Page 126 of Dark Bonds

Before I can explain further, a cold laugh echoes through the chamber, sending shivers down my spine. We whirl around to see Blackwood emerging from the shadows, his eyes gleaming with triumph and madness.

“Well, well.” Blackwood’s voice echoes around us. He steps out of the shadows, smirking. “Took you long enough.”

Valerie tenses beside me, her face a mask of regret and determination. “Blackwood,” she says, her voice trembling, “I helped you start this madness, but I won’t let you finish it. Some lines should never be crossed, even in the pursuit of knowledge.”

He sneers at her, his handsome features twisting into something cruel. “Oh, Valerie. Always so short-sighted. Can’t you see the potential here? With this power, we could reshape reality!”

“At what cost?” I demand, stepping forward, anger burning through my veins. “The lives you’ve ruined, the people you’ve experimented on—do they mean anything to you?”

Blackwood’s eyes flash with a pain so raw it takes me aback. “You have no idea what’s at stake,” he snarls. “I’ve seen our world crumbling, our people fading into nothing. EverythingI’ve done is to save us from extinction.” His voice drops, almost pleading. “Don’t you see? We’re dying, and this power is our only hope.”

Blackwood’s gaze locks onto mine, and I feel the weight of his madness pressing down on me. “Every great advancement requires sacrifice, Ms. Vale. I’ve simply had the courage to make the hard choices you’ve been too weak to face. Deep down, you know I’m right.”

Blackwood’s words strike like physical blows, each one finding a chink in my emotional armor. My breath catches, memories flashing before my eyes—the men I thought I’d killed, the dark satisfaction I felt at using my powers against my enemies. My shadows writhe beneath my skin, responding to my turmoil, and for a moment, I see myself reflected in Blackwood’s mad gaze.

Leo steps up beside me, his hand finding mine. His touch grounds me, a lifeline in the storm of doubt. “Don’t listen to him, Frankie. He’s just trying to get in your head. Remember that time you used your shadows to take that guy out at the bar who wouldn’t take no for an answer? That’s the real you.”

Matteo flanks my other side, his presence solid and reassuring. “We’re not like him. We’re better than that. You’ve proven it time and time again.”

Their support pushes back the doubts Blackwood tried to sow. I squeeze their hands, drawing strength from our connection.

“You’re wrong,” I tell Blackwood, my voice steady and filled with newfound conviction. “You’re wrong.” I grip Leo and Matteo’s hands tighter. “This? What we have? That’s real power, and you can’t touch it.”

As I speak, I feel a strange resonance within me, as if my words have awakened something ancient and powerful. The shadows around us shift, no longer just responding to ourcommands, but moving with a will of their own. For a moment, I swear I see a figure in the darkness, a woman with eyes like the night sky, watching us with ancient wisdom.

Blackwood’s face twists with rage, his mask of civility falling away to reveal the monster beneath. “Foolish children. If you won’t join me willingly, then I’ll take what I need by force!”

Valerie steps forward, her expression a mix of determination and regret. “Jason, please,” she pleads, using Blackwood’s first name. “This isn’t what we dreamed of. We wanted to help our people, not destroy them.” Her voice breaks, and I see a glimpse of the woman she might have been before all this. “It’s not too late to stop this.”

He raises his hands, darkness coalescing around him, a swirling maelstrom of malevolent power. The vortex behind us pulses in response, its pull growing stronger. The air seems to vibrate with power, and I can taste ozone and darkness on my tongue.

“We have to stop him!” Valerie shouts over the rising wind, her hair whipping around her face. “If he taps into that power, there’s no telling what he’ll become!”

I look at Leo and Matteo, seeing my own determination reflected in their eyes. We nod in silent agreement, once again joining hands. The connection between us flares to life, stronger than ever.

As we face down Blackwood and the swirling heart of shadow magic, I’m struck by the magnitude of the choice before us. Do we destroy this wellspring of power, potentially crippling our own abilities in the process? Or do we try to contain it, risking corruption by the very forces we’re fighting against?

The answer comes to me with startling clarity, as if whispered by Nyx. It’s not about the power itself, but how we choose to use it together, guided by trust and love rather than fear and control.

“Together,” I say, and I feel Leo’s and Matteo’s agreement pulse through our linked hands.

We step forward as one, our combined shadows rising to meet Blackwood’s onslaught. As our powers collide with his, the chamber erupts in a maelstrom of shadows. The vortex pulses, reality seeming to warp around us. In this moment, balanced on the knife’s edge between victory and oblivion, I’ve never felt more alive.

Suddenly, a deafening crack splits the air. The vortex expands explosively, tendrils of pure shadow magic lashing out in all directions. As the wave of darkness rushes toward us, I have just enough time to see Leo’s and Matteo’s eyes widen in horror before the world goes black.

The last thing I hear is Blackwood’s triumphant laugh echoing through the void.

Chapter 42

Frankie

My head’spounding like a jackhammer as I come to. Everything’s fuzzy, like I’m trying to think through static. My head throbs, each pulse a hammer strike against my temples. I blink, trying to focus, but the world remains a hazy blur of shadows and dim light.

As my vision clears, I realize I’m sprawled on a cold metal floor. My mouth tastes like I’ve been chewing on pennies, and the air is thick, making it hard to breathe—magic, definitely magic. Groaning, I push myself up on shaky arms.

As I struggle to my feet, my mind racing to make sense of our situation, one thing becomes crystal clear—we’re in deep, deep trouble.

A slow applause echoes through the chamber, the sound bouncing off the metal surfaces and multiplying until it feels like it’s coming from everywhere at once. Blackwood slinks out of the shadows, looking way too pleased with himself. Creep. The look in his eyes makes my skin crawl. He has that gleam of someone who thinks they won the lottery, but the lottery is probably world domination or something equally twisted.

---