He didn’t look down at the head before tossing it into the lake. Then he returned for the body, and lifting it over his shoulder, he carried it to the water and threw it in. As it had done with the cherufe, the water churned and bubbled as it devoured the dark fae.
Cole watched until no ripples marked the water before limping back toward the fire. Using his hands, he deflected the flames away from him the best he could as he pushed through the inferno.
With no other choice and no other way to go, he started climbing the closest volcano. As he climbed, he occasionally glimpsed shadowy figures moving through the fire and smoke, but none of them came after him again.
He didn’t know if the cherufes left him alone because they were trying to avoid the same fate as the one he killed, or if it was because he’d successfully navigated the trials, but even the lava bombs stopped soaring.
When he arrived at the top of the volcano, he made his way around the rim. Smoke continued to billow from inside, and lava churned, bubbled, and popped from deep within the volcano’s lethal pit, but he ignored it as he walked, and none of it soared up to hit him.
Once on the other side of the volcano, he discovered a wall of pure black waiting for him. When he glanced in either direction, more volcanoes decorated the burning land, but behind them, there was only this blackness.
Unsure of what lay ahead, and with no other way to go, Cole descended into the dark.
Chapter Thirty-Five
As Cole traveled further through the darkness, he realized it wasn’t darkness but a hive of shadows that drew apart before coalescing around him again. They slid over him and slipped into the countless wounds tearing apart his flesh.
Though they crept through his body like termites through walls, he didn’t try to stop them. He’d always welcomed the shadows, they’d always been a part of him, and there was no way to avoid their entrance into his body.
He’d have to retreat to the volcanoes, and like with the desert, there was no turning back. This was another test, and he suspected it was one of trust as more of them entered his body and stopped him from walking.
If he resisted them, they would retreat, but if he welcomed them… he had no idea what would happen then, but he expected to find out.
Giving himself over to the shadows, he spread his arms out at his sides with his palms facing forward, tilted back his head, and opened his mouth. The second he did so, a cluster of shadows rose over the top of him. They hovered for a second before pouring into him.
Unlike the desert sand, the shadows didn’t choke him or block his lungs as they spread throughout his body. They clogged his mouth, his chest, and his extremities, but he could still breathe while they worked on healing him from the inside.
It was the oddest sensation but one he welcomed as they dove into his muscles, entered his veins, and slid into his heart to pump through him with every beat. The shadows outside him encompassed his entire body.
He welcomed their embrace as they cooled what little remained of his burnt skin. The chunk of sinew the lava bomb cleaved from him stopped bleeding, and his blisters ceased oozing as new tissue formed over his tendons.
His ears reformed, and hair once again tickled his nape. The shadows rubbed against him, and the cool tendrils caressing his face healed his nose and returned his eyebrows. His unrelenting thirst finally eased as moisture filled his body once more.
They whispered secrets to him as they slid into his ears and wove their way across his brain. From their point of view, he saw the black seeping across his mind, burying itself in his synapses and becoming a part of him.
Their power swelled within him as they told him to keep their secret. What was happening here and what each trial entailed could never be revealed.
He was the sole guardian of the secrets they shared and would remain so until someone else succeeded in the trials, but unless he was already dead, they would still have to get through him.
He would never allow that to happen. These shadows were his, and so was the Gloaming. His enemies would have to tear it from his cold, dead fingers.
The shadows loosened their grip on him enough for him to start walking again. As he descended the hill, they continued to become a part of him.
Though he was always careful to keep most of his ciphers hidden, the shadows set them free. He looked down to discover all his ciphers on display. The black, flame-like markings had always covered him from head to toe, but with the shadows inside him, the ciphers pulsed and shifted with their power.
The swell of strength building inside him almost made him laugh from the rush of it, but there was no laughter to be found here. He’d become the guardian of something powerful and deadly, and he would take care of it.
Gradually, the shadows started pulling back. They retreated from his mind and slid out of his nose and mouth with every exhalation. As they exited the wounds they entered, the injuries closed, and most of his ciphers vanished. All that remained were the ones he always kept on display.
While he walked, the shadows continued to move around and embrace him, but they’d stopped entering him. They didn’t have to. He’d passed the final test, and soon he would be free of this place, but he would never be free of the power that thrived here.
He’d always been a part of the shadows, but now they were also a part of him.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cole was almost to the bottom of the hill when the darkness eased and the shadows finally gave way. He emerged onto a rocky plane similar to the one he stood on before entering the tunnel.
And when he glanced to his right, he saw the tunnel opening. He’d somehow managed to come full circle, and the remaining members of the council were there to greet him. The five of them stood before the open portal to the Gloaming.
His Gloaming now.
He didn’t bother to shield his nudity as he walked toward them. He’d never cared about nudity before; he cared less now.
“Have you all been standing here, waiting this whole time?” he asked them.
“No,” Elvin replied. “We have taken turns keeping watch. I sent back word something was happening when the volcanoes stopped erupting.”
When Cole looked over the tunnel, he saw that the volcanoes had stopped spewing smoke and lava.
“Where are the others?” Durin asked.
“Are you going to pretend to be concerned about your son now?” Cole inquired.
Durin’s jaw clenched, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Eoghan didn’t survive the tunnel,” he shot a pointed look at Alston, who had the sense to find his feet fascinating. “Your son, Auberon, screamed as he died an excruciating death,” Cole said to Durin. “And I killed Aelfdane.”
They exchanged looks as he let his revelations sink in. When they looked to him again, he saw the wariness in their eyes.
“I am your king,” he stated. “And if one or all of you intend to fight me on it, then I’ll kill you too.”
“That’s not necessary,” Elvin said. “You have survived the trials and, as the law dictates, have earned the throne. But more than that, the trials have proven you are strong enough to protect the Gloaming.”
Durin made a sound that caused Cole’s eyes to narrow on him, but the coward wouldn’t look at him. One day, Cole would make him pay, but today was not the day.