Chapter 2 THE HUNGER BEGINS

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Kael was walking toward me. Each step of his heavy boots echoed on the stone floor. He was only a few feet away now. I kept my head bowed, staring at his polished silver boots. These were the same boots that had stood still while I was dragged to my death.

"Look at me," Kael commanded.

His voice was deep and full of authority. It used to make me feel safe. Now, it made my skin crawl.

I slowly raised my head. I had to be careful. My eyes were no longer the radiant gold of the royal family. They were a dull, muddy brown, a glamour provided by the shadow entity.

Kael squinted. He reached out, his gloved fingers hovering near my chin. I flinched instinctively.

"Have we met?" he asked. His blue eyes searched my face, looking for something he couldn't name. "Your presence… it feels strange. Like a cold draft in a warm room."

"I am just a maid, Sir Knight," I whispered. My voice was raspy, changed by the screams I had left behind in the Abyss. "I arrived from the southern villages only this morning."

"Kael, darling! Why are you bothering the help?"

The high, sweet voice made me want to vomit. Seraphina floated toward us. She wore a dress of pure white silk, embroidered with gold. On her finger sat the ring Kael had once promised to me.

Kael dropped his hand, but his gaze didn't leave mine. "There is something off about her, Seraphina. She doesn't have the light of a normal citizen."

Seraphina glanced at me with utter boredom. To her, I was just a piece of furniture. "She’s probably just tired. The peasants are all the same, dear. Stop being so paranoid. The 'traitor' is gone. The Abyss took care of that."

She wrapped her arm around Kael’s, pulling him away. Kael lingered for a second, a flicker of confusion crossing his face, before he finally turned to follow her.

Soon, I thought, my fingernails digging into my palms. Soon, you won't be able to look away.

The head maid shoved a tray of wine into my hands. "Don't just stand there! The banquet is starting. If you spill a single drop on a noble, I'll have you whipped."

I entered the Great Ballroom. It was nauseating. Everyone was celebrating. They were eating expensive meat and drinking aged wine while the "Heart of the Kingdom" was supposed to be rotting in a hole.

As I walked through the crowd, a sudden, sharp pain exploded in my stomach. It wasn't hunger for food. It was a dark, hollow ache.

"Feed me," a voice hissed inside my head. The God of Devouring Shadows was waking up. There is so much light magic in this room. Take it. Consume it.

I staggered, nearly dropping the tray. I looked at a nearby Duke. He was a disgusting man who used his light magic to bully his servants. I could see his power; it looked like a faint yellow glow around his body.

I brushed past him, pretending to stumble. My hand touched his silk sleeve for only a second.

In that instant, I felt a rush of heat. A stream of yellow light flowed from his skin into my fingertips. The Duke gasped, his face turning pale. He wobbled, clutching his chest as if he’d suddenly lost his breath.

The hollow ache in my belly vanished. I felt strong. I felt… dangerous.

"Are you alright, your Grace?" I asked with a fake look of concern.

"I… I feel faint," he wheezed, sliding into a chair. "Someone fetch a healer!"

I moved on. One by one, I touched the most corrupt nobles in the room. A slight bump here, a steady hand there. By the time I reached the front of the room, I was buzzing with stolen power.

But I had been too greedy.

The air around me began to shimmer. Small wisps of black smoke started to rise from my apron. My disguise was flickering.

"Aria?"

The whisper was so quiet I almost missed it. I froze.

I wasn't looking at Kael or Seraphina. I was looking at the high priest. He was staring at my hands, which were stained with the black marks of the Abyss. He knew the signs of the forbidden contract. He was the one who had sealed my magic. He could see through the shadows.

"You survived," the priest whispered, his eyes widening with terror. "Guards! The witch! The witch has returned from."

I didn't let him finish. I lunged forward. I didn't use a knife. I didn't use a spell. I grabbed his throat with my shadow-stained hand.

I didn't just take his magic. I ripped it out.

The high priest's eyes rolled back in his head. He fell to the floor, a hollow shell of a man, his divine power completely gone.

The music stopped. The ballroom went silent.

"What is this?" the king roared from his throne.

Kael was the first to react. He drew his glowing sword, his face a mask of fury. "You! The maid! What did you do to him?"

I stood over the fallen priest, the black smoke now swirling openly around my feet. I didn't hide my face anymore. I looked directly at Kael and Seraphina.

"I am simply returning the favor," I said, my voice echoing with the power of the Abyss.

"Kill her!" Seraphina screamed, her face twisting in panic. "Kill her now!"

Kael leaped across the floor, his sword raised high. The holy metal glowed with enough light to blind a normal person. But I wasn't normal anymore.

I raised my hand, and the shadows rose like a wall.

"Kael," I said, a dark smile spreading across my lips. "Did you really think the Abyss could hold me?"

Kael stopped mid-swing, his eyes going wide. "That voice… Aria?"

Before he could speak another word, the floor beneath us began to crack. A massive, shadowy hand burst through the marble tiles, grabbing Kael by his waist and slamming him into a stone pillar.

I felt a surge of triumph, but then a sharp, cold blade pierced through my shoulder from behind.

I gasped, looking down at the bloody tip of the sword sticking out of my chest.

"I knew it was you," Seraphina hissed in my ear. "And this time, I’ll make sure there isn't enough of you left to crawl back."