A Storm of Light and Darkness

  Marion Blackwood

  Copyright © 2021 by Marion Blackwood

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. For more information, contact info@marionblackwood.com

  First edition

  ISBN 978-91-986387-8-3 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-91-986387-7-6 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-91-986387-6-9 (ebook)

  Editing by Julia Gibbs

  Book cover design by ebooklaunch.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  www.marionblackwood.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  21.

  22.

  23.

  24.

  25.

  26.

  27.

  28.

  29.

  30.

  31.

  32.

  33.

  34.

  35.

  36.

  37.

  38.

  39.

  40.

  41.

  42.

  43.

  44.

  Acknowledgements

  For everyone with darkness in their soul

  1.

  Darkness blanketed the city. Heavy clouds blotted out the silver light of the moon and cast the normally so colorful city in shades of black and gray. I turned in a slow circle as I felt someone appear from the shadows behind me. My cloak billowed in the strong night wind that swept across the rooftops while I watched a tall man with dark brown hair tied back in a bun stride towards me.

  Man-bun, was about to roll off my tongue before I caught myself. I wasn’t sure how Shade’s second-in-command in the Assassins’ Guild would respond to my rather ridiculous nickname for him so I decided to keep my mouth shut. At some point, I had to ask what his actual name was. Though, that would certainly feel a bit silly after having known him for years. The corner of my mouth tugged upwards at the thought of that awkward conversation but the smile was quickly wiped off my lips as Man-bun stopped a few strides away. His face was grave as he locked eyes with me.

  “Shade sent me.” Even the tone of his voice was grim. “It’s time.”

  My stomach dropped. “It’s been confirmed?”

  “Yes. Without a doubt.”

  I worked my tongue around my suddenly parched mouth and swallowed. Closing my eyes for a second, I blew out a deep breath before meeting Man-bun’s gaze again. “Alright, lead the way.”

  We jogged in silence across the rooftops of Pernula until the obsidian walls of Blackspire rose before us. Instead of using my hidden entry point, I followed Man-bun towards the front gates. The guards took one look at us and opened the gates for us without question. Metal squeaked slightly behind me as they closed it again while we made our way along the path through the gardens inside.

  When the immaculate garden had been replaced by smooth hallways decorated in black and red, my heart was beating so loudly that I almost expected to hear it echoing off the obsidian walls. I tried to force my heart rate to slow. We had prepared for this. It was all going to be alright.

  Man-bun opened the door to Shade’s study and motioned for me to enter. Wiping all traces of emotion off my face, I strode across the threshold.

  The room was filled with people. King Edward and Lord Raymond, who was one of the senior members of his Council of Lords, were discussing something in hushed voices by the bookshelves on my left, while Queen Faye and Elaran stood straight-backed on the other side, their faces serious. Behind the large round table were two more figures. Malor in his sleeveless tunic of black and red waited patiently with his hands resting behind his back while the final person in the room was staring out the window.

  A soft click sounded behind me as Man-bun closed the door and took up position by the wall next to it. At the sound, Shade finally tore his gaze from the night outside and turned towards us. His eyes lingered on me for an extra second before continuing around the room.

  “We’ve just gotten confirmation.” Shade’s voice was steady but there was a tenseness to his shoulders that suggested that he perhaps wasn’t as calm as he tried to appear. “Queen Nimlithil has made her move. The armies of Sker are marching on Pernula at first light.”

  King Edward tipped his head back and let out a heavy sigh. Next to him, Lord Raymond only nodded gravely.

  “Well, we knew it was only a matter of time.” Faye shrugged, her silver hair gleaming in the candlelight. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come last week.”

  “You’re right,” Edward said. “But it’s still terrible news.”

  The Queen of Tkeideru gave the young human king a sympathetic smile in reply. Paper rustled faintly as Shade smoothened the large map that covered most of the circular table between us, and bent over it.

  “They’re not trying for a surprise attack because they’re moving along the most direct route.” He drew his finger along the costal road connecting Sker and Pernula. “So they want us to see them coming. Probably to spread fear.”

  Elaran stepped closer to the table and nodded. “Which is one of the reasons we don’t want a siege. The other being that with them controlling the rest of the continent, we wouldn’t be able to outlast them anyway. So that kind of tactic would only be a slow death trap for us.” Crossing his arms, he met each of our gazes. “We don’t want a slow siege that we are doomed to lose in the end. We want a battle we can win.”

  “Which means that we need to go out and meet them,” Shade finished.

  Lord Raymond nodded while stroking his mustache. “Do you have a particular location in mind?”

  Moving his hand, Shade traced his finger around a spot by the coast that was about halfway between our two cities, fairly close to Travelers’ Rest. “Here. The terrain here gives us a strategic advantage because they’d have to charge uphill to get to us.”

  “If we can get there first,” I said, my first words since this war council started.

  The High King of Pernula shifted his gaze to me. “Correct.”

  Plans swirled in Faye’s yellow eyes as she looked to Elaran. “How soon can you have the armies ready to march?”

  “I’ve been getting them ready to leave on a moment’s notice since you arrived last week,” he replied. “They’re ready to march tomorrow.”

  Silence fell over the room as we all nodded in acknowledgement. Even though the air was still fairly warm, as it usually was in Pernula, strong fall winds raged outside and beat against the windows of the palace. I resisted the urge to glance at the night outside the window where farther south, our enemies were getting ready.

  Lord Raymond motioned between the map and the rest of the room. “And if we get there before the Sker soldiers–”

  “When we get there before the Sker soldiers,” Faye interrupted.

  He cleared his throat and amended, “When we get there before them, what do we do then? What is the plan?”

  He was here mostly as a representative of the Keutunian Council of Lords, it would seem, since he didn’t appear all that informed about our plans. Good. It was always best to share the plan with as few people as possible in order to avoid leaks.

  Several people opened their mouths to reply but Malor beat them all to it.

  “What you need to do is draw out Aldeor the White.” He crossed his powerful arms over his broad chest. “Kill the white dragon and Nimlithil, and then the spell shatters. When that happens, everyone who did the ritual will come back and realize what the spell actually did to them. They won’t fight you after that.”

  “Wait,” Lord Raymond spluttered. “We’re talking about killing a dragon. How are we even supposed to accomplish that?”

  “Leave that to me,” Malor said.

  We all turned to stare at him. Well, this was news to me as well. Did Malor have some kind of secret weapon that he hadn’t told the rest of us about?

  When he noticed our stares, the muscled advisor waved a large hand in front of his face. “It’s best if as few people as possible know the specifics for now.”

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that I had literally just decided the exact same thing about Lord Raymond’s ignorance earlier, I would have protested. But I had, so I didn’t. Instead, I gave him a nod in agreement. Whatever it was, we would find out sooner or later.

  “I know I don’t need to tell you this,” Shade began, “but we are the leaders of the only free cities left. If we fail, it’s over. For everyone. We will be forced to live our lives the way Queen Nimlithil wants.”

  “And given that she’s an elf, that might be for quite some time,” Edward added quietly.

  Faye squared her shoulders and flashed us a grin. “So, we don’t lose then.”

  Snorts and soft chuckling bubbled through the room at the queen’s cocky statement. When the burst of merriment had died down, oppressive silence hung over the room as we all looked at one another with grim expressions. Shade drew himself up to his full height and met each of our gazes in turn.

  “If you have any secret allies to reach out to, now is the time. Storm’s rather impressive stash of stolen magical messenger doves is at your disposal.” The others chuckled at that while a weary smile drifted across Shade’s lips. He nodded at us. “Alright, get some sleep. We march tomorrow.”

  My heart thumped in my chest as our war council broke up and everyone filed out of the room. I stared at the dark line on the map marking the road between Sker and Pernula. In a few hours, it would be filled with soldiers. Two armies marching towards each other until they clashed. Glancing up from the beautifully drawn map, I found Shade watching me. When his perceptive eyes searched my face, I threw him a quick grin to hide the anxiousness building in my chest.

  Two forces would meet on that battlefield but only one would walk away victorious. And I would make sure that it was us. No matter what it cost me, I would make damn sure that it was us. Whirling around, I stalked out of the room. War had come.

  2.

  The area around the main gate was in complete chaos. Soldiers and stable hands and horses hurried back and forth while wagons filled with supplies that would follow the army were being readied as well. Before I left the Black Emerald, I had instructed Vania and Yngvild to keep an eye on the Underworld while I was gone. Though, I had no doubt that Red Demon Rowan would keep all the underworlders in line regardless. Still, better to be sure.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  I turned around to find Liam scowling at me. Raising my eyebrows, I tipped my hand towards the young man and gray mare a few strides away. “Waiting for that stable hand to finish getting Silver ready.”

  “You can’t be serious about this,” Liam said while shaking his head, his sparkling blue eyes pleading.

  A slight smile spread across my lips even as I frowned at him. “What did you think I was planning to do when I asked you to meet me at the main gate?”

  “Well, I don’t know... but riding into battle never seemed like your style.”

  I huffed a laugh. “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “But seriously, Storm.” That pleading look was back in his eyes. “You’re a thief, not a soldier. Do you really–”

  “I’m also skilled with blades,” I interrupted. “Not to mention a Storm Caster. And if you think for one second that I’m gonna let our friends go into battle alone, then you don’t know me very well.”

  Liam blew out a resigned sigh and shot me a wry smile. “Alright, fine. But can you blame me for trying?” Narrowing his eyes, he raised a finger in the air. “And for the record, I was the one who knew you cared about people before even you knew you cared about people.”

  Not being able to stop it, I tipped my head back and let out a loud chuckle. Two horses snorted as they were led past by soldiers in dark blue armor, as if they too found Liam’s statement funny. Their hooves clopped against the stones until the sound was swallowed up by a broad-chested man shouting orders close to the open gate.

  After tilting my head back down, I returned Liam’s smile. “True.” Shifting on my feet, I peered behind him. “Where’s Norah?”

  “She’s home. Resting.”

  I furrowed my brows. “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah, she’s fine.” Liam smiled sheepishly before his expression turned serious again. “So you’re really going?”

  “Yeah.”

  He closed the distance between us and drew himself up next to me. For a moment, we just stood there in silence, watching the young man get Silver ready for the ride.

  “Just...” Liam finally began. “Just don’t do anything stupidly dangerous and heroic. I need you to come back. To Pernula.” He glanced down at me. “To me. Us.”

  Twisting my head slightly, I arched an eyebrow at him. “Do something heroic? Me?” A wicked grin flashed across my lips. “Sounds like you really don’t know me after all.”

  He gave my arm a soft shove and shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I bumped his shoulder with mine. “And don’t worry. No risk of me doing anything heroic for the greater good because when push comes to shove, I’m still a selfish bastard.”

  Liam huffed and shook his head again but then turned to face me head on. “Just... promise me you’ll come back. Okay?” He nodded towards the gate. “And our friends too.”

  “I promise, I’ll make sure our friends come back.”

  When he drew me into a tight hug, my heart cracked a little. I wasn’t sure if he’d picked up on how I’d twisted the words of my reply, and I didn’t like doing that to him, but it was the best I could do at the moment. Promise me you’ll come back. I couldn’t promise him that because I had also made a vow to make sure our friends survived no matter what. That was a promise I intended to keep. If I survived as well, it would just be an added bonus. Not something I could promise. Shoving my guilt down, I wrapped my arms around my friend and hugged him back fiercely. When we broke apart again, I forced a light smile onto my face.

  “Take care of Norah. I’ll take care of the others.”

  There was a faint sheen to his eyes as he stepped back and looked at me but then he ran his hands through his curly brown hair, exhaled deeply, and shot me a wide grin instead. “Go kick some ass.”

  “You know I will.” If I drew out this goodbye further, I would never be able to leave so I lifted a hand to my brow in a mock salute and then strode towards Silver.

  The young man who’d been holding her reins nodded at me when I reached him before he slipped back to the stables. After patting Silver on the neck, I swung myself up into the saddle. Liam was still watching me from across the stones teeming with people, wagons, and horses. I shot him a smile and then urged my trusted mare on. She started out and without a second look back, I rode out the gate and towards the army waiting outside.

  IT WAS A DELICATE BALANCE, making sure the army marched fast enough to reach that strategic hilltop before our enemies did but not so quickly that we arrived exhausted and unable to fight at full capacity. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t the one who had to make that decision. Elaran was.

  I flicked my gaze to the grumpy auburn-haired elf riding at the front. He projected only strength and calm. And that’s when I realized, Elaran had actually been in a war before. Against Keutunan. In fact, all the elves had. From across the grass, I met Haela’s gaze. She fired off a beaming smile but stayed in formation.

  My eyes swept across the wood elves in green and brown before scanning the human soldiers clad in the black and red of Shade’s Pernula. Given what this continent was like, they had probably seen battle too. That meant the only ones who had never been in a war were the ones from Keutunan. Me included, of course. But if two thirds of our army actually knew what to expect, then we might win this yet.

  Silver snorted and I leaned down to pat her neck as we continued trudging down the coast. To my left, the blue water sparkled in the bright fall sun while vast grasslands spread out on all other sides. Dust swirled around our horses’ hooves as we marched along the wide dirt road. Straightening in the saddle, I buried my crippling fear that I wouldn’t be enough to protect my friends deep inside me, and focused on the open horizon.

  The grassy landscape was only rarely broken up by clusters of stone that looked to have been blown apart in some earlier war. I didn’t know much about warfare but I noted them anyway as we hurried past. My heart beat in tune with the stomping of the army the closer we got to our target. Any minute now, we could round a bend in the road and find an army right in front of us. The logical part of my brain told me we had scouts for that but the inexperienced soldier in me still worried, so when the large hill we had aimed for finally appeared before us, I loosed a long shaky breath. We had made it.

 

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