Chapter 4: The Shadow King

Fenwick led her to the city, which he called Prismatica. Up close, the towers were even more beautiful than they had appeared from the meadow, but Lily could see the damage. Cracks ran through the walls like veins, and in places the vibrant material had faded to a dull grey that looked wrong against the surrounding color. The streets were quiet. The inhabitants of Prismatica were small, luminous beings that resembled humans only in the broadest sense. They glowed with inner light and moved with a fluid grace that reminded Lily of candle flames. But their light was dim, and many of them sat motionless on doorsteps and benches with expressions of profound exhaustion. 'The Shadow King did this,' Fenwick explained. 'He was once one of us, a being of light and color. But he became convinced that Luminara would be safer if it closed itself off from the human world entirely. He argued that dependence on visitors was a weakness, and when the council disagreed, he tried to destroy the doors by force. The conflict dimmed him. He became shadow instead of light, and now he feeds on what remains of our energy, growing stronger as we grow weaker.' 'Where is he?' 'In the old palace at the center of the city. He sealed it with shadow and none of our people can pass through.' 'But I could,' Lily said, understanding forming like a sunrise. 'I am not made of light. Shadow would not affect me the same way.' 'That is why we sent the door. We needed someone from the world between, someone who carries both light and shadow in balance as all humans do. The Shadow King cannot consume what he does not understand.' Lily looked at the dimming towers of Prismatica and the tired faces of its people. She thought about being new and alone and afraid, feelings she knew well. 'Take me to the palace,' she said, and found that her voice did not shake at all.