Page 46 of Detonation
She’s dressed in loose, hanging white pants and a long-sleeved shirt, her gray hair sitting on the top of her head in a messy bun. A large black stone sits in the middle of her chest, hanging from a black thread around her neck.
As we approach, she turns to greet us. "Hello. I hear you are the mates of the fae queen."
My thoughts stutter as my eyes catch hers—the milky white orbs bring to mind the characters from Zedd’s beloved fantasy series that he used to rave about. I chuckle to myself, thinking of telling him that I met the prophet from the dragon books he spoke so highly of.
Shit, could dragons be real?
Leo introduces us. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Leo and this is Hale.”
I move to shake her offered hand as she responds, “My name is Elizabeth.”
Serenity moves to speak with Elizabeth but silence descends on our group as our prisoner whispers, "Ah, the one who has been touched by his shadows is here."
Chills spread over my skin at the words.
We all turn to face her, stunned that she’s talking without coercion. Her black eyes are fixated on me and everyone follows her gaze to me, a quiet suspicion in Serenity’s eyes.
Touched by his shadows?My mind flashes back to the shadow man holding me down and the voices in my head.
Serenity leaps into action, rounding on the prisoner. "Whose shadows? Whose orders are you following?"
The dark witch’s eyes never leave mine. "I will only speak with you."
You've got to be fucking kidding me. I'm theoneperson here whodidn’twant to actively participate.
Leo chuckles at my side. "We're screwed."
I whisper harshly to him, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Elizabeth reaches her hand out to me. "Let us move forward to converse with her, okay?"
She doesn't seem to have ill intentions so I take her small hand and we approach the barrier between the cell and us. A soft pat turns my attention down to her.
“I am a spirit guide,” she says, “And I can use a connection between you both, if there is one in the darkness."
I swallow hard, before looking at the witch, parroting Serenity's words, "Whose orders are you following?"
A spine-chilling smile crosses her face as she pushes from the floor, creeping as close to us as her chains will allow. She cocks her head, inspecting me. "Do you feel the darkness breathing down your neck when you sleep at night? That's how it begins. That’s how you know he is near."
Goosebumps spread up my neck at her words. "How I know who is near?"
She ignores me, continuing her mad rant, "The next step is the paralyzing fear you'll feel at night as you come to realize that you're helpless to his whims. He is everywhere."
Is she talking about Anshar? Just how far is his reach?
Elizabeth whispers from my side. "She is fearful of whoever she's speaking of. It's rolling off of her in waves."
"Is he forcing you to do his bidding? Can we help you?"
A sharp, harsh laugh comes from her before she fixates on me once more. "Now that you've been shadowkissed, there is no escaping it. It is only a matter of time until he comes. You'll be one of us."
I try not to let her ominous words throw me off but something inside me twists and I falter in my interrogation. "One ... one of who? How many of you are there?"
"For every queen in the realm, there is one of us to oppose them. We were created for this sole purpose..." She trails off, seemingly talking to herself. "You won't be used as the opposer in the fae realm though because Anshar is already holding that title.” She muses, “I wonder what he has planned for you then.”
Pouncing on this information, I ask, "Who is controlling all of you? What does he want?"
She scrutinizes me before conceding. "I suppose you should know who your god will be. He’s born from the void of chaos, the personification of darkness—Erebus."
