Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

33. Violet

33

VIOLET

A bone-rattling roar shakes the void around us as the chamber dissipates, leaving us exposed. Seven distinct shapes materialise in the darkness ahead. They move like living shadows, their forms twisting and writhing as they approach. The air grows thick with ancient power, making it hard to breathe.

"Fuck," I mutter. "Here we go."

The closest figure solidifies first, its form coalescing into something vaguely humanoid. Flames dance across its skin in impossible colours. Deep purple and sickly green mix with orange and red. The heat radiating from it makes the void ripple like a mirage. Its eyes, when they fix on Flint, burn with the intensity of a thousand suns. I try to move, to fight, but I'm locked in place, unable to even blink.

Fuck .

"Dragon child," it speaks, its voice crackling and popping like a wildfire consuming everything in its path. "You carry Thraxus's essence. We can taste his power in your blood. Join us. Let us show you what true dominion over fire means."

The second being emerges from the darkness, its body formed of ice that shifts and changes constantly. Frost spreads from where it touches the void, creating intricate patterns that shatter and reform endlessly. Its gaze, sharp as icicles, locks onto Caine. The temperature plummets around us.

"Frost giant spawn," it hisses, its voice like breaking glaciers. "Your blood calls to us. Why fight what you truly are? We could show you powers beyond your wildest dreams."

A third form, this one composed entirely of nothing, if that's even possible. Where the other Old Ones have some semblance of physical form, this one seems to be a tear in reality, a place where even darkness fears to dwell. It turns its attention to Thorne, and I feel him tense beside me.

"Child of the void," it whispers, its voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Your domain is our domain. Your shadows are but pale imitations of our power. Submit, and we will show you the true meaning of darkness."

The remaining four beings circle us like predators sizing up their prey. Each one represents a different primal force, and their forms are both beautiful and terrifying in their alien nature. The earth being looks like living stone and crystal, its body constantly shifting and reforming. The air entity is almost invisible, visible only by the way it distorts the space around it. The water being flows like liquid mercury, its surface reflecting impossible images. The final one, pure energy, crackles and sparks with raw power that makes my skin tingle painfully.

Those four focus their attention on me, their combined scrutiny making the marks on my skin burn.

"What the fuck?" Caine growls, fighting against the forces that are holding us in place. "They're not just after Violet."

"They never were," comes a familiar voice that sends chills down my spine.

I gasp as Morgan steps out from behind the Old Ones, looking exactly as she did before her sacrifice. Her white dress is pristine, her hair flowing around her like a dark halo. But her eyes burn with a fanatical light that makes her look more like a monster than a mother.

"Did you really think this was just about you, little flower?" she asks, her voice dripping with condescension.

The rage that fills me is instant and overwhelming. Purple lightning crackles around my clenched fists. "You fucking bitch," I snarl. "You planned all of this. Every single moment."

She smiles, the expression cold and calculating. "Of course I did. For centuries before you were born, I watched these beings and studied them. They each represent a primal force of nature - fire, ice, shadow, earth, air, water, and pure energy. But they're trapped here, unable to fully manifest in our world without vessels now, such is the law of the new order." She spreads her arms wide, gesturing to the void around us. "This prison holds them, but it's weakening. They need anchors in our realm to fully manifest their power."

"And you needed us to be those vessels," Thorne grits out.

"Not quite," Morgan corrects. "I needed Violet to channel their power, yes. But I also needed three powerful beings to help contain and control that power. You three were perfect. You are already aligned with three of the primal forces. Fire, ice, and shadow, the building blocks of chaos itself."

My mind races as pieces slot into place. "None of it was coincidence." Nathaniel turning me, the all too convenient arrival of Flint and Glacier at the mansion, being able to escape so easily, Glacier bringing me to MistHallow where Flint, Caine and Thorne were already students.

I shudder when Nathaniel appears at Morgan's side and slips his slimy arm around her waist. She beams up at him, and I throw up a bit in my mouth.

"Very good, little flower," Morgan purrs, looking back at me. "I've been orchestrating this dance for centuries. Finding the right bloodlines, the right combinations of power, for you, my daughter. With Nathaniel's help, of course."

"But why?" I demand, my voice cracking with fury. "What was the fucking point of all this manipulation? All this pain?"

Morgan's eyes gleam with an almost manic light, and she steps closer. The Old Ones move with her, their powers creating distortions in the void around them. "Because once you channel their power, once you become their vessel, I can take that power from you. All of it. I'll become more than a witch, more than a goddess. I'll become the supreme being of all realms."

The marks on my skin pulse painfully as rage courses through me. "You sacrificed yourself, knowing I'd absorb your essence."

"Of course," she says. "Do you really think I'd give up everything for a child I threw away in the first place?"

Those words hit my heart. Hard.

"Don't listen to her," Flint says, shaking his head. "She never threw you away, Violet. She needed you. She needed you because she is so weak that she couldn't do all of this without you."

Flint's right. My head knows that, but my heart is still trying not to break. One thing doesn't make sense, though. "Why did Nathaniel come to the Academy with the Order if you were working together?"

"To contain you," Nathaniel states. "Until the Convergence."

Okay, that makes sense now.

"You were created for this purpose," Morgan says, gesturing around her. "A vessel strong enough to channel all the power of the Old Ones, but young enough, naive enough to be controlled. Your very conception was calculated. Born at the exact moment of the last Convergence, infused with the Nexus's power, then hidden away until the time was right."

"That's why you hid her in time," Thorne growls, his shadows whipping furiously. "Not to protect her, but to make sure she'd be perfectly positioned for this moment."

"Of course," Morgan says. "Your father did his job well."

"Is he here now as well?" I spit out bitterly. "Is he going to show up and throw hurtful words at me?"

Morgan giggles. "No, he is long gone."

Somehow, I don't believe her. He was probably some poor fool who got caught up in her games, but I don't believe he is dead. She doesn't use that word. Again, I think about Blackthorn but dismiss it. Whoever it is, is connected to him though. That much is obvious.

"Fuck this," Flint snarls, and I feel him tense next to me. His flames suddenly erupt across his skin in a display of primal fury. I can feel the heat, but it doesn't burn. "You don't control her. You never did. All your manipulation did was make her stronger, make us stronger together."

The fiery Old One laughs, the sound like an inferno consuming a forest. "Such spirit. Such power. You could be so much more than what you are. Join us willingly, and we'll show you the true meaning of dominion over flame."

"We are exactly what we're meant to be," Caine says, ice spreading from his feet in intricate patterns that counter the Old One's frost.

The elemental beings move closer, their powers reaching out like tendrils, trying to find purchase in our souls. I feel them probing, searching for weaknesses and ways in. The sensation is violating, like having multiple beings crawl inside my brain at once.

But our connection holds strong. The marks on my skin glow brighter, our combined power creating a barrier they can't penetrate. Each attempt to breach our defences only makes the bond between us stronger.

"You don't understand what you're refusing," Morgan says, frustration creeping into her voice as she watches her careful plans begin to unravel.

"No," I say firmly, my voice carrying the weight of absolute certainty. " You don't understand. Your quest for power, your willingness to sacrifice everything and everyone - that's your weakness, not ours. You talk about reshaping reality, but you don't understand the first thing about real power."

The Old Ones attack as one, their combined might crashing against our defences like a tidal wave of primal force. The void itself warps and buckles under the assault, reality fraying at the edges. But we hold firm, our souls linked, our powers working in perfect harmony.

Fire and ice spiral together, shadow and light dance in perfect balance. My purple magick pulses with the strength of our connection. The marks on my skin burn like brands, but the pain only makes me stronger and more determined.

"Your time is over," I tell them, feeling strength race through me. "You don't belong in any realm anymore. You're relics, echoes of a power."

"You cannot destroy us," the shadow being hisses, its form rippling with rage. "We are eternal. We are power itself. We existed before your realms were formed, and we will exist long after they crumble to dust."

"Wrong," Thorne says, sounding bored as fuck with all this posturing. He is tense next to me, and I know he is coiling his magick to break free from this hold they have us in. "You are the past. We are the present and the future."

Morgan screams in rage, launching her own attack. But her manipulations have weakened her, and her schemes have given away too much of her power. Once so overwhelming, her magick feels pale and thin compared to the combined might flowing through us.

"Together," I say to my guys, feeling our power build to impossible levels. "Let's end this. Once and for all."