He blinked at me, red eyes fading and brightening with the movement. Then he cocked his head to the side again.
There are no sides,he finally answered.War is a human concern. The true gods care not for it. Nor do we. To us, there are only those who kill us and those who do not.
The Geist want to kill you,I said.Because you have the Corruption as well, don't you?
The Dark is no corruption. The Dark is the balance. We are made of the Dark and the wall is made of us. We are meant to be the balance.
I nodded, understanding dawning upon me. I might be the only Verdunn to wield the Dark in this capacity but I wasn't the only one capable of it. The Zver were made of it. The wall was made of it. Perhaps we had more weapons in this war than I thought.
You gave of yourselves to help the humans make the wall?I asked, still trying to understand.
Long ago, the humans saved us from the ones you call Geist. In exchange, we built protections for them. Then we parted. Some of us chose to return.
He cast a glare in Phantom's direction.
You don't agree with the choice?I asked.
We are not meant to be ridden,he snarled.We are no pack animals. We are not mindless horses plodding from place to place at the whim of a human. But the allure of the bond is too great for some, so the choice was made.
The bond?I choked on that. He couldn't possibly mean what I thought he did.
Fate weaves her webs and ties beings together. There are many bonds. The one between a human and a Zver is great but costly as well. To bond is to gain a connection more freeing than anything one has ever known. It is to be in perfect sync with another being, to know a love deeper than almost any other. Only a mating bond is greater and one rarely has any choice in that.
You said it was costly?
To give the bond is to give one's life. Phantom made the choice. If his human dies, he will live forever in exile, the strings of his fate cut, forever alone.
My gaze whipped to Phantom who stood watching as though he could hear every word we were saying.
That's horrible,I whispered.
Indeed.
My gaze flicked up to Ksenia who stared at us with wide eyes and, beyond her, the Captain who looked to be frozen in pure shock, ignoring Dante as he whispered questions about what was happening in his ear. Gryfon watched as well, eyes narrowed and lips set in a grim line.
Is that what they think is happening?I asked.They think you're offering the bond?
He snorted.
Likely,he admitted.My kind never speak with those we are not bonded to.
My gaze whipped back to him.
Then why are you speaking to me now?I asked because it was clear, from his disdain of the bond, that was not what he was offering.
You are of the Dark,he said.As we are. As the wall is. We are one.
At his words, every Zver around bowed their heads as if in welcome. Even Phantom, who Ksenia stared down at in awe. It was overwhelming. Suddenly I, a girl who was so far from home and fighting with everything she had to get back, felt a little more at home out here in this vast desert further from my family and friends than I'd ever been. I reached out and stroked Shadow's neck, smiling as a tear slipped down my cheek.
Thank you,I whispered mentally.I will not forget this gift.
He let me stroke him for a moment before leaning in. He pressed his leathery forehead to mine and we rested there for a moment, connected. Power thrummed through my veins in recognition of this creature and I breathed in a feeling of belonging stronger than I'd ever known.
We will not follow you beyond the wall,he warned as he separated from me, red eyes burning brighter as the evening began.But should you need us, call, Child of the Dark, and we shall come.
I pressed my hand to his snout once more and nodded. Then I rose to my feet and he backed away. With a few beats of his powerful wings, he took to the skies, soaring off in the opposite direction of the city. The rest of the wild Zver followed, momentarily blotting out the rising moon as they filled the sky. Phantom watched them go with a strange look in his eyes and I approached him before I could think better of it.
He turned when I got close but I didn't give him time to react before I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms aroundhis massive neck. He froze, stunned, but I reached out with the power that connected us, unsure if this would even work.
