The Shadows

41| The last breath

The amount of black liquid pouring from my throat is unbearable. I try to cough, hoping it would come out faster but it was completely blocking my airway.

When it finally began to slow down, the burning agony that would rip through my skin as the darkness ascended up my face. I begin to lose consciousness, my vision, in and out. I make one last attempt to rip off the necklace. I wrap my hand around the gem and pull as hard as I could. A shot of burning electricity shoots up my arm. At this point, I didn't care; it couldn't be worse than the pain I was already going through and I was desperate. A quick thought runs through my mind, is this what it feels like to die by a shadow? It was pure torture. I wouldn't want my worst enemy to go through this.

My thoughts are quickly cut off by another moment of torment. My last moment of suffering was the greatest pain I had ever experienced. I lose my vision and I feel myself fall forward, smacking my head on the tiles. I become disoriented as numbness spreads across my body. I can feel the liquid pooling around me. Then,

Nothing.
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"Was it really necessary to kill Quincy?" Kai sighs to Cain as they watch the mans body being cleaned up by a crew of servants. "You will have to take that one up with Damien." Cain shrugs. Kai shakes his head. "Why would you bring Damien into it. You know how he is." Cain turns to Kai and grins softly. "That's exactly why I invited him. He has a talent for intimidation." Kai crosses his arms and turns to Cain. "You treat him like your work dog." Cain scoffs. "If you knew anything about our brother, it would be that he loves to be in control of situations as such. But you wouldn't know that, would you?" Kai adjusts his stance and huffs. "Enough of this. I know what I have done will not easily be forgiven. I was only trying to protect us. Not in the right way obviously. I was young too, you know. I lost my childhood to this as well. I didn't know what I was doing. Hell, I'm still trying to figure it out." Cain's expression softens. "Why wouldn't you come to me? I would have helped you." Kai shakes his head. "No, I am the eldest brother, I was supposed to take care of you, as you have done for Damien." Cain rolls his eyes. "That's stupid. But we can work on this." Kai drags his hand down his face and sighs. "We need to focus on this disappearing light situation, rather than this war between us." Cain grins. "Let's announce to the country that the war is over. I will send an order to the soldiers to retreat." Kai nods agreeing.

"You two are agreeing on something!?" Damien chimes in. They both turn around to face him. "Yes, we've discussed and we both agree that it has been long enough. We have more important things to deal with." Damien smiles brightly. "That's really good to hear." "I will set up an announcement for tomorrow morning. We can rebuild the royal quarter to it's former glory. We will need to give you both official duties." Kai continues. "Can we do that after the ceremony?" Damien cuts in. "When were you thinking?" Kai tilts his head. "Tomorrow?" Cain and Kai both take a step back, eyebrows raised. "Tomorrow!?" Kai asks for confirmation. Damien nods. "Alright I will talk to Jane and Joan to get the preparations started right away." Kai places his hands on his hips before jogging lightly out of the room. "What about guests?" Cain turns to Damien. "It will be an intimate affair." Damien shrugs. "Alright, if that is what you want." Cain nods. "So, who leads the ceremony?" Damien scratches the side of his neck awkwardly. Cain raises and eyebrow and grins. "I suppose Kai, or me?" Damien smiles shyly. "Would you?" Cain's grin moves to a full blown smile. "I would love to." Cain reaches over, wrapping his arms around Damien, slapping his back. "Aryah said she'd meet me here actually, to talk to you about it." Cain crosses his arms and nods. "You can tell her what we discussed. I will help Kai with preparations. We will still be doing the announcement in the morning and have the ceremony in the afternoon."

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<-Joan's P.O.V->

I search through the halls searching for Aryah. "Where could this girl be?" I whisper to myself. I open the door to the terrace, calling out for her. "Lady Aryah? The prince-" My mouth gapes open as I choke on my own tongue. A shiver runs up my spine as I take in my surroundings. My eyes dart around, the black good spread across the floor and her face was laying so still. I begin to hyperventilate as panic begins to set in, my body moving quicker than my brain. I drop to my knees, shuffling over to her. I shake her violently but her body was dead weight. My trembling hands cover my mouth as tears waterfall down my face. "A-Aryah!" I try to catch my breath. "Aryah! Wake up!" The darkness that cracked up her face. I fall backwards onto my bottom. Using my feet to drag myself backwards away from her, the black substance spreads along the floor, leaving streaks and hand prints as I crawl away. My back hits the wall and I shakily stand up, using my weight against the wall. I stumble as I search for the doorknob, bursting through the door.