The Storm Tower | Vol.4, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

3.

Darkness.

It swam around Makaela like heavy smoke from a blazing fire. The blackness suffocated her, squeezing her lungs and wrapping its inky fingers around her throat. She couldn't breathe as he drowned in it. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as the grip on her consciousness faded.

She was losing.

In the distance, she could hear a voice. Their words, while far away, were clear.

"Fight it."

The voice grew louder and louder. They injected power into her veins. A newfound sense of strength coursed through her. Gritting her teeth, she fought back against the darkness around her. A golden light, no bigger than a spark, manifested in the center.

But it grew. And it grew. It kept growing until it swallowed the darkness, dispelling it into the corners of her mind.

Then it began to fade. The darkness came rushing back, filling up every corner and crevice like water rushing in through a leak. Makaela's chest tightened as she tried to summon the light again.

It didn't come back.

A low, screech sounded in her ears. She could hear a faint, demonic laugh in the back of her head as the noises amplified around her. With her heart threatening to burst from her chest, she opened her eyes.

Breathing heavily, she blinked a few times to regain her bearings. Sweat trickled down her forehead. Ice water ran through her veins and chilled her to the bone.

For a moment, she forgot where she was.

"Much better than last week's attempt," the robed, gray-haired woman sitting cross-legged across from her said. "But there is still room for improvement."

It didn't take her long to remember.

Groaning, Makaela collapsed onto her back. She was met with a view of the domed ceiling belonging to one of the many temples scattered around House Vaya's mountainous compound known as Tenzin. Pulsing, silver wards had been etched into the light-colored stone. The whole place was teeming with magic. She could feel it against her skin whenever she went for walks down the snow-covered paths snaking through the small town.

An icy breeze slipped through the pillars making up the walls of the temple and nipped at her hands, which weren't covered by the gray and white robes she wore. She wasn't cold, though. Her garments were charmed to ward off the effects of the harsh, Tibetan climate.

"How did that feel?" Madame Alizeh asked.

"Like I was suffocating."

"You cannot let the darkness take over. That's how the—"

"That's how the Nightling wins," Makaela finished while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I know." Sitting up, she rubbed her aching head. Fighting off the bloodthirsty demon residing in the depths of her psyche also left her with a nasty migraine.

Madame Alizeh pursed her silver-painted lips at the girl. "Take this seriously, Makaela. If you want to stand any chance of defeating Thorian, you will need to master all of your abilities."

Sighing, she nodded. The woman was right. She needed to learn as much as she could as quickly as she could before her next altercation with the dark lord.

Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of it.

She barely survived the last one. Had it not been for Dorian...

A lump formed at the base of her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away before they could fall and freeze her dark cheeks.

Clearing her throat, she rose to her feet and faked a smile. "What's next on today's list? More sparring with Karin?" Her eyes widened. "Maybe another trip to the library? I can never have enough spells in my arsenal. I'm going to need everything I can to take down the Order."