Bound By Shadows

Bound by Shadows By Jess Peters This book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed and used in any way without prior written permission by the author. Any unauthorised distributing or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Copyright © 2023 Jess Peters All rights reserved. Contents One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-One. Twenty-Two. Twenty-Three. Twenty-Four. Twenty-Five. Twenty-Six. Twenty-Seven. Twenty-Eight. Twenty-Nine. Thirty. Thirty-One. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Other Publications Bound by Shadows (The Wielders Book 1) One. Erika I sprinted down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, the burn in my muscles only edging me on. I knew better than to pick fights, but I couldn’t help it. Arlo was being a prick to Sophie, bullying her again. What I didn’t expect to happen was what came out of my hands. Everyone around had stopped to stare at me. Sure, magic awakened from time to time outside of pure bloodlines, but not the type which came out from me. I didn't want magic. I was just a normal person in this world trying to get by without attracting too much attention. The Wielders – the Kingdoms guards and military - were quick to hear about what happened. Someone had obviously told them straight away. I didn't hesitate and I just ran for my life, my heart pounding with fear. “In the name of the King, I order you to stop!” A bright barrier appeared in front of me, my feet skidding to a halt just in time to stop me from colliding with it. A Sunwielder. I looked around frantically trying to find an escape, but there was nowhere to go. “Put your hands up where we can see them,” another guard said. I was trapped. Who was I kidding, there was no escaping the Wielders. They all had magic and were trained in dealing with this sort of thing. How could I possibly escape them? I raised my hands in surrender and turned to look at them. They were all dressed in the National Wielder uniform of Solis; in black trousers, black shirt and jacket with red strips down the arms. “You are required to come with us for testing due to an accusation of having magic.” My eyes closed as I released a groan of defeat, my wrists quickly being cuffed together. The cuffs had a blue dull light to them, clearly designed to block the use of magic. Hell, I didn’t know how it happened the first time let alone doing it again. It didn’t take long for them to throw me into the back of a van to transport me to the town hall. I was led downstairs and then into a room which had a single table with a chair on either side. “Take a seat. Someone will be here shortly.” I shuffled over to the chair and slumped into it with a sigh. This was shit. I couldn’t have magic. But you and everyone else saw it come out of your hands. A man in the same uniform entered the room, except he had two horizontal red strips across the vertical ones on his shoulders. He was clearly a higher rank within the Wielders. “Let’s start with your name.” “Wow, talk about being blunt,” I muttered. “I'm Commander Opium. Now answer the question or we'll do a DNA test.” “Fine, it's Erika. Erika Ascella.” “Good, we'll do a search for your file in the database. Now tell me what exactly occurred.” “I'd rather not,” I mumbled. “We have reports of you using magic,” he said, his eyes piercing as he glared at me. “Look, I've never done that before.” “Ah, so you've obviously never taken the test?” The man raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a deserter?” “Huh? No.” I frowned. I'd never even heard of some darned test. The man pulled a small radio out of his pocket. “Could you bring the testing dagger in for me.” “Commander,” a voice replied. “Dagger?” My heart rate started accelerating, a sweat forming across my forehead. “A simple test. Your blood will either shine bright or have a bluish haze on contact with the blade. It’s charmed to detect magic, as well as which type. It'll determine whether you're a Sunwielder or a Moonwielder, and then we can get you placed into a training centre from there.” I was pretty sure that the colour had drained from my face. From my knowledge of Wielders, what came out of my hands was neither. The door opened and a uniformed man walked in with a golden dagger. “Thanks,” the Commander replied. “Your hand,” he said, indicating for me to place my hand in his. I sucked in a breath and held my hand out awkwardly with both wrists still cuffed together, a feeling a dread sweeping through me at what the result would be. The Commander pressed the tip of the blade into my palm, piercing a cut deep enough to draw enough blood to cover the blade. I winced at the pain, but my concern about the result distracted me enough to push it to the back of my mind. As he held the blade up, my red blood started to turn black, his expression turning into one of shock instantly. “This can't be...” “What?” I whispered. Deep in my heart I already knew the answer. “Miss Ascella, we're transferring you to Perseus. Is there anyone that you wish to speak to before you depart?” “Why? What’s wrong?” I was beginning to panic. Being forced to become a Wielder was bad enough, but to be transferred to the Capital was another thing altogether. The Commanders eyes softened for the first time. “Miss Ascella, your blood indicates that you are a Shadow Wielder. I'm sure you're aware of how