41. Vane

Vane

T he courtroom was large, imposing, and filled with an oppressive air that was thick in the air. The Lightlace royal council, seated in their elevated positions at the head of the room, looking down with judgmental eyes. The council was a group of officials appointed by the king, and they were just as mean and nasty as he was. The hall was packed with spectators, all eager to witness the most exciting thing to happen in their lifetime.

I stayed hidden in the shadows, my heart racing. Saoirse's safety was my paramount concern, but I knew the risks we were taking. Maeve's life depended on it, and so did my mothers. We'd help the old lady, and get back to Umbra as soon as possible.

Saoirse's presence in the courtroom, disguised among the spectators, made my blood boil. If anything happened to her, I would tear the culprit limb by fucking limb. King Erwin sat on his throne, a clench to his jaw that burned satisfaction through me. He knew we'd escaped, and he was pissed .

Today, I would put an end to his reign of terror.

I hadn't told Saoirse I intended to kill her father, but the moment I'd seen her beautiful, precious face so beaten and abused, I'd made a vow to myself. When Xan told me the true extent of her injuries, of what had been done to her, I'd almost charged back to the castle right then and there. But I'd waited.

When he died, I wanted everyone to see it. To see him for the monster he truly was, as I drained the life from him.

Maeve stood before the council, her hands bound in chains, her eyes defiant. She was strong for an old woman, but even she couldn't withstand life in that prison. Queen Nissa sat beside her king, clutching the staff with the shard glowing in its usual tip. It seemed to pulse with energy, like it knew the kingdom was fighting over it, and it enjoyed it. In this room, it seemed brighter, a glow emanating from it and bathing Maeve in its iridescent light.

The trial progressed, accusations being thrown at her, which she denied with feigned irritation. The crowd murmured with each rejection, their bloodlust palpable. The time to act was soon, and my shadows writhed beneath my skin, eager to be unleashed.

I looked to Saoirse one last time, giving her the nod that signaled she should clear the room. My one condition for trying to pull this off was that she stayed out of it. I couldn't worry about pulling this off and protecting her at the same time.

In the end, I would always choose her.

The moment the queen raised the staff, ready to deliver the final verdict that would send Maeve back to jail, I let my shadows slip from my body. They moved like living ink, spreading through the hall, unnoticed at first. They pulled from the depth of magic inside me, uncoiling and stretching like a snake getting ready to strike. As they grew, tendrils of darkness coiling around the pillars and crawling along the walls, the crowd began to stir.

"What is this?" One of the council members shouted, his voice trembling.

Attendees were already starting to back toward the exit, a few council members joining them as I lowered my hood, stepping more clearly view. I stepped from the shadows, the gasps and screams from the crowd fueling my resolve. I used to think it was silly for them to be afraid of me, but now I relished it.

They should be.

"Enough!" I roared, my voice amplified by the shadows that lived deep in my lungs. "Give me the staff and Maeve, and maybe I'll let you live."

"Darkwing!" King Erwin hissed, glaring at me. "You should have run away when you had the chance. You will not come in here and make demands."

I said nothing, my shadows lashing out to incapacitate the guards closest to Maeve. "Time's up."

The council erupted in chaos, but I paid them no mind. My focus was on the queen and the staff she held, the other on the king, waiting for the attack I'm sure would come.

King Erwin stood, his face twisted with fury. "You will pay for your insolence," he snarled, summoning his own flare in a blinding burst of light.

But I was ready. My shadows cast a wide net, colliding with the blasts of magic he threw at me, neutralizing them. All my rage, all my anger toward these people poured out of me, and in turn, my shadows did, too.

The queen's eyes were wide with fear as she watched in horror. The room seemed to hold its breath as the king launched himself at me, his entire body wreathed in Lightlace magic. But my shadows pivoted with every move, absorbing the brunt of his attacks, until I saw an opening .

This man had caused too much pain, far too much, and I never wanted to see that broken look on Saoirse's face ever again.

I roared at him, my voice echoing through the grand hall, a grin splitting my face as I got to unleash all of me; no more hiding. He threw blast after blast my way, and when one caught me in the side, I scowled, more annoyed than injured. My patience waned, and after a look toward the exit, where I saw Xan and Saoirse safely tucked away. Satisfied she'd be okay, I completely let the floodgates open, my dragon form taking over in an instant. My massive wings spread wide, casting a dark eclipse over the room.

The king's eyes went wide as he took me in, momentarily stopping his assault. I towered over the Lightlace around me, my form a few feet taller than theirs. My shadows blanketed them as they continued to expand, and I urged them to grip on to every guard there. With one thought, they were all unconscious, laying in ungraceful heaps on the ground.

The queen cried in horror, cowering against her chair where she still sat on the raised council benches. Everyone else had fled, a few stragglers fighting their way through my shadows. I let them, knowing my fight was not with them.

King Erwin didn't back down as I had expected. He summoned all his strength, launching blast after blast of massive light directly at me. My shadows absorbed most of it, but the impact still sent me staggering back. I growled, baring my teeth as I lunged at him, my lethal claws swiping through the air. He dodged, barely avoiding the strike, and countered with another blast of light.

Back and forth we traded blows, the grand hall trembling under the force of our powers. But it only took one misstep, one extra second of exhaustion for the king to falter, and my tendrils blasted him off his feet. My shadows surged forward, wrapping around him, binding him in place. He struggled, his flares flickering out as they were doused by my darkness, still fighting against my hold .

I was hungry now, his demise only seconds away as my tendrils slowly made their way up his body, creeping up toward his neck, when a flash of red stopped me in my tracks. Blue eyes blazed as they looked back at me, and I watched her intently, ready for whatever it was she wanted to do. I'd been blinded by the bloodlust, but she was right to step forward.

This was much more her fight than it was mine.