Kael Draven
I woke to fire.
Not real fire, dream fire. The kind that burns through your mind rather than your flesh, leaving scars that never quite heal.
I was standing in my throne room. The real one, from a thousand years ago. Black marble floors polished to mirror brightness. Pillars that rose toward a ceiling lost in shadow. And at the center, the throne itself, carved from a single piece of shadowstone so large it shouldn't have existed.
Theron stood before me: young, strong, his hand resting on the sword at his hip. The sword that would kill me. Yet in this moment, he looked at me with something like reverence.
"The eastern territories have fallen, my lord," he was saying. "The resistance collapsed within a week."
"No terms," I heard myself say. My voice was different then, deeper, colder. "They resisted. They burn. All of them."
Theron hesitated. "My lord, if I may. their surrender was unconditional. Mercy might…"
"Mercy is weakness." I leaned forward, and shadows coiled around my arms like living serpents. "Better they all die as a lesson to the next territory."
I saw it then, the flicker in his eyes: doubt, concern, fear. Not of me, but for me.
The scene shifted. Same throne room, but later. Theron was older now. Lines on his face that hadn't been there before. And resolve. The look of a man who'd made an impossible choice.
"You're not yourself anymore," he was saying. "The man I followed, he's gone. You've let it consume you."
"The power is mine, Theron. I control it."
"Do you?" He stepped closer, his hand on his sword. "When was the last time you slept without the shadows whispering? You're killing yourself. And everything you touch."
I rose from the throne, shadows bursting around me like wings. "You dare threaten me?
"I know." Theron drew his sword. Shadow-forged. Made from my own power, given to him as a gift. "That's why this has to be me. Because I'm the only one you'd never see coming."
The blade struck.
Pain exploded through my chest. Real pain. I gasped, tried to summon shadows to defend myself. But they wouldn't come. The Void was laughing, a sound like grinding stone.
I fell, and Theron's face appeared above me with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "But this is the only way to save you. To save everyone."
"Traitor," I choked out.
"Yes. I'm a traitor. I'll live with that. But you'll be free."
The world went dark. And within the darkness, the Void spoke.
"This changes nothing. I am patient. I am eternal. And you are mine. In this life, or the next. Always mine."
I woke screaming.
Hands grabbed me, held me down. I fought them, still caught between dream and reality. Shadows erupted around me, wild and uncontrolled.
"Eren! Eren, stop! It's me!"
The voice cut through the panic. Lyra was kneeling over me, her hands on my shoulders. Behind her, rough stone walls. A cave. Firelight. Not the throne room.
"You were screaming," she said, her voice shaking. "And the shadows. they were everywhere."
I got to my feet, slowly. My body ached all over. "How long?"
"Two days." She sat back. "You collapsed after the fight. I dragged you here. You've been burning with fever ever since. Talking in your sleep. Sometimes in languages I don't even recognize."
Two days unconscious. That explained the weakness, the thirst that made my throat feel like sandpaper.
"What did I say?" I asked carefully.
Lyra looked uncomfortable. "Mostly nonsense. Names I didn't know. Something about an empire. About shadows and thrones." She paused. "And you kept apologizing to someone called Theron."
My blood ran cold. I had been speaking my memories aloud.
"Fever dreams," I said, forcing casualness into my voice. "My father used to tell me stories about the old empire. Must have gotten mixed up in my head."
She didn't seem convinced, but she gave me a waterskin. "Drink. Slowly."
I drank, the water like paradise. When I finished, I looked around properly. Small cave, well hidden. Smart choice.
"The hunters?" I asked.
"Still dead. I took what I could-weapons, supplies, food." She gestured to a pile near the fire. "We're better equipped now."
I nodded, impressed. While I'd been unconscious, she'd been surviving. Protecting us both.
"Thank you," I said.
She looked surprised. "For what?"
"Keeping us alive. You could have left me."
"Yeah, well. Turns out I'm not as practical as I thought." She poked at the fire. "Besides, you saved my life in that ravine. With. whatever you did. The shadow thing."
There it was: the question she'd been avoiding.
I chose a version of the truth. "I have affinity. Shadow affinity. Had it all my life. Kept it hidden because of the Temple."
"Shadow affinity." She tested the words. "That's supposed to be rare."
"Very rare. My father had it too. He taught me to hide it, to never use it unless there was no other choice."
"The gorge was no alternative."
"The ravine was no other choice," I agreed.
She was quiet for a long period. Then: "I think I might have it too."
I looked at her sharply. "What makes you say that?"
"Things I've noticed. Shadows that moved around weirdly around me. And when you were using your power, I felt something." She touched her chest. "Like recognition."
She was right, of course. I'd sensed it when we were first chained together. But hearing her say it changed things.
"If you do have affinity," I said carefully, "you need to be more careful than I do. You're already marked - silver hair, rebel connections, escaped slave. Add shadow magic, and you become priority target."
"So what do I do?
"Learn control. Learn to hide it so well even you forget it's there. And never use it where anyone can see." I met her eyes. "That's how you survive."
She nodded slowly. "Will you teach me?"
I'd expected the question. Teaching meant time, trust, connection. All things that made betrayal hurt more. I'd learned that with Theron.
But I needed allies. And Lyra had proven herself capable.
"Maybe," I said. "If we survive long enough."
A small smile crossed her face. "Fair enough."
I tried to stand, and my legs nearly gave out. Lyra caught my arm. "Easy. You're still weak."
She was right. I felt hollow, wrung out. "How far to the mountains?"
"Maybe a day's walk. If you can walk."
"We don't have time to wait. Those hunters worked for a guild. When they don't report back, more will come."
"I covered our trail."
"Doesn't matter. They'll search systematically." I forced myself straighter. "We move tonight. Under darkness."
Lyra looked like she wanted to argue, but she nodded. "Okay. But we do it smart. And if you collapse again, I'm dragging you to the nearest cave and we're staying there."
"Deal."
The rest of the day passed in preparations. I practiced standing, walking, making sure my legs would hold. And I reached out to the shadows, testing my connection.
They came willingly, in fact eagerly. If anything, they felt stronger than before, as if the fever had burned away some barrier.
That should have been good news. But it worried me. More power meant more attention from the Void.
As sunset was near, we packed and got ready to move. Lyra had chosen well, weapons, water, rations for three days.
"Ready?" she asked.
I took a deep breath, centering myself. "Ready."
We slipped out as the darkness fell. The Wastes looked different in the night-time, but the darkness was welcoming to me, natural, like coming home.
We moved quickly, letting shadows cloak us. Hours passed. The mountains grew larger, more defined.
Then Lyra held up a hand. "Do you hear that?
I listened. Faint, but growing, the sound of many feet. Marching.
"Patrol," Lyra whispered. "Temple patrol. At least twenty soldiers.
We dropped behind rocks as torchlight appeared. The patrol marched past close enough that I could hear their conversation.
".tracking escaped slaves. Important ones."
"The girl has silver hair. Temple wants her. Possible shadow affinity. Capture or kill."
Beside me, Lyra went very still.
The patrol passed. We waited until they were gone.
"They know about me," Lyra said quietly.
"Suspected. There's a difference."
"Not much of one." Fear showed in her eyes for the first time. "If they catch me, they'll burn me. I've seen it done. It's not quick."
"They're not going to catch you."
"You don't know that."
"No. But I know we're not going to make it easy for them."
She studied my face, then nodded. "Okay, let's keep moving."
We kept going through the night, more cautious by now. By dawn, the mountains were close - really close.
"There," Lyra said, pointing. "See that valley? That's where the rebel camp is. If we can reach it by midday, we should be safe."
We pressed on as the sun rose, fatigue tugging at us. But the mountains were right there.
We just had to make it a little further.
Just a bit farther, and we'd make it through the day.