He listened raptly, his body becoming unnaturally still, especially when she brought up Algernon. “Algernon is not to be trusted. He has never been the altruistic type.”
“I know that,” Elara acknowledged. “But Ineedto pursue this. You can either stand with me or move aside, but either way, I’m going.”
He sighed deeply. “This is utter madness.”
“The real madness,” she retorted, her voice cracking like a whip, “is what’s being inflicted upon me. It’s the madness of Fenlin, so desperate to take my blood that he riskedeverything!” Her voice wavered, but she willed calm into her veins. “I need to know why.”
Dario froze, the tension draining away as his eyes melted into something soft—something achingly desperate. “You’re going to get yourself killed, El. Or worse.”
Her laugh echoed, hollow and lifeless. “What fate could be worse than walking through life as if I’m already dead?”
A weighted pause hung in the air as he seemed to absorb her words. His throat bobbed, the muscles in his neck tense, but his eyes never left hers. “A fate where you lose the chance to see how beautiful life can still be, even after pain.”
She thought back to what he had told her. Losing his family, his village, his home. He had endured so much, his words laced with the weight of his experiences. And yet...
She gave him a small, sad smile. “If pain becomes the lens through which all beauty is seen, does it not taint everything?” Her words seemed to crush him in a way that made her wonder how she could have ever doubted his friendship. With a sigh, she reached for his hand. “Seeing beauty in suffering is a luxury I cannot afford, especially when it doesn’t erase the scars. Why should I trust it not to inflict more?”
“El—”
“Pain is the only truth I know, Dario,” she stated firmly. “This isn’t up for debate. I’m going, no matter how you feel about it.”
For a heartbeat he remained silent, his gaze sweeping over her as if he were trying to decipher secrets hidden beneath layers of steel. But there were no secrets, no shadows lurking behind her resolve, and something in his eyes shifted as this truth settled between them.
He smiled, a flicker of amusement that didn’t quite touch his eyes. “Guess I’m coming with you, then; someone needs to ensure you navigate this with a semblance of elegance.”
Chapter 11
“Stay close and keep your head down.”
Elara gave a quick nod to Dario, her heart pounding as they slipped from behind the stone wall. The queue had vanished; only the deepening shadows remained as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, eerie shadows across the ground.
They approached the guards briskly, Dario taking the lead with a confident stride. “When's the next shift change?”
“Five minutes, Captain,” one of the guards replied, his voice wobbling as he struggled to sound sober.
“You're relieved. I'll stand watch until the others take over,” Dario responded dismissively, and a chorus of thanks and festive well wishes followed, with several guards mentioning they'd have a drink waiting for him at The Fish whenever he could join them.
After the last of the guards had drifted away, Elara raised an eyebrow at him. “The Fish?”
He flashed a mischievous wink. “It's a den of debauchery. We could always skip the plan and head there instead.” Her expression flatlined, unamused, and he laughed. “Ready?” He gestured toward the shimmering ward.
A knot tightened in Elara's throat, but she managed a determined nod, fingers nervously twisting the ring on her finger. This had better work.
Dario squeezed her hand tightly, just once, as if to reassure them both, before letting go and walking through the barrier. The air around him came alive, crackling and spitting like it was angry at his intrusion. He moved through it, and then, with a blast that felt like it split the air, the barrier snapped closed behind him, leaving a ringing silence.
Elara’s heart pounded in her ears.Move dammit.
But she stood frozen. Never in her life had she faced a situation with such potential for disaster. For too long, Edgar's commands had smothered her, extinguishing any hint of her own desires or choices under the pretense of protection. But it was a leash. One so delicately placed that she mistook it for safety.
Howeasilyshe’d slipped into those chains, convincing herself they were armor against the harshness of the world. Elara’s nails pressed hard into her palms.No more chains.
She was done being someone else’s to command.
The barrier’s electric hum sent jolts through Elara as she breached its shimmering boundary. Static clung to her, raising goosebumps across her arms as the world around her transformed into a dizzying swirl of blurred colors, flickering lights, and shifting shadows. Elara bit down on her lip, stifling a gasp as Algernon’s ring burned hot against her skin, the ether that lay within fighting hard to keep her under its veil.
She held her breath, her entire body tensing with anticipation as she took the final step and crossed the threshold to the other side. A sour taste clawed at the back of her throat, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, swallowing hard. She waited for the fallout, but no blood-curdling screams pursuedher. No tendrils of ether snaked their way toward her. Nor did Edgar materialize, seeking retribution.
Instead, everything seemed to stop. The air grew heavy, and the sound of her own breathing echoed in her ears. Only the distant whinnying of horses from a nearby barn and the soft rustling of leaves drifting to the ground broke the silence. Her chest tightened. It felt like time itself had paused, a fragile calm, and Elara couldn’t help but wonder if Fate had decided to spare her. If only for now.
