Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

26. Flint

26

FLINT

I watch Violet carefully as she processes Magdeline’s words. The weight of her destiny is visible in the tight set of her shoulders and the crease between her brows. Part of me wants to comfort her, to tell her she doesn’t have to do this. But I know that’s not true. We’re all bound to this fate now.

“So,” I say, breaking the heavy silence, “how exactly do we awaken these dormant powers?”

The old woman’s lips curl into a cryptic smile. “By facing your deepest fears and embracing your true natures.”

“Brilliant,” Thorne mutters. “Vague mystical advice. Just what we needed.”

I can’t help but agree with him. We’re facing the end of all realms, and we’re supposed to unlock hidden powers through some sort of spiritual journey? It seems absurd.

But then I look at Violet again, see the determination in her eyes despite the fear, and I know I’ll do whatever it takes to help her.

“Where do we start?” I ask.

Magdeline gestures to the chamber around us. “This place is more than just a tomb. Each of you must enter one of the alcoves and face the trials within.”

“Trials?” Caine raises an eyebrow. “What kind of trials are we talking about?”

“The kind that will strip away your illusions and force you to confront your true selves. Are you prepared for that, children?”

I swallow hard, glancing at the ominous alcoves. The skeletons stare back, their empty eye sockets holding ancient secrets.

“Do we have a choice?” Violet asks, her voice tight.

“There’s always a choice,” Magdeline replies. “But the fate of all realms hangs in the balance. Choose wisely.”

Violet takes a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “Right then. Let’s do this.”

She moves towards one of the alcoves, but Magdeline’s bony hand shoots out, gripping her arm with surprising strength.

“Not you, dear girl. Your trial will come at the Nexus itself. These are for your champions.”

Violet frowns but nods, stepping back.

I exchange glances with Caine and Thorne. Resignation stares back at me.

“Fuck it,” I mutter, striding forward. “Let’s get this over with. Any alcove?”

Magdeline nods. “Any will do. The trials will adapt to each of you.”

I take a deep breath and step into the nearest alcove that isn’t housing a bony occupant. As soon as I’m fully inside, darkness envelops me.

For a moment, there’s nothing but inky blackness and the sound of my own breathing. Then, a chill wind whips around me, carrying the scent of snow-capped peaks and crisp mountain air.

When my vision clears, I’m standing on a familiar ledge overlooking the place I call home. But something’s wrong. The once-pristine landscape is scarred, great swathes of forest burned away, and the lake at its heart is an oily black.

A voice like grinding ice speaks in my head.

This is what becomes of your home if you fail. If you cannot embrace your true nature and wield the power of Thraxus.

I whirl around to find myself face-to-face with a massive Dragon, bigger than any other that I’ve seen. His scales glitter like fresh snow. Thraxus.

He shifts, and before me stands a man, taller than most, with ice-white hair and eyes the colour of snow.

“I won’t fail.”

“Then prove yourself worthy. Show me the Dragon within.”

I close my eyes, trying to connect with that wild, primal part of myself I’ve always tried to keep carefully controlled, but it has been getting the better of me lately.

“You fear your own power,” Thraxus taunts. “You hide behind human civility, denying your true self.”

“I don’t fear anything.”

“Don’t you? You still hold back, even now. Release yourself, Dragon. Embrace the storm within.”

The chill intensifies, biting into my bones. But beneath it, I feel a familiar fire igniting. I let it burn freely.

My body shifts, scales erupting across my skin as I shift. Wings unfurl from my back, and I roar, the sound echoing across the ravaged landscape, but this is different. This isn’t my usual shifted self. I’m larger, more powerful, white and burnt orange, which signifies the nature of my mixed powers.

“Just. Like. Me.” I look down to see Thraxus grinning up at me. “I wondered when another would appear with my powers. And here you are, Flint, son of Glacier. But are you ready?”

I bob my head.

“Are you? Are you ready to embrace who you really are? A god amongst lesser beings?”

What?

“See, that right there tells me you aren’t,” Thraxus says. “You have no idea who you really are, Flint, and that will be the downfall of the woman you claim to love.”

I roar, wishing I had a voice to tell him to fuck off, but Dragons don’t speak. Streams of fire and ice escape my mouth, creating a swirling vortex in the air. The conflicting elements dance and intertwine, neither overpowering the other.

Thraxus nods approvingly. “Better. But still not enough. You must fully embrace both aspects of your nature. The fire and the ice. The destroyer and the creator.”

I concentrate, focusing on the dual natures within me. The scorching heat of my fire, the biting cold of my ice. I had seen them as opposing forces, constantly at war. But now, I understand. They’re two halves of a whole, complementary rather than contradictory.

As this realisation washes over me, I feel a surge of power, unlike anything I’ve experienced before. My body grows even larger, my scales shimmering like crystals under a light. When I roar this time, it shakes the foundations of the mountain.

Thraxus grins fiercely. “Now you’re getting it. This is your true form, Flint. The power you’ve always possessed but were too afraid to claim.”

I look down at my massive claws, marvelling at the way frost and flame dance across my scales in perfect harmony. For the first time in my life, I feel whole.

“But power alone is not enough,” Thraxus warns. “You must also understand your purpose. Why were you given this gift of a god?”

I stare at Thraxus, his words echoing in my mind. A god? It seems impossible, and yet... The power coursing through me now feels limitless, ancient. I shift again, breathless and sweaty. “To have the power to stand beside the daughter of magick as her champion.”

He smiles almost sinisterly. “How humble of you.” He bows and steps back, fading away as I frown.

“Is that it?”

“You passed. What more do you want?” Thraxus has vanished, but his voice echoes all around me.

I blink, and suddenly, I’m back in the circular chamber, stumbling out of the alcove. Violet rushes to my side, steadying me.

“Flint! Are you alright? What happened in there?”

I take a deep breath, still reeling from the experience. “I think I just met Thraxus and unlocked some serious power.”

Caine and Thorne look at me with curiosity, tinged with apprehension.

“Care to elaborate?” Thorne asks.

Before I can answer, Magdeline interrupts. “Each trial is personal. The details are for Flint alone unless he chooses to share them.”

I nod gratefully. I’m not sure I’m ready to discuss everything I learned, especially the bit about being a god. That feels too big and too impossible to process right now. Too unbelievable. I’m not sure ‘god’ is the right word, but Thraxus seems to have a rather trumped-up opinion of himself.

“Who’s next?” I ask, eager to deflect attention, and we wait for an answer.