Amara POV
I was dragged through the palace, going down staircases that smelled awful and ancient. The stupid silver cuff on my wrist was screaming and glowing widely, if you ask me, i don't know but i know. Am kinda hearing a high-pitch sound from it, that made my teeth ache. I was scared, very scared i felt like crying, heavens i was already crying
"Soren!" i decided to scream his name out, but my voice was swallowed by the heavy shrouds of the Silent Elders. I dislike them...screw that i hate them, they are beasts, crave like humans if you ask me... I would say they are beasts transformed into humans. Really my subconscious mind told me, don't you live and sleep in the same room with one?. I rolled my eyes at my own self, realizing i forgot my situation for a moment.
They stop after some time of dragging me and threw me into a cell, i looked around and realize am at the bottom of the Deep Wells. It wasn't like a room, i thought prison cells are supposed to look like a small room, but this was like a bird cage suspended over a pit of "Soul-halt" it's an alter that absorbed spiritual energy and the souls of humans when they die. My mum once told me that it is used to feed the gods and the oracle messengers. I realized, after i was lock inside the stupid cage that, the connection to Soren didn't break, it stretched and expanded more. I was hearing the voices of souls, former messengers, people screaming and crying, i thought, i had die and went straight to hell. It felt like my soul was being pulled through a needle's eye. Far above, i heard a muffled boom that shook the foundations of the earth.
Soren POV
I stood in the wreckage of my chambers, my breathing was heavy . Those foolish elders had vanished with Amara, leaving behind a lingering scent of her, i wanted to ignore her, like i didn't care. But found my self turning to follow the trail of her pain, but a hand held my shoulder, i was wondering how he got here. i didn't turn at first; i let my shadow whip around him like a lash. Before turning to look at him.
The man was dressed in a tattered, dark-green agbada, he jumped back, seeing my action, narrowly escaping being decapitated by the darkness.
"Wait! Son of the Soil, wait!" the man scream out to me. He wasn't a guard or a priest. He was lean, scared, and carried the scent of the market and the common villagers. "I am Zaid. We have been waiting for someone the Oracle couldn't swallow."
"Move," i said coldly... clearly not having time for whatever it is, that he wants to say, "They have her."
"They have her in the Salt-halts," Zaid countered, stepping into the light. "If you go there now, your power will be sucked into the earth before you reach the first gate. The Oracle is baiting a trap. They want to see how much energy you can feed the system before you burn out."
I paused for a moment, my eyes flickering with that dangerous amber light. "I will burn the whole city to keep her from crying."
"Then do it right," Zaid said, pulling a small stone vial from his belt. "This is Ase it is a raw, unfiltered essence from the Old Forests. It was gotten from an oracle messenger, long ago. The Priests exacted it to build their empire. That messenger belong to the forest itself. If you drink this, the Soul-Salt won't be able to drain you fast enough. You can reach her.
But..."
"But what?"
"It will change you, Soren," Zaid told me, his expression turning solemn. "You won't be a man anymore. You'll be a conduit. You might save her body and soul, but you might lose the part of you that is human."
I was surprised by what he told me, "if you lie to me, i would kill you including everyone in your family." I looked toward the direction of the Deep Wells. Through the bond, i could feel Amara's heartbeat slowing. She was fading, her life-force was being used to power this place greeds.
I didn't hesitate. snatching the vial from Zaid's hand.
"She won't fall in love with a man like me," i whispered to my self, my voice cracked for the first time, since i was born. "i am her protector. And i promise to protect her. If I have to become a monster to keep her breathing, then let the Oracle pray to me for mercy."
I uncorked the vial and swallowed the glowing liquid.
For a second, there was silence. Then, every shadow in the village suddenly surged toward me, entering my skin. My veins turned black, standing out against my skin like ink. Even though..this pain was the worst pain i have felt, I didn't scream; instead i let out a sound that was like a half-growl, half-prayer. The pain was unbearable it felt like my skin was being ripped apart .My breathing stopped, for a moment before i felt my self breathing again. I stepped forward, and the stone ground beneath my feet cracked into dust.