Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

Cassiel hung out on his balcony, watching the snowstorm whip through the kingdom of Hilos. The moon was full and beautiful, shining proud for the winter solstice night. The bitter wind bit his cheeks and left his wings stiff, but Cassiel cared not. He watched the entrance gates to the castle, as he had every night for the past four years. Waiting. Hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar silhouette in the moonlight.

“She is not coming back.”

Cassiel whipped around and caught the shape of another watching him from the pitch-black doorway to his bedroom. It slinked forward, the silvery glow of the night catching on the silks of her gown before illuminating the Queen’s face. Her crown glinted as she neared, white wings proudly behind her. Aversion simmered in her gaze as she looked at him down her nose.

Propriety demanded that he bow, but Cassiel didn’t care to give her respect. He glared up at her with as much defiance as he could muster at ten winters old. Though the twitch of his black wings gave away how much she intimidated him.

Her mouth thinned. “Petulant little brat.”

He gave his back to her and stared into the storm. Perhaps she would leave him alone tonight. That never worked. She would leave once she finished reminding him of his place. As if he could ever forget.

“Your mother has abandoned you.” Mirah came to stand beside him, her gown softly rustling across the floor.

“She has gone to Mount Ida,” he said.

“Is that what you believe? Your mother fed you a tale of magic and adventure. She could not bring herself to admit she wanted nothing to do with her cursed child. Half-Celestial. Half-human. You were not meant to exist, and it disgusted her.”

It’s not true, he told himself. She promised to return.

Queen Mirah leaned down close as she looked over his shoulder at the winter storm. “Your mother returned home to her kind.”

Cassiel looked up at her. “To Carthage?”

“That is where your mother is from, but no, not there. Before she sullied these halls, she lived in a village called North Star.” The Queen pointed a sharp finger out into the night. “It lies not too far from here. A short flight indeed.”

Shock and doubt clashed together, sending small prickles sinking through him. Had his mother truly been so close?

“She has family,” Mirah continued, syrupy sweet, though it still carried that cold draft that coursed down his back. “Your family.”

Cassiel slowly walked out onto the balcony, staring into the snow, as if he might catch sight of her.

“Go to her. There is nothing for you here now.”

But…but he did have someone here.

“I have Father,” he said, but even his voice came out small. Unsure. After tonight, he didn’t know if he did have a father anymore.

“How long did you wait in the dining room until you realized he wasn’t coming?” Mirah with mocking sympathy. “He no longer cares to celebrate the day of your birth. He forgot about you, Cassiel. Why remain where you are not wanted?”

The back of his eyes stung. He hadn’t realized he was crying until he flinched at the touch of the her brushing the tears from his cheek.

“The best thing for everyone is for you to leave and never come back. Just as your mother did.” She turned away with a soft swish of her skirts and headed for the door.

Cassiel spun around. “North Star—” But he cut off, not wanting to beg her for any more information.

As if she read his thoughts, a slow smile rose on the Queen’s face. “The village is secure in the mountains, spelled to be hidden away, safe and protected…except for on a night the moon is full. Like tonight. It’s a populace of humans and mages who keep secrets of their own. A perfect place for you to live safely with your mother. But alas, you did not hear this from me…”

Then she slipped into the hall. Cassiel looked down at the silver flute in his hand. She was right. He had nothing here anymore.

He threw open the doors to his wardrobe and tossed a handful of clothing into a rucksack, then slung on a thick black coat lined in fur he took out of a drawer, not bothering to close them again. Grabbing his sheathed sword resting against his bedpost, he tossed his silver circlet on the bed.

The wind blew in from the balcony where a new future waited.

Cassiel didn’t let himself think. Didn’t let doubt or question stop him because if he did, his courage would falter.

So he ran out of the balcony and leaped. His wings snapped open and they caught the rampant wind. It pushed and tugged at him wildly, snow whipping into his eyes. Cassiel forced his wings to beat again against the freezing storm and push north.

But no matter how fast he flew, worry followed him. What was he doing? He was still half Celestial. It had been ingrained in him that he should never leave Hilos. Cassiel stopped and hovered in the storm as he looked back at the castle. It rose as a sharp white peak, needle points poking into the sky shrouded in a veil of snow. It was quiet. No patrols were out. No one cared to stop him. Candlelight flickered at the windows of the King’s study.

His father had forgotten him. So why should he stay?

Cassiel sped off into the night. He pumped his wings and flew as fast as he could over the forest of Hilos, urged by the thought of seeing his mother again. He passed by the towering Hyalus tree glowing in the night. It marked that he was nearly at the border of their territory. The bitter wind left him numb, but he didn’t stop. The flight seemed endless, and he wondered if he had gone in the right direction when he spotted the glow of firelight in the distance. Torches.

Cassiel smiled and picked up speed. But what he had thought were torches was a village on fire. He could hear the screams as the village swarmed with people running in all directions. The white plane of snow was stained with splatters of blood. A black shape sped in and out of existence as it cut down any movement in its sight. It snatched a child out of a cottage and raised it in the air. It was a black creature made of smoke and darkness, with eyes so red he could see them from the sky.

A Shadow demon.

Cassiel watched in horror as it swallowed the child whole.

Every bone within him turned to ice, his mind repeating the horrible image. His mind struggled to move past that, until Cassiel realized he was watching the demon eat child after child. Some of the villagers gathered and fought, throwing every spell they could at it.

Cassiel’s shaking hand went to his sword. Celestials were meant to fight demons, a frail thought surfaced, but fear downed it out. He had to find his mother. Where was his mother? Mirah hadn’t told him how to find her!

The Queen…had she planned this? His mother was never here, was she?

There was a shout, and the Shadow cut through a group of villagers, their bodies falling in pieces. But a woman threw up a spell that fell over the demon, trapping it in a gold dome. A man raised his hands as he chanted a spell, and his green magic darkened as a glowing red line split the ground at his feet. It expanded, then rose from the ground forming into an immense black gate with sharp pickets. It was made completely of bone and smoke.

The Gates of the Netherworld.

Cassiel’s stomach heaved, and terror gripped him as its foul presence filled the atmosphere. His wings ached painfully from his fight against the wind. These people meddled in black magic. He couldn’t stay here. But Cassiel’s wings spasmed painfully from the cold. They would freeze soon if he didn’t get out of the snowstorm. Which meant he didn’t have the strength to fly back to Hilos.

In the distance was another light within the mountains, a familiar soft glow he recognized. Cassiel flew for it and found a white tree glowing in the night among the pine trees. This Hyalus was smaller than the one in Hilos, but its light would ward off any demons for the night.

He landed in the thick snow before the glowing trunk. He rested against the tree, breathing heavily. “I need your shelter, please.”

To his absolute gratitude, the tree roots groaned and opened, creating a burrow at the base of the tree.

“Thank you,” Cassiel gasped and crawled inside. It offered steady light within. He watched the storm, hearing the faint screams carried on the wind. He closed his eyes and clamped his hands over his ears. His sword seemed to hum at his waist, as if it detected the one thing it was meant to destroy. But Cassiel didn’t leave his hiding spot. He couldn’t fight a demon. Not with his Nephilim blood that lacked any divinity.

Cassiel didn’t know how long he had hidden in the burrow when he heard the snap of branches then a scream outside in the forest. He flattened himself in the burrow, fearing the Shadow had come this way. Peering out into the snow whipping past, he saw nothing until a hand seemed to pop out of the ground. It was a little girl covered in blood. She dragged herself out of what must be a ravine she had fallen in. An attempt to stand on an injured ankle sent her sprawling in the snow. She couldn’t walk. Her red hair shone like streams of flames under the moon as she clawed her way to the Hyalus. It was the only thing that could protect her.

Cassiel moved to help, but the law to never reveal himself to humans made him hesitate. It was wrong. How could he leave her out there?

A growl rumbled in the night. Behind her, rose the immense shape of the Shadow within the forest and its eyes glowed red.

Cassiel froze, his soul internally screaming. He didn’t know why it cried out, but he couldn’t let it have her. He grabbed onto the roots of the tree, hauling himself outside as the Shadow pounced. “No!”

The Hyalus burst with white light, flaring so blindly the Shadow screamed and whipped away.

Cassiel scrambled out of the burrow into the trees glow and held out a hand to the girl. She took it and the moment their skin touched an electric shock went through his body. It shot through his heart, heat swarming his chest in a way that left him gasping.

“Get in!” Cassiel yanked her into the burrow.

They fell inside together. Her wide green eyes fixed on him, shivering uncontrollably. She was in a thin nightgown, barefoot, and nothing more. Her complexion was as white as death, and her lips a purplish blue. She wrapped her thin arms around herself and curled into a ball, silently crying. Snow and blood stained her face and clothing, but she didn’t appear harmed. Only shaken.

He reached into his pack and pulled out an extra tunic. “Here.”

She blinked at the offer, tears marring her face. She reached for it and her fingers brushed against his. A zap of energy hit them both again and they flinched apart. Her wide eyes looked at him, really looked at him and widened further. She looked past him to his wings, and her little body sagged.

“Seraphim,” she whispered.

“What? No, I—” Cassiel scrambled to get away from her, but the girl collapsed on his lap and her arms latched around him.

“Am I dead, too?” she cried. “Did I never leave the forest?”

She must think he came to bring her to Heaven’s Gate.

He sighed. “You are not dead.”

She looked up at him with welled eyes. So pretty and sad. So human. Cassiel hesitated and brushed away the tears from her cheeks. Again, that energy clashed against his skin, but this time he had seen a flash of color. She took his hand and his eyes drooped closed. A sort of second sight revealed the dancing green color of this girl’s soul. It was warm. Welcoming like a place he belonged. And somehow, everything seemed to align in that moment as if at last he had found his home. One he had to fiercely protect.

Then he finally understood exactly what that meant.

Cassiel opened his eyes and looked down at the small girl that stared at him in wonder like she felt the same. Her trembling hand reached up to him, her fingers brushing his cheek. His skin tingled under her touch.

“What is your name?” he whispered.

“Dynalya…”. The name of a flower that matched the shade of her hair.

His arms tightened around her shoulders, bringing his wings forward for warmth. “My name is Cassiel and I will keep you safe, Dynalya.”

A tear spilled down her temple. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” He didn’t know how else to make her feel better, but there was only one thing that helped him. “Do you like music?”

She nodded. Cassiel took out his silver flute and played her his mother’s song. The soft, gentle notes filled the tree’s burrow. Dynalya’s eyes closed, tears clinging to her lashes as she listened.

But it came to an end with a horrifying shriek outside. The sound rose the hair on his neck. The Shadow was back.

Dynalya whimpered and burrowed into him. This time Cassiel didn’t hesitate. His terror was still there, but it dimmed beneath his need to shield, the need to answer a calling the moment he saw her soul.

“It’s all right,” he promised her. “I am here.”

She looked up at him again with eyes full of trust and he couldn’t help smiling. No one had ever looked at him like that before. Like he was needed.

“Stay here.”

Taking up his divine weapon, he crawled out of the burrow back out into the storm. He walked across the snow to face the large black mass that slipped out of the trees. It stopped at the tree line when it spotted him, eyes molten red.

He had already lost his mother. He wouldn’t lose this.

Cassiel drew out his sword and white flame burst to life along the blade, illuminating the night. “I am Cassiel Soaraway,” he called to the Shadow demon. “And by the power of Elyōn, you will not touch my mate.”