Page 65 of Cry of Blood and Joy
Hating myself with every fiber of my being, I drew on the power that had been dormant since the iron bracelets were removed. The familiar sensation ignited within my chest like cold fire, spreading through my veins with electric intensity. Tingles pulsed through my entire body, racing down my arms and concentrating in my fingertips until they felt like they were buzzing with energy.
Around us, the shadows cast by the towering cypress trees and tangled bayou undergrowth responded to my call. They moved with unnatural fluidity, growing longer and thinner, stretching across the marshy ground like dark fingers reaching for their targets. The very air seemed to grow colder as my power awakened fully, and my breath formed small puffs of vapor in the suddenly frigid atmosphere.
Tears slipped down my cheeks in hot tracks. “Bind them,” I whispered. My cheeks heated with shame.
Gunnar’s head snapped up, his blue eyes suddenly alert. His entire posture shifted into a predatory crouch, centuries of survival instincts screaming warnings that came a heartbeat too late. “Ebony, get back?—“
But my shadows were already moving. They burst from my fingertips like living smoke, dark tendrils racing through the humid air with serpentine grace. Simultaneously, more shadows erupted from the boggy ground beneath their feet, rising like black vines to wrap around their legs with constricting force.
The shadow-bonds moved with my will, coiling around Gunnar and Ebony’s limbs like living restraints. I watched in horror as the dark magic I’d been born with—power that should have been used to protect the innocent—instead became the instrument of their capture.
Gunnar’s eyes met mine across the distance, but he realized too late what was happening. Not anger, but something far worse—disappointment. He knew I was being coerced, knew this wasn’t my choice, but that knowledge couldn’t change the reality of the shadows tightening around them both.
The sound of their struggle was minimal—just the soft rustle of clothing and the wet squelch of feet shifting in the marshy ground. But their power was immense, and I had to pour more and more of my energy into the bindings to keep them contained.
My knees buckled slightly as the effort drained me, but Ari’s grip kept me upright, his fingers digging into my waist with bruising force.
“Well done,” he purred in Dimitri’s voice, the words making my stomach turn with revulsion.
Ari’s stolen features began to shift and melt like wax under intense heat, Dimitri’s handsome face dissolving and reforming with wet, organic sounds that made my stomach lurch. Bones cracked and reshaped themselves as his jaw narrowed, his skin lightened to pale perfection, and his dark hair lightened to flowing blond locks that caught the morning sunlight.
Within seconds, his true face emerged—devastatingly handsome with angular, aristocratic features and piercing blue eyes that seemed to dissect everything they saw.
But his beauty was the kind that belonged on fallen angels—perfect and terrible. There was no warmth in those blue eyes, no humanity in that flawless face, only predatory intelligence and ancient malice.
Terror filled Gunnar and Ebony’s blue eyes as recognition dawned and blood drained from their faces.
Bile burned in my gut, and I had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting right there in the marshy ground. The taste of betrayal burned my throat with the overwhelming remorse that threatened to consume me whole.
“Ari, you did it!” Marsha’s voice rang out with triumphant glee as she rushed outside, her heels clicking against the wooden steps. Her face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes glittered with the kind of satisfaction that came from witnessing others’ suffering.
“Of course I did,” Ari replied with casual arrogance. He motioned toward the waiting guards with an imperious gesture. “Bring them inside. Carefully. I need them conscious for what comes next.”
“What are you going to do to them?” I stared in horror at the two royal figures bound by my own darkness.
Ari’s perfect lips curved into a smile that belonged on a Renaissance painting of a beautiful devil, cold and terrible in its flawless symmetry. His blue eyes gleamed with anticipation as he watched Ebony struggle against my shadow-bonds, her regal composure cracking under the strain of supernatural restraint. “Move the shadows on Ebony so we can properly bind her wrists,” he commanded with casual authority, as if he were discussing what to order at a restaurant rather than orchestrating the imprisonment of demon royalty.
My shame was like a punch to the gut, and I doubled over slightly. “Show her wrists,” I said, as hot tears burned tracks down my cheeks. Each word felt like swallowing broken glass.
I moved my trembling hand in a subtle gesture, and the shadows responded to my will like obedient serpents. They parted around Ebony’s wrists, the dark tendrils pulling back to expose her pale flesh to the humid morning air. The moment her hands were visible, Marsha pounced with predatory efficiency.
The silver bracelets clamped around Ebony’s wrists with loud clicks, sounding like snapping branches. The moment the cursed metal touched her skin, I saw her face contort with pain, the same burning agony I knew all too well. A soft hiss escaped her lips—the only sound of distress she allowed herself to make.
“Chain her up,” Marsha commanded as she stood, brushing dirt from her knees with satisfied movements.
The guards moved with practiced brutality, their thick hands grabbing Ebony under her arms and dragging her across the uneven ground toward the stone pillar where Valentin was now fully conscious and struggling desperately against his own restraints. His dark hair was matted with sweat and blood, and his eyes blazed with fury as he watched his captors manhandle the demon queen. He was gagged and unable to speak.
The sound of chains rattling filled the humid air as they hoisted Ebony’s arms above her head, securing her wrists to iron loops embedded in the ancient stone. Her long white hair fell around her face, but it couldn’t hide the pain and rage burning in her ancient blue eyes.
Once she was properly secured, Ari turned to me with that same beautiful, terrible smile. “You can release her now, my dear. Your shadows have served their purpose beautifully.”
My hand trembled as I motioned with my wrist, the gesture feeling like signing someone’s death warrant. The shadows responded immediately to my unspoken command, uncoilingfrom around Ebony’s body like smoke dissipating in the wind. They flowed back toward me with fluid grace, merging with the natural shadows cast by the surrounding trees until it was impossible to tell where my magic ended and ordinary darkness began.
The moment my power released her, Ebony’s full weight settled against the chains with a soft clink of metal against stone. She was now completely at their mercy, and it was entirely my fault.
Guilt threatened to destroy me, but I couldn’t give up. I had to discover a way to free all of us. Wait for a time when Marsha and Ari weren’t watching.
Ebony took a deep, steadying breath, her chest rising and falling as she fought to maintain her regal composure. “Ari, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
