Chapter 14 Into Shadows
The rogues gave chase. I heard them behind us. Snarling. Laughing. The sound wrong and broken.
Kael pulled me left. Right. Through trees and over roots that tried to trip me. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. But I kept moving because stopping meant dying.
An arrow whistled past my head. Embedded in a tree.
Not rogues. The palace guards had found us too.
"This way!" A voice called from ahead. Male. Young. Familiar somehow.
A figure appeared holding a torch. Dark hair. Rough clothes. Sharp eyes that assessed us in seconds.
"Follow me if you want to live," he said.
We followed. Because the alternative was dying in these woods.
He led us through a section of forest that felt different. Protected. Warded. The rogues stopped at some invisible line and howled their frustration.
The guards did not follow either. Smart enough to know they were outnumbered here.
We stopped in a clearing. Tents. Fires. People moving between them. Not vampires. Not all of them. I saw humans. Half-bloods. Others I could not identify.
The rebel camp.
Our guide turned. His face became clear in the firelight.
Rowan Cross. The half-blood resistance leader. I recognized him from whispers and stories.
He looked at Kael. Then at me. Smiled slow and dangerous.
"Well. This is interesting. The Blood King running into my arms." He stepped closer. "What is wrong, Your Majesty? Palace too dangerous?"
"I need sanctuary," Kael said flatly. "For myself and my bond."
"Your bond." Rowan's eyes locked on me. "The half-blood everyone is talking about. Sera, right?"
"Yes."
"You know what you are? What bloodline you carry?"
"Shadowborn."
"And you bonded with the king who destroyed your family?" Rowan laughed. Cold. Sharp. "Fate has a sick sense of humor."
"We need shelter," I cut in. "We have palace guards hunting us. Rogues circling. And a traitor who wants us dead."
"What makes you think I want to help the king who has spent decades hunting my people?" Rowan crossed his arms. "Give me one good reason."
"Because I am trying to change things," Kael said. "Because she changes things. And because if we die, nothing changes. The old system continues. Your people keep hiding. Keep dying."
Rowan studied us. Long enough that my skin started crawling.
"Fine. You can stay. For now." He gestured to a tent. "That one is empty. You get one night to rest. Then we talk about what comes next." He looked at me again. "And you and I need to have a conversation about that prophecy. Because I know things about it you do not."
He walked away.
Kael grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the tent. Inside was basic. Bedroll. Supplies. Better than the forest but not by much.
He sealed the tent flap and turned to me.
"That was close."
"Too close." I sank onto the bedroll. "Theron sent guards. Knew where we would run."
"He knows me too well. Knows how I think." Kael sat beside me. "We cannot stay here long. Even with Rowan's protection."
"So what do we do?"
"We figure out who else Theron has working with him. Who else wants you dead. Then we go back and burn them all." His hand cupped my face. "But tonight we rest. Tomorrow we plan."
He pulled me down beside him on the bedroll. His arms came around me. Cold and solid.
"Kael?"
"Sleep, Sera. I will keep watch."
"You need sleep too."
"Vampires do not need sleep the way humans do. I will be fine."
I wanted to argue. But exhaustion crashed over me like a wave. Running. Fighting. Nearly dying. It all caught up at once.
I closed my eyes.
Sleep took me fast.
I dreamed of blood and prophecy and a voice that sounded like my mother.
"The bond is not the ending. It is the beginning. What comes next will break you both. But breaking is how light gets in."
I woke to shouting outside.
Kael was already up. Already armed. His face was stone.
"What is happening?"
"Theron found us." He looked at me. "He is here. At the camp border. Demanding we come out. Says if we do not, he will burn the forest and everyone in it."
My blood froze. "He would not—"
"He would. I trained him. Made him into what he is." Kael's voice was hollow. "And now he is using my lessons to hunt us."
He moved toward the tent opening. I grabbed his arm.
"You cannot go out there. It is a trap."
"I know. But he will kill everyone here if I do not face him."
"Then we face him together."
"Sera—"
"Together." I pulled on my boots. "You said I am your queen. Queens do not hide while their people burn."
Something flickered in his eyes. Pride maybe. Or fear.
"Together," he agreed.
We stepped out of the tent into chaos.
The camp was arming up. Half-bloods grabbing weapons. Humans dousing fires. Rowan standing at the center barking orders.
"He is bluffing," Rowan said when he saw us. "Theron would not—"
An arrow hit the ground at his feet. Burning. The grass around it caught fire.
"Come out, Draeven!" Theron's voice echoed from the trees. "Or I start killing rebels. One every minute until you show yourself."
Kael walked toward the edge of camp. Toward where Theron's voice came from.
I followed. So did Rowan. So did a dozen others.
We stopped at the ward line.
Theron stood twenty feet away. He was not alone. At least thirty vampires stood with him. Palace guards. Nobles. Others I did not recognize.
His amber eyes locked on Kael. "You should have killed me when you had the chance."
"You were my brother," Kael said quietly.
"And you were my king. Until she corrupted you." Theron pointed at me. "The Shadowborn witch. The doom the prophecy spoke of. I tried to warn you. Tried to make you see. But the bond blinded you."
"The bond saved me."
"The bond damned you." Theron drew his sword. "Last chance. Give her to me. I will make it quick. Painless. Then you can rule again. Free of the curse. Free of the corruption."
"No."
"Then you both die tonight."
Theron raised his hand. The vampires behind him moved forward.
The wards flared. Held. But I could see them flickering. Weakening.
"The wards will not hold long," Rowan muttered. "Not against that many."
"How long?" Kael asked.
"Minutes. Maybe less."
Kael turned to me. His eyes were black. Determined.
"When the wards break, you run. Rowan will take you deeper into the Shadowlands. Hide you where Theron cannot find you."
"I am not leaving you."
"You are if I order it."
"I do not follow your orders. Remember?"
He grabbed my face. Kissed me hard. "Stubborn woman."
"Cursed king."
The wards shattered.
And all hell broke loose. And if he died, I would follow.
Theron's vampires crashed into the camp like a wave of death.
Steel met steel. Screams tore through the night. Fire spread from tent to tent as someone knocked over a torch. The smell of blood saturated everything.
Kael was already moving. His sword found throats. Hearts. Heads. Efficient. Brutal. A king who had spent centuries perfecting the art of killing.
I grabbed a blade from a fallen rebel. Had no idea how to use it properly but desperation made up for skill.
A palace guard came at me. Fast. Fangs out. I dodged left like Theron taught me. Brought the blade up. Felt it sink into flesh.
He screamed. I twisted. He dropped.
First kill. Should have felt worse. Should have made me sick.
Instead I just felt cold.
"Sera!" Rowan appeared beside me. "Stay close to me. These are trained soldiers. You are not ready—"
A vampire tackled him from behind. They went down in a tangle of limbs and violence.
I spun. Another guard coming at me. Too fast. I would not dodge in time.
Shadow exploded from my hands. Black and red. Living darkness that wrapped around the guard and squeezed. He choked. Clawed at nothing. Then went still.
Dead. I killed him with shadows.
The power hummed under my skin. Hungry. Wanting more.
"Embrace it!" Rowan shouted from the ground. He had broken his attacker's neck. "Your Shadowborn magic. Use it!"
I did not know how. Did not understand what I was doing. But the power responded anyway.
It poured out of me. Shadows that moved like serpents. That wrapped around enemy vampires and held them while rebels cut them down.
Across the clearing, Kael was cutting through guards like they were nothing. His eyes were pure void. No red. No white. Just black emptiness that promised death.
Then Theron was there.