Chapter 2
667 Words
The voice in my head disappeared as quickly as it had come.
One second, it was there.
Finally.
The next, there was nothing except rain, adrenaline, and the overwhelming urge to run.
So I did.
I turned and sprinted.
I didn't care that my ribs hurt. I didn't care that my hands were still stained with Natasha Volkov's blood. I didn't care that four men who looked like they had stepped out of a nightmare had just appeared in an alley and called me their queen.
I ran.
My boots pounded against wet pavement. The city blurred around me—neon signs, puddles reflecting streetlights, distant sirens.
No footsteps followed.
That was worse.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The alley was empty.
Impossible.
They'd been there.
I knew they'd been there.
I cut across an intersection, ignoring the blast of a taxi horn. My lungs burned. My heart hammered.
Then a voice spoke beside me.
"You're fast."
I screamed.
A man walked beside me as casually as if we'd been taking an evening stroll.
Dark hair plastered against his forehead from the rain. Black coat. Black boots. A smile that made every survival instinct in my body light up like a Christmas tree.
The fourth man.
The one who'd smiled.
"What the—"
I stumbled to a stop.
He stopped too.
"Ronan," he said pleasantly. "Since we're apparently introducing ourselves tonight."
I backed away.
"You weren't there."
"I was."
"No, I looked."
He shrugged.
"You humans rarely see what doesn't want to be seen."
The word humans hit me harder than anything else.
"I'm human."
He tilted his head.
"That's adorable."
Rage flared through the panic.
"I don't know who you are, but if this is some kind of joke—"
"You killed a ghoul with your bare hands fifteen minutes ago."
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because I didn't know how to respond to that.
A siren wailed in the distance.
Ronan's expression changed.
Not much.
Just enough.
"We need to leave."
"No."
"Yes."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
He sighed dramatically.
"Look, Aria, under normal circumstances I'd respect your autonomy. Unfortunately, the creature you killed worked for people who are currently deciding whether to capture you, worship you, or tear you into tiny little pieces."
The rain suddenly felt much colder.
"What creature?"
"The one pretending to be your opponent."
I stared at him.
"Natasha was a person."
Ronan's eyes held mine.
"No."
The certainty in his voice terrified me.
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
The city lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then they went out.
Not just the streetlights.
Everything.
The buildings.
The signs.
The traffic signals.
The entire block plunged into darkness.
For one impossible second, there was silence.
Then came the screaming.
Not human screaming.
Something else.
Something hungry.
Ronan muttered a curse.
"Well," he said quietly, "that's significantly ahead of schedule."
A growl echoed through the darkness.
Deep.
Wet.
Close.
My body froze.
Not from fear.
Recognition.
I knew that sound.
Not because I'd heard it before.
Because some part of me had always known it.
A pair of eyes opened in the darkness ahead.
Then another.
And another.
Dozens.
Glowing silver.
Watching.
Waiting.
"Aria." Ronan's voice had lost all of its humor. "Whatever happens next, don't let them touch you."
My pulse thundered.
"Who are they?"
He looked at me.
For the first time since we'd met, he looked genuinely afraid.
"Your subjects."
The eyes moved.
And they were coming.
Something inside me broke.
Or woke.
I didn't know which.
The world slowed.
The rain stopped falling.
No.
Not stopped.
It hung in the air.
Every droplet.
Every breath.
Every heartbeat.
The silver eyes halted.
The creatures froze.
The entire world froze.
And somewhere deep inside me, in a place older than memory, a woman wearing a crown of black stars smiled.
When I spoke, the voice that came out wasn't entirely mine.
"Kneel."
Every creature in the darkness dropped to its knees.
Including Ronan.
- Writer
