Page 121 of The Stolen Throne
Reven and Vos tumble through to our side just as Bene whizzes over the soldiers’ heads and through the portal as well. Vos cuts off his power, and the glass changes in an instant, reflecting us now, all our faces a tumult of shock. We all lie on the cold stone floor, the sound of our harsh breathing filling the room.
“Report,” Hakan demands. “Is anyone injured?”
“Perfect as a pearl,” Vos says through more coughing. He sits up and wipes the back of his sleeve across his mouth, leaving a trail of blood.
“Um…” Pella points.
He glances at the blood, then wipes it on his pants.
“Reven?” I ask, rolling over to push to my hands and knees.
No answer.
I shove myself to my feet, whipping around to search for him, and choke. He’s standing strong, shadow swirling around him like how I picture the waters of the great whirlpool that sits at the mouth of the Marianan inland bay. His eyes are consumed with darkness as Eidolon’s Shadows play across his face.
He’s not fighting them off. He’s…embracing them?
My heart drops to the ground. Heavens to hells, this will not end well.
There’s only one thought in my head. One that didn’t work in the water garden but did in Trysolde’s throne room. I think. Which makes this a wild, stupid gambit.
I lunge for him.
Cain grabs my arm. “Don’t!”
I break his grip and get to Reven in a breath, hands on either side of his face, willing him to hold on.
“I’m here.” I say the words softly and with hope. I’m speaking to him. I’m also speaking to the shadows I supposedly can control. Listen to me.
The shadows flowing from him wind past me, but it’s like I’m not even there. Not even a whisper of a touch.
“Reven. Look at me, damn you.”
He tips his chin down then, and a face—not his—settles over his features. His crooked mouth tilts. “Reven can’t come now, love. You’ll have to deal with me.”
I reach down and press a hand to my scar. No movement inside me, either.
It’s not working.
The last thing I want to do is kiss a Shadow, but…
I crush my lips to his, willing him to find me through the things gripping his soul. “Come back to me,” I murmur against his mouth. “I know you’re in there. Come back.”
A shunk whistles past my ear, followed by a hollow grunt from Reven. He shoves me bodily behind him as he wheels on Cain. With a wave of his hand, the arrow protruding from Reven’s shoulder disappears into a wisp of darkness.
A minor display of what he could do to Cain himself.
“You shot him?” I shout. “Are you out of your mind?”
To my right, the glass of the portal suddenly changes to clear, revealing at least twenty soldiers standing in the portal room of Wildernyss. Hells, of course they could get here. Several saw where we went.
On the heels of that realization, I see him.
Eidolon.
He stalks through the Remirel temple toward the portal, raising glowing purple hands.
Like a moment out of time, Reven slowly looks at me. Blinks those midnight-black eyes. Then turns back to Eidolon, face going hard.
