Destroyer [The Time Guardian #3]

Knowledge is power. Or so I have been told by people, none of whom were expected to save the world from a real, life-sucking monster. Oh, and let’s not forget the war. Or the fact that everyone I cared about was in mortal danger because I was a trusting idiot.

“Fuck!” I hissed as wood whistled past my ear, giving me exactly a second and a half to duck. Fallon moved like he had expected me to dodge, his steps assured, his face betraying none of his intentions. The fighting stick in his hands soared through the air in a graceful arc, then snapped back toward me like a whip. Not the fun kind.

I was ready this time, blocking it properly and shoving him with enough strength to force even the young yet annoyingly massive warrior-priest a step back. Squeezing my matching weapon until my knuckles ached, I attacked in turn, my feet shuffling over the familiar stone landing. The wind picked up, capturing my blonde hair and sending it in my face like the trembling of my limbs and the roaring in my head weren’t enough of a handicap already.

I refused to let that slow me down. I had been on my ass way too often in the past few weeks to accept another defeat, even if it was just a stupid spar.

“You’re distracted,” Fallon announced, not even bothering to phrase it like a question.

Brat.

My new shadow had taken my command to speak ‘informally’ to me a little too seriously. He was getting more nagging even than Arden, who was… totally and utterly out of the picture. I hadn’t even seen his face since he was called urgently to the front three weeks ago, and all we heard from him since then was one goddamn letter announcing the fall of yet another Jernenian city. I didn’t even know if he was alive, although his mother assured me that a king’s death was a big deal and if it’d happened, things would quickly change.

Well, that didn’t seem to be the case with Sadon’s untimely demise, because his stupid fucking death changes absolutely nothing. The war was still going in Paralea’s favor, their troops were taking more and more land, and not a single person was calling Thomas a murderer, let alone a world-destroying monster, which was definitely trying to eat everyone.

And that was just not fucking fair! I was starting to think that maybe this stupid world deserved to lose its sun, its food, and its will to live, so I could show up and tell everyone, ‘Ha! I told you so, idiots! Now suck it!’

The only thing stopping me from doing that was the fact that Arden, Erin, and most of the people I cared about lived in the said world, and I was apparently born here, so if I wanted any answers about my mother and what the hell happened to her, I needed to keep this place from falling apart.

On the very small, very shady bright side, Thomas hadn’t killed or infected anyone important—that I knew of, at least—so that was nice. We had no idea what he was planning, but there wasn’t a single cell in my body that wasn’t convinced he was up to something. I could hear more and more of Hathan’s whispers, both in the palace and the city below, and the number of people we had to drag to the dungeons to ‘heal’ was getting unmanageable.

Pain exploded in my shoulder when my exhausted arms dipped a little too low. I retreated a step, but all I had time for was a scowl before Fallon was on me again. The wood whooshed so close to my shoulder that it tangled in the folds of my sleeve and made me stumble to the side.

“Is it Hathan? Did he finally do something?” he asked as he slammed his elbow into my gut, forcing me back with a grunt. The place throbbed, but I ignored the pain as another gust of wind swept through the tower, making our robes twist around our bodies.

Neither moved until the air settled again.

Damn Fallon wasn’t even winded, and while his eyes were sharp with attention, he didn’t look one freaking percent concerned. Not that I preferred to inspire fear in people who thought I could do no wrong, but… seeing him so sure of his victory pissed me off. Thomas had had the same look when he showed up in front of the Temple to ask me to give up my Chosen title and go fuck myself into oblivion.

In the weeks after that day, I hadn’t slept or eaten much aside from my nails and my increasingly intrusive thoughts. I still couldn’t believe I’d fallen for his sappy story and pathetic whining and brought him here. It made me repeat every single conversation, question every look or piece of information he’d given me, trying to discern how much of it was truth or a lie. It made me wonder if I’d purposely closed my eyes to the darkness lurking in his because I was so desperate for answers.

My arms moved to block another blow that was aimed at my head, but my shoulder cramped. Pain burst on the side of my face a moment later, and darkness swooped in, swallowing the world. Fallon shouted my name, but when I looked for him, I realized I was alone, surrounded by a sea of black.

‘Giving up already?’ a voice whispered, the sound echoing everywhere until it resonated all the way down to my bones.

My eyes shot open, and I tried to get up, but I could barely feel my body, let alone move. I blinked a few times until lights flickered above me and I realized I was staring at the night sky. Moonlight blanketed the world, making it just bright enough to see the two figures standing nearby. One of them was kneeling beside me, talking, if the unintelligible gibberish that came out of his mouth was any indication, but it was the second one that held my attention.

Lingering in the shadows by the door leading into the castle below, they stood perfectly still and watched us. Unlike Fallon’s bright white robe, they wore a black robe without a single streak of gold, their hood lowered so much that their face was cast into impenetrable darkness.

The wind picked up again, shuffling their cloak until a strand of golden hair escaped the hood and floated in the air. I instinctively reached for my sword, but then remembered I’d left it by the banister with Fallon’s numerous weapons before we started today’s spar.

Fuck.

“Chosen!” Fallon’s voice finally reached me, and I flinched at his panicked tone. My eyes darted to his, and the sigh that escaped his lips was so heavy that his shoulders sagged. By the time he helped me into a sitting position, I was preparing to teleport to my weapon. Just as warmth rushed through my veins and my body started to glow, I noticed the place by the door was empty.

They were gone.

I looked around frantically, releasing the hold on my power only after I was sure we were alone. Bitterness spread on my tongue, and it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t due to missing whoever was under that hood. It had to be Thomas; he was the only one with light hair in this world unless he invited friends, but… last time I checked, his hair was still pretty short. Unless this was another perk of our powers, which I knew nothing about.

“Chosen!” Fallon shook my shoulders. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to hit you that hard!”

“Stop yelling, I’m fine,” I grumbled, shrugging him off and pushing to my knees. I spat the blood that had gathered in my mouth, staring for a second at the red sludge that now marred the smooth gray stones. Fallon visibly gulped while he watched me wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “Did you see them?”

A line appeared between his dark brows. He looked around gingerly, and I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, because I didn’t try that already, dumbass.

“Who? Nobody has been up here since we came,” he muttered when his attention returned to my face. His eyes lingered on my mouth, and when I licked my lips, I tasted more blood there. His rich, dark skin looked two shades paler than usual, and his chest was rising and falling quickly.

Oh, now he can’t catch his breath! Unbelievable!

“I… I thought I killed the Chosen!” he said in a shaky breath, and I almost felt bad when I noticed his tortured expression. Did he honestly think he could kill me with one smack on the head? How arrogant. “You were supposed to dodge that! It wasn’t even a hard blow! And you… you didn’t wake up, and you were bleeding and…”

I winced when I noticed how hard his hands were shaking.

Ever since I met him several months ago while he was on guard duty outside my door, he’d never shown me anything other than ironclad discipline. Even after he proudly informed me that the High Priest assigned him to be one of my permanent guards after Thomas’ dramatic appearance at the Temple, he never so much as flinched, no matter what happened around us. Well, except maybe when Arden was around—those two seemed able to argue and growl at each other for absolutely no reason at all.

Yet now he looked… downright petrified. It definitely wasn’t a good look on him.

“Fallon, I’m fine,” I said softly, patting his shoulder awkwardly. “It wasn’t your fault. Ugh, I’m… running on fumes, and my reactions were stupidly slow,” I confessed begrudgingly, but even that didn’t wipe that annoyingly guilty look on his face. “I’m telling you I’m fine. All healed already!” I pointed at my mouth where the cut on my lip had sealed itself, and he seemed to calm a bit. “Now get your weapon and attack me again.”

He shook his head hard enough to tear off his neck, dropping the training stick he insisted we used for our sparring. I’d resisted at first—fighting with sticks was nothing like fighting with swords—but considering what just happened, that might have been a good idea. Even if this was the only time he actually drew blood, I didn’t think he’d recover if he ever sliced my face in two.

“Oh, come on!” I groaned when he crossed his arms, the muscles bulging under the billowing white sleeves. The fading moonlight slid over the golden embroidery on his chest and arms, reminding me yet again just how high in the ranking of the Temple he was. It had made no sense for someone barely out of his teens to be so decorated, but when I found out he was one of the High Priest’s potential successors, it clicked. He was also one of the few people who could keep up with me in a fight, so I guess some of those fancy golden lines were well deserved. “I have to keep training! I need to be better next time I face him!”

I didn’t need to specify who I was talking about. The grim look on his face told me he understood.

“Resting is as much part of training as fighting is,” he said in a voice that sounded way too wise for a twenty-year-old. I barely stopped another eyeroll. “I will not train with you until you’ve had a full night’s sleep and a proper meal.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we’re at war. Not to mention, the world’s about to end,” I scowled, but he didn’t balk an inch. His trembling had disappeared, and so had that devastated expression, giving place to that annoying confidence that made me dislike him half the time.

“Jernen is at war, and the final battle is not going to happen today,” he said with a pointed look. “So you have time to rest.”

“Did Arden tell you to say that?” I narrowed my eyes, and I swear, the edge of his lips twitched.

“No, the High Priest did,” he murmured when I headed toward the balustrade to retrieve my sword. Its twin was in Arden’s possession after I threatened to follow if he didn’t at least take some protection against Thomas. He was a much easier target than I was, and if Thomas wanted to rattle me, getting him killed would do that much easier than whatever he could do to me.

I adjusted the straps on my back, determined to teleport to my room and let Fallon run to catch up out of sheer pettiness, but when I rose to my feet, my vision swam again.

Fine, maybe he had some point about the whole resting thing. But how was I supposed to sleep when the moment I closed my eyes, nightmares sprang to life and killed everyone I cared about? And damn if my mind wasn’t creative… I felt even more exhausted after a few hours of fitful sleep than after no sleep at all.

Fallon appeared in my peripheral vision, leaning on the high parapet as his eyes narrowed against the brightening sky. I hadn’t even realized when dawn had sneaked up on us, but now even if I did want to crash for a few hours, it wouldn’t be possible. I had to attend a military council in the early hours, and then I had to walk to the Temple and let the people see me. Apparently, that was enough to keep their spirits high and their fears quiet—or so the High Priest kept telling me.

“You’ll figure it out,” Fallon said softly. I gave him a sideways look, but he continued to stare ahead even as the first sun rays rose over the horizon and illuminated his face. I squinted my eyes, lowering my gaze to the sleeping city below. “We’ve been preparing for this day for hundreds of years. We’ll stand by you until all of us are dust.”

I grimaced.

“Do you need to learn those corny lines to pass a test in warrior priest school, or are you a natural?” I asked, and even though he didn’t respond, a barely noticeable flush spread over his cheeks. If it weren’t for the bright sunlight that engulfed the tower and started crawling down toward the city, I might have missed it. “Or is it a special High Priest’s successor requirement?”

He shifted uncomfortably, suddenly looking like the young man he was.

“It’s not confirmed yet who will be his successor,” he murmured, his eyes darting to the Temple’s white walls just as the light reached them. Once it hit the golden markings on the building, it shone like the sun itself had taken residence within its walls. I had to give it to whoever designed that place—they knew what they were doing. “Besides, I’d rather be fighting beside you than be stuck in the Temple for the rest of my life.”

I sighed. Why was everyone so eager to fight? I’d totally choose getting stuck somewhere safe next to fighting an unbeatable, life-eating monster… or dying next to the person who brought it into this world. The fact that people kept following me after everything still made me question sometimes if this world might be a figment of my imagination.

“Well, let’s hope I’ll kick Hathan’s ass before the old man dies,” I said with way more confidence than I felt. “It would have been so much easier if I could just cut him to pieces…”

“You can’t,” Fallon said quickly, just like the High Priest had when I mentioned it. “Paralea recognized him as their Chosen, so you must expose him first, or they’ll never accept you as the real savior. Worse, they might come for your head in earnest this time.”

I leaned my elbows on the parapet, staring at the sun until my eyes watered. Exposing him should have been easy too—one cut from my blades and they would be able to see the black blood running in his veins. But that wicked bastard knew how to control the thing inside of him, so if I gave him a chance to act, he would only make himself into the victim again. Not to mention, he had been avoiding me like the plague, and when he did appear in public, he was surrounded by warrior priests that made it extremely hard to get within ‌cutting distance. And murdering my own supposed devotees would have not only sent the wrong message, but cut down my own army too.

“Well, I’m open to ideas,” I sighed.

If he had any, I never got to hear them because the sound of the door opening made us both turn. A guard stepped through, his brow furrowing as he hurried our way. My stomach twisted unpleasantly when he bowed his head and took a second to catch his breath.

“What now?” I groaned, trying and failing to keep the edge out of my voice. “I swear, if one more bad thing happens, I’ll—”

“It’s Lady Erin,” the guard blurted, lifting his eyes to peer at me. “You told us to alert you immediately when she wakes.”

The heavy weight in my stomach vanished, and my heart fluttered with relief.

Fuck yeah, finally some good news!

“Her room?” I asked, and before the guard had finished nodding, I was already teleporting.