Tempest (The Chronicles of Winterset Book 2)

by K. G. Reuss

  “Tarek,” I called out again, putting more effort into making contact.

  “Ana,” he murmured sitting forward. “Is it you?”

  Everyone continued to yell and ignore Tarek who was now leaning forward in his seat, his blue eyes keen, his lips parted as he breathed, waiting for me to make contact again. I was weak and slowly fading, but I pushed forward, trying hard to get my message to him.

  I touched him again, and he nodded, knowing it was me. I leaned in close to his ear, hoping it would aid in him hearing me.

  “Can you hear me? Simply nod if you can.”

  He nodded, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “I’m being held in a circular, stone dungeon in what I believe to be Zaro’s palace. I heard the guards talking. They’re taking me to a place called ‘The Center’ tonight. I don’t know what it is, but I’m afraid. Please, save me, Tarek. You’re the only one with knowledge of the palace and the grounds. Come alone. Don’t involve Kellin and Soran in this.”

  He nodded again.

  “Are you hurt, Ana? Has he hurt you?” he hissed, his teeth clenched.

  “So much,” I breathed out painfully.

  His knuckles turned white as he gripped his chair, a muscle working along his jaw.

  “I’ll be there soon. Be brave.”

  The connection was severed as I lost consciousness, all the energy I had left was gone.

  Chapter 52

  The scraping of the dungeon door opening made me open my eyes blearily, and I peered through the darkness trying to make out the large, black figures which moved forward.

  “I hope you’re rested up,” Zaros said, stopping in front of me and smiling. “You’re the guest of honor tonight. Unchain her.”

  The men at his side scurried forward and undid my chains. I screamed out as my arms fell limply to my sides. The pain was unbearable, and I crumpled to my knees. Zaros kicked me in the stomach, and I fell to the floor completely, whimpering.

  “Get her on her feet and take her to get cleaned up,” he spat.

  The men hoisted me up, snapped on cuffs made of a thin, black metal around my wrists, and carried me from the room. My eyes were swollen, making it difficult to see as they pulled me through the twisting corridors to another room where they dropped me unceremoniously to the floor and left.

  “Come, child,” a woman’s voice called out.

  There were hands on me, lifting me up. The rest was a blur. I was bathed, scrubbed, primped, and dressed in a black gown. The corset was so tight I could barely breathe. My cut and bruised body silently screamed in agony. Many of the deep cuts were still bleeding. My hair was left loose, the white-blonde waves falling around my body in rivers. Normally, I’d have looked at myself and smiled. Now, I only cried. Something bad was coming.

  I was thrust forward into the hands of four waiting guards who pulled me deep down into the palace where the light of day never touched. I was barely able to stand, my body so broken and bruised. The pain was more than I’d ever felt, and I’d thrown myself off a cliff before.

  The room we entered sent chills down my spine. It was the room from my visions, and I cringed as I saw a body lying below a white sheet. Men in black robes were on their knees before it, chanting. Zaros stood near the dais and smiled wickedly as I came into the room.

  “Ah, the Oracle is here,” he said, stepping forward, pulling me into the circle.

  I whimpered as he squeezed my arm painfully.

  “Do you know what we’re doing, Oracle?”

  “N-no,” I whispered.

  “No? You have Sight. How is it that you don’t know?”

  I didn’t answer him. I didn’t care. All I wanted was for Tarek to come bursting through the door to rescue me.

  “Well, perhaps you’re still weak from our visits,” Zaros mused, a wicked glint in his black eyes. “Here, let’s undo your wrists.”

  A guard stepped forward and took the black bands off my wrists. I knew they were to stop me from using my elemental powers. Not that it really mattered now. I was far too weak to conjure my own breath. “We’re here to use your Void to bring back a very special person. Aren’t you excited to see your beloved?”

  I blanched. Deep down inside I knew that was what we were doing. Calix hadn’t wanted to come back. He’d told me many times he didn’t want this. I didn’t want this for him. I missed him like crazy, but to see him the way he’d be… it would kill me. I’d rather die than bring him back into this world.

  “No,” I whispered. “No.”

  “No?” Zaros acted surprised. “I thought you loved the Mortae?”

  “I love Calix, the man, not the monster,” I whispered. “You aren’t bringing him back. You’re bringing back something dark, something to control because you’re angry and weak.”

  Zaros reached out and struck me hard across my face, making my knees buckle as I collapsed onto the cold, stone floor.

  “Let me tell you something, girl,” he reached down and wrapped his fingers around my neck, choking me.

  I rasped as he squeezed harder making black spots splinter my vision.

  “You know nothing of my anger, but you will. And by the end of it, all those you love will be begging for my mercy. I’ll make you watch as I slowly take and kill anyone you’ve ever loved. This I promise you.”

  He released me, and I coughed as tears slipped from my eyes. He walked around to the dais and pulled the sheet back enough to reveal the arm of someone—of someone I’d loved—before slitting the wrist. Thick, red blood oozed from the wound. Zaros captured it in a silver goblet. I watched in horror as he approached me with the goblet, the chanting becoming louder.

  He stood before me, slit his own wrist letting his blood run thick into the goblet. I cried out as the guards grabbed me and pinned me to the ground with Zaros looming over me. He brought his dagger down over my own wrist, and I screamed as the blade pierced my skin. He let my blood flow into the cup he held before releasing me. I whimpered as I watched him swirl all of our blood together before returning to the body on the table. He pulled the sheet down and blocked Calix from my view as he poured some of the blood into Calix’s mouth. Zaros quickly placed the sheet back over his head before taking a long dreg from the glass. When he lowered the cup, his mouth was painted red with the blood.

  I gagged and tried to crawl away, but the guards seized me again and held me. One’s hand was in my hair, forcing my head up. Another’s hand on my jaw forced it open. I struggled against them as Zaros approached me, that evil glint in his eyes, as he tipped the goblet to my lips.

  I sputtered and choked on the bitter river he poured into my mouth, the thick blood snaking its way down my throat. It was a mess, covering my face, my neck, my dress. Zaros pulled the goblet away from my mouth, and I fell forward on all fours, choking on it.

  Then it began to burn. It started in the pit of my stomach and grew to agonizing pain until I was left panting on the ground.

  “It’s working,” Zaros yelled excitedly, the Ankh of Dominus clutched in his hands now. “Open the portal.”

  I clawed at the stone floor, my nails breaking, as I fought his compulsion.

  “I command you to open the Void.” Zaros yelled, spit flying from his mouth. “Open it. Open the Void.”

  I shrieked as I clambered to my feet, no longer able to control my movements. They seemed to be on autopilot. Despite the pain inside of me, I threw my arms out, and the room began to shake. The men in robes continued to chant as a black portal opened in the center of the room. Sweat beaded from my forehead as I continued to struggle against the compulsion, as I tried to will myself to close the Void.

  Zaros began speaking in another language. The men around him chanted louder. My hands shook as I maintained the portal, my head wanting to explode. Pain flooded all of my senses.

  And then, there was a shadow. It emerged slowly from the Void, as if it was fighting an unseen force. I stared at it in awe. I knew that shadow.

  Zaros shouted
loudly, and the shadow was thrown to the body on the dais. I fell forward as the Void closed, and the shadow melded with the body below the sheet.

  “No,” I whispered as Zaros shot forward, jamming the same knife we’d been cut with into the sheet.

  There was an agonizing scream from beneath it. I stared in horror as the sheet fell from the body, and it rose to its feet.

  Calix stared down at me, his eyes no longer the beautiful brown color they’d once been. Instead, there was nothing but black eyes. Endless black.

  Chapter 53

  Calix pulled the dagger from his bare abdomen and stepped slowly toward me with a stuttering gait. I shrank back as the snake tattoo on his torso began to move, to slither, until it separated from his body and fell silently to the ground beside him. Its ruby red eyes focused on me. I remained shaking on my knees, gazing up in terror at Calix, making sure to keep the large snake in my line of vision.

  This was not the man I remembered. He was something else entirely. The darkness had taken him.

  Calix stopped just before reaching me, and I peered up at him, waiting for the pain. He reached down and pulled me to my feet and stared me in the eyes.

  “Ana,” he rasped, his face something I’d been dreaming about for months.

  My heart ached as I yearned to touch him, hug him, love him. There was a loud bang outside the room, and Zaros snapped his head in that direction as his guards went to the door. They didn’t make it there before it burst open, and Tarek came into view. He slashed at them mercilessly. They fell dead at his feet.

  “No,” Zaros shouted, rushing at Tarek who readied his sword.

  “Ana,” Calix called again, pulling my attention away from the fight at the edge of the large room. “I-I cannot control it. I cannot win. It’s too strong.”

  “Calix? Please. Fight it,” I begged him, reaching up and touching his face. “I love you, Calix. Me. Ana. Please remember us.”

  He smiled through his sadness and closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. When he opened them again, they were that beautiful shade of brown I loved so much.

  “I won’t win, Ana. I won’t. You must go. You must fight. Kill me. Please. Kill me.” He thrust the dagger into my hands, and I stared up at him, frightened. “I can only die by your will, Ana. Please. End it. End me.”

  I wrapped my hand around the hilt. His hand closed around my own, guiding the blade to the place where I’d find his heart. The wound Zaros had inflicted on his body had already healed.

  The clash of swords rang out as Zaros and Tarek fought one another. The thunder of heavy footsteps rushed toward us. More guards. We didn’t have much time. The ground shook around us, and I knew Tarek was going to tear the palace to the ground.

  I pressed the dagger to Calix’s chest, my hand shaking, but he held it firmly with his own. He helped me push the blade forward, the skin tearing as it entered him. I cried as we pushed it further into his chest.

  “Be happy for me, Ana. I want you to ... be ... ha-happy. I-I love y-you ...”

  “I love you, Calix. I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  Then his hand stopped moving. I looked up at him and saw that his eyes had changed back to black, the chocolate brown erased.

  “As am I,” he replied darkly, my Calix gone. The Mortae now standing in his place pulled the dagger from his chest.

  With lightning quick reflexes, he spun the blade around and rammed it into the center of my abdomen. I stood stunned, staring up at him, and his lips curved up into a wicked smile.

  “Do unto others before they do unto you,” he whispered, kissing me on the lips.

  I fell to my knees, and Mortae walked away. He snatched a sword and charged at Tarek. Tarek fought both Zaros and Calix while I lay on the ground bleeding.

  That hadn’t been Calix. It was the Mortae. Calix was trapped, but he lived. It was part of Zaros’s control. Either way, he’d stabbed me, and I could barely breathe. My body was in so much pain my vision was blurring. Tarek had managed to continue with his Earth ability. The stones shuddered around us. Dust fell, blanketing everything.

  I focused everything I had left and sent a massive ball of fire at Zaros and Calix. Zaros dodged it, falling to the ground, but it caught Calix full on in the chest, erupting his body in flames. He didn’t seem fazed by it. Instead, he shook the flames off like water droplets, a grin on his lips. Tarek took the opportunity to cut a portal in the center of the room while Calix recovered.

  Tarek raced to me, snatched me up in his arms, and threw us through it. Lor’Lak disappeared behind us.

  Chapter 54

  We came crashing back to the edge of the Dar’ish kingdom. The dagger was still embedded in my abdomen.

  “Ana, can you hear me?” Tarek asked frantically, shaking me gently.

  “Yes,” I wheezed out. My body was hot from the fire burning inside of me.

  “You’re hurt,” he said, wiping quickly at his damp eyes.

  Were those tears?

  “I think I’m dying,” I rasped, tasting blood on my tongue.

  “I won’t let you,” Tarek proclaimed, scooping me up into his arms and running to the castle.

  When we weren’t running, we were leaping through shadows, the blackness blurring past us. He was fast. I was surprised at his speed as we raced to the gates of Dar’ish. It opened immediately, and we charged through into the main hall of the palace where Soran and my father met us.

  “Tarek. Where have you been?” Soran demanded, storming to us. “We’ve been working on plans to invade—” He stopped short when he saw Tarek cradling me in his arms. Both he and my father rushed forward.

  “How?” my father asked, choking on a sob. “How did you retrieve her?”

  “It isn’t important,” Tarek said quickly. “She’s been wounded. We need Gregor. Now.”

  “Come, this way,” Soran yelled.

  We rushed up the stairs to Gregor’s quarters where Soran pounded on the door mercilessly until Gregor answered. He quickly ushered us in, and Tarek placed me down gently on the bed.

  “Princess,” Gregor called out to me. “I have to remove this blade. It’s going to hurt. It’s quite deep and isn’t a normal blade. Do you understand? It’s a Shadow Blade. A cursed blade. I’m not entirely sure you’ll heal. This is going to be dangerous.”

  I nodded, wincing as the burning continued throughout my body.

  “Get cool rags,” Gregor commanded.

  Soran quickly got the items he asked for and stood over me, his face a mask of misery.

  “I need you all to leave the room. This may not go well, and I don’t wish for you to see the outcome,” Gregor explained quietly.

  “I’m not leaving—” Soran snapped.

  “Please,” I whimpered. “Go. Please.”

  Soran hesitated, agony on his face before he walked from the room with my father who’d been silently watching, tears in his blue eyes.

  “Tarek,” Gregor called. “You must stay.”

  Soran cast a quick glance back at him before leaving the room.

  “Ana can only be healed by the blood of shadow,” Gregor said in a hurried whisper, placing a cool rag on my head. “The blood of a Shadowmoore.”

  Tarek set his mouth in a firm line and nodded.

  “When this dagger comes out of her, I need you to provide me with your blood. Willingly. Cut yourself with the dagger and place your wound over hers. Do you understand?”

  Tarek nodded again, his eyes focused on mine.

  “Be brave, Princess,” Gregor murmured. “This is going to hurt.” And he wasn’t lying.

  My body trembled as the knife was removed from me. I screamed so loud and long that my voice faded to a silent shriek. I caught a glimpse of the black, smoking blade. The pain intensified.

  Tarek cut his palm quickly and pressed the bloody mess to my wound. My body arched beneath his touch. A whirl of images painted my mind. Things I couldn’t comprehend right then but would eventually. The pain slowly subsided, and I was a
ble to breathe again. There was a warmness around my wound, and I knew it wasn’t just from Tarek’s blood. Something was happening between us. Something had happened. That something felt a little bit like hope.

  He smiled sadly down at me, brushing my damp hair away from my face with his other hand.

  “You’re a mess,” he whispered in a shaky voice.

  “I know who you are,” I answered softly.

  He nodded, seeing the truth in my eyes. “I’m the one with the answers. Maybe the only way you can save us all. Even Calix. But it won’t be an easy or painless path. Does that scare you, Ana?” he asked just as quietly.

  I swallowed hard, knowing fear had taken a backseat a long time ago. Now, all that mattered was power. Survival. And the ends I’d go to in order to get both. What I was willing to endure to save those I loved. “Are you?” I finally asked.

  His eyes changed colors quickly, from blue to a dark, chocolate brown. The eyes of the King of Ascaria stared out at me. Tarek was Xalvador Shadowmoore, Calix’s older brother, the man who everyone thought was dead. The man I’d been promised to. The one I was supposed to marry. The brother of the one who owned my heart.

  Chapter 55

  Tarek stayed by my side. I didn’t think I could’ve had him removed by any means.

  “Ana,” Kellin’s voice called out to me, pulling me from a deep slumber.

  I gazed bleary eyed at him

  “Kellin,” I rasped.

  “H-how are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Kellin asked, glancing at Tarek who stood in the corner of the room watching the exchange.

  Tarek hadn’t left my side yet. The man, who not that long ago wanted me dead, who’d even admitted to sending Shades after me in the Earth Realm, was now my ally. Everything about his change of heart was still unclear, but I knew he’d explain it to me eventually.

  I turned my gaze from Tarek back to Kellin. “No,” I whispered, licking my lips. “I’m fine.”