“My grandmother spent the better part of her life trying to understand it. My mother did as well, though in the end, she despaired of ever comprehending its true nature,” Veronica said, her voice little more than a murmur that nonetheless carried in the echoing cavern. “But like both of them before me, I must admit it is a mystery to me. Still… can youfeelit?”
Nova and I turned, almost simultaneously, to stare at the dais. The longer I concentrated on it, the more attuned I became to the energy that seemed to roll off of it in waves. There was a lure to the stones. I could almost—no, not almost. Undoubtedly. I couldundoubtedlyhear them whispering to me, like each tiny chip of rock was calling my name in an irresistible tone that I could not ignore. It felt like a string tied to my ribs, trying over and over again to tug me forward, to answer this call that I didn’t comprehend, and yet wanted desperately to. It begged to be answered. I turned to Nova, the question on my face, but her expression was puzzled, almost frustrated. It was at that moment that I understood: it didn’t call to her the same way it called to me, the way it called to Veronica. What did that mean?
Rather than shying away from the call, I leaned into it, focusing every particle of my being on the steady, bone-deep pull of it, the way it ached and soothed all at once. It was like something inside of me already knew it, and had been waiting to answer it since the moment I’d begun my existence. I wanted to laugh and cry, to run far from it and right into its arms at the same time.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“What’s wow?” Nova hissed. “What are we supposed to be feeling?”
I tore my eyes from the stones to stare at Veronica, whose eyes gleamed with the depth of her understanding.
“What is it?” I asked her.
Her eyes flashed. “Do you not know?”
“No. How could I? I’ve never felt… it’s so…” I shook my head, utterly incapable of finding the words.
Veronica’s expression fell. “I was so sure you’d understand.”
The people-pleasing part of me wanted to apologize, but I bit back the words. I had nothing to apologize for, certainly not to the woman now standing eloquent with disappointment in front of me.
“So you can’t tell me anything at all about these stones?” Veronica asked.
“No,” I replied.And I wouldn’t even if I could, I added silently.
Veronica’s bottom lip began to tremble. Was this grown woman about to burst into tears, like a child denied a treat? I felt an edge of anger in my thoughts again, and welcomed it. Whatever was happening here, I should be focusing on finding a way out of it. There would be time for understanding later.
“It’s no matter. The Darkness will know what we must do. And that is why you must call it.”
Every particle of air in the room seemed to crystallize. “What?”
“You must call the Darkness. Summon it here, to this place,” Veronica said, more loudly this time, as though the problem was that I simply hadn’t been able to hear her.
“Why the hell would I do that?” I asked, panic dragging my voice up half an octave.
Veronica blinked. “Because we’ve found it. The source of the deep magic. The very thing that has drawn our ancestors to this place over the centuries, the thing that strengthens our gifts. The Darkness knows how to draw upon it. We need that knowledge to do the same.”
She said the words so matter-of-factly, as though stating the solution to an equation. She could comprehend no differing opinion here, no hesitation or uncertainty. To her, it was a foregone conclusion that we would want this power for ourselves, just as she did.
“I don’t want to draw upon it,” I said, speaking slowly and clearly so that there could be no misunderstanding. “And I don’t want the Darkness to draw on it, either.”
Veronica’s eyes went flat. The change was immediate and startling. A moment before, she’d been alight with a kind of euphoric fervor. Now, she looked as empty and hollow as the glamours she’d used to bring me here.
“Don’t be a fool, Wren Vesper. Ask your friend here. A Second Daughter would never pass on an opportunity like this, isn’t that right, Nova? After so long in the shadow of the Vespers, surely you cannot pretend this magic isn’t everything you’ve dreamed about?” And Veronica actually reached out a hand to Nova, expectant.
I glanced at Nova. A muscle was jumping in her jaw, and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. For one wild second, I thought she was going to reach out and take that hand. I thought I saw her finger twitch. But then she shook her head. “I will not deny that there have been Second Daughters who have dreamed of it. But we all woke up. All except one, and I assure you, that one is not me.”
Veronica’s hand lowered slowly, until it hung limply at her side. “Very well. If you insist on being ordinary, that is your choice to make. But you,” she turned to me now. “I’m still going to need you to summon the Darkness.”
I laughed a sharp, short bark that tore at my throat on the way out. “Look, I know everyone’s got this impression that I’m some powerful elemental witch, but I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m failing Witchcraft 101, okay? I don’t know how tosummon the Darkness, and even if I did, I’d probably just screw it up.”
“Don’t downplay your powers. I heard about what happened on the beach. You clashed with the Darkness, and you won. That is not the work of some clueless novice,” Veronica said, impatient now.
“That’s exactly what it was!” I cried, feeling a week’s worth of frustration at my own ignorance bubbling over all at once. “I have no idea how I did that! I’m not… I don’t… it was just instinct!”
“Well, then, use your instincts now!”
“It’s not the same! I was in fear for my life! I… it was probably just adrenaline and luck and…”
