Lucien could barely sleep throughout the night.

No matter how hard he tried, he found himself staring up at the ceiling, wondering what would become of him now that Exben was no longer an option for them.

He had spent the night listening to the screams and cries of mortals in the far-off villages and Townsquare as they fled from the horror no doubt inflicted by Jodah, Yagein, and their band of brainless followers.

Eventually, he turned his back to the window to get some sleep but ended up wandering outside his room until the early morning hours. He watched through one of the high columns of the training grounds as the attuned siphons began dispersing down the tunnel halls to portals that would lead them to a sanctuary at their next destination.

He hid in the shadows, too ashamed to meet any of the siphon's eyes.

The punishment from Esmeralda was enough but to face the other siphons would be a shame he was not sure he could bear.

So instead, Lucien hid and watched everyone file into their prospective hallways until there was only a handful of them left in the training vicinity. Slipping out of the crook, he made his way back down the hallway to his room to gather the last of his stuff.

The hallway echoed with the sound of his footsteps, the quiet presence mirroring the hollowness he felt inside. His footsteps slowed as he passed by Venix's room, letting himself wait for a few seconds to hear anything. But he found himself contemplating at the front of her door, wanting to go in but his body was rigid in place.

The glance of her angry eyes glaring at him from the previous night had burned an image in his mind and the more he contemplated on it, the longer the ache in his chest continued to spread until his entire body strained.

Lucien took a step forward to knock on her door but the sound of footsteps on the other side pulled him back. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and continued to make his way back to his room. The door was cracked open as he approached it, a blurry shadow passing by the door followed by a chorus of voices whispering amongst themselves.

Frowning, he pushed open the door to see Esmeralda and Celeste in his room. His sister was pacing back and forth in the room while Celeste was bent over the bags on his bed, zipping the last bag and locking it in place.

The deity looked up as he looked at the bags on his bed, a frown on his face.

"Lucien, you don't look well. Are you okay?" she asked as he approached the bed.

The siphon nodded without making any eye contact as he sat on the bed. "You went back to the house to get my bags?" he asked as he casted his eyes over the familiar luggage he had brought with him.

Celeste nodded, offering him a half smile. "After settling on a location in the early hours of the morning, I made several trips to get everyones' bags from the house and materials from the house. Whatever we couldn't fit or was deemed unworthy was burned away along with the house."

"The house is gone?" Lucien asked, raising his brow.

Celeste confirmed with a nod. "It's nothing but ashes now. This also gave me time to warn whoever I could in the area to move as quickly as possible before Yagein and Jodah infiltrate. I don't know how seriously they took my warnings but I hope they took it to heart enough to make immediate changes."

Lucien let out a sigh, burying his fingers through his hair. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure that house must have meant everything to all of you. I never meant for any of this to happen. I thought Venix and I were doing the right thing but it seems as if I was mistaken."

Celeste eyed him with sorrowful eyes. She reached out to gently squeeze his hand. Before she could say anything, Esmeralda interrupted, turning around to face her brother. Her eyes were cold and a permanent frown stayed on her face as she approached him.

"Greatly mistaken" she whispered, earning a sigh from Celeste.

"Do you have to remind him at every waking moment of his and Venix's choices? You're acting as if your judgment has not gotten us into trouble several times. Be more lenient, considering the mistakes that still haunt you to this day."

Esmeralda frowned at Celeste who had pulled herself away from Lucien, composing herself in front of the leader. Her shoulders were pulled back and her hands rested on her hip, a brow raised in question. She challenged Esmeralda with her eyes, warm yet threatening in the way she stared her down.

The tribe leader leveled her with the same demanding gaze but her proud stature began to crumble the longer she continued to hold her gaze on Celeste. Her shoulders slouched, her frown falling, and soon she broke her gaze.

"This isn't about me" Esmeralda stated after a minute. "This is about the chaos Lucien and Venix have brought with them since stepping foot in this kingdom. We were fine! The tribe was fine! Hell, Exben was fine! There was relative peace until they infiltrated and now look at the mess that has descended upon us. Exben is nothing but ruins and blood now, our house is gone and I have to safely transport all the attuned siphons I have trained under this mountain to a location where they won't be slaughtered to extinction!"

She turned around to face Lucien, the frown on her face deepening. "I deserve the right to be angry. Resentful even! You and Madhavi didn't ask for this! The hundreds of people dead in the town center did not ask for this! The tribe did not ask "

"I suggest you lower your tone with me" Celeste calmly suggested, closing the gap between her and Esmeralda. Her eyes were no longer warm, instead shrouded in a glaze of darkness as she approached the tribe leader. Black, spider-like webs of magic crawled underneath her eyes, rippling under her skin as she questioned Esmeralda.

The tribe leader swallowed hard and took a step back, ducking her head low.

"I know this is difficult but we are not strangers to danger now. Venix and Lucien didn't bring any danger that wasn't chasing us the minute you decided to execute this plan of taking back the attuned siphons that have been slaving underneath Jodah for decades. We've been running for the past five centuries from the inevitable. Did they exacerbate the process? Yes. Did they bring the inevitable danger? No, and that is something you can not fault them for, no matter how much you want to."

This time, Celeste gave her a long, drawn look as her eyes flickered up and down the leader. "Don't blame your failures on them."

Esmeralda flinched at her last words but held her tongue. Instead, she took one last breath and sighed, turning away from Celeste. "I need some air" she stated, grabbing her cloak that was draped alongside the chair. "I'll meet you at the portal."

Lucien barely got a chance to open his mouth before his sister stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut. It echoed throughout the room, sending a chill down his spine. He let out a sigh and collapsed back on the bed, running his fingers through his hair and down his face.

He felt the bed sink as Celeste leaned against the edge, prompting him to open his eyes once again. "Are you okay?" she asked, resting a cold hand on his shoulder.

Lucien pulled himself up, shaking his head. "No, but there is no time for me to sulk and feel sorry for myself when thousands of lives have been lost and countless more might be in danger" he whispered.

"Don't be too harsh on yourself, Lucien. You nor Venix could have predicted this outcome. You came here, hoping that Yagein and Jodah would not follow you. You came here for answers and instead, you were left with more questions. I think now is the time to focus on what is ahead and unlock your full potential."

Celeste reached over and grasped both of his hands in her grip. The attuned siphon casted a glance down at her pale hands before raising his eyes to meet hers. She gave him a soft smile despite the darkness that eclipsed her eyes before getting up from the bed. She made her way over to the door, turning back only to give him an acknowledging nod.

"We leave before the sun rises at its highest hour. Meet us at the lowest level of the mountain. You'll be informed of our new location before we enter the portal. Take what you can with you. Everything else is expendable" she informed.

"Is everyone else ready?" Lucien questioned.

"For the most part. Arsen and Talon ventured out early morning to survey the perimeters of the kingdom and mask our magic trail so that we will not be followed by Yagein and Jodah. They should be back soon."

Before the attuned siphon could question her further, Celeste disappeared through the door, leaving him confused and alone in the emptiness of his room. Lucien covered his face with his hands, letting out a sigh before he collapsed into the pillows of the bed.

The thoughts in his head were beating themselves against the walls of his mind and he felt himself melting into the bed with every passing second. The pressure on his chest tightened and concaved into his body, creating a pit that grew larger and throbbed with every day that passed by where he did nothing but sit and wait for his demise.

His world was falling apart and he did not know how to piece it back together.

Or if he could.

Lucien let out a scream into the pillows, letting all the tension and frustration leave his body. He could feel his body shake and grow hot as his fingers dug into the skin of his palm so hard, he was sure blood was dripping down his hand. He screamed until his throat was sore and he could feel the tears prickle in his eyes.

The sound was unearthly and echoed through every part of the kingdom. It shattered all those who heard it and surely awakened ancient beasts that slumbered below them. It could have been heard underneath the waves of the ocean or through the clouds of paradise.

But now, the siphon had no care about who heard his pain. 

For all the war cries had sung in the past, this one continued with a painful realization that he was truly lost and alone. 

"Talon, we should get back to the mountains. If Yagein and Jodah were here, their trail had disappeared hours ago along with them. The others are waiting for us and we don't have that much time to waste."

Arsen's concerned voice broke through Talon's thoughts as they finished their survey of the town square. They had been rummaging through the piles of dismantled shelters and bodies before the sun's rise, securing the perimeters of the kingdom along their way.

Arsen had done his job of covering their trail but with the sun slowly rising, he had grown impatient to return to the tribal grounds. Talon, on the other hand, had enjoyed rummaging through the disheveled mess, marveling at the destruction of Yagein and Jodah's power.

Even now, he could still feel their power radiating in the area and its presence sent a thrill down his spine.

Oh, what it would be to have such power bleeding through his body.

"We haven't checked the northorn alleyways close to the forest," he remarked, pointing towards the winding path that led them to the enclosed area.

Arsen frowned, shaking his head. "Those are abandoned roads, Talon. There is no use exploring. We'll find the same things there and quite frankly, I don't want to rummage through another pile of corpses."

Talon smirked, turning to his brother with an amused look on his face. "Arsen Cerebis not being thorough? There is a surprise if I have ever seen one."

He could see the hesitant look immediately settle on his brother's face but he didn't stick around long to hear his reply. Instead, Talon turned his attention down the alleyway, weaving a path underneath fallen planks of wood and limbs. The area reeked of flesh, blood, and sewage and the morning light could not pierce its way through this blanket of darkness but he willed himself to continue.

Behind him, he could hear Arsen trotting after him, calling for him to turn back around so they could return to the mountain but Talon continued to ignore him, increasing his stride when he felt a wave of dark magic wash over him the closer he got to the end.

Putting all his strength into his strides, Talon broke through the dark alley and stumbled upon an untouched neighborhood. It was small with inns and small stores lining either side of the road. Toward the end, a path led to the dense forest with large, withered trees erupting from the ground, creating a cocoon around the area.

"Do you feel that, Arsen? That power radiating throughout your body? It's riveting isn't it?" Talon said as he continued to make his way down the path. He coil hear Arsen's quickening steps but he didn't dare turn around to acknowledge him.

"It's dangerous and I don't like how this place feels. It reeks of dark magic and we need to leave before whatever lives here comes for us. Don't you see it with your own eyes, Talon? We need to leave now!"

Arsen grabbed Talon's arm but he yanked it back, turning around to face his brother who wore a terrified expression on his face. "Just a little further. It won't hurt for us to see and besides if there is something evil, wouldn't we be doing the right thing by eradicating it?"

"You and I both know only I can yield enough power to do so and I don't want to be put in a position where both of us are in danger" Arsen warned, raising his brows. He stared his brother down, a frown on his lips.

"Please, let's leave" Arsen begged once again.

Talon frowned, stepping away from him. "Must you always remind me that I am forever in your debt and inferior?" he asked. "That an immortal is my only life source and without you, I will die?"

"Just as how you constantly remind me of all my debts to you" Arsen responded, causing Talon's frown to grow deeper.

He stepped back, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to uncover what the source of this dark magic is, with or without you."

Talon turned around and began trotting further down the path, abandoning his brother who called for him. He continued to run until he stumbled upon the last house before the forest, the darkness of the trees engulfing his shadow. Arsen's footsteps could be heard but Talon tuned him out, walking around to the side of the house,

The sense of dark magic intensified as he looked around at the broken slabs of wood and took note of the rotting stench of flesh. Despite feeling an immense sense of danger, he couldn't ignore the compulsion that continued to call him as he walked around to the back of the house where glass from the broken windows was sprayed on the grass.

The back door of the house was barely hanging on to the hinges that struggled to hold it upright and dragged blood-stained handprints were engraved on the aging wood. They created a path that led to the spilled blood on the ground that tracked a line through the grass toward the opening of the forest.

Talon scowled and then held his breath as he finally realized whose territory he was standing in.

"Talon, behind you!"

Arsen's voice broke through his thoughts just as he turned around in time to see shadow silhouettes rush past him and attack his brother. They were quick and dragged Arsen down to the ground until his screams were cut off in the silence of the morning.

Although he still couldn't see their full faces in the darkness, he saw what he assumed to be blood dripping down one of their hands.

"Don't worry, he's not dead. Simply unconscious."

The voice was cold yet calm and the power that radiated off the presence was enough to suffocate him. He could smell the death radiating off of them and the more he willed himself to turn around, the quicker his heart pounded against his chest.

And when he finally met those cold eyes, his heart sank to his stomach.

Yagein Washli and Jodah Northorn stared back at him with curious gazes in their eyes. They didn't present themselves as a threat but remembering the carnage he searched through and the current bleeding body of his brother displayed on the grass, he decided to keep his reservations to himself.

"Your majesties" he whispered, bowing his head. "I didn't know this was your territory."

Yagein hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked him up and down, a smirk on her face.

"He has manners" she whispered to Jodah who shrugged at her, an unimpressed expression on his face.

"Better than the rest of them. What are you doing here, mortal? I know you can sense our magic. Anyone else would have turned around and run away, like what your brother was trying to convince you to do. Why continue to walk into danger?"

Talon swallowed hard, but the words escaped his mouth without a second thought. "I want what you have. The power, the respect, the glory, the fear. I want people to cower in my presence. I want to radiate the kind of power you two possess. I want it all."

Yagein chuckled but stopped once she realized the serious tone in his voice. She hummed, leaning forward to take a closer look. "A mortal begging to be immortal. Is that the reason why you keep Arsen so close to you?"

Talon swallowed hard but nodded. "He owes me. More than you'll ever know" he explained. "But I'll do anything to get what you have. Anything. Just tell me what you want and it's yours. I just don't want to be the leech anymore. Someone they view as weak."

Yagein nodded, pulling back and trading a look with Jodah who had a hesitant look on his face. "And how do we know you won't just turn back to report to your friends? How do we know this isn't a plot and you are the bait? I don't trust you any more than I trust those scheming immortal you tie yourself to."

"Mark me, create a bond. Do whatever you may please that will solidify your trust in me. I'm at your disposal" Talon whispered. He took a step closer to them, determination set on his face even though his hands were shaking with every step he took.

When he was face to face with them, he rolled up his sleeves and extended his arm out. "Do we have a deal?"

Yagein chuckled, casting a wary gaze down to his hand. "What's your name?"

"Talon Cerebis, your majesty" he informed confidently.

Jodah sighed, looking down at his extended hand before reaching out to shake it firmly. Talon smiled as he squeezed his hand. He then turned back to Yagein who still looked at him with skepticism in her eyes and a scowl on her lips.

"Do we have a deal, Yagein?" he asked, extending his hand out to her.

Instead, she reached out and wrapped a hand around his neck. He could barely breathe as she pulled him close until their faces were barely inches apart. He could feel her cold, iron talons press into his neck and her breath hit his face and the hardened look in her eyes was almost enough to make him melt.

She radiated power and darkness and being in her grip was suffocating enough but he held his composure as she gazed at him up and down.

Then, she smiled, exposing her iron teeth and he could have sworn, the world darkened right then and there.

"Deal" she whispered, tapping an iron nail against his neck. "But your life is in my hands now."

A/N: And that is the end of the seventeenth chapter and part one of The Shadow Heirs.

After a very long and stressful semester/hiatus, I am back! Thank you all for being so patient with me as I get back into the groove of writing. I am very excited to continue writing this book on a much more structured schedule.

I am ecstatic to introduce part two!

Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Let me know what you liked and didn't like and what you are excited about!

Thank you guys for all your constant support. It means so much to me that you came back to join me on this crazy journey and read this book. I enjoy writing it and hearing your feedback always makes my day!

Until next time Lovelies!

With love, May