Caelan's POV
The first bandit died before he even knew I was awake.
I heard him breathing three seconds before he stepped through my door heavy, nervous breaths that told me he was scared but trying to act brave. Stupid. Fear made people sloppy.
I rolled off my bed, grabbed my sword, and cut him down in one smooth motion. He hit the floor with a thud.
There's a blind man in here! One of his friends yelled from the hallway. This'll be easy!
Four more rushed in. I could hear exactly where each one stood by the sound of their footsteps on stone. The second bandit came from my left. I ducked under his swing and drove my blade through his stomach. The third tried to circle behind me. I spun and slashed across his throat.
The last two finally understood they'd made a terrible mistake.
He's a monster! One screamed.
I smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. No. I'm just better than you.
They ran at me together, probably thinking two-on-one would work. It didn't. I blocked the first sword with mine, kicked the second man in the chest hard enough to crack ribs, and then finished them both in less than five seconds.
Silence filled my fortress. Five bodies lay on the floor. None of them were breathing.
I cleaned my sword on one of their cloaks and sat back down on my bed. Another day, another group of idiots who thought being blind made me weak.
They were all dead now. Just like the others before them.
I'd been blind for two years, and I'd killed more men in those two years than I had in ten years of military service. Funny how that worked.
I poured myself wine from the bottle next to my bed and took a long drink. It burned going down, but I didn't care. The burn helped me forget.
Forget the life I used to have. Forget the man I used to be.
Forget the friend who destroyed me.
Two Years Ago
To Caelan Ashford! Marcus Vale shouted, raising his glass high. The greatest warrior in the kingdom! The Storm blade himself!
Everyone in the victory hall cheered. We'd just won the Battle of Shadow's Edge the fight that everyone said was impossible to win. I'd led my regiment against an army twice our size and crushed them.
I was twenty-seven and untouchable.
Marcus was my best friend, my second-in-command, my brother in everything but blood. We'd trained together since we were boys. We'd fought together in a dozen battles. I trusted him more than anyone in the world.
He handed me a glass of wine, grinning. Drink up, Commander. You've earned it.
I should have noticed how his hand shook. Should have seen the guilt in his eyes. Should have known.
But I loved him. I trusted him.
I drank the wine.
It tasted wrong bitter and sharp. I tried to say something, but my vision started to blur. The room tilted. People's faces became shadows, then darkness.
When I woke up, I couldn't see anything. Just black. Endless, suffocating black.
I heard Marcus's voice nearby, but it sounded different. Cold. I'm sorry, Caelan. But you were always better than me. Stronger. Faster. Everyone loved you more. I couldn't live in your shadow anymore.
I tried to stand, to fight, but I was too weak. My body wouldn't move.
I told the King you were corrupted by dark magic during the battle, Marcus continued. That you were planning to assassinate the royal family and take the throne. He believed me. Your father believed me too.
You're lying, I tried to say, but my voice came out as a whisper.
The curse will wear off your body in a few hours, Marcus said. But your sight? That's gone forever. Enjoy your new life, old friend.
When I finally could move again, soldiers dragged me before the King. My own father stood there, Lord Ashford, head of one of the most powerful families in the kingdom.
Tell them it's a lie, I begged. Tell them Marcus is the traitor.
My father looked at me with cold, distant eyes. I have no son who consorts with dark magic. Take him away.
They stripped me of my title, my command, my family name. They took everything and threw me into the Borderlands to die.
But I didn't die. I survived. I learned to fight better without sight than most men could with it. I became something new. Something dangerous.
And every single day, I planned how I would find Marcus and make him pay.
Present Day
I finished my wine and stood up. Time to drag these bodies outside before they started to smell.
I was bending down to grab the first corpse when my entire fortress shook. The walls groaned. Dust fell from the ceiling.
What was that? An earthquake?
Then the light came.
Even though I was blind, I could feel it burning, white, and impossibly bright. It pressed against my skin like a physical thing. Magic. Powerful magic.
The light wrapped around me like chains. I tried to fight it, tried to cut it with my sword, but my blade passed right through it.
I was being pulled. Lifted off my feet. Yanked through space itself.
No! I shouted. Let me go!
But whoever or whatever was doing this didn't care.
The last thing I felt was my fortress disappearing beneath me as I fell through endless light, unable to see where I was going, unable to stop it.
And then I hit something hard, and everything went black again.