Ruler of Shadows

Chapter 11 - Ariah

I'm falling. That's all I know. I don't really know why I'm falling. My hands and body were wrapped around something. I have to protect it.

The night sky flew passed me in a blur as I free fall. I was spinning. I looked at the stars, only to see the approaching city. I could hear people laughing with my heightened hearing. I realized the ground was coming up, and if I didn't want to introduce my face to the flight of stairs I was about to fall on, I needed to spread my broken wings. And fly.

Flying didn't work out.  My wings already had holes, and were probably irreparably damaged.  Since I couldn't damage whatever I was holding, or my lovely face, I realized something.

I needed to land on my wings. With all the momentum, all the bones would be shattered. The skin shredded. The muscles and tendons exposed and destroyed.  They were basically my real wings, but they just looked and felt different.  So I could basically never fly again.  In my Fae form, anyways. 

I could shift into different animals using shadow, kind of how I changed my wings. But my wings would be ruined.

With the ground approaching fast, I rolled, spread my wings, and landed onto the ground above the stairs.

I blacked out for a few seconds after landing. When I came to, the first thing I noticed was my wings. I looked at the Illyrian wings, and flinched. They were ruined. I closed my eyes as the image sunk in. My wings were my freedom. I just lost my freedom. And then I noticed that I was still holding something. More like someone.

I looked at Kaz. I hadn't had time to properly mourn. When he died, I had mourned from afar. But holding his body right now made everything sink in. I had lost my son. My people. My wings. And soon, I would lose my life.

I gently laid his body across the ground. All I could focus on was Kaz. I rested my head on his chest, where his heart was. I stayed like that for awhile, until I noticed something. There was a weak beat, but a beat nonetheless. Kaz wasn't dead. His heart was still beating.

I sat back, astonished. Hybern's magic must've kept him preserved, including his heart. I finally looked up, and saw a group of people.

I was a spy, so I obviously knew them. Standing in front was Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court. His violet eyes were curious as he looked at me. He looked content, since his mate had returned to him. Standing beside him was the aforementioned mate. Feyre Acheron. High Lady if the Night Court. The Cursebreaker. The so-called Savior of Prythian. I didn't really like her. She was weak, in my opinion. But Rhysand has good taste. In clothes, at least.

Behind them was an Illyrian with shoulder length hair. Cassian. General of the Night Court's armies. He had a smirk as he stared at me. Until I shifted, and sat taller, exposing my wounds. The three flinched as one.

Amren and Mor stood together in the back. My lips pulled back from my teeth. I hated Morrigan. My mate was in love with her, so it wasn't my fault. Speaking of my mate...

Most, if not all, wouldn't be able to detect him. But I could. He stood in the shadows (go figure), slightly in front of them all. He was protecting them. From me. That stung a little.

I hadn't seen him face to face. His soft black hair fell onto his forehead. I wanted to reach out and brush it out of his eyes. His beautiful hazel eyes bore into my warm brown ones. I looked at his hands and saw the same hands that I had once held.

He looked stunning. Although he radiated sadness, and loss. And then I realized. Today was my supposed death anniversary. Well, that put a damper on things.

"Hey, are you ok?" Morrigan asked gently. She started to walk towards me with her hands out, as if I were a dangerous animal. Well, I was one, but still.