“I’ve tried to merely cut the darkness out like I did with Ian. But it’s not enough with how deep it lies embedded in your body.”
She took my hands, eyes glistening, with a brilliant hope shining through both her gaze and her words.
“When we do this, once our magic explodes, I’ll grab the dagger and use it on you. Our magic should be at its peak. We didn’t even include the dagger when we banished the darkness out of Firestone. Imagine the power it will contain with both of our magics infusing into it? It was created to destroy the darkness for good, but it will take everything we have together to do it.”
I let out a disbelieving breath of air. “You’re a genius, Little Rebel.” I pulled her in, claiming her lips for far too short a kiss. “A genius.”
We moved forward, finding a spot less occupied with our troops. The dome moved along with us, unable to block out the cries filling the air from the war. I tried not to think about how many were fighting and falling.
Lana reached out her hand, taking mine in her own. Her light flared, and shadows twisted from my palm around hers. This time her light crept over my skin too. There was no need to coax it out of her, it lay ready.
“Let’s rid Atheria of his darkness once and for all.” She grinned up at me. “Then destroyhim.”
Chapter 40
Lana
As our palms connected, a tingle of energy shot upward, coating my body with magic.
Everything came down to these few moments. Ridding this land of the darkness, pulling it out of Kade, then destroying Thames. Our prophecies had led us to this moment, together.
The pit in my stomach, since failing to eradicate Kade’s darkness, lessened for the first time after hearing the final prophecy.
Light is stronger than dark. It’d been woven into every prophecy, every journal entry from my ancestors, every fiber of this very world.
Light was what would drive out the darkness, defeating it once and for all.
I looked around as our magic slowly built inside of us. Where would we channel it to?
The volcano had been easy; there was a clear target, but this wasn’t the same. There wasn’t an obvious answer.
“Where,” I murmured, still glancing around as Kade’s shadows danced along my skin, calling more of my light forward.Power welled up, strong and resolute. This time as I urged it to respond, it did so willingly.
I glanced out at the dark ones. “The darkness is not residing in one single place, it’s everywhere. The prophecy is clear,allof it has to be destroyed,” I continued, talking to myself.
“Including any he may have hidden away.” Kade’s eyes flashed black before turning back to their grey.
“Are you all right?” I gasped, touching his cheek.
His smile reassured me. “I’ve been using my shadows to lock away the darkness for so long that releasing them allows it to come to the surface.” He unlocked one of our intertwined hands and brought it to my neck, stroking his thumb along my collarbone. “The darkness isn’t as present when you’re here, Lana. Focus. Don’t worry about me.”
I closed my eyes and basked in his touch, letting it attempt to soothe my fears while strengthening me at the same time.
“We need to find a way to spread our power everywhere, touch everything.” I paused, thinking. “Touching.”
I stared at the ground, then my dagger, then back to Kade. “The earth,” I whispered.
Even with the dome around us, wind rustled the grass beneath our feet, the sun pulsed as its rays brightened. Just as it had done before, when I’d been on the right track with the strox. A gift from nature, a confirmation. “Let’s try to funnel our magic into the earth, so that everything touching it can be infused with light. If we’re right and it can cover Atheria…” I exhaled slowly, sending a prayer to the Fates that I was right about this.
Kade’s lips parted as his eyes widened. “Into the earth,” he repeated.
Slowly, he moved his hand from where it rested on my neck and we kneeled, lowering our hands to the ground. Kade laid his over mine, and my light, charged with his shadows, formed a cocoon around us.
A furious roar bellowed in the distance, and I turned my head. The fighting near us parted as our army shrank back, pushed from beyond by a force stronger than themselves.
“Protect your queen,” a shout rang out. Tommy charged toward us, turning and standing in front of the ground where Kade and I kneeled.
Fear may have etched Tommy’s features, but he gathered his group of rebels, and they bravely swarmed to block us from Thames’s renewed attack.
