Shadow & Light

Chapter 5

I had felt the sharp metal of a sword slice my body all too often during the days when I was still learning to fight. I was actually quite bad at it when starting out. It had taken years to get to where I was now. So I knew what I was supposed to be feeling. But I barely registered the nonexistent blow I should have felt before a crack sounded through the entire courtyard, deafening any other sound, paired with a feeling like my chest was bursting open, as an unfamiliar warmth exploded over every fibre of my body. I winced as the feeling of invisible hot flames danced over my skin, charring me from the inside out without ever leaving a mark. Screams of agony were heard from everywhere in the courtyard, and I could hear bodies dropping.

The searing heat I felt slowed to a simmer and I scrambled away from Mrs. Tillett. As my eyes opened, shock engulfed me. What was I seeing? Emanating around me was a brilliant bubble of light, so blinding I had to squint against it. For goodness sake, it was so bright I could go blind if I looked at it too long. The air sang with a charged energy that felt so palpable I could reach out and touch it if I were not frozen in confusion. A steady hum filled the air, making an odd sort of music that contrasted greatly with the screaming men writhing in agony.

My eyes drew down to the assailants that once swarmed the arena, now laying limp on the ground, some still fighting the fire they felt, others unmoving. The assailant's bodies, now fully visible, were wearing armour of a strange material–disintegrated, peeled and torn away by this new force, with charred skin underneath. Whatever dark matter their armour was made of was no match for the light. The rest of the people from our land seemed unharmed by whatever the hell had befallen the assailants.

This light...this energy...I followed the beautiful orb's circular shape, which made a perfect bubble around the training grounds leading back to...no that couldn't be. It surrounded me. Brightest where my heart was. I refused to believe that. I had dark magic–death magic. Not whatever the hell was seemingly bursting straight from my heart. I shook my head, because if this was real I was now facing the terrifying reality that I was even more different than I already was. Faery folk had one power each. Few unlucky fae were born without, but never two. Zero or one. Zero or one. Then there were two. Me. I was an anomaly once again.

I was frantically spinning around, trying to figure out what was going on, silently pleading with whatever this was that it would disappear and never come back, trying anything to stop what was happening. I mean what even was happening? This couldn't be right. I had dark magic. The same that infiltrated the courtyard. The darkness that tormented me my whole life, alienating me from everyone I knew. And the way everyone was looking at me, they were possibly as terrified and confused as I was.

New questions flitted into my head, each replacing the last before I had a chance to process. Who were the men lying burned on the floor? Why did they come? I thought our kingdom contained the only fae in existence, but these people were not from our kingdom. Unless my hunches were right the other day in the library. Could they be human? No they couldn't be, their armour was made of a strange material that looked eerily similar to the inky black tendrils that had snaked around the courtyard, which had also been destroyed by the orb of light I had produced, the only evidence left was tiny black particles like glitter that littered the stone. Did this mean there was more fae out there? Fae with powers like my own? My head reeled, and I fought the dizziness that threatened to drop me next to the charred bodies littering the once pristine stone floor.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps cut like a sharp blade through the silent courtyard and everyone looked around. The scent of vanilla and evergreen filled the air, and my heartbeat thundered impossibly faster in my chest. If I wasn't careful it would burst out of me. Everyone's heads, which up until that point had been turned my way with eyes blown wide, snapped to the sound that disturbed the silence in the area, only broken by the crackling energy emanating from me and the dying screams. The figure that those footsteps belonged to had me stumbling back, knees weak as my eyes met the most devastatingly handsome face they had ever seen. With a sharp jaw, prickling five o'clock shadow, a perfect nose, clean dark brows, plump lips, and bright blue eyes, a shade of blue that I didn't even know existed. The rest of him matched, devastatingly handsome, carved body covered in armour that seemed made of the same black material as the rest, which seemed to absorb all light, a long black cape flowing with each terrifying step. This man oozed danger. As devastatingly handsome as he was, his eyes were hard as rock, and his gait screamed that anyone who looked at him wrong could expect execution. A gleaming black crown atop his head with points sharp enough to draw blood only furthered this image.

I must have looked like such a sight at that moment--his eyes, locked on mine, probably saw a crazy mess of a girl. A girl covered in scrapes and bruises, hair tousled, blood splattered across my skin from the assailants. My eyes were wide with sheer panic and shock, and what felt like a million other nameless emotions fighting for dominance. But what would stick out about me the most was the giant ball of light I found myself trapped in. This man seemed to ooze power and control, and I had a hunch that these men were with him. If that was true, then I would most likely be alive for only a short time more, as I had just killed what looked to be at least ten or more of his men and women with my blade, and who knew how many were dead or screaming in agony on the floor. I had really screwed up this time hadn't I? Not that this was my fault. It was but it wasn't.

Every fibre of my being, already lit like a match, screamed at me to run into this stranger's arms. To cling to him like a baby koala and never let go. That would not be happening. The small part of my brain that actually had common sense and hadn't succumbed to insanity told me that this was absurd and out of the question. Well, at least I hadn't gone totally insane.

Mr. Danger took a step towards me, and then another, seemingly as fixed with me as I, him. Each of his steps were matched with a back step of mine, which lasted all of 5 seconds before I tripped on a body and tumbled onto my ass. Mr. Stranger looked like he was about to help me but that was out of the question and I scrambled to my feet.

'So....Giant ball of light I think we have seen enough and you can piss off now' my inner voice spoke in annoyance, but the ball of light intent on burning away every bit of dark matter and what was left of my sanity did not care about my annoyance.

I looked around the courtyard, trying to spot anyone of status to defer to, I mean this handsome stranger was here for a reason, attacking our kingdom for a reason, and we needed someone here to help. The king and his family were nowhere to be seen, which left countless fae huddled in various spots in the area and me standing in the middle like a sitting duck–no sort of leader present to guide us. I wondered at that moment if I could gain a third power and turn invisible so that I could run all the way home and hide.

Mr. Handsome Stranger Danger, which was now his name, decided he was done being gentle and walked in long strides towards me, only stopping at the edge of my protective bubble.

"Stop! It will hurt you!" I shouted out in a rush, not wanting to see him fall to the ground like the others. The image of that in my mind made my heart clench. Plus I was now a mass murderer and decided my body count was high enough for now.

I watched him cautiously, frozen on my little tile of the courtyard. Maybe I'll stay here forever as a living statue. A cautionary tale of what happens when you are different. I watched as this stranger looked around the courtyard, studying the charred armour of each of his guards. I made a mental note to apologize about that later, throwing him an apologetic smile in the meantime. Mr. HSD slowly removed each bit of armour made of the dark material, a dangerous move considering he was in enemy territory. Once done I watched as he reached a finger into my light, testing if it was safe. He blinked, seemingly unharmed, then rushed forward and pulled me into his strong arms, slamming me softly into his firm chest. Tingles exploded over every inch of my body and I sucked in a breath, rigid in his hold. Those tingles....it couldn't be...was he my mate? I couldn't process much right then, too strung out, but something in the back of my brain begged me to get out of this man's arms while another part told me to never leave.

A level-headed me would have shoved him away. But I was no longer level-headed. For a few minutes, he didn't move, unfazed by the fact that I was now a statue. He might as well have been holding a brick wall. Mr. Handsome Stranger Danger put his head in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.

Everything felt so bizarre, and in a moment of insanity, I let out a little giggle. Then another, and soon I was leaning on him as a full fit of hysteria overtook my body. Mr. HSD finally stepped back and looked at me with concern, probably realizing his soulmate might be clinically insane. I doubled over, clutching my stomach, head still leaning on his broad chest. If I hadn't been losing my marbles I could have appreciated the comforting feel of that much more. That was new.

"I'm...so...sorry..." I tried speaking through fits of laughter, "I swear...I'm not....crazy."

This man had the patience of a saint, as he stood close and waited for this to pass, never getting frustrated or upset. Though he probably thought I needed a therapist and some strong meds, he never got mad.

With a few gasping breaths and me clutching my cramping stomach and chest I finally managed to stop laughing and look into his eyes.

"I’m sorry again, this is all... a lot" I spoke to the man in front of me, suddenly very nervous, my palms were sweating and my heart was galloping like a runaway horse once again.

The ever calm Mr. HSD just nodded and stepped towards me again, a hair breadth between us, and cupped my face in his hands, which was startling to say the least. Never had I expected such tenderness from such a dangerous looking man. I didn’t like it. I wanted the hands off. No I didn't. Yes I did. Though I hadn't interacted with many men, the ones I had interacted with had left me with scars deep enough to leave irreparable damage. Damage that I had been trying to heal every moment of every day. This man looked like he could squish me like a bug, and once I was calm and my life wasn't imploding this would certainly be a problem.

"There is no need to be sorry. What is your name?"

"Alina Winters." My voice came out in a soft whisper. "And yours?"

"Malichi Ilecron, my dear" His term of endearment had my heart fluttering in my chest and my knees weak.

As if time resumed I remembered where we were, and a vibrant red hue took over my cheeks and most of my body. The entire kingdom was curled up in fear while this hunk of danger....Malichi...my...mate...was standing here as I made puppy dog eyes at him. Great going Alina. Get on the ground and kiss his feet too since you seem to enjoy embarrassing yourself. My eyes scanned the watching crowd and caught on Finnian, protecting his little sister and mother. I felt my heart leap into my throat as images of grinning teeth and tangled limbs in sheets flashed through my mind. The evocative images were jarring and excruciating even after all these years.

Malichi turned to the rest of the crowd, and I was left staring at the cloaked back of my new mate. I snapped out of my choke hold back into the present. His arm snaked around my waist, hand resting there, as if to say he was still here and not to go far. I subtly stepped out of his grasp, still behind him, but no point of contact.

Suddenly, new footsteps and a new voice rang out, "Malichi, since when do you remove armour during a battle? And when did you start hugging random girls"

The voice belonged to another handsome stranger, not that I was interested in this one at all. He had inky black hair and bright silver eyes so similar to my own. When his eyes met mine with my head peaked out from behind this man he stuttered to a stop, staring at me as if he had seen a ghost. Weird.

Movement at the corner of the courtyard caught my eye, and all three of our heads whipped around to see the royal family step out from behind the courtyard walls. Malichi's back tensed in front of me as he caught sight of them too, and he quickly signaled to the few men who had entered the area with him. The men marched over, avoiding my ball of light, which had shrunk to a few feet from me and my new found mate. They grabbed hold of the royals quickly, gripping their arms in a vice and dragging them over to Malichi as they protested.

Something in King Elrick's face confused me--fear, but not the kind everyone else was feeling. This fear came with a sense of recognition–like he knew who Malichi was–which had the gears in my head turning.

"King Elrick it has been so long since our people set foot in your kingdom. So long since your father put up the walls to separate you from the rest of the magic world. Seems that your dark witch was able to hold up the barrier no longer."

Murmurs of confusion rang through the courtyard as no one could understand what Malichi was saying. Maybe I was the one who got a crazy mate. But pieces started clicking in my mind with stark clarity, pieces of history books, the stories I had now gathered.

"Y-you know nothing about my kingdom you foolish boy" The king stuttered out, his attempts to sound stern and powerful next to Malichi were fruitless though.

"I know more than you think" Malichi spoke with such anger and hatred towards my king that I actually flinched back, stopped only by the hand behind me still outstretched to keep me from fleeing.

Two more guards stepped out, firmly gripping a squirming prince. Matthias met my gaze and the sneer he threw at me felt like a physical blow, his swamp green eyes slithering up my neck until they held me in a suffocating chokehold. “Your majesty, we caught this one hiding in a bush."

"Good. Take the royals to one of the carriages, make sure they can't get out, and have them sent to the dungeon." Shocked gasps rang out after my mate's words, but no one dared to make a move.

"Listen up everyone!" Malichi's imperious voice boomed through the courtyard. "I am Malichi, king of the Dark Kingdom, we are taking over this kingdom now, you can surrender to us willingly, or we will take you as prisoners along with your rulers. Those who surrender will be given homes and a place in our kingdom. If you choose to come, a guard will escort you to your homes and allow you to pack your belongings. Guards will be sent to the homes of those not currently present. The carriages will be leaving in three hours. "