Chapter 22
Chapter 22
The light didn’t fade, it pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it sank back into the pendant-and into me.
I dropped to all fours, gasping. My hands shook. The mark on my palm burned red hot, like it was being carved into me from the inside out.
Zane rushed to my side. “Alice-stay with me. Talk to me.”
“I can’t-” My voice cracked. “Something’s… moving. Inside me.’
He held my shoulder. “Breathe.”
But I couldn’t.
Not when I could feel something crawling up from the deepest part of me like roots through stone. It wasn’t rage or fear.
It was something strong, somethings I couldn’t control.
‘I see them,” I whispered.
Zane blinked. “What?”
‘My mother. Helena. They’re standing in fire-no, in light. They’re smiling. And someone’s behinc hem. A woman with eyes like-”
paused, my eyes widened, because I realized who it was.
t was me.
The version of me I hadn’t become yet. The one the prophecy feared.
The one they tried to bury.
The one that had just woken up.
‘I need to leave,” I said suddenly, my voice lower. “Now.”
Zane tried to stop me. “You’re not ready-”
wasn’t ready when they set me on fire. I wasn’t ready when they threw me out. And I still survived. So don’t tell me I’m not ready now.”
He stared at me, stunned.
stood, my shoulders squared. My eyes felt… different. I could hear farther, feel more.
‘You saw the light,” I said. “They saw it too. The Shadowborn.”
Zane nodded slowly. “It’ll spread through the entire region within hours.”
“Good.” I tightened the cloak around me. “Let them come.”
“Alice,” Zane said, stepping in front of me. “You can’t just walk into war without a plan.”
I met his gaze. “I’m not walking into war.”
He frowned. “Then where are you going?”
1/4
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4:17 pm & D&D
I turned, staring toward the dark line of the forest.
“To make sure I’m not the only one who wakes up.”
I moved through the woods like I’d always belonged there. The trees didn’t feel like strangers anymore. The cold didn’t bite the same way.
I wasn’t running from the Shadowborn now.
I was heading toward them.
I didn’t have all the answers. I didn’t know what this mark on my hand meant, or how far the prophecy would go.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn’t going to die for someone else’s story.
I was going to write my own.
The closer I got to the Shadowborn’s territory, the colder the world became.
But I kept going.
I didn’t know if I’d find answers, revenge, or death. All I knew was I couldn’t hide anymore.
And then I saw it. Hooded figures pacing like vultures. And in the center, chained to a broker column, bleeding and barely conscious-
Kael.
I stopped breathing.
He was slumped forward, one eye swollen shut. His coat had been ripped off, and his chest was marked with fresh lashes. Blood ran from his mouth.
A tall man in black and silver robes, his hair white as ash, his eyes cold as ice. He moved like a storm barely restrained.
“You disgrace,” the man spat. “A child of my blood reduced to guarding a traitor.”
My blood turned to ice.
Child?
“Did you think hiding among rogues would erase who you are?” the man continued, circling him. “Did you think sleeping beside the cursed girl would make you anything other than my failure?”
Kael didn’t lift his head. But his fingers curled weakly into fists.
“I should’ve strangled you when you were born.”
The others laughed.
I stepped forward, fury rising. But I froze as Kael’s lips moved.
“Say what you want,” he whispered. “At least I have something worth protecting.”
The man struck him hard. Kael’s head snapped sideways.
“YOU protect? You shame us.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Kael!” I screamed.
Dozens of heads turned. Every hood snapped in my direction.
Kael’s eyes flew open.
“No,” he croaked. “Alice. Run. Get out of here!”
But I wasn’t moving.
I was shaking, with rage.
“You,” the leader said, turning toward me. “You have finally come to where you belong.”
I walked forward.
“You hurt him,” I said, my voice low. “You tied him like an animal. You called him your son, ther
beat him like trash.”
The man sneered. “He chose weakness.”
I stopped five feet away, looking at Kael. His eyes begged me to leave.
But I didn’t move.
“I’m going to untie him,” I said, “and then I’m going to destroy every one of you.”
They laughed.
Until heat burst from my skin. The pendant around my neck glowed blinding white, and the mark on my hand flared.
Shadowborn warriors moved.
I growled loudly, hitting my leg on the ground. The force made them scattered.
I threw the next one across the clearing. Another flew into a tree. One lunged at me and I spun slamming him to the dirt with a force that shattered the ground.
Kael was staring at me like he didn’t recognize me.
I don’t know what was happening but this power in me was overwhelming.
They kept coming and I kept throwing them back until I reached the altar.
Two guards blocked me. My claws came out and I slashed through them. I stood fiercely as they fell on either sides.
Kael groaned as I knelt beside him.
“Hey,” I whispered, cradling his bruised face. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
He tried to speak, but coughed instead. Blood dripped from his lips.
“I’m getting you out,” I said.
And that’s when it happened.
Kael’s eyes widened at the same moment mine did.
“You feel that?” I whispered.
He nodded once, his breath shallow.
“I thought I didn’t have one,” he said weakly. “I thought I lost
I brushed the hair from his bloodied brow.
“You didn’t,” I whispered. “You just haven’t found me yet.”
He blinked. “You’re my-”
my
chance.”
4:18 pm &
“Second chance mate,” I finished.
Tears slid down my cheeks.
I didn’t even know I had any left.
