36. 

Light dances at the edge of my vision. Aches throb across my body as I shift, silky sheets against my tender skin. I squint my eyes open, sunlight piercing through the open window and momentarily blinding me. The warmth, the silk sheets, the golden glow of the sun—for a brief moment, I think I'm dead. But then I notice the lace trim of the bedsheet, the gentle breeze wafting through the window, the thick, beaded mat. I'm in a room in the castle.

My mind feels groggy as I sit up, the sheets falling to my waist. I'm fully clothed, my shirt grubby and torn at the sleeves. I look around the room, catching a glimpse of myself in the vanity mirror. My hair is a frizzy mess, littered with twigs and dirt, clumps of dried blood straggling the ends. A wave of nausea hits me as I rub my temples.

What happened?

The last thing I remember is those dreaded delusions—Charles killing me in the tunnels, Darius and Flo's painful screams. Cynthia murdering Eric, Cassia, and Elias. Then Cynthia on the ground... I shoot up from the bed, almost immediately tumbling back down, head dizzy.

Malik stabbed Cynthia.

I rest against the mattress, holding my head when the door creaks open.

Deep, blue eyes meet mine. "You're awake." I grip the sheet as I stare at him, wary. My mind is a mess of mismatched memories. I don't know what's real and what's part of Cynthia's hallucinations. "How are you feeling?"

He looks freshly showered, his midnight hair pushed off his forehead and face freshly shaven, meanwhile, I feel like I've walked through hell and back. When I don't answer, he starts to walk towards me.

"G-get away from me." Hurt glints in his eyes, as if I've offended him, but he stops moving. "Where's Elias? What's going on?"

"You're safe, Milena."

"Where's Elias?"

He inhales deeply before responding. "Elias is fine."

I stare at him, the image of Cynthia's machete plunging into Elias' chest playing on the back of my eyelids. I sway on my feet. "Where is he?"

Malik walks closer, settling on the edge of my bed before looking up at me. "Maybe you should sit down."

"I'm fine."

"You're gripping that bedpost for dear life," he says. Still, I don't move. Malik softens his voice. "You nearly died, Milena. Sit down."

Hesitantly, I perch on the edge of the bed, resting my back against the headboard, as far away from Malik as I can get. I don't understand what happened, all I know is that Malik betrayed us, teamed up with Cynthia, and then stabbed her. Only darkness follows.

"Cynthia—"

"She's dead." Malik watches my face, gauging my reaction.

"She... she's immortal."

"She was," he says.

Malik stands up and walks around the bed, settling on the same side as me, merely inches away. I feel conflicted as I stare at him. Part of me trusts him, the part that valued our friendship, the part that thrived off his compliments, and the way he validated me. But the other side of me rages with fury.

"Do you remember the day we first met? You found me in the library. I told you a story."

I scrape my memory. It feels like such a long time ago. We were still looking for Elias, and Malik felt like a beacon of hope. But was he fooling us all along?

"Fin and the shadow," I say eventually. "The fairytale."

"Flyn," he corrects. "You asked me if it was a weapon. Do you remember that?"

"You said it was, but you lied." I stare him dead in the eye. "The shadow was useless."

"I lied about the knife, but not about the shadow. The shadow was never a lie." He shifts closer, puts his hand over mine, hesitantly, as if waiting for me to draw away. "You've always been the weapon, Milena."

I blink at him, frozen in his gaze. "No."

"You're the shadow."

I shake my head. "T-that's impossible."

"Why do you think Ana chose you to switch with Elias? It wasn't just a coincidence." His expression grows more animated, desperate, excited almost. "Who better to give them than the one person who could be their demise?"

"They nearly killed me."

"Which is what Ana hoped would happen," he says, anger lurking in his expression. "Then you wouldn't be a threat to her precious Elias. I may not agree with her methods, but she was definitely cunning."

I stand up, wobbling on my feet. Malik tries to steady me but I shove him away, pressing myself against the wall. "Don't touch me."

He reaches out again. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I said don't touch me." He backs away, eyeing me closely. "You're not making any sense. I'm... I'm a human."

"Anyone can be a shadow—shifter, human, hollower."

"No."

Malik continues. "You don't believe me? You killed that immortal hollower when you and Elias broke into the castle."

Valerie. "Elias stabbed her—"

"Which wouldn't have had any effect on her if she hadn't brought you to the brink of death, first," he says. "And Cynthia, she almost killed you, Milena. And if I hadn't let her, she would still be alive right now."

I shake my head, staring at him in horror. "You sound crazy."

"Do you remember what Elder Rosemary told you about how your parents died?"

"They were killed," I say, "by a wisper. It was an accident."

"Exactly." He presses his lips together, concern seeping into his eyes. "I really think you should sit down." He sighs when I don't. "Milena... you weren't some orphan Ana plucked from a random human village. Your parents were well-loved before their death, they were a valued part of the community. Of this community." I blink in horror. "You were born in this village, Milena. This is your home. It always was."

I don't know what to say. I don't even know whether to believe him, but my throat is dry and the world is spinning. "Did Elias ever tell you what happened to his parents?" I nod, too numb to speak. "His father wasn't the only one who died in that fire."

"My... my parents?"

"And nearly you. Elias was with Ana at the time, safe." He steps closer. "Elias' mother could do more than just start fires, she was incredibly powerful. She could heal fatal wounds. And she tried to heal you, but consumed by guilt and shame for what she'd done to her husband and parents, she lost control. You remember what elder Rosemary said? To create a shadow, a wisper transfers the very thing that makes them a wisper. In trying to heal you, she turned you into the shadow. And you cannot create a shadow and live to tell the tale."

He turns to look at me, eyes brushing over my face. They feel like an embrace but his words are like a slap of cold water.

"Ana wasn't the one who found you," Malik says. "It was Elder Rosemary. She brought you to the elders in the mountain, found Ana with Elias, told them what happened."

"The elders are in on this too?" He nods. "Why didn't you tell us from the start? Why all the lies about that dagger? Why go through the trouble of betraying us for Cynthia?"

"You wouldn't have believed me."

"You didn't even try." He doesn't say anything for a few moments, staring out the window. "When we were on that island saving Elias, you didn't go to look for the shadow at all, did you?" He shakes his head. "You were looking for Cynthia."

"I had to find her before she found you. I couldn't risk her trying to kill you, not then."

"That's why she let us go." He nods. "What did you offer her, anyway?"

"I convinced her to wait," he says. "I told her to go to Elias' village. My guards would meet her there and help her take over. I promised I'd lead both you and Elias back there. In return, she promised to leave my village alone."

"Why would she listen to you? Why would she wait?"

"Because I had Anastasia, the hollower," he says. "Cynthia thinks I caught her so I could secure the safety of my village, but I just needed her to ensure that Cynthia wouldn't try to kill you on that island. In return, I let Anastasia go."

"And the elders? They knew about all this?"

I think of Eric and Cassia. Did they go to the elders for help? How betrayed will they feel when they realise the elders were on Malik's side all along?

"All these years your potential lay unactivated." He steps closer, brushing my hand with his. "Ana wanted you dead. Your very existence was a threat to the one she cares for most."

"Elias."

"She took you from the elders right under their nose, planted you in that house for the hollowers to find and mistake you for a wisper," he explains. "The elders never knew where you'd been taken. But when news spread about Elias the wisper and you, the human decoy, they knew exactly who you were." He meets my gaze. "They sent me to find you, to protect you and help you find Elias so he could activate you before somebody killed you."

"But I... how did he..."

"Activate you?" he asks. I nod. "Elias' gifts were very... fragile, especially as he was healing. Around you, he was like a ticking time bomb, an accident was nearly inevitable. We expected to have to wait a little longer for something to happen, but we were lucky when he accidentally burnt you while trying to activate the knife."

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell us. Even if you thought we wouldn't believe you, you could have tried."

"The elders thought it was best kept a secret."

"Why?" He looks away, clenches his jaw. "Malik."

Finally, he looks at me. "I knew you'd never agree to help."

"With destroying Cynthia?" I shake my head. "I would have—"

"Not that." He meets my eye. "You remember how Ana moved away from the elders."

"Because she stole me from them, sacrificed me to the hollowers without their permission."

"When we first talked about this, you defended her, said she was doing the only thing she could. But that wasn't true, the elders knew there were alternate routes." His eyes darken. "An option... you wouldn't like. Hell, an option I don't even like. But now, it's the only one we have."

"Malik, what are you talking about?"

"So long as a wisper exists, hollowers will always have the power to become immortal. Their blood is the key. If you eradicate wispers, you eradicate the problems."

His words settle like dust, the room deadly silent as I stare at him. They wanted to kill Elias. "He was just a kid."

"But his death would've prevented this war, all these deaths." He looks at me. "But it's not too late."

"You want to kill Elias?"

"I don't want to," he says, wincing slightly, offended. "But it's the only way to stop this."

I shake my head. "You can't kill him. You couldn't. He's too powerful for you, too resilient."

"I can't," he says. "But you can."

The horror sets in as I stare at him. "I-what're you talking about?"

"You have so much power inside of you." He stares at me like I'm some sort of gem. "The power to destroy an entire species, an entire bloodline. You are the only one who can end this forever." I stare in horror. "Only the shadow can destroy a wisper as powerful as Elias."

I shake my head. "I-I won't do it."

He meets my gaze. "You've forgotten the tale of Flynn and the shadow, Milena. The shadow doesn't just have the ability to kill a wisper, it is also a protection against wispers, placed upon an individual by a wisper so that no wisper or other being can ever kill them." He says. "Think of Valeria, of Cynthia. You didn't physically harm either of them, and yet they died. The same will go for anyone else. Anyone who brings you to the brink of death will die."

"You want me to die?"

"You wouldn't die, I told you."

"Elias wouldn't try to kill me, no matter what you tell him."

"He wouldn't have a choice," he says. "You've forgotten how unstable his powers are. I've been watching him. He's like a torch around you, Milena, always ready to set off. One wrong move and he will."

I shake my head. "How could you do this to him? He sees you as a friend."

"I have no ill feelings towards him, Milena," he says. "He is simply a means to an end. Destroy the wisper and the immortal hollowers will follow. So long as Elias lives so does their ability to become immortal."

"And your brother?"

"I didn't have a brother. I just needed something for Cynthia to believe I was out to get you."

I stare at him in horror. "Where is Elias?"

"Waiting," he says. "Cynthia injected a lot of silver into his bloodstream, until it's gone, he won't be able to access his gifts."

I shudder. "Does he know?"

"I haven't told him, but he watched Cynthia die, I'm sure he has some ideas of his own."

There's a knock on the door. One of his guards slips in and simply nods his head. It brings a heavy feeling into my stomach. Malik turns to look at me, he steps closer, bringing a hand to brush a strand of my frizzy hair down.

"I know you care for him," he says softly, eyes raking over my face. "But I know your heart, I know you want to do the right thing. You have the power to end so much suffering, to prevent so many deaths. You just have to find the strength."

"Malik, you're asking me to help you kill Elias."

He smiles, a sad smile. The worst part about it all is that it seems like he thinks I'll agree, like if he tries hard enough, he could convince me. "It's a decision any good leader would make."

I step away, holding my chin up. "Well I'm not a leader. I never was, and I never asked to be one."

"Milena—"

"No. I won't do this."

He holds my gaze, desperation in his eyes but I keep my face straight, chin lifted, despite the way the room spins. I won't give in.

Finally, Malik lets out a long, resigned exhale. "Then you give me no choice."

~

Apologies for the delay! We got a delta COVID case in my country so were sent into a serious country-wide lockdown last night and I was scrambling to get home to my family. To any NZers out there, stay safe! Hard and fast is the best way to go!

DISCUSSION:

1. THE BIG REVEAL! Milena is the shadow. A few of you guessed it quite early on. Was it extremely obvious? I'm using this draft as a tester so when I go back to edit, do you think I should make it less obvious? Or was it mysterious enough?

2. How do you feel about Malik now? He isn't completely evil like we thought in previous chapters, but has your opinion changed? 

3. What do you think might happen next?