Chapter 6: THE DEADLY KISS

Kael’s lips pressed against mine just as the roof of the cave came crashing down.

The kiss wasn't sweet. It wasn't romantic. It felt like a bolt of lightning hitting my soul. I tried to push him away, but his grip on my wrists was like steel. The black veins on his chest flared with a blinding purple light.

"Take it," the Shadow God whispered in my mind. If you don't take the poison out of him now, it will explode and kill you both.

I stopped fighting. I closed my eyes and pulled.

The dark energy inside Kael flowed into my mouth like cold smoke. It tasted like blood and old copper. My body began to shake. My heart beat so hard I thought it would crack my ribs. But as I drained the curse, Kael’s body finally relaxed. The violet fire in his eyes dimmed, and he slumped against me, his head falling onto my shoulder.

"Aria..." he breathed, his voice finally sounding human again. "What... what have we done?"

I didn't have time to answer.

"Fire!" the Inquisitor roared from above.

A massive beam of white light shot down from the stone giant’s hand. It hit the floor of the cave right next to us, blowing the ground apart. Dust and sharp rocks flew everywhere.

I grabbed Kael’s hand and rolled us behind a large boulder just before the next blast hit. My chest was burning. The power I had just taken from Kael was too much. It was fighting the power I already had. I felt like I was going to burst.

"You can't hide forever, Princess!" the Inquisitor shouted. He stood at the edge of the broken roof, looking down at us with a cruel smile. "The King wants your head on a pike by morning. And Kael? The kingdom has already forgotten you. You're just a traitor’s dog now!"

Kael looked at his hands. They were shaking. "He’s right. I lost everything. My honor, my home... you."

"Then get angry, Kael!" I hissed, grabbing him by the collar. "Don't sit there and wait to die. If they want us to be monsters, let’s show them what a monster looks like!"

I stood up, stepping out from behind the rock. I didn't hide my face anymore. The black smoke around me grew until it filled the entire cave.

"You want the witch?" I screamed at the sky. "Come and get her!"

The stone giant raised its fist to crush me. I didn't move. I waited until the shadow of its hand was inches away.

"Devour!"

I didn't just use a shield this time. I turned my entire body into a vortex. The giant’s stone fist hit an invisible wall of darkness and began to crumble. The magic holding the giant together was being sucked into my skin. The massive creature groaned, its stone body turning to dust and falling into the cave.

The Inquisitor stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear. "That's impossible! No human can eat a light golem!"

"I'm not human," I said, my voice sounding like two people speaking at once.

I leaped out of the ruined cave, landing right in front of the Inquisitor. The soldiers around him dropped their spears in terror. They saw the violet flames in my eyes and the way the shadows moved behind me like a hungry beast.

The Inquisitor raised his golden cross, his hands trembling. "Stay back! In the name of the Holy Light."

I reached out and snapped the cross in half with one hand.

"Your light is a lie," I whispered.

I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. I could feel his life force, his memories, his secrets. I saw a flash of a secret meeting: the Inquisitor, Seraphina, and a man in a black cloak. They weren't just killing me for the throne. They were planning to sacrifice the entire kingdom to a different god.

"Where is the map?" I growled. "The map to the seal?"

"I... I'll never tell you," he gasped, his face turning blue.

"I don't need you to tell me," I said. "I'll just take the memory."

I closed my eyes and used the Power Absorption System to reach into his mind. It felt like sticking my hand into a hive of bees. I saw a map hidden behind a painting in the King’s private study. The seal of the kingdom wasn't just a defense; it was a cage for something much worse.

I dropped the Inquisitor’s limp body. He wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be waking up for a long time.

I turned back to the cave. Kael was standing at the edge, watching me. He looked terrified of me, but he didn't run.

"We have to go back," I said.

"Back to the palace?" Kael asked. "That's suicide. Every soldier in the city is looking for us."

"They aren't just looking for us, Kael," I said, looking at the map in my mind. "They’re starting a ritual. Seraphina isn't just trying to be Queen. She’s trying to wake up the sun-eater. If she succeeds, there won't be a kingdom left for me to take back."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Not a small tremor, but a massive earthquake that cracked the trees around us. A beam of dark red light shot up from the center of the palace in the distance, piercing the clouds.

The sky turned the color of blood.

"It's starting," Kael whispered, his eyes filled with dread.

But that wasn't the worst part.

A cold, familiar voice echoed from the shadows behind us.

"You really should have stayed in the Abyss, sister."

I spun around. Seraphina wasn't at the palace. She was standing ten feet away, flanked by two men in black robes. But she didn't look like an angel anymore. Her skin was gray, and her eyes were leaking black ink.

She held up a small, crystal bottle. Inside was a swirling piece of silver-gold light.

"Is that... my soul?" I gasped, my heart freezing.

"The part I didn't eat," Seraphina laughed. She opened the bottle and poured the light onto the ground.

The earth opened up, and a twisted, shadowy version of me crawled out of the dirt. It had my old face, my old hair, and my old healing magic, but it was holding a jagged black sword.

"Meet your replacement," Seraphina said, pointing at me. "Kill her. And bring me the Knight's head."

The shadow Aria screamed and lunged at me, the sword aimed straight for my heart.