Part I
Shadow-Touched
“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
Pablo Neruda
Chapter 1
Icy fear arced down Lucian’s spine as Effie’s body crashed into his with the force of an enraged Talyrian. No one so little—infused with a Shadow’s corruption or not—should have the ability to knock a man of his size onto his ass.
Lucian grunted in pain as his head cracked into the rubble-strewn floor. She landed on top of him and immediately went for his neck. Lifting his hands instinctively, Lucian struggled to pry her slight body off of his. While she was small, she was now Shadow-touched. Even if the transformation was not yet complete, she was already reinforced with a Shadow’s unholy strength.
Effie fought like a wild animal, all fang and claw. Little growls sounded in her throat as she gnashed her teeth, aiming time and again to tear into his vulnerable flesh.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he managed, maneuvering his right arm between them and shoving her off of him with more effort than he would have liked. “But I will if it means keeping you whole.”
She flew back into the desecrated bodies she’d been ravaging when he’d found her. With a snarl, Effie pulled herself up into a crouch and glared at him through the bloodied strands of her hair.
A shiver of apprehension danced across his skin as her expression shifted from malice to dark amusement. There was no question which of the two emotions frightened him more.
Lips parting in a cruel smile, she purred, “What’s wrong, lover? Don’t you want me anymore?”
The words were bad enough, but it was her voice that cut at him like the scrape of metal over glass. It was all wrong. A broken rasp that had no place coming from such a sweet mouth—even if said mouth was currently dripping blood.
Using the opportunity to assess his next move, Lucian raked his eyes over his charge. He barely recognized her. Physically, she appeared almost normal. If one discounted the sheer amount of gore covering every inch of her body and the snaking black lines slithering in her milky eyes. But those were merely window dressing.
The subtler, harder to pinpoint shifts in her were what inspired true fear. Like the odd, halting way she moved, almost as if she was no longer at home in the body that contained her. Or perhaps it was the aura of hatred wrapped around her like some kind of mantle.
Lucian might be looking at Effie, but she was not who was staring back. A savage, blood-thirsty creature had taken over and had no intention of letting go of its prize anytime soon.
It didn’t take him longer than a heartbeat to finish his assessment. This was not a battle that could be won today. Not without a sacrifice he was unwilling to make.
What he needed was time. The only way to buy that was to subdue her, and fast. The longer this went on, the worse it was going to be—for both of them. Teeth clenched, Lucian pushed to his feet and eyed the discarded weapon a few paces away.
Following his gaze, Effie tsked. “Can you really kill me so easily, Guardian? Just sink that blade of yours straight into my heart as if I mean nothing to you?”
A savage roar tore through him in immediate protest, but Lucian kept his expression carefully blank. Let her call his bluff. He only needed to fool her long enough to tie her up. Then he could figure out how to save them both, because there was no doubt in the entirety of his being that if she was lost, so was he.
Stooping down, Lucian scooped up his blade. “Effie, if you can hear me, I need you to fight this, okay?”
The creature sneered. “Effie’s not home right now.”
Taking a step forward, Lucian snapped, “Fight, fledgling.”
Her expression rippled, like there was some kind of internal war taking place within her that he was not privy to. Or perhaps that was just his fervent hope making him see something that wasn’t there.
“There’s nothing to fight except for you,” she growled, standing slowly. “Your fledgling is dead.”
“No,” Lucian roared, charging forward in a burst of speed.
She was ready for him, tossing a handful of dirt and rocks up into his face. Lucian didn’t need his eyes to see. He pulled his power forth with no more effort than one used to take a breath.
Even now with the corruption streaking through her in a series of thin black and gray strands, Effie glowed a pale gold. Her light was barely diminished, reinforcing Lucian’s hope that it wasn’t too late to save her. If anyone was strong enough to fight against the corruption while he searched for a cure, she was.
Effie let out a shriek of rage when Lucian didn’t stop charging, wholly unaffected by her trick. She shone like a beacon, and it was more than enough for his aim to stay true.
Sword arm raised, Lucian dropped his power. A slight widening of Effie’s eyes was the only hint she knew what was coming. He bashed the hilt of his sword down into the side of her head, not holding anything back from the blow.
The effect was immediate. Effie crumpled like a ragdoll, her eyes rolling back into her head as her body went slack.
Lucian winced, mentally apologizing as he caught her. Shadow-touched or not, Effie was still his. His eyes dropped to her face, and his heart ached. Eyes closed and features no longer twisted with menace, there was no trace of the being that was living inside of her. Effie could have been sleeping.
Swallowing, Lucian adjusted her in his arms and forced the thought away. He couldn’t afford to think like that. Right now, Effie was the most dangerous enemy he’d ever faced. Not because of the threat she presented to the world at large, but because of the threat to his very nature. He was going to have to do the impossible if he had any hope of surviving this. It would be a battle with his deepest and most primal instinct at every step.
A Guardian’s primary purpose was to protect at any cost. But how could he protect someone when they were the monster?
“Lucian?”
Kael’s voice should have brought a wave of relief, but Lucian knew his brother. He was not going to like Lucian’s plan.
“Over here,” he called.
Kael rounded the corner, his expression relaxing slightly when his eyes landed on Lucian and the woman in his arms. “You found her. Is she alright?”
Lucian didn’t know how to answer that without lying, so he didn’t.
Brows veeing, Kael stepped forward. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“We’ve got a problem.”
Sparing a glance for the destruction around them, Kael let out a humorless laugh. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“Effie’s Shadow-touched.”
Color leached out of Kael’s face, his jaw going slack. “What? When? We were all fine after the lajhár . . .”
“It must have happened before. When she was bit.”
Kael’s eyes shuttered, and he leaned heavily against the wall. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Luc, I’m so sorry.”
Lucian had known Kael long enough to know where his thoughts were heading. Hell, it would be the same direction his would go had their positions been reversed. “Don’t,” he gritted out.
“Lucian, you know what this means.”