The King Rises, Someone awakens

My heart pounds under the weight of everything. Nothing makes sense now. I feel detached, watching a woman I’ve never met from the outside in. Her tangled brown ponytail remains intact, her eyes still my mother’s almond shape, but the woman inside has irrevocably changed. I reach for myself and find only distance. Clarity is a dream I can’t touch. I think of the blood I know, what I inherited…simple, magic-less, stained and unworthy. Human blood. Barred from magic.

The horse’s canter pulls me into my first memory. My mother rocks me, singing a lullaby I can still feel.

“Hush, Valeria’s daughter, dusk will hold you tight,

Let tomorrow wait outside this softer place,

Soft petals falling, drifting in the night,

Rest, my quiet girl. Love guards you through the light”

Now, my father’s blade burns at my hip. The bloodline I don’t know presses close.

Visions of burnt flesh and smoke choke my memory. I shake my head to scatter them loose. Through blurred vision, heavy clouds coat the morning sun while flakes fall from the sky and sting my heavy eyelids. My adrenaline ebbs and flows, the need for sleep filling in the gaps. Colin rises and falls to the canter's rhythm, the scent of sweat and cold air lingering between us. His chin slices back and forth with precision as we approach town, the last place I was expecting him to go. The shelter sits on the path to my right, its dark stillness opposing my inner turmoil. I replay my last conversation with Mei and Eve and immediately feel sick. I think of the panic they’ll face when I don’t show up for work, the conclusions they’ll draw. I need to get home. I need to…

Colin’s gaze catches on the rear entrance of the Dominion, but instead of the usual posted Enforcers, the path lies clear. Colin’s steed slows to a trot, he looks over his shoulder. “Hood up, head down,” he rumbles. “Where are we going?” I whisper.

“To my office,” he replies. My grip tightens around his waist. “The Reapers saw us ride away. They will suspect I’m there.” Colin pulls back on the reins and brings his steed to a halt. “I will handle them.” He whips his chin left. “You cannot continue that route with the Shadowseekers any longer.” I release my grip and swing my leg, crunching onto ankle-height snow. “The Order knows of the Shadowseekers?”

Colin huffs. “Yes, Jo, they have existed for just as long.” He looks both ways as the leather saddle groans. His feet slam down layers beneath me. A tickle on my head makes me jump, warm breath presses on my neck. I turn, Colin’s steed is nibbling at my hair playfully. The corners of my mouth flicker. “He’s beautiful,” I say, patting his nose. “Where does he go when you’re not working him to death?”

Colin fixes the reins and gives the steed a gentle pat, ignoring my snide comment. “She,” he says, brushing the snow off her haunches. “We have a stable next to the mines. I will take her there to rest once you’re settled.” He ties her reins around a wooden post and does another perimeter scan. “I travel by foot anytime I can,” he says quickly. “And I give her plenty of treats.”

I squint and cock my head to the side. “What’s her name?”

Colin halts and gives me a side-eyed look. “The King forbids things of that nature.” I nod. My eyes fall until Colin clicks. “Heia,” he says quietly. Her ears fly forward, nuzzling Colin’s hand. “See?” He pulls a small treat from his pocket and feeds it to her. My heart, a fluttering mess, explodes into a million pieces.

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His gaze falls flat as he strides towards the tall wooden doors. He lifts his chest. “Follow me. Keep your eyes low. The halls should be empty, but if I’m wrong, do not speak.” I nod along, my heavy eyelids rushing open. Adrenaline reignites along with the magic that hums beneath it. “I don’t think the King will be too fond of you harboring a fugitive,” I say with worry in my voice. Colin exhales and looks down. My heart tightens, but in the gray morning light, his overgrown stubble glows with a hint of red. As if more life itself flickers there. He lifts his head, meets my gaze, and nods. “You are correct,” he replies. Our eyes lock, and a heavy realization settles in my chest and the dread falls into focus.

He’s in danger, too.

~

Colin swings open the wooden doors, heat rushes out. His hazel eyes flicker towards me before fading to black. His chest rises and falls like he’s reclaiming the mantle of Deathlord. Our bodies lean toward each other in an unspoken pull, but I raise my hood and dip my gaze. I can’t do this, feel this…

Ahead lies a dark stone stairway, lit by dim lanterns. I peer in to see the stairs wind up and out of sight. Colin takes the first step, his boot gentle against stone. I follow with a slow heel-toe, heel-toe, until we’re both standing at the foot of the stairs. Instead of looking up or beginning, we both wait. Tethered by something else, something shared.

His warmth brushes my cheeks as he whispers, “softly,” motioning me to close the door.

I obey without a sound. He lifts my chin. The sound of his heart floods the room, thumping in a steady crescendo. I raise my hand to his chest, counting the racing beats, as he leans into my touch and breathes.

Then, something else takes over.

I grip the seams of his coat, my gaze fixed on him. His eyes hold mine as I tug his shirt free and slip off my coat. My hands trace the hard lines of his stomach, tightening beneath my touch. He strips off his gloves, threads his fingers through mine. Our breaths fall in rhythm. His lips brush mine, slow, deliberate, in perfect sync. His hands move lower and the fire inside me builds. Then…

The lanterns blow out. Our lips part. Colin’s gaze snaps towards the stairs above. Monstrous footsteps echo above in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

Klick–klack–klick–klack.

Dirt sifts from the ceiling, falling in my hair, but I hold my stance. I hold my breath. I wait. I reach for Colin and take hold of his wrist, but he is so still I don’t know if he’s there.

“Colin…”

The Bloodsword answers. A red glow swells. His eyes are trapped somewhere between fear and something worse. The footsteps draw closer, the door creaks open. Colin takes my hand and presses his other against the wall, once solid stone. His eyes close as he squeezes my fingers. The wall trembles, rumbling, shifting open beneath his touch.

Mana.

He turns to me, carrying a darkness I’ve never seen. A fear I’ve never known.

“The King is here.”

He grips my hand and pulls me through the stone door. My breath hammers as his sword blazes red, while my skin ignites blue. Heat rips through me like an inferno unleashed. I look down and see myself rooted, steady in the body that contains me. I let it thrum. My hair lashes white, my shoulders stretch and expand. Through Colin’s wide eyes I catch the color of mine, burning electric blue. My life flickers past in fractured flashes, yet beneath the chaos a heavy calm takes hold. I rise above the darkness, steady as the blue figurine that stands upon my mantle. That has watched me my entire life.

A Valerian.