Her King Of Shadows

Chapter X.

Shana opened her eyes, not knowing where she was. But she felt the cold. Icy wind played with the silk fabric of her dress. The ground she was lying on was covered in snow. Coldness. She slowly raised her head, trying to remember what happened. But the last thing she could remember was the darkness of her chamber. She ran away from the library. She went to her chambers followed by her father's calls. But the celebration was over even though the presents had not been opened. She entered her chamber and after that it was only darkness.

She touched the back of her head, feeling the traces of dry blood. Her headache was so strong she felt vertigo. Darkness was around her. But she could see the stars and moon. And then she realized she wasn’t in her chambers any longer. She heard flags fighting in the wind. She tried to sit in the snow not feeling her legs. She understood where she was. She knew perfectly well where she had woken up. At the top of the tower. And her heart told her she wasn’t alone. It started beating faster in fear because everything was coming to an end. This time there was no escape. She turned towards the door which led inside. She could see the figure of a warrior. Icy wind brought the smell of blood from his sword. Even his face was hidden by the long coat she knew he was watching her. Waiting for her to wake up.

There was no enjoyment in death if his victims couldn’t feel it. If he couldn’t see the absence of life in the very eyes of the person he was killing. Her body started to tremble from fear. Even though they were apart, she knew she had nowhere to run. The stone fence of the tower was ten meters away and there was nothing after it. Just falling into darkness.

Shana made herself get up even though she needed all her strength to do it. On the first try she fell to her knees. On the second try, she succeeded. She pulled back towards the fence, feeling the cold stone touching her back. And the killer was coming from the darkness. Blade shone in the moonlight ready to take another life. She desperately looked into the darkness below her feet. She couldn’t survive the fall. She will not survive the blade. But she didn’t have the courage to jump. She was only a child. She wanted to live. She closed her eyes just for a moment, praying to wake up from this nightmare. But with each step, the killer was getting closer. His figure was becoming larger and more cruel. The smell of blood made her wonder how many souls were taken by that blade, which would soon take hers also.

Will someone feel when she is no longer here? Will someone notice her soul leaving this world? She kept looking at the darkness hoping that there was something more than fear she was drowning in. Was her father down there? Was he able to see her? She climbed the fence, resisting the cold wind which was becoming stronger. Between two deaths, which one was gentler? At that moment, Araphel looked towards the sky. He didn’t know what made him do it. What caused him to look for the stars? He was ready to leave. His guards waited for him. Maybe he knew he would never return there again. Maybe he just wanted to say goodbye to all the memories. But secretly he wanted to look towards the window of her chambers. Imagining that she was looking at him as desperately as he was longing to see her. And the scene took his breath away. He recognized the white silk which trembled in the wind. He recognized her figure on the stone fence. And he thought his life would end in that place.

-Shana.-he said her name for the first time. He screamed.

He called her even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. They all looked at him. And after that they followed his eyes. Victoria covered a scream with her hand. It was clear to them what was about to happen. They all watched without moving if the end would come by the blade which shone in the moonlight or fall to the neverending darkness. Darkness. He closed his eyes for a moment.

-You have to fall-he whispered. -You have to fall.-he repeated. Even she could never believe it before she could hear that whisper. As if the icy wind was talking directly to her ear. But she recognized the deep voice.

-You have to fall.-the wind had ordered. And the time was gone. The killer was there. Blade was raised to come down on her body. Even though Boris was already running, there was no time to climb to the tower. There was no time to save her. She found herself stepping back even though there was no more space. She stepped into the darkness. And she felt the world of shadows for the first time in her life. Darkness became soft as cotton. Surrounded her. Rocking her like a mother's embrace provides comfort to its child. The deeper she would fall to the bottom, the darkness became thicker. Until she was part of the void. Scared. In front of death. She tried to scream but no words came out. Darkness became part of her. Her skin, body, heart. Shadows took over her. They all screamed when the pale body fell into the darkness.

Victoria fell on the ground, losing consciousness. Araphel disappeared. He turned into a leader of shadows which nothing could stop. Just a moment later, they saw him standing in a cloud of darkness. His body was bent. His hand held a child in a white dress. All the leaders. All the guests which Boris invited. They all stood in fear. How was it possible? How could something like this happen? But they didn’t know the secrets of his world. They just looked at the girl who was on the edge of death. There was blood coming from her nostrils. On her right hand above her palm black traces started to appear. Some of the leaders were smart enough to step back a little. The leader of the world of shadows has just taken back a life from the embrace of death. And that life was forever his now. Araphel looked at her pale face. She survived. The only warrior who he knew in his entire life to survive the fall into the darkness. She really did have his heart. And now no one had the right to take her from him.