Soul of Shadows

Cain

‘What had my cousin been thinking?’ That was the thought that chased me from my warm, comfortable bed with Adelia, shoving a shirt and cloak on, and into the seaside cave where Tatiana had been attacked, the chest of Sacreds still missing. Kneeling on the ground where Tatiana’s vines were laying, deflated and lifeless, against the rock, I brushed my hand against the stone, trying to silently put the pieces together, my other hand lowering to rest on the hilt of my sword, moonlight pouring in from outside, reflected by the crest of the waves.

My cousin didn’t switch sides without good reason, nor did she attack her allies for no reason; both of which, seemingly, she had now done.

Tatiana wouldn’t be able to talk for another two days, Lucifer and Ash helping her with diplomatic meetings until she regained her speech, and Tiskial would not be on a battlefield until his shoulder healed properly. Fighting too soon would be disastrous for the mobility of his arm. Had that been my cousin’s intention? To hinder our efforts at fighting back? It made sense, in a way, that Des would want to prevent us from being on a battlefield we would not walk off of, but to directly attack her allies instead of just… warning us?! That was madness, not to mention the warning Jason had given me, about it voiding her treaty with Tatiana and the other Royals, and thus declaring not only her, but myself and her Guardians, enemies of The Borderlands.

Adelia and I, hoping to avoid persecution, would be heading to Ordeallan in the morning, Tiskial volunteering to take us and remain there. While we waited for our own treaty to be drafted up by the Lords and Ladies who remained, we would work on repairing the city for quite possibly the sixth time this year alone, thank the depths of Hell that Des’s wealth went deep. The damage the last attack had done was substantial. The blood oath I had created would make it, so long as Triton upheld his end of the bargain, the last battle for the city of Ordeallan, giving the citizens and wounded a place to stay in relative safety.

Seth’s wealth I had already placed aside for his family to use how they wished. With Lucy being betrothed to Tarragon, she was financially set, but Merry? Karla? They had no guarantee of safety without funds, especially not in The Borderlands, not unless Karla married that Lord of the Northern Isles, and Merry complied to whatever terms he set.

Striding further into the cave, I took a seat on the rock where the chest of Sacreds had once been, dropping my head into my hands and cursing Destiny under my breath.

What had she been thinking?

What had she been thinking?

The thought rattled, echoing without answers in my mind, and I sunk into the thought, trying to find an answer buried in the knowledge I had on my cousin. Seth’s death would have ruined her, like how her mother’s had centuries ago. Did that fuel her attack? Lucifer had explained that they had found evidence of Destiny having visited Seth’s grave, my cousin leaving a gift behind for her dead Connected. On top of that, my cousin was emotionally volatile. She had never learnt to process those kinds of emotions, not when Zeella had taken the pain and grief and rage she had felt the first time and twisted it with the Dome and training.

If she was struggling again, he would be using those emotions exactly the same way, undoing centuries of hours I had committed to try and make my cousin more human.

A shadow stretched out behind me at the same moment a hand laid itself over my shoulder, nearly wrenching me from the rock, Abel purring, “Surprisingly unguarded, for a King of Ordeallan. It isn’t often I catch you off-guard, Cain.”

Twisting, I slammed my fist into his nose, hearing it crack but not break, and my little brother snarled, holding up his hand and groaning, “I’m not here to fight, you fool! I’m bringing a warning to you!” He had to be lying. Abel never warned me of anything. He had been trying to catch me off-guard and kill me, and had backed out because I had almost broken his face in.

Lowering my sword just enough that I didn’t accidentally pierce him with it, but high enough I could still easily slice him in half if the need arose, I hissed, “Out with it, then!”

“Zeella and Lilith are planning on tricking you into trading the Paradoxin Cord with Desterium-”

“I would make that trade,” I snapped, and Abel replied, “Which is why I am here, to warn you. They plan to trick you by using Reannatiel so they get the Cord and keep the real Desterium at home. They want to get to you before you go to Ordeallan and are deemed safe, so they probably intend to kill you once the trade is made.” Alarm bells began ringing, his warning sinking in, the hair on the back of my neck rising at the thought of my brother helping me, no, warning me, of an upcoming attack, and I squinted suspiciously at him, warily asking, “Why are you helping me?”

“Because I made a blood oath with Desterium that I would help keep all of you on top of the Manor’s plans, and in exchange she and her allies would spare my life at the end of the war. Since I like surviving, I plan to uphold that bargain.” Studying him, I looked for any signs that he was lying, only to find him devoid of any lies, and exhaling deeply, I nodded once.

Destiny had to be on our side still, if she was bargaining with Abel for our safety. It also meant she had no faith in us surviving on our own, if she wanted to get Abel involved. She would do anything to keep him away from us, unless it was truly necessary.

“Fine, I’ll keep away from the trade, and head to Ordeallan earlier… Listen, Abel?” I called out, needing to know the answer no matter the cost it had on my sanity, my brother already walking away, his job done- “Did you actually sleep with Destiny?”

Smirking, he winked at me, purring, “So riled up about that, big brother… The short answer? No. I wouldn’t do that to you. Or to her. See you around, Cain.”

He waved over his shoulder, heading out of the cave, but just before he could, he tossed something back, a small orange and black stone bouncing on the cave floor, his voice echoing across the cave, “Just to make it a bit harder for my dear mother…”

It was one of the stones from the Tree of Life; an item that might not immediately be flagged as missing, considering how many there were, and I slowly bent, picking it up and running my thumb over its surface. It was the real deal.

The stone was just Abel’s way of showing that he truly was on our side, or at the very least playing double-agent. Before I could thank him, he was gone, nothing but the waves waiting to greet me outside the cave…

*

I made it back to the Manor house within the hour, suddenly afraid that Abel might have attacked while I had been gone, only to find everything still in place, the wards Jason had placed down still crackling. Crossing the threshold, I studied the bedroom windows of the upstairs rooms, most of the curtains drawn closed, before making my way around the back.

Adelia’s curtain was open, my Connected peering out of the window, flinching when she saw me. Lifting a hand, I waved, and she relaxed, giving me a small wave back, her hand dropping to her stomach, where she gently rubbed the small bulge there. It was barely noticeable beneath her clothes, and she had begun wearing dresses with more frills to hide it, wanting to keep the secret from her family, and the Northern Isles court, for as long as possible. Tarlien had helped to create dresses to hide such things, and gifted her a new one every two or three weeks.

I would be a father soon, a responsibility I wasn’t certain I was prepared for. That child, whoever it was, would be a Prince or Princess of Ordeallan and Hell. They would be desired for the first, hunted for the second, and only whatever training I gave them in spotting liars and manipulators would keep them out of harms way.

Entering the back door, I checked twice that it was locked before heading upstairs, Adelia already waiting for me, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. With only her thin nightgown on, the bump on her stomach was easily seen, and I smiled lovingly at her. Shucking off the armour and weaponry, I removed my shirt and cloak, placing the stone in my bedside table. Sliding back into bed beside her, pressing a kiss to her lips before bending and kissing her abdomen, I murmured, “I’m back.”

“Where did you go?”

“The cave where Tatiana was attacked. Abel met me there.”

My Connected’s eyes widened, already looking for wounds on me, and I whispered, “He didn’t attack.”

Explaining what Abel had said, including the stone he had gifted me, Adelia waited for me to finish to say, “That’s great! Des is still on our side.”

“Except it also means she doesn’t believe we stand a chance at fighting back on our own. We will be leaving for Ordeallan at dawn, so we’re safe, but more importantly, so you and the child are safe.” I tapped her nose, earning a smile from her, and she replied, “We’ll be fine. Don’t attend the trade, no matter how convincing they seem.”

Pressing my lips together, I nodded.

The trade, rather than the attack, was exactly why I wanted to be in Ordeallan before Lilith could make that offer. Where my cousin was concerned, there was a good chance that, if I was still in Karmona, I would go to the trade just to ensure Abel wasn’t lying. If I was in Ordeallan, I would be too wrapped up in repairing the ruined city to go. I would have to rely on the fact that Abel wasn’t lying to me.

Adelia sunk deeper into the sheets, kissing my cheek before rolling over and wrapping the blanket around herself, and I rose from the bed, the floorboards creaking in the cold, and I opened the window, peering out.

My footsteps were visible in the snow, the clouds beginning to darken above, indicating yet another storm would be on the way, the shutters groaning in the wind. There were no other sounds in the fields beyond the house, and if I squinted, I could see the snow-covered stone where Fendrel was buried. Closing the shutters, I pulled the curtains shut, slowly opening the dresser drawers, revealing Adelia’s clothes.

We had two hours until dawn, so while Adelia slept, I would pack.

Dragging her trunk over, I began pulling items out of the drawers, folding them neatly before tucking them into the trunk, squashing them down, intending to fit as much as possible, since I wasn’t certain on what supplies the Ordeallan Palace would have. When I had emptied her drawers, and there was still a substantial amount of space left, I entered the bathroom, scooping up the basket of supplies there and tossing them in as well. There was a small amount of space left…

Looking around both rooms for something I could fit into her trunk, I opened one of the drawers, something rattling within at the movement- A lump rose in my throat at the sight of the earring within, a single sapphire hanging from the end of the silver piece of metal. It sparkled in the lanternlight when I reached in, plucking it out and holding it close.

On the metal, there was the smallest hint of passionfruit still lingering, the familiar smell enough for me to sink to my knees, stifling my tears before Adelia could wake and hear them.

My poor cousin. I had failed her, just like I had failed Seth that day when I had sent him, a child, to protect my wife.

Had he died because he was too afraid to tell me no? I had pushed him into becoming General, after all! And my mistake had become my cousin’s greatest tragedy… I had failed my cousin in more than one way, too. I had failed her when she had decided to marry Fendrel for soldiers, and when she had been ordered to return to Ordeallan, and when she had died fighting Zeella on that battlefield, and he had spat at her that her allies would turn their backs on her. I had especially failed her in Ordeallan, where she had sacrificed herself to save the city that she had proclaimed a death trap, and where I had decided not to visit her one last time in favour of staying with Adelia and defending Tarvenia.

She hadn’t seemed to resent me for it, but for getting her Connected killed? I had no idea where she stood on that particular front.

My poor cousin, who I had met when she had been a red-faced babe that I had held in my arms and adored from day one, who had given in to having a thirteenth birthday party only when she had realised how excited we all were, and who had cried in the backseat of the car with Nym when those first bombs had fallen on Britain, because even one normal birthday was unattainable for Des.

The same cousin who had been brutal enough in her training that she had been sent out, as a thirteen-year-old child, to wipe away armies, who had killed men, women and children alike in order to slay one target. The same cousin who had spent thousands of years wrestling with two sides of her; the loyalty to her Manor and Lords, and her desire to be free from their stifling rules. It was the same cousin who had fallen in love, finally, with a Nephilim who had taught her how to be kind where I had failed to do so.

Then, right as she had begun to free herself of the last of the Manor, I had gotten her Connected, her one and only shot at love and freedom in thirty-three-thousand years, killed. That had been my fault. The meltdown that was going to follow from my cousin was going to be my fault, too, because in all those thousands of years I had failed to teach her how to manage grief productively. I had enabled her destructive behaviour to the point that my first response in seeing her cry wasn’t to comfort her, but to buy her gifts to try and distract her.

All that time, and I had spent it distracting her from facing her emotions and dealing with them. I had been following the Manor’s standards of raising Destiny, rather than my own…

I had to find a way to get her back and out of the Manor before they destroyed her. Abel’s warning meant that Destiny was still alive, and he had forged some sort of alliance with her. I could convince him to help me free Des. He would want something in exchange, though.

I could offer him land, a safe place to stay after the war, but that meant giving him a title of Ordeallan. Maybe a Lord.

Did I want Abel to have that kind of power?

Clutching that earring close, the jewellery the only sign remaining that my cousin had still enjoyed her life somewhat, or at the very least decorated her life.

Rising from the floor, I placed the earring back into the drawer, a small reminder of what would be awaiting us when I returned with Destiny and we had won the war, and finished packing…