Page 1 of Darkness Rising
Chapter One
The Wild Hunt
Do you know what it’s like to be no one? A shadow among a world of darkness?
Because I do.
His teeth sink into the crisp apple and the manic way he wipes the juices away with the back of his hand makes the magic within me scurry through my veins. The animalistic behavior distracts my quiet thoughts. The simple things about him make me even more wary of my place among these three men.
If Jeriko had the opportunity to kill me, I know he would.
But what the Fae doesn’t realize is that my father will tear the life out of my soul long before anyone else gets the chance to.
I’m surrounded by death as I wait for my own.
“You gonna stare daggers at Jeriko all night, every night, Vi?” Link lowers himself to the ground, taking a seat at my side.
I pull my gaze away from Jeriko, pretending to clean the dark edge of my blade with rapt attention. A dark and glinting scar lines my knuckles. It’s the mark of the Wild Hunt.
For the last few years, I’ve just kept to myself here. I didn’t intend to, but I’ve sunken into my thoughts entirely. So much so that I’m barely a person at all anymore. Sometimes I’m so isolated in my own thoughts, I just feel empty. I wish I could I reach out to Link the way he does me, but I … don’t.
I don’t have the will to put effort into this bizarre life I live here.
My father, King Melic, sentenced me to the Wild Hunt at the age of eighteen. It’s a lonely life. And on the off chance I do get to meet new people, I kill them.
Yeah, not too many people are lining up to be my friend.
Except for Link, who can’t seem to take a hint to save his forgotten soul. He reaches out to me every night. He tries to engage me. But I just can’t find the energy to force small talk.
What’s the point?
I had a real life once; a good life. I was torn from it and hidden away. Perhaps it was because I’m too powerful, perhaps because I am hated by my father, perhaps because it was easy.
It’s astounding how easy it was for them to shut me away.
“You don’t have to ignore me. I’m one of three people who can actually see you. Would it be so bad to pass the time with a little conversation?” Link’s lavender eyes meet mine, and for a second, I consider breaking my silence. His pretty eyes are soft and kind, opposite to the hard-glaring eyes of Jeriko and Nollix. He’s wild though. Just as wild as the magic that flows through the four of us.
Magic is a dangerous thing; a deadly thing. Especially wild magic. And so, I’ll keep my silence. I’ll keep the space I’ve carefully set up between these three men and myself.
A scar that tries to consume us all slices through his lower lip. It’s black and shines with magic. It’s identical to the scar that etches across the back of my hand.
It’s just a small token of the rampant magic of the Wild Hunt.
Our fire blazes embers into the dark night sky. It warms me and makes me remember the nights I was really alive. The nights I danced in celebration at the Court of Darkness. That freeing feeling of those nights threatens to fill my chest, but I shove the memories back down and focus on the mundane task of cleaning my sword.
My fingertips begin to shimmer. A black, metallic color starts to sparkle across my hand. It looks like the scar there is breaking down my skin, flaking away like glittering dust.
My chest grows tight with a knowing sense of dread. The magic begins to eat up my flesh. My fingertips dissolve into the wind. It’s a tingling feeling like numbness is trying to settle into my veins.
“Shit, another one?” Nollix groans as he watches his hands disappear as well. His body starts to blow away like sand drifting through the breeze. Our gazes meet. My attention trails over the thin, black scar that creeps up his neck and kisses his jaw line. I have to force myself to look quickly away from him.
“Stop complaining. The chase is the best part.” Jeriko’s depthless eyes shine with gleaming excitement.
The constant maliciousness in his gaze terrifies me but I’ll never let him know that. Fear is a weakness. It’s something I’ll never show these men.
My chin rises, my jaw strung tight. Magic tears at my arms, pulling my existence away in glittering dark granules. The cool summer breeze sweeps up the sparkling particles of my life, and I watch as it dances across the full moon. The ends of my blonde hair whip across my face and I stand unflinching for what’s about to come.
The Wild Hunt has been summoned, and that can only mean one thing.
