Crowning Glory (In Bloom Book 2)

13: In the Dark of the Night

The following day was no different than the previous two. We walked. Drove away some Silver Owls. Walked some more. Ambushed more Silver Owls. Walked. Rested. The only difference was there were no fae citizens for us to assist. Busy villages and towns were becoming scarce the further we trekked. At least, we were moving at a faster rate. The Silver Owls were becoming fewer in numbers and easier to drive away.

It was something I thought of rather strange. I would imagine since we were approaching the Eastern fortress, there would be more Iron Ones to protect it.

The infamous Lord Henrick and Knight of Dawn had yet to make an appearance as well. Until I saw one of them, they would be characters in tall tales.

Though, the one thing which had yet to make my mind's gears stop turning was yesterday's fight with the Salvatori Silver Owl, Agostino. Since first encountering a member of my father's lineage, I prepared myself for their dirty tricks, including the use of black magic. 

Except I never imagined I would encounter it so soon or to experience it in the form of shadow magic.

The division between black and white magic came down to the user's intentions. However, there was also a gray area overlapping the two. Even users of white magic could use their abilities to cause harm and those on the darker spectrum could bring wonder to the world. Though, it was usually unheard of.

I read nearly every single book on magic I had in my possession. But, knowing about it and knowing how to wield it were two completely different matters. 

If I remembered correctly from the textbooks, shadow magic was the most elementary form of black magic someone could practice. Shadows would swallow all light available and blind the five senses. At the user's will, it could solidify and alter its shape to become any object. Most importantly, it concealed the user and allowed them to quickly travel from one location to the next completely undetected.

If I learned it, it could provide us with leverage. But I knew Silver and Sebek would be entirely against it considering they witnessed its horrific effects. My body had still to recover from the remaining soreness Agostino's shadow magic caused. I was just glad my voice had returned, and I could move without any assistance.

Still, I was curious. I wanted to see what else I could do.

As we continued on, my focus shifted to the shadows casted by the soldiers. I tried to see if I could form some kind of connection with them, the same way I did with all of the trees and flowers growing all around me. Though, no matter how frequently I tried to reach out to them, they would not yield. Their shapes remained intact.

It also didn't help that I received questioning glances from Lilia and Baul.

Grim occasionally asked if I was feeling okay and I would respond each time with, "I'm fine. Just thinking." It only made him question me further and got Sebek and Silver involved.

I no longer became the focus of attention when we arrived at a ghost town. A handful of cottages remained in acceptable condition but were beginning to be taken over by Mother Nature.

After setting down our equipment, we set up a fire and had dinner prepared. Sebek offered Baul his portion, but the soldier refused.

"You already ate their food before, so it should matter if you have to eat it again," Lilia finished cleaning his sword. "Now's not the time to be picky."

"Picky? That's..." Baul sighed. "General, you're way too indifferent about things."

"Pride isn't going to fill your stomach, you know. I already had to deal with Lady Meleanor always having something to say about her food. She even kept quibbling on about a piece of jerky I made for her."