Trinity (36 page)

You won’t be. You will die.

Skaric looked up and met
Hakon’s dark gaze, unsure if he had really heard the prisoner’s
voice in his mind. He was sure that Hakon hadn’t spoken out loud.
For a man that had seemed gripped by madness, he now looked and
sounded entirely sane. Skaric didn’t want to listen to Hakon’s
words; he didn’t want to believe that they had already failed
because of his weaknesses.

“
Your soul can
be restored,” Hakon said.

An unspoken question hung in
Skaric’s mind as he narrowed his eyes. Feeling was beginning to
creep back into his limbs as the warming comfort of Hakon’s soul
radiated against his own.

“
I can heal
your soul with mine.”

“
What will
happen to you?” Kiana asked.

Hakon smiled sadly.

Skaric breathed in sharply. “I
want to free you… not destroy you!”

“
I’m already
dead.”

Skaric shook his head. It
didn’t matter. Hakon deserved to be freed. He deserved to have his
soul reborn and… “What about your mind? Will that be destroyed
too?”

“
No,” Hakon
said. “It will go to eternity.”

Skaric gazed at the golden
whirlpool. Eternity sounded much more comforting than the
Darkness.

You need to
know that your soul holds your emotions.
Hakon’s words echoed through Skaric’s mind. His eyebrows
shuddered as a creaseline ran down the centre of his
forehead.

Skaric looked
into Hakon’s eyes. They were filled with so much pain and remorse
that it made his heart ache. But there was also a thin sliver of
hope sparkling in the dark depths: the promise of
absolution.
That’s not enough.

“
My mind will
be freed. You will free Mira’s soul. Together you will restore
Miale. That is enough.”

Was it? Skaric wasn’t so sure.
Despite that he nodded. “What do I need to do?”

A faint smile crossed Hakon’s
lips. “Brace yourself.”

Skaric barely had time to
comprehend what Hakon had said, let alone do what he had been told.
Hakon’s soul began to meld into his own. Skaric couldn’t think or
breathe. He felt Hakon’s pain as the silver cage tried to keep him
imprisoned. It constricted around his soul and bit into it. Skaric
placed his hands around the closest bar and pulled with all his
might: physical, emotional, spiritual. He put all the strength,
energy and hope he had left into the task. The bar turned to ice in
his hands and shattered. Silver shards sprayed into the darkness,
slicing painfully through Skarc’s soul before they vanished.

Hakon’s spectral form stepped
forward into Skaric. Unable to move, Skaric’s entire body became
limp and lifeless. Strength flooded back into his soul. Time seemed
to slow down. He fell backwards agonizingly slowly. Each heartbeat
lasted a lifetime. A white bird materialised. It stared at him with
Hakon’s dark and intense eyes. Then it turned and flew into the
golden vortex’s embrace.

Skaric’s
heartbeat quickened. He fell. The warmth of flagstones crashed
against his back.
Kiana! Nidan!

*

“
Skaric? What
happened?” Kiana’s voice was urgent and right beside
Skaric.

Thank Ysia.

Kiana and Nidan were both
looking down at him, standing in the physical world. Skaric
couldn’t tear his gaze away from Kiana and the brilliant intensity
of her soul. It was so achingly beautiful. He felt heat rise to his
cheeks as he was drawn into her amber gaze. Skaric covered his face
with his forearms and clenched his hands together. A moment later
he heard the soft scrape of Kiana’s slippers on the ground and the
rustle of her clothes. Her hand alighted softly on his arm, making
Skaric’s entire body ache with longing.

“
Are you all
right?” Kiana said.

Skaric managed to nod without
exposing his face.

“
Hakon…?”

“
He’s gone.”
Skaric cleared his throat, unable to trust himself to continue
speaking. Even though he couldn’t see his companions he could feel
their gaze upon him.

“
What Hakon
did…” Kiana said. “His sacrifice…”

Thanks to Hakon, Skaric’s soul
felt strong but his body still felt weak.

Kiana began to
stroke his arm. Skaric shivered beneath her touch. He wanted to
embrace her and kiss her.
What’s happening
to me?
He managed to swallow back a groan
as he clicked a puzzle piece into place in his mind.
The soul holds your emotions
. Hakon had
warned him, but he’d been
too drained to realise it at the time.
Has
his soul amplified my emotions? Or am I feeling his… for
Mira?

“
Are you all
right?” Kiana said.

Skaric nodded again, refusing
to move his arms from his face. His cheeks felt far hotter than
before. Every gentle stroke of her finger sent fresh shivers
through his body. “I just need to sleep.”

“
Sleep sounds
like a good idea,” Nidan said.

Kiana moved
her hand from Skaric’s arm. She said nothing more. Skaric listened
as Kiana moved a short distance away and settled down.
Come back
. He clenched
his fists tighter. He would not act on emotions that probably
weren’t even his own. Skaric closed his eyes and focused on the
things he knew to be true: he had freed Hakon and, by restoring
Miale, they would redeem him. That
had
to be enough.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Lying beneath a mountain of
stone, Berend felt like a dozen horses had trampled him. His left
arm was pinned between two blocks; the back of his head was damp
and sticky; crushing pain in his chest made breathing painful, and
dust filled his nose and lungs. But he was alive.

At first Berend’s vision had
been too hazy for him to figure out why. As the dizziness faded his
anger rose. Rubble had prevented the wall from crushing him,
leaving him trapped in a small space. His life had been saved by
fate. Through gaps, he could see that it was becoming dark. Berend
knew he had to act quickly; it would be madness to try to shift the
rock if he couldn’t see and he wasn’t prepared to wait until
morning to free himself and hunt down his prey.

He began with the block that
was trapping his arm. Berend gritted his teeth against the
excrutiating pain that tore through the limb and into his shoulder,
as he twisted awkwardly to push the heavy block.

How had Skaric
escaped? Berend could clearly picture the black nightmare that
Skaric had briefly plunged him into. It was no magic that he had
ever seen before, but he was sure of one thing: it
wasn’t
Ysia’s magic. Ysia
was dead. Skaric was a liar. Skaric was a coward and a traitor and
he was somewhere inside the castle, probably laughing and gloating
about his victory with the Miale bitch and her Guardian.

Berend cried out as the block
finally moved. There was a sickening grating sound and then a loud
crack as it fell to the ground. He pulled his left arm to his side,
but it was limp and useless: his fingers were bloody, bent
awkwardly and would not move; his sleeve was blood soaked and
tattered; large gashes ran up his forearm and Berend could clearly
see the white of bone in more than one place. Wrath and adrenaline
numbed the pain. The injury didn’t matter. Berend didn’t need the
use of his off hand to defeat Skaric or the Guardian.

What had Skaric hoped to gain
by claiming he was using Ysia’s magic? Mercy?

Berend pulled his shirt over
his head. The clumsy action sent a jolt of piercing pain through
his broken arm. It was a hard task in the confined space, but he
managed nonetheless. With the use of his right hand and teeth,
Berend managed to fashion a crude sling, which he slipped around
his neck and pushed his broken arm into. Supporting the limb did
nothing to ease the pain that coursed through it: sharp and dull at
the same time. He ignored it.

He would never grant Skaric
mercy.

Berend shuffled onto his knees
and hunched over awkwardly, giving himself more leverage. He chose
his next stone and began to push against it with his good shoulder.
Slowly, it began to move.

How much glory would he receive
when he returned home after destroying Miale on his own? With
Skaric dead, no one would be able to deny his claim to become the
Alpha, even if Adalric’s blood didn’t run in his veins.

Sweat beaded on Berend’s skin
and globs of spittle soaked his beard. He vocalised his struggle
with the rock in a low grunting sound. It helped.

When Berend returned to the
Wolf encapment, triumphant, he would be hailed as the greatest Wolf
warrior of all time. Even Adalric would have to welcome him with
open arms.

The stone tumbled to the
ground. Berend was pitched forward, his chest heaving painfully as
he breathed in fresh air. The breeze brushed sharply against
Berend’s face. He was almost free.

He spied an
open doorway.
They’ve made it so easy for
me. Fools.
His gaze drifted from the
doorway to the rest of the castle that rose above him, dark against
the blood red sky. Berend smiled. It was a fitting colour. Soon he
would bathe the castle in the blood of his enemies.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Skaric jolted awake,
disoriented. It took him a moment to register the source of the
flames that seemed to hover in front of his eyes. When he was
finally able to focus, Skaric found himself staring up at Vali. The
nyxus was motionless, his expression unreadable as a small ball of
flames danced in his blistered palm.

“
Kiana?
Nidan?” Skaric glanced around the room, his chest constricting
painfully.

“
They’re
fine,” Vali said. “I’m not here for
them
.”

Vali was telling the truth.
Nidan and Kiana were just beginning to stir. As soon as his eyes
flickered open, Nidan drew his sword and jumped to his feet. The
fire in Vali’s palm died, casting them in deep shadows.

Skaric held out his hand to
Nidan and shook his head. When he was satisfied that Nidan was
grudgingly holding back, Skaric looked back to Vali. “We thought
Berend was alone.”

Vali smiled
icily. “Berend
was
alone. And apparently, now he’s dead.”

“
What do you
want?” Nidan said through clenched teeth. His sword hand was
shaking with held back rage. “I won’t let you harm
either
of my
companions.”

Vali smirked. “Whilst I would
love to be the one to kill Miale, I’m here to take Skaric
home.”

Skaric drew his eyebrows
together into a frown. “Take me home? My father wants me dead.”

“
If he does,
he wants to kill you himself.”

Skaric shuddered and then shook
his head. It didn’t make sense. “After the tower… after I
recovered… he sent Berend to kill me.”

Vali laughed drily. “No, he
didn’t.” His gaze searched Skaric’s face. “Is that why you
left?”

Skaric felt sick. He fixed his
gaze on the ground. “Yes.”

“
Then it’s
little wonder that Berend was so desperate to kill you. Luckily for
you, I take my orders from your father. He wants you
home.”

Skaric clenched his teeth and
looked up to meet Vali’s cold stare. “I won’t let you take me back.
Vali… look around you… can’t you see that we’ve all been lied
to?”

Vali didn’t look but did narrow
his eyes, focusing on nothing but Skaric. “Berend lied to you. But
it doesn’t matter. You’re still a traitor, Skaric.”

Skaric shivered at the hissing
venom in Vali’s voice.

“
Did you
decide to betray us before or after Berend drove you
away?”

Skaric bit his lip and glanced
at Kiana; her eyes were wide as she stared at him. “Does it
matter?”

“
Probably
not.” Vali shrugged. “But
I
want to know and I’m sure your father does
too.”

Skaric sighed. “After.” He
risked looking at Kiana. The hurt in her eyes robbed him of breath.
Maybe he should have lied.

“
Then you’re
an idiot, aren’t you?” Vali said. “By the Darkness, Skaric, your
father didn’t punish your cowardice at Blackoak Tower. He would
have believed you over Berend. Whatever the quarrel was between you
two, your father would have taken your side.” Vali shifted his gaze
to Kiana. “He still might, if you return with her.”

Trembling,
Skaric clenched his fist. “That isn’t going to happen, Vali.
I’m
not
going
back.”

From the corner of his eyes
Skaric saw Kiana take a hesitant step closer.

“
Skaric… who
is your father?”

Vali laughed out loud. “You
haven’t told them? Coward… traitor… liar.” He looked round at
Kiana. “You don’t keep good company, do you Miale?”

“
Her name is
Kiana,” Nidan said.

Vali waved his
hand nonchalantly. “Skaric is the
only
son of the Alpha of the
Wolves.”

Skaric winced as he heard his
companions gasp. He couldn’t bring himself to look at them. “Why
weren’t you with Berend?” He knew his question sounded like an
avoidance of the subject but didn’t care.

“
You’re the
future leader of the Wolves?” Kiana asked.