Shades of Darkness by N. K. Leem

Author:N. K. Leem [Leem, N. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-25T22:00:00+00:00

20

“Goodbye, Dawyn.”

The icrium shut closed.

Dawyn stood frozen, staring at the mass of black wisps marking the spot the icrium had been.

Thaleon was gone.

The smell of blood and death hung thick in the air, sharp and nauseating. His foot caught on something as he turned—Dawyn glanced down dazedly.

A young man dressed in the gold and black uniform of the royal guard stared up at him, blue eyes vacant and mouth parted. Gruesome wounds glared where his flesh had been torn open by magic. A pool of dark blood glimmered under the lifeless body.

With a shaky inhale, Dawyn took in the bloodbath surrounding him. Royal guards and wehrs lay scattered across the ground, their faces twisted in agony and their bodies drenched in blood. Here and there, he spotted familiar faces—men and women he’d traveled with from Lydhirn or had met briefly during his time in Varle.

In their midst lay a young man, brown waves disheveled and fine clothes covered in blood and dirt. A precise cut marked the column of his throat. A golden crown sat next to him—the metal shone softly between the spattered blood.

Thaleon had done this.

Dawyn stumbled through the carnage as if in a dream. Among the countless bodies, he spotted a familiar blond head. His legs moved of their own accord and he came to a stop before Aeric—his stomach churned as he stared down at the gruesome corpse. The wehr captain lay on his back, fractured white bones jutting from his bloody flesh, a dagger protruding from his stomach.

A gasping breath escaped Dawyn as he recalled Thaleon shattering the man’s bones with val, the chilling glint in his brother’s eyes as he’d drove the dagger into Aeric’s gut. Not even a flicker of remorse had crossed Thaleon’s face as the man had screamed.

Dawyn tore his gaze away. He had to find Fanvi.

He sprinted in the direction of the alley, weaving around the bodies, the injured, and the people screaming and searching for their loved ones. A woman knelt cradling the body of a child, stroking the small head with trembling hands as she wailed. A man dug through a rubble of what had been a tavern, dirt and blood streaking his face.

His stomach dropped when he saw the alley ahead. A portion of the building he had left Fanvi against had collapsed, and broken stone and jagged pieces of wood littered its base. Hardly able to breathe through the rising panic, Dawyn burst into the alley.

An alarming amount of blood marked the spot where Fanvi had been, a shocking red against the pale cobblestones. Bloody streaks glared on the buildings—some resembling handprints—as if someone had supported themselves against the walls. Dawyn followed the marks to another narrow alley a small distance away.

As he turned a corner, he spotted a slight figure slumped at the base of a building, partially shrouded in the shadows. His heart thudded to a stop in his chest.

“Fanvi!”

Dawyn sprinted forward, heart pounding, and fell to his knees beside the unconscious figure. A copious amount of blood drenched Fanvi’s clothes, turning them a heinous shade of red.

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