Chapter 5: The First Fracture
1208 Words
The ride back from the Seer’s cave was quiet. The only sound was the heavy thud of the horse’s hooves on the damp dirt. I sat in front of Kael, my back pressed against his chest. Usually, I would have fought him, but I felt too empty to move. My hand, where Martha had cut me, was wrapped in a piece of cloth, but it still throbbed.
One twin must fall for the other to rise.
The words kept looping in my head. I thought about Orion. I thought about how he used to share his bread with me when we were kids, and how he always stood in front of me when Magnus was angry. If the prophecy was true, then my very existence was a threat to him.
"Don't listen to everything she says," Kael said suddenly. His voice was low and gravelly, vibrating against my spine.
"She saw my blood, Kael. It was black," I said. "You saw it too."
"Blood is just blood," he muttered, but his arms tightened around me.
I noticed his breathing was getting heavy. It wasn't the breathing of someone who was tired. it was jagged. I could feel his heart racing through his shirt, hitting my back like a drum. He was starting to sweat, even though the evening air was cool.
When we finally reached the pack house, Kael didn't wait for the stable boy. He jumped off the horse and pulled me down roughly. His face was pale, and his jaw was locked so tight the muscles in his neck were bulging.
"Go to the room," he rasped. "Now, Elara."
"What’s wrong with you?" I asked. I saw his eyes flicker. The grey was disappearing, replaced by a dark, swirling blackness. It looked like the energy that had come out of me in the dining hall.
"Just go!" he roared.
He didn't wait for me. He turned and ran toward the stairs, his movements jerky and strange. He looked like he was struggling to keep his own legs moving. I stood in the courtyard for a minute, watching him go. I should have been happy. I should have hoped he was dying. If he died, maybe the bond would break and I could take Orion and run.
But as he disappeared inside, a sharp pull ignited in my chest. It was the bond. It wasn't a physical pain, but a desperate, frantic need to be near him. It felt like a hook was buried in my heart, dragging me toward the stairs.
"I hate him," I whispered to myself. "I hate him."
But my feet were already moving. I walked up the stairs, my heart in my throat. I reached the large oak doors of his suite and heard a sound that made me stop. It was a groan, mixed with a wet, cracking noise. It sounded like bones breaking and re-setting.
I pushed the door open. The room was a mess. A chair had been tossed across the floor, and the silk sheets were torn. Kael was on his knees by the bed. His shirt was ripped down the back, and I could see his spine shifting under his skin. His fingers were digging into the wood of the bedframe, leaving deep gouges.
"Kael?" I called out.
"Get... out..." he wheezed. He turned his head slightly. His eyes were completely black now. No white, no grey. Just soulless holes. "The curse... it's taking over. I can't... stop him."
He let out a scream that turned into a wolf's howl halfway through. It was the sound of a man being eaten from the inside out.
I should have run. This was my chance to let the curse finish him. But the bond was screaming at me to help him. Before I could think, I walked over to him. I knelt in the wreckage of the room and reached out.
"Don't touch me," he growled, his voice sounding more like a beast than a man. "I'll kill you."
"Shut up, Kael," I said. I was scared, but I was angry too.
I placed my hand on his bare shoulder. The moment my skin touched his, the coldness in my chest surged. That dark, oily energy didn't explode this time. Instead, it flowed out of my palm and into his skin. It looked like black smoke sinking into his pores.
Kael gasped. His body went rigid, and then he slumped forward, his head resting against my shoulder. The cracking sounds stopped. I could feel the heat of his body, the sweat soaking into my red dress.
Slowly, the blackness in his eyes began to recede. The grey came back, cloudy and unfocused. He breathed in deeply, his forehead resting against my neck. We stayed like that for a long time, sitting on the floor in the dark.
"You're the only thing that stops it," he whispered. His voice was exhausted.
"I’m the Shadow," I reminded him. "I’m supposed to destroy things."
"Maybe," he said. He sat up slowly, his hands moving to my waist. "But you’re the only thing that keeps the monster quiet."
He looked at me then, and the look in his eyes wasn't ruthless. It was something else. It was a look that made my stomach flip in a way that had nothing to do with fear. He reached up, his thumb brushing a stray hair away from my face.
I should have pulled away. I should have spat in his face. But I didn't. I stayed there, trapped in his gaze.
Suddenly, he moved. He stood up, pulling me with him, and pinned me against the heavy bedroom door. His body was hot and solid against mine. He leaned down, his mouth inches from my ear. I could feel his fangs grazing my skin, a sharp sting that made my breath catch.
"You think Magnus is your savior, don't you?" he rasped. His hand moved to the back of my neck, holding me steady. "You think I'm the villain. But Magnus was killing you, Elara. He was draining your life to feed that relic for years. I didn't burn your pack to ruin you. I did it to steal you back before he could finish what he started."
My head was spinning. "You're lying. You just want me to love you so you don't die."
"I don't care about the death," he whispered, his lips brushing my jaw. "I care about you."
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to tell him he was a liar. But before I could open my mouth, a voice echoed from the hallway outside the door.
"Elara? Are you in there?"
I froze. It was Orion. But it didn't sound like my brother. His voice wasn't warm or kind. It was cold. It sounded sharp, like a knife scraping over ice.
"Elara, open the door," the voice said. "I know he’s in there with you. I know what you're doing."
Kael’s eyes narrowed, and he didn't let go of me.
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