Page 73 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
‘You don’t need Allegra to teach you magic,’ Kage said carefully. ‘You have the God-Killer.’
‘Perhaps.’ Mal shrugged, utterly unbothered. ‘But I need someone with Vera. In case something happens to her. In case she is dragged back to Hell.’
Kage sighed, the sound lost to the wind. ‘I don’t like this plan. Trying to outplay Persephone is dangerous.’
Mal snorted softly, dismissive.
Kage glanced back towards the keep rising in the distance. ‘You should at least tell Ash.’
‘No.’
‘Then tell Thanatos.’
At that, Mal finally turned, her expression tightening with clear impatience, as though even his name was an inconvenience she had no desire to entertain.
‘Then at least tell them about thatthing.’
Kage caught the way Mal stiffened, the sharp intake of breath she failed to hide. Her eyes widened, darting instinctively over her shoulder before returning to him, unease appearing across her face.
‘You can see it?’
Kage nodded once.
Mal exhaled slowly, the sound heavy with exhaustion. ‘When I became the God-Killer, I heard a voice inside my head. Thanatos warned me that my mind would rot with time, that power like this always corrupts.’ Her fingers curled at her side. ‘I don’t know how or why, but part of it tore itself free from me. It gave itself a form. A will.’ She glanced back again, as if expecting it to be standing even closer. ‘It won’t take long before it rejoins me. Keeping Ash close helps. He anchors me. But if heleaves…’ Her jaw tightened. ‘I’m holding on until my daughter is born.’
‘And then what?’ Kage asked quietly.
Mal turned away without answering, already striding back towards the keep. ‘Mother is upstairs,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘You should go and see her.’
Kage nodded, though he did not move. He stayed where he was, watching as his sister disappeared up the winding path, swallowed by stone and shadow.
And he watched it.
The thing that followed her.
It wore Mal’s face, every familiar line twisted just enough to feel wrong. Its eyes gleamed with something ancient and predatory, and its smile—gods, that smile—was sharp enough to make even the demons of Hell recoil.
Kage stood frozen, dread curling deep in his chest, as the creature slipped after his sister and vanished into the keep.
Slowly, Kage made his way up the same winding path and into the small keep perched on the cliffs above the beach. The place lay drowned in darkness. No candles burnt, no lanterns glowed. Silence wrapped around him like a shroud the moment he crossed the threshold, thick and suffocating. He wondered where Mal had gone, where Ash might be. The air felt wrong, heavy with a presence that was not his own. For the first time, Kage sensed that he was not the ghost haunting these halls; something else was.
He climbed to the second floor and stopped before the door he knew belonged to his mother. How he knew, he was unsure. It seemed that being cursed did far more than protect him from rulers. It gave shape and form to his instincts, shadow tendrils that pulled at him like strings on a marionette. His hand hovered over the handle, hesitation tightening his chest. Was itwise to see her like this? Was it cruel?
The door creaked open.
Queen Senka had withered beneath the weight of her grief. She sat facing the sea, eyes closed, lips moving in a soft stream of broken, incoherent murmurs. Kage crossed the room and took the empty chair beside her, the one Mal must have occupied so often. He longed to take his mother’s hands, to ground himself in her warmth, yet fear held him back. She would notice how cold he was.
‘Is it really you?’ Queen Senka whispered as her black eyes fluttered open.
The moment she saw him, her face crumpled. Tears spilt freely as she reached for him, clutching his hands and pulling him closer, closer still. ‘Kage… is it really you?’
He nodded, unable to speak. The grief surged too violently, filling his throat until words became impossible. If he spoke now, he would shatter. He would never stop, never stop sobbing for his mother, for all the time they had lost.
He had missed her more than he could ever say.
And now… now it was far too late.
‘Your hands,’ she said, her gaze dropping to where she held him. ‘They’re so cold.’
