All the grief in the world lodged behind Sarah’s eyes. Her body wasn’t hers any more. She was alive, but she was dead. A hot, tight mass resided in her heart now – and as the new consciousness settled in her, a rush of memories and knowledge and power flooded into her like a river of magma. She saw the Time of Demons, and the wandering human tribes and the tribute of blood they paid every day. She saw the rising of the Secret children and the way the two worlds were split, a wedge of nothing inserted between them so that they could never meet again. She felt the lives of King after King flow through her, until it came to the one who had possessed her. She felt his power, stronger than any King of Shadows’ before him, and she felt his rage, the all-consuming fury at his exile, his desire to claim back the earth.
She saw Nicholas’ birth. She saw the death of his mother, the King’s wife, and the destruction of Martyna, and felt the King of Shadows’ absence of emotion as he observed every event. Horribly, unexpectedly, she felt a wave of wild, cruel joy as the gates were opened and the culling of the heirs began. She rejoiced as the blood of the Secret heirs cascaded over her. She felt every bite, every cut, every kill. Every Secret life extinguished made her cry in anguish and sing in ecstasy.
She felt the King of Shadows’ iron will, his cold soul, the dried well of his heart. He didn’t love; therefore, he could not be hurt. His power was such that nobody could oppose him.
Sarah felt his power.
And she liked it.
With him controlling her, she rose to her feet, her body stronger than she could ever imagine, her muscles tense with vigour. She could hear everything that happened in the Shadow World, from the slow-falling leaf to the flowing of the rivers, to the crunching of bones of a deer falling prey to a demon-tiger. She could see the snowy peaks and the roaring oceans thousands of miles away, the packs of white demons running between the trees, the moon-demons touching little creatures and turning them translucent, the fire Elementals dancing in the lava underneath the ground. She was the Shadow World.
Sarah raised her head and roared, a roar so deep it shook the mountains and filled the skies. The King of Shadows felt the last of her consciousness opening; in a moment he would possess her entirely. His consciousness would replace hers. What was left of Sarah would give way, and Sarah herself would disintegrate into the nothingness of humans.
He would not be weak for much longer. This fragile human body would be tempered and forged . . . His plan would succeed.
And then, just as she was about to lose herself, a small voice resounded in Sarah’s mind, calling her name, reminding her of who she was.
Sarah Midnight. You are Sarah Midnight. Don’t lose yourself. Remember. Remember, said the voice.
Just then, Sarah and the King of Shadows felt something strong and heavy land on their body, taking their breath away. It was Nicholas.
He stared into Sarah’s eyes and said, “Time to die, Father.”
What was left of Sarah trembled.