33. Alana

THIRTY-THREE

Alana

I stand before Finn, my body thrumming with power. The magic of hundreds of fae courses through my veins, a symphony of elements and abilities all singing for release. It's intoxicating, overwhelming, and for a moment, I understand how Finn could have lost himself to this feeling. I think I am losing myself, too.

But I no longer care.

Caring hurts too much.

Flinging an arm out behind me, I send Briony's body up into the air. It hovers for a moment, and then I throw her over the edge of the roof.

She is gone, now.

And so am I.

Finn rises up, his red eyes flashing. Behind me, Eldrion cries out. I do not need to watch him to know that the shadows are taking him.

It is as though all the visions I've ever had are living in my head now at the same time as what is real, and happening. I can see everything.

I can see Finn's army of Shadowkind attacking the castle, battering down the doors of the grand hall and attacking the Sunborne who are huddled there.

I can see the Gloomweavers turning to looting and pillaging because there are not enough fae left in the city to kill.

And I can see what is happening behind me. Even as I focus on Finn and the dark, inky black magic that is coiling around his forearms, ready to attack, I can see Eldrion.

At first, it's subtle – wisps of darkness curling around his ankles, almost playful in their movements. But then they start to climb.

The shadows slither up his legs, wrapping around him like inky tendrils. Eldrion's eyes widen in panic, his hands clawing at the darkness as if trying to peel it off. But his fingers pass right through, unable to grasp the intangible threat.

"Alana!" he cries out, his voice strained. "Do something!"

His wings begin to twitch and spasm as the darkness envelops them. Eldrion's face contorts in pain, a silent scream etched across his features.

The shadows reach his neck, curling around his throat like a noose. I can see the struggle in his eyes, the fight to breathe as the darkness tightens its grip.

Finally, the shadows engulf him completely. He is totally obscured, a silhouette of pure darkness against the backdrop of the castle.

I roar loudly and thunder crackles in the air above us. It begins to rain. I call for it, for the water that will slick the roof and our skin.

Finn sends his shadow magic snaking out towards me. Vipers of blackness, slithering, coiling, coming for me.

I pull my own magic into my hands and throw a few bolts of smoke in his direction. But I have no intention of stopping him. I let the shadows come for me. I back away, allowing the illusion of fear to enter my eyes.

Finn tilts his head. "There is still time to change your mind, Alana. Say the word and this all stops."

I am beside Eldrion now, pushed up against the wall. I reach for his hand and grab hold of it as shadow and smoke consumes me the way it consumed him.

I let it enter my body. I feel it race through my veins and tighten around my bones, its vice-like grip squeezing and squeezing until I can barely breathe.

It is trying to suffocate my other powers, stamp them out, extinguish them.

But that is as far as it will go.

With a scream that Finn interpret as pain, I let the gates down in my mind and I suck those shadows further and further into my soul. I keep pulling.

Now Finn is screaming. When I open my eyes, his body is being dragged towards me by an invisible force. Shadows fly from his chest, and his mouth, and his eyes. His wings beat as if they are being tossed around by a storm.

He tries to fight it, but he can't. And then realisation dawns in his dimming eyes.

No longer bright red.

Darker.

Greyer.

Like his wings.

"Take them from him, Alana," I hear Eldrion whisper beside me, and I let out another cry. I break free from the shadows that bound me, and now I am the one wielding them. I wear them like jewellery, watching them form dark rings of power around my arms, overwhelming the light and the elemental magic I had consumed from Kayan and the Sunborne.

Overtaking everything.

As I move towards Finn, more shadows come.

There are screams, and the sound of Finn's army trying to resist me.

I can see them too, being dragged from the grand hall, unable to stop themselves being taken by me.

I see the Sunborne gathered together like scared children, confused and sobbing with relief as their attackers are hauled with brutal strength away from them, through the large glass windows, their skin and wings torn and bleeding.

I bring them to me. All of them. And one by one they fall at my feet.

They writhe on the ground, the way the Leafborne did when they were taken from me.

They try to escape, try to crawl away, but I do not let them.

"Alana. Let me help." Eldrion is free now too, and striding towards me. I hurl some of his magic back towards him and he sucks in a huge, deep breath as it reunites with his body. His wings are instantly back to the way they were. Huge, bright, powerful.

He strides forward and reaches out with his hands.

While I focus on Finn, he moves towards Yarrow. He stands above him and hauls him to his feet. Yarrow does a good job of fighting back. He is strong. He tries to batter the shadows, tries to resist as they clamp down on his mouth and enter his nose, choking the breath from his body.

He mutters Finn's name, but Finn cannot help him now.

And then he falls.

They all fall.

I hold Finn still in my shadowy grasp and I make him watch. A tear rolls down his cheek. I lean in and catch it with my index finger. "Don't cry, jester. Your turn will come. You will not have to live with this pain much longer."

He whispers my name, and keeps whispering it until the last of his army has breathed their final breath.

As Eldrion staggers to the edge of the roof, panting, glistening with power once again, I make Finn stand and face me.

He is cocooned in my shadows. My shadows.

I stare into his eyes, and reach into his mind. For a moment, I soothe him. I latch onto his pain and I lessen it. Soften it. Kiss it better with my thoughts. And then I take away the comfort and replace it with something else.

Memories.

The first time we met in Eldrion's castle, my fear giving way to curiosity as Finn showed me kindness.

Laughter echoing through the corridors as Finn taught me to juggle, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Late-night conversations, sharing our hopes and fears, feeling understood for the first time in years.

The warmth of Finn's hand in mine as we plotted our escape, a promise of freedom and a better life.

The exhilaration of flying together, wings finally unbound, the world stretching endlessly before us.

But then the memories darken. And I show him what he did to me, and what he made us become.

The first time I saw a flicker of something sinister in Finn's eyes, quickly masked but unforgettable.

The moment I realised Finn had been manipulating me all along. The pain I felt. I give it to him, I make him feel it, too.

Watching in horror as Finn transformed, shadows consuming the man I thought I knew. I give him that horror. I stare into his eyes as it blooms in his gut, and flames of guilt and fury lick at his insides.

I let him feel what I felt looking at Briony, and what I felt when my own kind turned against me, and what I felt when Eldrion fucked me.

Finn is writhing in my grasp.

I give him my pain. All of it, so that I do not have to live with it a second longer.

And when he is full to the edges, and cannot take anymore, I whisper. "Thank you, Finn. You created me. And I really do like what I have become."

He tries to speak. But I am done.

I squeeze his final breath from his body then I let him fall to the ground.

Lying there now, he looks just as he did before. His body is smaller, and his wings are pale.

He looks completely harmless.

But looks can be deceiving, can't they?

Eldrion steps over the bodies of Finn's army and takes my hand. "He's gone," he says, studying my face as though he is waiting for me to dissolve into tears.

I let go of him and pace to the edge of the roof. Darkness is descending on the city, now.

And it feels like home.

"Alana." Eldrion stands beside me. "My magic."

"I returned it to you," I say calmly, lacing my fingers together behind my back.

"Not all of it," he replies darkly.

I turn to look at him and hold his gaze for a long time. "No, not all of it." I press my lips to his and kiss him deeply. "I think it's best I keep a little back for now, don't you?"

I do not give him the chance to reply.

I leave him on the roof and soar up into the sky. To survey what is now, and forever, mine.