Twenty-Four
D.C.’s reaction to their new roommate was just as dramatic as Niyx had presumed it would be. And it was also just as comical.
Upon returning from detention, Alex’s best friend had screamed like a banshee at the sight of the puppy—owing to the fact that she knew exactly what kind of creature it was—but the sound had woken the little wolf and scared her so much that her distressed whimpers had caused D.C. to melt on the spot. It had barely taken five seconds for the fluffball to win D.C.’s heart and, fulfilling Niyx’s request, Alex had replayed the memory for him, earning his uproarious laughter in response.
After collecting Jordan and Bear—the latter who had been released from Fletcher’s care that afternoon with only a slight limp to his walk—the four friends lounged in the girls’ room after dinner, playing with the puppy and contemplating what to call her.
“I think she’s a Fang,” Jordan said, while the furball gnawed on his boot.
“There’s no way I’m naming her Fang,” Alex returned immediately.
Not pleased at the idea of allowing the little wolf to get away with bad habits right off the mark—and certainly not wanting her to think shoes were acceptable chew toys—Alex scooped the puppy up into her lap, avoiding the squirming body and lashing tongue trying to lick her face off.
“No, she’s much too pretty to be called Fang,” D.C. agreed. “She needs a name like Beauty or Darling. Maybe even Socks, with that paw of hers.”
Alex found it mildly hilarious that her friend who had earlier screamed that the Shadow Wolf was a ‘hound from the deepest pits of hell’ was now considering naming her Darling. But regardless, that wasn’t going to be her name, either.
“I think you should go with something wolfy,” Bear said. “Like Howler or Ripper or something ferocious like that.”
“What’s more wolfy than Fang?” Jordan pointed out. “It’s perfect.”
Alex let her friends argue for a while before she decided to speak up. “As much as I appreciate all this brainstorming, I’ve already decided on a name for her.”
Jordan, Bear and D.C. all looked at her expectantly.
“Soraya,” Alex said. “Her name is Soraya.”
Instantly the puppy stopped squirming and Alex looked down to find those bright amber eyes staring up at her with what looked suspiciously like wonder. And then, impossibly, Soraya gave a happy-sounding yap as if agreeing with her name.
“Soraya,” D.C. whispered, almost reverentially. “That’s definitely pretty.”
“It is,” Jordan agreed, though he sounded disappointed that Fang was now off the table. “But what does it mean?”
“Light,” Alex said quietly, her eyes remaining locked onto the puppy’s. “It’s the Tia Auran word for ‘light’.”
Bear snorted, and Alex’s gaze moved to him.
He bobbed his chin towards the almost fully black wolf. “Only you would think of calling a Shadow Wolf a name that means ‘light’.”
Alex offered a sardonic grin. “I have to admit, I like the irony.”
Another puppy bark of agreement had them all laughing until a knock sounded at the door.
“But… we’re all here,” D.C. said, to which the rest of them just shrugged their baffled agreement.
Being closest to the door, Alex handed Soraya over to Jordan and D.C. and jumped up to find out who was outside. Once she caught sight of their visitors, a beaming smile overtook her face.
“I’d have thought you’d be sick of seeing us all by now,” Alex said to Bear’s dad as she took in the sight of him, Dorothy and little Evie standing in the hallway.
“LEKTHIE!” cried Evie as she sprung out from behind William’s legs and launched herself at Alex. Her two front teeth had yet to grow back, her lisp still as strong as it had been over the Kaldoras holidays.
Laughing, Alex cuddled the small girl close, at least until she cried out an equally joyous, “JORDIE!” and bounded into the room to throw herself at him. Alex felt a moment of alarm, fearing Soraya would be squashed between them, but D.C. whisked the puppy up into her arms a fraction of a second before Evie made contact.
“Mum, Dad—what are you doing here?” Bear asked, moving carefully to his feet and looking at his parents in bewilderment.
They didn’t answer straight away because they were too busy hugging first Alex and then everyone else as they made their way into the room, seating themselves on whatever bed and chair space was available.
“Administrator Jarvis thought we would find you all here,” Dorothy said, her hand clasping Bear’s tightly as she sat beside him on Alex’s bed. “It’s academy policy to notify parents when their child has been injured badly enough to warrant a night in the Medical Ward.”
Bear’s face cleared with understanding, before an apologetic look overtook his features. “Ah. I suppose I should have called you.”
Alex bit her lip, feeling guilty as well. She hadn’t even considered it—mostly because she’d received so many injuries since arriving in Medora that the Med Ward was basically her second home. And it wasn’t as if anyone could easily contact her parents after her many painful misadventures.
“Never mind that now,” William said, ruffling his son’s hair. “What’s important is that you’re safe and healing.”
“As if there was ever any doubt, with Fletcher in charge of his recovery,” Jordan said, showing Evie how to gently pet the wolf puppy. His actions caused William and Dorothy to take a closer look at Soraya, and they both paled when they recognised her for what she was. But to their credit, they didn’t say anything. William did, however, look at Alex and utter a deep sigh, almost as if he could imagine exactly how the young wolf came to be in her possession.
Alex just offered him a sheepish grin in return, which made him shake his head at her—partly amused, partly resigned.
“Is that why you’re here?” D.C. asked, her fingers playing with Evie’s hair as the little girl giggled at something Soraya did. “To check up on Bear?”
“To check up on all of you,” Dorothy said. After ensuring that Evie’s focus was wholly diverted, she quietly added, “With everything going on these days, we wanted to make sure you’re all handling… things… as well as possible.”
Realising that William must have shared at least some of what was happening with his wife, Alex’s heart warmed at the concern and love she felt radiating from the two of them. Bear’s family—Alex had never met more caring people in her life. From the wizened Gammy, to the tech-savvy Johnny and the quick-witted Blake—Alex adored them all.
“Things could be better,” she admitted, not wanting to lie to them, “but we’re still hopeful for a positive outcome.”
She was careful to be vague, not knowing exactly how much to share—especially since the last time she’d seen William, the king had just ordered her not to seek out the other races. Bear’s dad or not, Alex wasn’t willing to risk forcing his law-abiding hand.
… Not that he didn’t already know. It was pretty obvious Bear didn’t break his leg by falling down the dormitory staircase.
“I wish I could offer you some good news,” William said, “but unfortunately the mission I was set hasn’t yielded any results, either.”
His words were just as vague as Alex’s had been. But she nevertheless understood what he was saying: the Shields had found no evidence of Aven’s plans.
It wasn’t as if Alex had expected Aven to shout his intentions from the rooftops, but still. Her aim to rally the mortal races would be much easier if there were even a shred of proof that the threat she warned of was real. Not to mention, imminent.
“There’s still time,” D.C. said quietly, answering for Alex.
William dipped his head—whether acknowledging her words or bowing his respect to the princess, Alex wasn’t sure.
“We have a surprise for you all,” Dorothy said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Grateful, Alex watched as both Jordan and Bear perked up, and she shared a knowing—and amused—glance with D.C., since there was only one thing that could so quickly animate the boys.
“Please tell me it’s what I think it is?” Jordan all but begged.
“GAMMY’TH APPLE PIE!” Evie lisped in a shriek, causing Soraya to yelp with fright. The little girl quickly petted her on the head and said, much quieter, “Thorry, doggy.”
At least Alex wasn’t the only one to think of the wolf as a normal, domesticated canine. Even if that put her on the same page as a six-year-old.
“And here I thought I couldn’t love any of you more,” Jordan said, leaping up to help Dorothy unveil the pie from her bag. It was already cut into slices—one for each of them—and Alex’s mouth watered when she was handed hers.
“You’re welcome here anytime,” she said, moaning after her first bite.
“Seconded,” Jordan said around his mouthful. “And thirded, fourthed, fifthed, and on to eternity.”
“I doubt Bear would appreciate his overbearing parents ruining all his schooling fun,” William said, smiling as he looked at his son.
“If you come bearing pie each time, I can guarantee there’ll be no complaints,” Bear said, closing his eyes with contentment. “It doesn’t matter how many times I have this, it just gets better and better.”
“The magic of Gammy’s baking,” Dorothy said. “A wonder in its own right.”
A wonder, it was. And Alex enjoyed every delicious bite.
Too soon their visitors decided it was time to leave—mostly because Evie curled up and fell asleep right beside Soraya—and Alex and her friends began to say their goodbyes. Hugs were exchanged along with well wishes for Bear’s swift recovery and pleas for them to all be careful in the coming days.
Alex, for her part, made no promises, but she did offer assurances that she would try her best.
“I’ll be in touch if I hear anything,” William said solemnly to Alex as together they moved towards the door. “I won’t give up—so don’t you, either.”
Alex had no intention of doing so, but she was still encouraged by his declaration. That he believed her, that he believed in her—it bolstered her spirits after the hard weekend she’d endured.
“Thank you, William,” she croaked out, wrapping her arms around him in one final hug. “That means a lot.”
He squeezed her tightly and then let go, moving to embrace Bear. He whispered something that no one other than Alex would have been able to overhear, three simple words offered from father to son and filled with such emotion that Alex had to blink back tears.
I love you.
Looking away, Alex took a moment to compose herself before turning back and waving Bear’s family from the room.
One day soon she hoped she’d get to enjoy their company without the threat of Aven looming over them. She dreamed of long summer days spent with them in Woodhaven, exploring the forests surrounding their family home and enjoying the delights of the sleepy village and all its inhabitants. She dreamed of a time when her own parents could leave the safety of the Library, experiencing the wonders of Woodhaven—and the rest of Medora—right along with her. That was what she had to look forward to. That was the hope she would hold onto in the coming days.
Because that was what she was fighting for.
Freedom for those she loved—and for all of Medora.
Jordan and Bear took off not long after the Ronnigans left, leaving Alex and D.C. to scramble together their homework for the next day and then finally bunker down into their beds.
Just as Alex began to drift off to sleep, a growl from Soraya was the only warning she received before there was a flash of light and she was suddenly yanked from her bed—and from her room. She found herself lying in the middle of a rocky, desert-like valley, the sun only just beginning to set, as opposed to the fully dark sky she’d left back at Akarnae.
Leaping to her feet, Alex whispered, “What the hell?” as she spun around once, twice and still couldn’t figure out what had happened.
“Be at peace, child,” came a familiar voice as a figure appeared in front of her. “You’re safe here.”
With wide eyes, Alex said, “Lady Mystique? What—How—What—”
Her stuttering was interrupted when, in a burst of shadows with spears of lightning, Soraya appeared at her side, teeth bared as she growled at Lady Mystique.
With an overjoyed clap of her hands, the ancient Tia Auran cried, “Ooo-ee, look at you!”
Alex had never seen the old woman so excited as when she kneeled and opened her arms. Nor did she expect her protector wolf to suddenly stop growling and instead give a happy yap and do a running jump into Lady Mystique’s hands.
“Some protector you are,” Alex muttered, but Soraya was too busy licking Lady Mystique and being lovingly rubbed down to pay her any mind.
“This is a welcome surprise,” Lady Mystique told Alex, indicating to the puppy. “She will serve you well, Alexandra.” Her ancient eyes looked down to Soraya as she finished, “But for now, young one, you can leave us. I mean your mistress no harm, and I will see that she returns safely to your side.”
After a quick flick of her amber eyes to Alex as if making sure what the old woman said was true, Soraya disappeared in another explosion of shadow and light.
Frowning at the spot where the wolf had just been, Alex said, “Niyx thinks I’ll be able to travel with her when she’s a bit older, but I don’t fancy being electrocuted in the process.”
Lady Mystique waved a hand. “Your companion could no sooner harm you than she could herself. Do not fear.”
Focusing on the Tia Auran, Alex said, “What am I doing here?” She glanced around at their barren landscape and added, “Where are we?”
“I’m sorry for pulling you from your bed,” Lady Mystique said, gesturing to Alex’s pyjama-clad body, “but I needed to speak with you urgently, and this is a safe place.”
Alex could attest to that. There was nothing in sight for miles other than craggy rocks, like a flat, volcanic wasteland but without any actual volcanoes.
“Aven has been relentless in his hunt for me, but my time has not yet come,” Lady Mystique went on. “When it does, I shall go willingly. But until then, I cannot allow him to find me. It is places like this, the forgotten lands of this world, that help shield me until there is no longer a need to remain hidden.”
Despite the balmy temperature—not at all like the wintry landscape she had been transported from—Alex felt chilled by the woman’s words.
“Lady—”
“I can’t stay out in the open like this for long,” the Tia Auran interrupted, “and neither can you, Alexandra. But what I have to say is important enough for such a risk.”
“I’m listening,” Alex said, sensing her urgency.
“It is imperative that you win your next fight in the vatali targo. The Shadow Walkers must hear your warnings. You must turn their attention towards Meya, towards joining you in the coming war.”
Alex blinked, not at all expecting that.
“You fear that you cannot afford to wait a month,” Lady Mystique continued, her ancient eyes solemn, “and you are right. If they do not listen to reason before then, it will be too late.”
Rubbing her arms at the dire warning, Alex said, “I don’t even know if the elders will let me fight again.”
“They will,” Lady Mystique said.
“Then I don’t know how I can win,” Alex returned honestly, just as she had earlier with Niyx.
“You cannot.”
Alex looked at the old woman for a beat before throwing out her arms and all but wailing, “Then why are you telling me I have to? How can I do something that can’t be done?”
“You cannot win a match in the vatali targo,” Lady Mystique repeated, “but you have a chance of winning against the victor of the vatali targo.”
Forehead scrunching, Alex said, “Come again?”
“Impressive as your combative skills may be, even you cannot prevail against multiple Shadow Walker opponents, as their shadowing abilities will not allow for a fair fight,” Lady Mystique said, something Alex was already acutely aware of. “However, if you petition to battle against the victor of the tournament at the end of the week, a one-on-one match will even the playing field considerably.”
Weighing the possibilities, Alex said, “What makes you think the elders will agree to something like that?”
“Because the victor is someone who completes the entirety of the vatali targo and wins against six opponents in the one fight. They will be considered the best of the best in the shadowed side of Graevale. And if you, a human, offer a challenge defying that belief, the pride of the elders will prickle them into wanting to see your defeat.”
“And they will,” Alex said. “If this winner can take on six Shadow Walkers at once and still come out standing, what chance do I have against them?”
Lady Mystique looked steadily at Alex for a silent moment before speaking again. “There is a saying in your world: to fight fire with fire. Have you heard it?”
Tentatively nodding, Alex said, “So?”
“So,” Lady Mystique said, “you will have one opportunity to do as such, to use the weapon of your enemy against them. They will not be expecting it, and if you time it right, you have a chance—a strong chance—of coming out the new victor.”
Baffled, Alex said, “What weapon?”
The Tia Auran stepped closer and reached for Alex’s hand, holding it up in the dying light of the sun.
“This weapon, Alexandra,” she said, running a finger across Alex’s Shadow Ring. “Two walks remain.”
Alex snatched her hand back, shaking her head. “No. No way. The last time I travelled through the shadows on my own, it was…” Awful. Traumatic. Terrifying. “… unpleasant.”
“It was unpleasant because you were fighting them,” Lady Mystique said. “You needed only to resist. And once you did that, you were able to use them, were you not?”
Alex thought back to when she’d activated her ring to escape Aven and Jordan to get back to Raelia, and she again tentatively nodded.
“You now know how it feels, you now know what to do, you simply have to do it,” Lady Mystique said. She cocked her head before adding, “However, you need to do it faster than you did that time. Which is why we will practise now, using one of your walks. It will mean you’ll only have one left—a single opportunity during your fight—but if used correctly, one is all you shall need.”
“You want me to use my ring now?” Alex cried. “Like, now, now?”
Lady Mystique looked at her blandly. “Yes, now, now.”
“But—”
“We cannot stay much longer, Alexandra,” the Tia Auran said, looking out across the volcanic landscape as if she could sense the looming threat. “Focus on your ring, call forth the shadow, concentrate on where you want to appear—that boulder over there, can you see it? Aim for that—and step directly there.”
Alex couldn’t help sarcastically saying, “As simple as that, huh?”
“You have already fought the shadows,” Lady Mystique said again. “You conquered them, now it is your right to command them. They will yield to you, so long as you resist the pull of their darkness.”
Realising that on the off-chance this worked, she would indeed have a surprising weapon to use in a fight against the Shadow Walker victor, Alex took a deep breath and held out her hand.
“Remember, do it fast,” Lady Mystique urged. “Not just because our time is running out, but also because in your battle, you will have a split second to decide when to act, and you will need to move instantly.”
Here goes nothing, Alex thought, concentrating as hard as she could and trying to remember how she’d managed it last time. ‘We’re all born with Shadow inside us,’ Caspar Lennox had once told her. ‘… Immerse yourself fully in the Shadow.’
But… Alex was different now. Whether it was from her bond with Xiraxus or something else, the darkness that once swirled around her was no longer there, drowned out by the golden light of her vaeliana.
“Darkness is everywhere, child,” came Lady Mystique’s quiet voice as she witnessed Alex’s struggle. “And where it is not, we have the unfortunate ability to imagine it so. Use that to your advantage. Call forth a troubling memory, Alexandra, and it will give you the power you need.”
A troubling memory. That she could do.
The last time she saw Aven sprang to mind—not the avatar of him she’d encountered while freeing Jordan from his Claim, but the real-life Aven of the past, right after he’d discovered she was mortal and had gone on to kill the humans and attack his family. The scene played out with startling clarity, from his ferocious, agonising shouting to the moment he’d stabbed her with her own blade.
Darkness, so much darkness from a single memory—darkness that Alex pulled into tangible shadows that rose up in front of her. While heartsick from the memory, she still managed to step into the darkness, and true to Lady Mystique’s words, the shadows didn’t pull and tear at her like last time. Instead, they waited for her command, which she gave with a mental picture of the boulder as directed.
Within a microsecond, the shadows were gone, and Alex was left standing ten feet from where she’d last been, slightly disoriented but otherwise unaffected.
“Good,” said Lady Mystique with a proud nod. “Now you know how to do it, next time you should be able to do so without needing to concentrate as much beforehand. Do you think you can manage that?”
Swallowing from the lingering memory—and Aven’s murderous face still flashing across her mind—Alex gave a slow nod. Because Lady Mystique was right—now that Alex knew how to do it and how it felt, she was confident she could repeat it, and in an instant.
“Then we are done here,” the Tia Auran said, closing the distance between them and reaching out to hold both of Alex’s hands. “I have the utmost faith in you, child, and it has been an honour and a privilege to see how far you have come.” She dropped one of Alex’s hands, moving her dark, weathered fingers up to tenderly stroke Alex’s cheek as she whispered, “May the light shine upon you always, Alexandra Jennings. And remember…” Her voice grew in strength as she finished, “Don’t fear the shadows. Make the shadows fear you.”
And then, before Alex could so much as draw a breath to respond, let alone ask why it sounded worryingly like Lady Mystique was saying goodbye—which was something she’d never done before—the old woman was gone… and so was Alex.
Soraya gave a soft sound of greeting upon Alex’s return to her dorm room, but after offering the puppy a distracted ear scratch and telling her to ‘stay’, Alex didn’t remain long. Instead, she grabbed a thick coat and donned it over her pyjamas, yanked on some boots and ran from her room.
It was long after curfew but Alex was past caring about whatever repercussions she might face. As much as she didn’t have time for detention to be added to her already demanding schedule, she was willing to risk it if her outing ended in success.
Sprinting through the bitter night air, Alex tore across the icy campus and into the Tower building in search of her SOSAC teacher. Once there, she realised she had no idea where Caspar Lennox’s quarters were, so she cheated by crossing her fingers and hoping the Library was in an agreeable mood.
Bolting down the staircase, through the foyer, and down the second staircase, Alex didn’t waste time before stepping through to the corridor of doors and asking the Library to show her a way to her teacher.
A door opened, and Alex ran straight through it, only to discover it didn’t lead to his quarters in the Tower building at all. Instead, she arrived where her teacher currently was— that being the now familiar balcony overlooking the shadowy cathedral at Graevale.
Startled by the unexpected destination, Alex gaped at the elders, Caspar Lennox and Shirez, all of whom were staring right back at her with unconcealed shock.
“Uh, hey,” she said, with a pathetic wave of her fingers.
“What is the human doing back here?” demanded Azalia. “How did she even get here?”
“Well, it’s the darndest thing,” Alex answered, but she didn’t have a chance to finish because a collective gasp met her statement. She closed her eyes in horror, realising she’d just responded to a question spoken in the language of the Shadow Walkers.
Well, crap, she thought to herself.
“Alexandra—”
Alex reopened her eyes at Caspar Lennox’s hissed word, but she cut him off before he could say more.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt,” she said. “All I can say is that I was looking for Caspar Lennox and had no idea the search would bring me here. But since I was planning to give him a message to pass on to you, I might as well do it myself since, well, we’re all here now.”
“We made ourselves clear earlier today, human,” said Azalia in the common tongue, her dark eyes flashing with unconcealed loathing.
Of all the elders, she was definitely the most intimidating, but Alex refused to be cowed.
“Two minutes of your time, and I’m gone,” Alex said, looking deliberately at Radek and Saber as she spoke, presuming them to be the more level-headed of the three.
After a moment of strained silence, Radek answered in a curt voice that told of his displeasure, “You have one. Make it count.”
Alex jumped straight into her request to fight the victor of the vatali targo, using deliberate and antagonising words to attack their pride, just as Lady Mystique had encouraged. In Alex’s favour was that Shirez had come through for her and already appealed for ‘the human’ to fight another round—which was why Caspar Lennox had been called back to Graevale to hear the elders’ agreement.
Alex’s new counteroffer, however, had them up in arms. There was yelling in both languages, as well as pointed fingers and ferocious faces. But ultimately, Lady Mystique had been correct—their pride led them to accept the terms of her challenge.
The only problem was, her boldness had insulted them so much that the elders gave her an ultimatum: win, and they would grant her an audience to hear her warnings; lose, and they would never listen to her, not even after the month-long celebrations were over.
It was an all or nothing deal, enough to make Alex feel sick with nerves, but she couldn’t back down. And so, when she reopened the doorway that led back to the academy—and away from the elders’ furious faces—she left with a grim smile and their promise that she would be summoned as soon as a winner was crowned.
It was a good outcome, Alex knew. But as she settled herself back into bed beside Soraya for the second time that night, she twirled the ring on her finger and desperately hoped Lady Mystique’s faith in her wasn’t misplaced.