Chapter 41!

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I don't really have much to say so enjoy the chapter!

Arya's POV

"Very well, No more games"

His skin began to fade to an ashen color and his hair grew longer to a blood red hue. His eyes changed colors. The brown with maroon and gold specks became maroon with gold and brown specks.

The façade was gone as his true form emerged. The shade smiled at her as his transformation was complete.

"I am glad to finally meet you face to face, Arya Islanzadisdaughter"

His eyes glinted maliciously in the flickering light of the fire.

"Dreams never seem to do the real thing justice"

Arya stared into the face of the shade. It was still Dathedr's face that stared back at her but there was no mistaking this being for Dathedr. It wasn't just his pale skin and maroon eyes, the very air around him felt cold and unnatural as though even nature itself was trying to avoid him.

Arya could hear the elves behind her shift uneasily. It was one thing to hear stories from others, but it was something else to see Dathedr's transformation with their own eyes.

Kayla seemed to shake herself out of her daze and raised her sword until it pointed at Dathedr. The elves behind Arya began to move closer to the throne. Dathedr simply smiled and raised his sword so that the blade sat upon the egg.

Arya raised her hand and the elves halted. Kayla sent her a look of frustration, but Arya shook her head.

"Not yet" She thought to Kayla "We cannot endanger the egg; not if we can help it"

Kayla did not respond but her emotions spoke for her. The egg could not stand in the way of what needed to be done.

Arya knew she was right, but she needed to try

"Be patient; you will know when to strike"

Dathedr was watching them with an amused smile on his face.

"Ahhh, dissension among the elves, how rare" He said dryly as though laughing at some inside joke

His attention turned to Arya and she felt a slight chill as his eyes locked with hers.

"Be careful who you trust Drottning. Powerful friends make powerful foes in the wrong hands"

Arya knew he was trying to get in her head and she refused to let him. Kayla sneered at him and said angrily

"We said enough games!"

Dathedr glanced at Kayla as though she was an irritating fly.

"This is no game; I was an advisor, was I not? I am advising the queen" He chuckled darkly to himself

He turned back to Arya who retorted in a scathing voice

"I need no advice from a shade. Dathedr was my head advisor and a good friend. You corrupted him for your own selfish goals. If you have consumed him to darkness, then I will not hesitate to kill the both of you to ensure Alagaesia's safety."

Dathedr laughed a high, cold laugh that Arya had heard countless times in her dreams.

Arya boldly raised her head to meet Dathedr's eyes.

"If some part of the true Dathedr remains, he would agree with me."

Something shifted in Dathedr's face at her words. For just a moment his face twitched slightly, and his mouth began to move as though on the verge of speaking. A moment later his face became passive once more.

Dathedr regarded her coldly

"You think so?" His voice had an edge that had not been there before.

Arya held her sword in front of her in preparation, but an attack never came. Instead Dathedr simply stood and removed the cloak he had been wearing.

"It is true that he continues to beg for death. But it is no noble act, he simply wishes for the torment to end"

Dathedr gave her a short smile

"I believe you have some experience with being trapped within your own mind. Do you not?"

Arya shuddered slightly at the mention of the poison that had nearly taken her life.

"Was being controlled by a shade similar? No wonder Folir had gone mad" She thought to herself

The shade sat back upon the throne

"Only remnants remain of your friend. He is broken and I am afraid no amount of healing will save him."

The shade spoke regretfully, as though it was not him who had broken Dathedr in the first place. Only the slight twinkle in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

Arya felt her rage grow at his words and the elves behind her shuffled and hissed at the shade. Beside her, Kayla's hand tightened on her sword, but Arya forced herself to remain calm when she responded. They could not afford to fight, not yet.

"And yet he continues to fight you."

Arya's voice was quiet, but she could not control the harshness in her tone.

"Despite what you say about Dathedr's intentions, he continues to fight you. He continues to fight a losing battle that he knows will result in his death."

Arya couldn't help but glare at the shade

"You and I clearly do not share the same definition of noble"

The shade stared at her with an unreadable expression.

Firnen spoke to her then

"The battle outside is wrapping up. Saphira and I will continue to watch for any guards that try to flee. Expect more elves to join you shortly"

Arya breathed a sigh of relief

Arya wanted to keep Dathedr talking until the others could arrive. She hoped Eragon would still be able to meet them here before the fight broke out. She had a bad feeling that even with their numbers, he would be needed.

Fortunately, the shade seemed to be enjoying their conversation. His gaze never left Arya as he spoke again.

"You are correct. I find fighting the inevitable to be foolish. There is no bravery in fighting with no chance to win"

His underlying message was clear as he looked away from Arya and surveyed the room with a faint smile. Arya glanced subconsciously around as she looked for any sign of Eragon.

"What is taking him so long? Surely he has discovered the deception?"

The shade noticed her movements and chuckled

"Waiting for someone?" He asked her

"I do hope Kingkiller is safe. There are many dangers below this palace"

For the first time his tone seemed genuine. Had Arya not known better she would have thought that he was concerned for Eragon.

"Eragon is more powerful than you give him credit for" Kayla told the shade sharply

The shades face twitched at the mention of Eragon and he seemed to pause for a moment before suddenly smiling at the warriors around him.

"How ironic it is that the very savior that you await is the reason I stand before you in the first place."

Arya's blood boiled at his words

"How dare you blame Eragon!" She nearly shouted it out loud but was able to control herself at the last second

"Oh, it certainly wasn't on purpose Drottning" The shade said with a smile as he saw her face

"I am an ancient being, Arya"

Arya felt her spine shiver as she was addressed by her first name

"I have been alive since the very beginning of our kind. I have watched empires rise and fall around me. I watched as Glabatorix came to power and destroyed the rider order."

The shade chuckled and Arya could see his eyes twinkling with madness

"I wasn't sorry that they were gone. The old bastards abused their power and betrayed their vows as riders." He said bitterly

"Unfortunately, the mad king found me several years after the fall. He discovered immediately that I was no ordinary shade."

His eyes met Arya's

"I very nearly killed the king that day. I nearly ended the very last of the order as I so wished to do. It was his Eldunari that saved him in the end. He was able to capture me and brought me back to IIirea. He tried to control me like he had many other before me. But I was able to resist him for many years. He eventually locked me away behind the might of over a dozen Eldunari."

The shade paused for a moment as through remembering

"Many years passed in that cell. I could not escape as the king made certain that no available host would be present for me. The Eldunari were my only company. They hated me more than any other but they grew more and more insane by the one day I felt one of the Eldunaris' flow of energy end. One by one the Eldunari that held me were released and the bonds that held me failed. It was later that I learned the mad king was dead and it was Kingkiller who had destroyed every enchantment the mad king had created, including the ones that bound me."

Arya stared at the shade in shock as the shade smiled softly back at her

"I suppose I should thank him" He said mockingly

The shade continued his story

"I was weak from my imprisonment and I had no host. It was there that I found Dathedr. He was the perfect host, politically powerful over the strongest race in the land. I knew I would not be able to take him right away so instead I followed him as he returned to Ellesmera for your mother's funeral. Over the coming years I began to slowly nudge his mind and impact his choices without his knowledge. I continued to push him farther and farther from you until, at last, I was able to take him completely."

Arya stared hard at the shade as he finished his story

"It was the night I was attacked, wasn't it?"

The shade gave her a cruel smile and nodded

Arya felt her head was spinning at all the new information she had gathered. At that moment Arya heard footsteps from outside the room and dozens more elves began to pour into the room. Several looked as though they were injured but their eyes burned with anger. Arya counted at least twenty elves from the battle outside that had joined their ranks.

Next to her, Arya could see Kayla's hand tighten around her sword. She spoke up and said triumphantly

"All that time spent to get the throne and what have you achieved?!" She sneered at the Shade

"A dead dragon and a few elves?" She chuckled cruelly "It hardly seems worth it"

The shade turned to Kayla with a small smile

"This is only the beginning, young elf. The throne was only a small part of the bigger plan"

The shade stood and looked around at the dozens of elves that surrounded him with a confident smile.

Too confident

Arya suddenly felt fear shoot through her.

"This is what he wanted!" She realized

"He wanted us all here!

She had wanted to keep him talking until reinforcements arrived but that was exactly what he was waiting for.

"We have been outsmarted!" She mentally shouted to Kayla

Kayla gave her a confused look.

Arya raised her sword and shouted as she began to move towards the shade. She heard the elves behind her shout and run forward.

The shade raised his sword, but not at her. With unnatural speed his sword swung straight through the egg that was placed next to him. The egg split in two and rolled onto the ground.

Arya stopped dead and stared at the now destroyed egg. Shards of egg lay scattered on the floor and Arya felt bile rise in her throat as she caught sight of part of the deceased dragons wing on the ground. Behind her she heard the elves stop as they saw what had happened. Arya's eyes slowly rose to the shade who was smiling cruelly.

"Not all of the dead truly die"

Arya's vison grew red and she screamed and charged the Shade.

She never reached him

The world seemed to collapse around her as the marble ceiling suddenly imploded. Arya was thrown to her back and only had the chance to catch a glimpse of blue sky and the hazy form of a red dragon before rubble rained upon her and her consciousness failed her.

Hey guys!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Part 2 of the finale is done!

Finally got a bit of backstory to the shade!

I hope you read carefully!

If you have any predictions let me know them!

Stay safe!

Lawld01