Beauty In Darkness

20

“It wasn’t so bad. He was distant and sometimes cold, but never hurt us in any way. He was harder on me than the others, but I could take it. However, I’m beginning to realize how sheltered I was while in his castle. I can only wonder what else he hid from us about the war’s atrocities, or what other false tales he allowed to spread. You should hear what they say about you in Talador.”

“Oh, I’m well aware.” Raith’s long fingers traced the edge of his wine glass. “I don’t hold it against you. We both inherited this war from our parents. Neither one of us wanted it, and now we’re stuck with the consequences.”

“But we ended the war too.” I reached across and rested my hand on his, touching him for the first time since our wedding. His eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t pull away.

“Yes, we did. I am grateful to you for that.”

“You’re the one who came to my father, despite what he did. It must have been difficult for you to face him, knowing he was responsible for your wife’s death. I’m in awe of your bravery and dedication to your people.”

“More like desperation,” Raith said. “We could not have survived another winter at war with Talador.”

“Nor could we.” I squeezed his hand slightly. “Our kingdoms have hated each other for a long time and many terrible things were done these last few years. There is nothing we can do about that now, but perhaps our legacy will be one of peace and not war. Perhaps the next generation will grow up with our two kingdoms as allies and not enemies.”

“Perhaps,” he said, but he didn’t sound optimistic. As he slid his hand away from mine, his face darkened.

“What is it, Raith?” For once it had seemed like we were connecting, but now he had withdrawn again.

He ran a weary hand over his face. “My apologies. I’m simply tired. The last few days have been especially busy.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? Perhaps I can ease your burden in some way, or…”

He rose to his feet, leaving the rest of his food untouched. “There is nothing you can do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to tonight.”

“Tonight?” I blinked at him. “But it’s already dark.”

“Indeed, it is.” He gave me a quick nod, then turned to leave. “Good night, Rose.”

I stared at my food for another few minutes after he was gone, but my appetite had vanished. Yes, he’d joined me for supper, but I’d expected him to stay for the entire meal, at least. What could he possibly have to do now that was so important? Curiosity and annoyance spurred me to my feet, and I followed in the direction he’d gone, likely back to his study. I heard movement coming from the room and quickened my steps. Yet when I entered, he was already gone, teleporting somewhere else with only a thought.

But where?

Thirteen

Raith

I

teleported into the center of Haversham and gazed at the stone buildings in dismay as thick darkness crept over them. I’d received a report this morning that the small town was being attacked by shadows again, but it was much worse than I’d expected—or perhaps it had escalated faster than usual this time.

Thick, inky darkness swallowed one side of the town completely with long shadowy tendrils stretching out from it, roping around columns, climbing up walls, and creeping into windows. Within hours the entire town would be lost unless I did something to stop it. Unless I fought it back, as I’d done every night in various parts of my kingdom for the last two years.

I called forth runes to summon lightning and struck at the black, oozing darkness covering the buildings. The shadows shuddered and made a sound like a whine, but a few of the tendrils burned up and turned to smoke. Others retreated, reluctantly drawing back to the main body of darkness, which they were absorbed into. I struck again and again, lighting up the night until it was as bright as day. Only then did the heavy shadows begin to burn away.

And then the nightmare beasts came.

Inky black monsters from the Shadow Lands slithered, flew, crawled, and galloped through the cobblestone streets, taking on all different forms. I cast my own runes of darkness and took hold of the beasts, sending them back to their world. I called forth fire and burned them to ashes. I threw lightning until they dissolved into smoke. But they kept coming, filling the night with piercing howls as shadows curled away from their bodies, leaving a trail of darkness in their wake. One scratched ice-cold fangs against my arm while another tore at my cloak with claws coated in black tar. Each time I sent one back to the abyss, another one took its place, over and over. Until finally none stood before me.

When the town was silent and empty again, I reached out to the darkness covering the buildings, bending it to my will, forcing it to retreat. Sweat dripped down my forehead, my stomach ached with hunger, and exhaustion made my limbs weary, but I couldn’t leave until this town was safe, even if the darkness would likely return in a few days. No matter how much I fought it, or how hard I pushed it back, it always returned—and even stronger than before. With a shudder, the darkness finally relented and sank in on itself, until it was simply gone. When the town was only as dark as night, I leaned against the nearest stone wall and tried to catch my breath and steady my shaking hands. Weariness crept over me, along with a sense of hopelessness and the burden of failure, despite my small victory tonight. The town had already been evacuated, likely abandoned forever, and I couldn’t blame them. So many of my people had lost their homes and even their lives to the Shadow Lord’s assault. Villages were vanishing every day and there was little I could do to stop it.