“Nervous?” I asked playfully as I turned to look in the mirror, while I held my hands against my chest.
I gasped.
“Storm.” My voice came out awe struck as I stared at the intricate design. Gorgeous blooms ran along the back of my shoulder. My design wasn’t at all like theirs. Instead, Storm had created something that would forever be mine. It was simple yet refined.
“There are seven flowers,” he explained, pointing out each one. “Your mother and father, the king and queen, Elisabeth, Hale, and Corbin.”
I couldn’t say a word as my chest tightened. Tears pooled in my eyes, daring to tip over the edge.
“Your markings are a reminder of who you fight for. Your love is as strong as your light.” He finally met my gaze in the mirror. “My queen.”
I turned, Kade’s shadows quickly cocooned my bare chest as I wrapped Storm in a hug. My heart carried the death of each person with me daily, but this, to have them marked into my skin, to remind me of what our victory would cost, of who died to allow us to live… It was more meaningful than I could voice.
“You did well, brother,” Kade said, patting Storm’s shoulder.
Storm pulled away, grinning. “All right, I get it. I’m incredible.”
I laughed through the tears still streaming down my face and grabbed my shirt to relieve Kade’s shadows of their duty to keep me covered. I glanced over at the dagger lying on the bed as if it called to me.
“Let’s keep fighting this darkness,” I said. “Kade?”
Kade held out his arm, and I lifted the blade, touching my forefinger to the spot immediately under the handle, where Queen Daniella referenced holding it to infuse her magic into the weapon. Pressing down on Kade’s forearm, I made a small gash and closed my eyes while directing my light into the dagger.
The dagger pulsed in my hand, and I opened my eyes to find it glowing in my palm.
Hope flared in my chest, and I smiled, meeting Kade’s eyes. Holding my breath in anticipation, my gaze returned to Kade’s arm only to let out a sharp exhale a moment later.
A few small wisps of darkness curled out and away from his wound, but nothing to the extent we saw with Ian.
My heart sank. A desperation festered, growing more each time we failed. What was I missing?
Angrily, I threw my blade across the room, groaning and covering my face with my hands.
You can’t purge the darkness out of someone when it has become a part of their being. No dagger can eliminate darkness this deep without death.
Andras’s words bounced around my mind, echoing to the point of overwhelming me. But he didn’t know about how many generations of my line had powered the blade.
“Hey.” Kade’s thumb brushed against my cheek. “We will figure this out.”
I forced myself to meet his gaze.
The gentleness in his eyes wavered. “We should discuss the prophecy, combined with what Andras said?—”
“No.” I stepped away. “They’re not connected.”
Kade sighed. “At some point we have to face what will happen if we can’t get rid of my darkness. Thames can’t survive.”
I slammed my hands against his chest. “I said no.”
“Lana.” Kade’s tone turned clinical, detached.
“There is a way in the journal. I will keep reading and this won’t be an issue.”
“Who do you think the sacrifice is about?” Storm asked.
I whirled on him, glaring. “I don’t know, but we don’t need to worry about it right now.”
“When it comes time to face Thames, we need to be prepared,” Kade said, tugging me back to his chest.
