Free A Shadow Flame (Book 7) by Jordan Baker

came to do."
    "Milli, you should stay here, and bar the door," Ariana said, and flames began to dance around her.
    "Right then," Milli replied, wide eyed at Ariana's fire, and she followed her and Borrican to the door of the inn. She flinched at the piercing screech that rang out in the night as soon as Ariana stepped outside, blazing with flames, and Milli was even more surprised when Borrican ran out into the yard, then leapt into the air and disappeared into the night, becoming an enormous black shadow with wings. When he let out a deep roar and acid fire dripped from his mouth as he circled over the rooftops of the mountain city, Milli shut the door and quickly put the wooden bar in place and leaned against the door.
    A few moments later, she heard the sounds of pounding boots and soldiers shouting, then her expression turned to a grin and Milli walked over to the bar and pulled the cork from a bottle of sweetwater. She took a swig of the powerful liquid, then she looked around the almost empty tavern, pleased as a plum, as she envisioned a full tavern and busy rooms upstairs once again.
    *****
     
     
     
    In the darkness, behind sleeping eyes, Calexis listened to the slow breathing of the young man who lay next to her, upon the rich bedding of the royal bed. Her other self, the part of her that had become one with the madness and the shadows had slipped into an unconsciousness resembling sleep, but was far deeper. It was nearly all Calexis could do, to gain some small amount of respite from the horrors wrought in her name by the power that had taken over her existence, using what little power she had left to bid the creature to sleep. It was too much to hope that Aaron, the young warrior and mage, whose power she could feel radiating from him like heat from a glowing iron, would throw off the shackles that bound him to the shadow, and strike her dead, releasing her from the dark prison that her own mind had become, but the grip of the dark god was too great. And so Calexis listened to him breathe, taking satisfaction that though he was held captive by the power of the shadow, he had not yet given in.
    In some small way, she felt a kinship to Aaron, and from what she had learned about his relationship to Lexi, the daughter she had forsaken, she wished she could help him in some way, or at least express her thanks. So many such thoughts began to run through her mind that she did notice at first when the room slowly became quiet, unnaturally so, and the sound of his breathing faded. Curious, and making sure the god within her remained unconscious, Calexis slowly opened an eye, and looked out into the dim light of the room.
    A wisp of white appeared next to the bed, slowly materializing into a hand, then an arm, followed by a body and the face of a young woman, who leaned over and gently touched Aaron on the arm. With frightening speed, Aaron's hand shot up and clutched her by the throat, and she choked for a moment, before shifting her form to something less solid, and his hand suddenly clutched at nothing, grasping at only empty air.
    "Aaron," she whispered, her voice like an echo, one that only he could hear. "It's me, Ehlena."
    Aaron sat up, his eyes glassy and black, glimmering like the night sky, and a strange power surrounded him, driving back the shadows that surrounded him, though they continued to twist and turn, as though reaching for him. Ehlena stepped away, sickened at the deathly feeling of the shadows in this place that seemed to rekindle the poison that still lingered within her, but even more unnerved by the feeling of the power that shone in Aaron's eyes. It was like standing upon the edge of a precipice and nearly losing balance, and it somehow felt both strange and familiar.
    Aaron glanced over at Calexis, testing the power of the shadow that connected him to her, and he could tell that the dark god within her still slept, in a kind of dream. The temptation to strike her, to use his power to end her, was