I found her so attractive when we first met.

"I am not going to be dismissed with meaningless answers," she says firmly. Behind her, a few others speak up.

If there is one thing Sunborne do well, it is composure. We hold ourselves above all others, and it is something we carry on our shoulder as we move through the world – the calming knowledge that we are the most powerful creatures in the kingdom.

What will happen if they learn this is no longer the case? Because, undoubtedly, at this moment Finn is stronger than them.

He took my power and he amplified it.

And if they realise I am powerless, except for a useless ability to see flashes of a future that may or may not come to pass, will they still want me as their leader? Or will they elect another?

A sensation I can't name settles beneath my skin.

I will not lose my throne to these people. Not after everything I've sacrificed trying to keep the kingdom safe.

I draw back my shoulders, keeping my wings pinned at my back because if she sees them, she really will know that I am lying.

"It was a Leafborne." Alana steps forward, hands on hips.

Briony frowns at her.

Suranna turns her head slowly to look at Alana, but her expression remains unreadable.

"A Leafborne escaped and returned with dark magic. They tried to attack the castle. Eldrion fought them off."

Slowly, Suranna looks back at me. "Who is this fae? Who calls you by your name, and not by your title, and answers for you, Lord Eldrion?"

"She is an empath," I answer quickly. "She has been advising me, and her word is to be trusted."

For a moment, Suranna looks as if she might challenge me. The crowd behind her quiets, waiting for her to speak. "An empath?" She frowns. "I recognise you from court. You have attended some of Lord Eldrion's feasts?"

Alana tilts her chin up, suddenly a picture of grace and regality. "Indeed."

"I have never encountered an empath before." Suranna's eyes twitch as though she is wondering whether she should attempt to hide her thoughts from the woman in from of her.

Then a slow, strange smile parts her lips. She steps towards Alana and nods at her. It is a display of respect, and yet no respect lives in her gaze. None.

"Thank you for clearing that up," she says calmly before turning back to face me. "Am I to assume there will be a feast at the castle again soon? We have missed our jester."

I sense Briony stiffen and pray she has not given us away with an uncontrolled display of emotion.

"Of course." I nod firmly, and reach out for Suranna's hand. I kiss her knuckles and look up at her, smiling. "And I would be honoured if, at the next banquet, you would sit with me at the high table, Suranna. It has been too long since we spent some quality time in each other's company."

A smile flutters on Suranna's lips. She does not allow it to turn into the kind of smile that brightens her face, but she does dip her head a little and flutter her eyelashes.

I glance at Alana.

At least my charm is still effective with some.

"That would be wonderful," she replies smoothly.

I do like her voice, but it is not like Alana's. It does not have the spirit or the tenacity that hers does.

"Then, please, do not let me keep you from your day." I extend an arm, gesturing towards the archway at the rear of the courtyard. "And expect to hear word very soon about the next gathering."

Suranna looks at me over her shoulder as she leaves. Her eyes move to Alana, then quickly back to me. If she suspects I am lying, she does not show it on her face.

"Soon," she calls, raising her arm. But as she is almost through the archway, she stops and looks up at the sky again. "And shall we expect the storm clouds to disperse soon, too?"

"Of course." I raise a hand and wave. "I will see to it immediately."

When they are gone, and far enough away that I will not be heard, I spin around and storm towards Alana. "I was handling it," I bark at her.

"No," she says calmly. "You were not. And I'm guessing that a city full of panicked Sunborne is the last thing we need right now. At least until we have figured out what to do next."

I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off with a vicious shake of her head. "I need to go and see my friends." She turns back to Briony and, once again, hooks her arm through the smaller fae's. "Can we go and see them now?"

Briony nods and pats Alana's hand. "Of course. Follow me."

I want to follow her. Everything inside me wants to follow her, always.

But I don't. I just stand and watch her cross the courtyard as if she always belonged here, and was always meant to roam free within my walls.

When I arrive back to my chambers, all I can see is her.

She is everywhere here, and the thought of her returning to her own room tonight makes me feel something I can't explain.

My mother's journal still lies on the floor in the middle of the room. I pick it up and flip through the pages. Her words feel different now. Meaningless, and yet more meaningful than anything else I can hold onto.

I set it down on the desk and press my palm to the cover.

And then I feel it.

A vision.

Racing towards me.

I'm floating, suspended in darkness. Flashes of light pierce the blackness. Images flood my mind.

Finn. Wings spread wide, blocking out the sun. His eyes glow red. A wicked smile twists his face. Shadows swirl around him, my shadows, writhing like living smoke.

They belong to him now. He owns them, and they taunt me with their absence.

The Shadowkind gather below. Hundreds, maybe thousands. Their faces a mix of fear and awe. Finn raises his arms. The shadows respond, converging into a swirling vortex.

It spins faster, growing larger. A yawning chasm of darkness. Finn's voice booms, echoing, weaving into the corners of my mind. "Step into your destiny!"

A Shadowkind approaches. Hesitant at first, then with purpose. He reaches the edge of the vortex. Pauses. Looks back at Finn. Finn nods. The Shadowkind jumps.

The shadows engulf him. His scream cuts off abruptly.

Moments pass. The vortex churns.

My heart races. I want to look away and leave this place and never return, but it's as if I am standing outside myself watching and I cannot make myself move.

All I can do is watch, transfixed by the shadows.

As I stare at them, my heart matching the rhythm of the cyclone inside them, something emerges. Not the Shadowkind who entered. Something... else.

Taller. Broader. Wings like solid blocks of night. Eyes glowing crimson.

No longer fae. A demon.

A demon like Finn.

The creature roars. Others step back, but their eyes shine with hunger. They know now what they can become, and they are desperate to step into their fate.

Another Shadowkind approaches. Then another. And another.

They leap into the vortex. Screams cut short.

Demons emerge. An army growing by the minute.

Finn laughs. The sound chills me to my core. The scene shifts. A city. Luminael. My city.

Sunborne fae fill the streets.

The sky darkens. Wings blot out the sun. Finn's demon army descends.

Chaos. Screaming. Blood on cobblestones. Sunborne fall by the dozens, their light extinguished.

Suranna stares up at me with dead, unblinking eyes. There is a tear on her cheek. Her light is gone.

Finn strides through the carnage. Untouched. Triumphant. He reaches the castle. Kicks down the doors.

Inside, a throne room. Two thrones. One for Alana and one for me. We sit and stare at him as he strides towards us. From the ceiling, remnants of his jester's ribbons sway and flutter. He grabs hold of them, twists his arms effortlessly into them, and almost dances on the air as he swings towards us.

Alana watches him with wonder in her eyes. She breathes his name, and I hate the way it sounds on her lips.

Finn drops the ribbons. His shadows crawl towards him from the corners of the room, they reach me first, but Alana is still smiling at Finn.

They are taking me. They are suffocating me. I call to her for help, but she just stares at him. And stares at him.

He kisses her. He asks her if she will stand beside him and she whispers yes as she opens her dress for him.

While I suffocate on the throne beside her, Alana lets Finn take her body. She calls his name again and again. And when they are done, he kicks me to the floor. The shadows swallow me up.

He takes the throne. His demons bow before him. The vision blurs, speeds up. Cities falling. Kingdoms crumbling. Darkness spreads across the land like a plague.

The vision fades, leaving me gasping for breath, my body drenched in cold sweat. Finn's demonic form, wreathed in shadows and destruction, lingers in my mind. The scale of his plans, the sheer devastation he intends to unleash, is beyond anything I could have imagined.

And while I am normally left in doubt, trying to piece together my visions and interpret what they mean, this time it could not be any clearer.

Finn intends to turn the Shadowkind into demons, form an army, and take over the city. And if he does, the carnage will be unimaginable.

As I try to sift through the snippets of information that now swim behind my eyes, I cannot shift the image of Alana giving herself to him like that.

Would she really want to be by his side?

She owes me nothing, but would she betray herself like that?

I stagger to the window, bracing myself against the sill as I gulp in the cool night air. The citadel sleeps below. The Sunborne cannot be oblivious to the storm that is coming. Come the morning, they will be here, demanding answers for what happened in the sky above the castle.

And I will have to find a way to explain it to them.

"Eldrion."

The voice sends a chill down my spine. I turn slowly, already knowing what I'll see.

Who I'll see.

My mother stands in the centre of the room, shimmering and translucent in the moonlight. Her eyes, which I remember as being so cold and distant, now brim with an emotion I've never seen in them before. Regret.

"Mother," I say, my voice hoarse. "Have you come to apologise?" I shake the journal at her.

She lowers her head, taking a step towards me. "No, my son. I've come to confess."

I laugh bitterly. "Confess? Now? When it's far too late? I know everything. I read it in here! All the things you never told me. The pieces that would have made everything make sense."

"I didn't know," she whispers. "I swear to you, I didn't know it would come to this."

"Then what did you think would happen?" I snarl, my anger rising. "When you twisted an innocent child in her mother's womb, and when you created a weapon without thought for the consequences?"

My mother's form flickers, as if buffeted by the force of my rage. "I saw the darkness coming," she says. "I saw our kingdom in ruins, our people destroyed. I thought... I thought I could prevent it."

"By creating Alana? By burdening her with power she never asked for, never understood? And by telling no one?"

"I believed she would be our salvation," my mother pleads. "A force of light to push back the shadows."

I stride towards her, my wings flaring. "And instead, you've given those shadows form. You've handed Finn the key to unlock his true nature, to become the very demon you feared!"

She flinches, and for a moment, I see the proud, infallible woman I grew up with crumble. "I was wrong," she whispers. "So terribly wrong. I let my fear cloud my judgement, and now..."

I should feel sorry for her. But I don't. I look at her and all I see is the woman who made my life a misery, and who made me grow up feeling less.

"Now we all pay the price," I finish for her. The anger that's been building inside me finally explodes. "You should have left well enough alone! You should have trusted in us, in me, to face whatever came! Instead, you played with forces beyond your understanding, and look what you've done."

"I've spent my entire life trying to protect this kingdom, trying to live up to the legacy you left behind. And all along, you'd already sown the seeds of our destruction." I toss the journal at her and it slices right through her shimmering form. "You could have told me. If you'd told me."

"Eldrion, please," she begs, reaching out a ghostly hand. "We can still fix this. Together, we can?—"

"No!" I roar. "You've done enough. More than enough. You no longer have any place here, Mother. Not in this castle, not in this world, and certainly not in my life. You are not welcome. You never have been?—"

The room falls silent. I stand there, chest heaving. She is gone.

If she was ever here to begin with.

Alone once more, I turn back to the window. The sun is setting now, and it would be beautiful, if I didn't know the darkness that's coming.