I try to refrain from pacing where I stand, shadowed at the back of the terrace, mostly out of sight. My heart pounds as I watch Drew take a small dagger and slice Colton’s hand down the center. Then she slices Lyra’s, and I see her visibly flinch as the blade pierces her skin. I have to clench my fists at my sides, calling upon all the strength I have not to intervene.
She places their hands together, and the moment their blood mingles, the bonding begins. A shimmering cloud emits from their joined hands, swirling with magic as blood drips between their fingers onto the pristine white flower petals covering the stage. The drops of blood seem to echo as they hit the marble floor, the crowd so silent, watching in equal parts awe and fear.
I glance at the clock through the window—4 p.m. How much longer is this ceremony going to last? I should leave, but a part of me needs to see it through. I can’t bring myself to walk away yet.
“The bonding ceremony is complete. There is only one laststep,” Drew announces. I shift my position, moving a few steps closer to the stage along the right side.
Drew’s slight smile tells me what’s coming next, and she says, “You may seal it with a kiss.”
I internally cringe. Lyra steps forward on her tiptoes, and Colton cups her cheek. They stare into each other’s eyes for a moment before he kisses her. It’s no simple peck. He twists her around his body and dips her back, kissing her deeply.
My jaw clinches so tight I think I’m going to crack a tooth, but still I can’t leave. He is my brother, and he saved my life. I want him to be happy, and I want her to be happy... It’s just hard to stomach right now.
The sunbeams stretching across their bodies and into the crowd suddenly disappear. I tear my eyes away from them and look out across the sea for cloud coverage. But it’s not clouds that cover the sun—it’s something else.
I squint into the horizon, noting the dimming sunlight, but the crowd remains oblivious to the impending threat. My instincts scream that something’s coming—no, something’s here. Initially, it looks like a giant flock of birds, but as they draw closer, the ominous sound of flapping wings carries over the crashing waves. My eyes sharpen, and I see them clearly—Sarrols. Dozens of them, their dark, leathery wings slicing through the sky, heading straight for us.
A surge of adrenaline floods my veins. As I’m about to sound the alarm, a deep vibration begins under my feet, spreading rapidly. A collective gasp ripples through the crowd as the ground itself seems to roar in protest. The pillar I’m leaning against groans and splits, fissures racing down to the ground and snaking through the rows of seats. The crack yawns open, wide enough to swallow a leg, sending people stumbling back in terror.
My heart pounds as I snap my gaze back to the stage. Lyraand Colton are no longer locked in a kiss. Their moment of intimacy shattered, Lyra’s gaze is fixed on me. Panic grips me as I witness her transformation—her beautiful sapphire and emerald irises bleed into an abyssal black. The pure, raw power emanating from her is both mesmerizing and terrifying.
Time seems to slow as the Sarrols descend, their screeches filling the air. The crowd erupts into chaos, screams mingling with the monstrous cries. The sky darkens further, shadows creeping over the terrace. The anticipation of an impending battle electrifies the atmosphere. Every fiber of my being is on high alert, ready to defend, ready to fight.
This is it. The moment we’ve all feared. The darkness we’ve fought to keep at bay is here, and it’s been here all along, waiting.
Waiting for this ceremony.
Waiting for this exact moment.
Shadows start to melt out of the cracks in the pillars, spilling across the white marble floor like liquid smoke. I’m stopped dead in my tracks as I look back at Lyra. Shadows burst from her chest, not forming into the ribbon-like wisps as they normally do. No, this time her darkness morphs into creatures—demons, giant birds, and snakes, all erupting from her. Dozens of beings made from pure liquid night pour out of the shadows emanating from her. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The creatures take to the sky, descending upon the Sarrols with ferocity. I watch as a giant eagle made of swirling night grabs onto a Sarrol. They tumble across the floor at the base of the stage steps, the Sarrol snarling and frothing, a black tar-like substance staining the ground in its wake. The shadow eagle captures it in its talons and drags it down into one of the cracks in the ground, forcing it back into the darkness it came from.
The scene is made of nightmares yet strangely mesmerizing. The Sarrols are fierce, but Lyra’s shadow creaturesare relentless. The air is thick with the sounds of battle—screeches, roars, and the sickening squelch of shadows clashing with flesh. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through me, my instincts screaming to join the fight, but I’m frozen in place watching it all play out before me.
The pillars continue to crack and crumble, the earth beneath us trembling. The crowd is in a frenzy, some trying to flee while others are stuck in place, captivated by the dark spectacle unfolding before them.
I think I hear my name and snap my attention back to Lyra. Yes, she definitely yelled for me. I want to rush to her, but I already know what she wants. Our eyes meet, and when hers narrow on me, I nod, forcing myself to move.
I start pushing people off the terrace and back into the palace. Drew is doing the same, grabbing people by the arms and tugging them toward safety with Flora. I don’t see Twig, but I know he’s well-equipped to handle situations like this.
Granger slips and falls back, tripping over one of the cracks in the ground as he tries to pull Elspeth away from the stage. Tears stain her face as she screams for Colton, but her cries go unnoticed. I dodge a tangle of monsters, barely missing the mess of claws and fangs. Grabbing Granger by the shoulders, I lift him back to his feet. He gives me a thankful look before successfully pulling Elspeth further toward the palace doors.
A new demon crawls up out of a gap in the ground. I recognize it instantly as the one Bim told me about—one of the creatures that attacked people in Nighthold and Cloudrum. It’s humanoid, with a pale-gray body crawling across the floor and over the toppled chairs. Its gaunt rib cage protrudes grotesquely, and I wonder how it knows where it’s going with its lack of ears or eyes, only a giant gaping mouth of teeth in the center of its head.
Colton steps down from the stage and kicks the demoniccreature in the head. Not exactly what I would have done, given its giant mouth starts chomping at his leg. He kicks it again, and one of Lyra’s shadow creatures attacks. A serpent of night wraps around the creature’s neck, slamming its pale, bald head against the stone floor. Another snake coils around its leg, dragging it back into the depths of the earth through one of the fissures.
Only minutes ago, it was a sunny afternoon. Now, lightning crackles overhead, and thunder rumbles so loudly I think it might knock the entire terrace off the cliff. One of the white pillars starts to sway then, almost in slow motion, falls behind the stage platform, breaking the railing and tumbling down the rockslide to the water below. It’s after 4 p.m., but by the looks of it, you’d think it was midnight. Heavy dark clouds have rolled in from nowhere, forming a storm so fierce I can’t tell if the darkness is coming from the sky, the fissures in the ground, or Lyra herself.
Colton fights off another Sarrol and finally makes eye contact with me for the first time since the ceremony started. “Get out of here. You don’t need to be here for this,” he yells over the bedlam.
“I have to see this through,” I shout back. The moment of understanding in his eyes tells me he gets it.
A Sarrol whips past me, and I grab onto its leathery wing, ripping it out of the air. Grabbing ahold of it, I toss it to one of the shadow creatures, which drags it back into the ground.
The scene around us is utter madness. Lightning illuminates the terrace, casting shadows and bright flashes as the storm rages on. The air is thick with the scent of ozone and the metallic tang of blood. Lyra’s power is a raw, untamed force, and she unleashes her fury upon the invaders in a way I could never have imagined.
I always knew Colton wasn’t the one. Ifelt it in my godsdamn blood—he is not her beacon of light. Her darkness isn’t going to destroy me, and I’ll be damned if I let it consume her or anyone else. I think I know how this is supposed to end, but this is quickly spiraling out of control.
