The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 22

Selene stood on a broken section of wall, looking down at them. But she wasn't the same woman who'd been imprisoned. Her eyes were completely black, shadows writhed around her like living snakes, and when she smiled, her teeth looked too sharp.

"You came. How touching." Selene jumped down, landing with inhuman grace. "And alone, just like I asked. Good girl."

"Let Saphira go. Your fight is with me."

"Oh, I intend to fight you. But first—" Selene raised her hand, and a figure materialized beside her.

It was made of shadow and smoke, roughly human-shaped but wrong in ways that made Elaria's eyes water. When it spoke, its voice was like grinding stone.

"THE PRIESTESS DAUGHTER. FINALLY."

Elaria's blood ran cold. This wasn't just any void entity. This was something that had been waiting specifically for her.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I AM CALLED THE DEVOURER. I AM THE ONE YOUR ANCESTORS IMPRISONED IN THE VOID CENTURIES AGO." The entity moved closer, and reality seemed to bend around it. "AND I HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY PATIENT, WAITING FOR SOMEONE WITH YOUR BLOODLINE TO RETURN TO THIS PLACE."

"Let my sister go. This is between us."

"OH NO. THE GIRL STAYS. SHE'S LEVERAGE. INSURANCE THAT YOU'LL DO EXACTLY WHAT I WANT."

"Which is what?"

The Devourer's smile was horrible to see. "OPEN A PERMANENT GATEWAY TO THE VOID. USE YOUR BOND WITH THE SHADOW PRINCE TO TEAR A HOLE BETWEEN WORLDS THAT CAN NEVER BE SEALED."

"I won't do that."

"YOU WILL. OR I'LL MAKE YOUR SISTER EXPERIENCE PAIN BEYOND ANYTHING A HUMAN CAN ENDURE." The entity gestured, and Saphira screamed as shadow chains tightened. "AND WHEN SHE'S BROKEN BEYOND REPAIR, I'LL MOVE ON TO EVERYONE ELSE YOU LOVE. YOUR MOTHER. YOUR FATHER. YOUR NEW HUSBAND."

Through the bond, Elaria felt Draven's rage building. She sent a quick message: Not yet. Wait.

"Why do you need me specifically?" Elaria asked, buying time. "There are other priestess daughters."

"NONE WITH YOUR POWER. NONE BONDED TO VOID-BORN. NONE STANDING IN THIS SACRED PLACE WHERE THE BARRIER IS WEAKEST." The Devourer's form expanded, grew larger. "YOU ARE PERFECT FOR MY PURPOSES. AND YOU WILL HELP ME. WILLINGLY OR NOT."

Elaria's hand closed around the vial Amariel had given her and the crystal from Martha. She had seconds to make a choice.

Drink the void essence and risk permanent damage. Or find another way.

"You're making a mistake," she said, her voice steady despite her racing heart. "The Void King made a deal with us yesterday. If you interfere with that deal, you'll have to answer to him."

The Devourer laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "THE VOID KING HAS GROWN SOFT. SENTIMENTAL. HE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HIS CREATION. I HAVE NO SUCH WEAKNESS."

"Then you're about to learn a very painful lesson about underestimating people." Elaria pulled out Martha's crystal and held it up.

The Devourer's form flickered, and for just a moment, she saw the truth, it wasn't as powerful as it appeared. It was weak, desperate, barely holding its form together. The display of power was mostly illusion.

"You're starving," Elaria said with sudden understanding. "You've been trapped in the void for so long with no one to feed you power. That's why you need Selene. That's why you need me. You're not strong enough to tear open the barrier yourself."

"CLEVER GIRL," the Devourer hissed. "BUT IT CHANGES NOTHING."

"It changes everything. Because if you're weak, that means I can fight you." Elaria uncorked the vial of void essence. "And win."

She drank it in one swallow.

The effect was immediate and excruciating. Power flooded through her veins like liquid fire. She felt her body changing, adapting, becoming something more than human. The shadow marks on her wrist exploded outward, covering her arms, her shoulders, her neck in intricate patterns of darkness.

Through the bond, she felt Draven's alarm and his immediate understanding. He materialized from the shadows, appearing beside her with his own darkness rising.

"Together?" he asked.

"Together," Elaria agreed.

They faced the Devourer side by side, their combined power making the ancient entity actually back up a step.

"YOU THINK TWO HALF-FORMED CHILDREN CAN DEFEAT ME?" it roared.

"No," Draven said. "But we're not alone."

The temperature dropped another twenty degrees. The shadows in the ruins deepened impossibly. And then, with a sound like thunder, the Void King manifested.

"DEVOURER," he said, his voice carrying absolute authority. "YOU DARE THREATEN WHAT IS MINE?"

The Devourer actually cowered. "MY LORD, I MEANT NO OFFENSE—"

"YOU MADE A BARGAIN WITH A MORTAL AND USED IT TO ATTACK MY SON AND HIS BRIDE. THAT IS OFFENSE." The Void King's form expanded until he filled the entire ruins. "YOU WILL RELEASE THE CHILD. YOU WILL BREAK YOUR PACT WITH THE WOMAN. AND THEN YOU WILL RETURN TO THE VOID AND NEVER RETURN."

"BUT MY LORD, I NEED—"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU NEED. YOU BROKE THE RULES. YOU INTERFERED WITH MY AGREEMENT." The Void King's eyes blazed like dying stars. "GO. NOW. BEFORE I UNMAKE YOU ENTIRELY."

The Devourer dissolved with a sound like screaming wind. Selene collapsed, the black fading from her eyes. Saphira's chains vanished, and the young princess fell into Elaria's arms.

"I've got you," Elaria whispered, holding her sister tight. "You're safe now."

The Void King turned his attention to them. "WELL HANDLED. YOU CALLED FOR ME THROUGH THE BOND. CLEVER."

"Thank you for coming," Draven said carefully.

"I PROTECT WHAT IS MINE. AND LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU ARE MINE." The Void King's form began to fade. "REMEMBER THIS—THE VOID IS VAST. I CANNOT CONTROL EVERY ENTITY WITHIN IT. THERE WILL BE OTHERS WHO TRY TO USE YOU. BUT AS LONG AS YOU HONOR OUR AGREEMENT, I WILL COME WHEN YOU CALL."

He vanished, leaving them in the silent ruins.

Elaria felt the void essence burning through her system, but she stayed conscious through sheer will. Through the bond, Draven anchored her, keeping her grounded as the power threatened to consume her.

"We need to get you back to the palace," he said urgently. "Amariel needs to help you process this before it damages you permanently."

"Saphira first. Make sure she's okay."

Captain Ryver and his men came running, along with Martha. They found Selene unconscious but alive, and Saphira shaken but unharmed.

As they rode back to the palace, Elaria felt the void essence slowly fading from her system. But it left something behind—a deeper connection to the shadows, a greater understanding of the void.

She looked at Draven riding beside her, his hand reaching across to squeeze hers.

They'd survived their first real test as a married couple.

But both of them knew it was only the beginning.