Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

27. Caine

27

CAINE

“I’ll go next.”

Violet gives me a swift nod. We have to do this, and time is running out. We don’t have time to fuck about. If this is what it takes to get through the Convergence with Violet intact, then there is no hesitation.

Gripping my cane, I stride into the nearest empty alcove. As soon as I cross the threshold, the world around me shifts.

An icy wind whips around me, and I find myself back at home in the Ice Kingdom. “Ugh,” I mutter.

“So, the prodigal son returns.”

I whirl around to face the source of the voice. A massive figure towers over me, skin blue as glacier ice, eyes gleaming like frozen stars.

“I’m not your son,” I say. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“Ymir,” he sneers. “The primordial Frost giant.”

Narrowing my eyes, I take in his looming presence with interest. I didn’t know about Frost giants, so this is intriguing, to say the least.

Ymir laughs at my scrutiny, the sound like cracking ice. “You carry my blood, boy. My power flows through your veins, diluted though it may be.”

I grit my teeth. “I’m nothing like you.”

“Oh, but you are,” Ymir counters. “You’ve just been too afraid to admit it.” He moves in a flash of ice, and the crack of my bone under his foot reverberates from the scenery surrounding me.

“Fuck,” I grunt and look down to see the exact same injury I received all those years ago under my father’s training. The bone sticks out, and blood pours from it. I lean on my cane and grimace. “You fucker,” I growl.

He laughs again. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Kick your arse from here to the next realm,” I grit out.

“Gonna have to fix that first, boy,” he sneers.

I glare down at my leg. I didn’t have the guts to do it last time. Dad had to come in and snap it back into place. But that was years ago. I was a boy then. Now, I’m fuming and ready to smash some giant into the ground.

Just as soon as I get up the courage to fix this.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. With a swift, brutal motion, I snap the bone back into place. The pain is excruciating, but I refuse to cry out. Instead, I channel that pain into anger, into power.

It heals as it should. It’s a dull ache, but it’s something I can ignore.

Frost spreads from my hands, coating my cane in a layer of razor-sharp ice. I look up at Ymir, my eyes blazing with cold fury. “You want to see what I can do? Fine. Let’s dance, you great big oaf.”

I lunge forward, swinging my ice-coated cane at his knee. Ymir laughs and easily sidesteps, but I’m already pivoting, sending a barrage of ice shards his way.

“Better,” he growls, deflecting the shards with a wave of his massive hand. “But still holding back. Show me your true power, boy!”

He stomps his foot, and the ground beneath me turns to slick ice. I slip, barely managing to catch myself with my cane. Ymir looms over me, disappointment etched on his craggy features.

“Pathetic. You cling to that crutch, afraid to fully embrace your heritage.”

I grit my teeth, anger and frustration boiling inside me. He’s right - I am holding back. I’ve spent so long trying to control my power, to be the perfect son my father wanted. But that’s not who I really am.

With a roar of defiance, I slam my cane into the icy ground. Cracks spiderweb out from the point of impact, the ice shattering beneath us. I feel a surge of wild, primal energy coursing through me.

“You want to see my true power?” I snarl.

I let go of all my careful control, all the restraints I’ve placed on myself. The temperature plummets as my power explodes outward. Massive spikes of ice erupt from the ground, forcing Ymir to dodge and weave.

I’m no longer thinking, just acting on pure instinct. For the first time in my life, my body shifts to something more. I grow larger, my skin taking on a bluish tint. The cane in my hand elongates and transforms into a wicked ice spear.

Ymir grins savagely. “Now we’re talking!”

We clash in a fury of ice and snow. Each blow sends shockwaves through the air, reshaping the landscape around us. I match him strike for strike, my strength and speed keeping pace with the ancient Frost giant.

As we fight, I feel something unlock deep inside me. The power roars through my veins, cold and fierce. With each clash of our weapons, I grow stronger and more in tune with this primal energy.

Ymir’s grin widens as he sees the change in me. “Yes! Embrace it, boy! This is who you truly are!”

I howl, my voice echoing with the power of a blizzard. Ice spreads from my feet, changing the landscape. Mountains rise and fall at my whim, glaciers flow like rivers.

For a moment, I’m lost in the raw power, the exhilaration of unleashing my full potential. But then I remember why I’m here - Violet, the others, the fate of all realms hanging in the balance.

I take a deep breath, centring myself. The wild energy still courses through me, but now I control it rather than letting it control me, and I shrink back down to my normal size, my skin returning to its normal hue.

“This power isn’t just for destruction,” I say, meeting Ymir’s gaze. “It’s for creation too.”

I focus, channelling the energy differently. The jagged ice spikes smooth out, forming intricate crystalline structures. Beauty emerges from the chaos.

Ymir nods approvingly. “Now you understand. The power of the Frost giants is to shape the world itself. To destroy and create. You are a god now, boy.”

I ignore that inflated comment. “This is what I need to help Violet?” I ask.

“It’s a start,” he says and fades away.

“Okay then,” I mutter. I guess the rest is up to me.

I, too, fade away then and find myself back in the chamber.

I catch Thorne’s eye and smirk. “You’re up, shadow-boy.”