“Maybe it’s time you tried worrying about power instead.” He stood, stretching.
I shifted the shadow into a dagger-like shape, twisting it around in my hand as I considered his words. I could sense him looking down at me, but I didn’t meet his gaze when he spoke again; I just kept walking the sharpened shadow between my fingers.
“I doubt Aleks would be strong enough to destroy us both, if we were to face him together as one. That’s why the Order tried to sow as much discord between you and I as possible, and why they wanted to stop me from being revived. Because their little weapon isn’t as perfect as they’d like it to be. Not yet, anyway.”
With that, he left me alone with my thoughts once more, heading into what was left of the Aetherstone’s destroyed chamber.
I let the shadow dagger dissipate as I studied all the other destruction surrounding me. The cracked ground. The tattered banners. The broken bridge I sat upon. A world gone so incredibly wrong because of lies and manipulation.
But it occurred to me, then, that nothing was breaking in that moment.
Not a single rumble had occurred since we touched down here. The sky was overcast, but something about the sunlight diffusing through the ash-colored sky was oddly calming. The air was crisp, almost clean smelling.
Perhaps peace was not a viable option, as he’d said.
But there was no denying that this was the most peaceful I’d ever seen Nerithys. Just as there was no denying that I had truly revived Lorien. That our magic represented two halves of the same whole, that we were connected, and thatsomethinghad prevented him from killing me twenty-five years ago.
And as I sat there, considering everything, I realized I knew why all of these things were true.
Understanding bloomed like a slow ache through my chest, bringing me to my feet. Even then, it took me a moment to summon the courage to step forward. To actually make a plan with him.
I couldn’t believe I was even thinking about allying with this dangerous, unpredictable man.
The same villain who had haunted so many of my nightmares.
I was desperate, though. I knew I needed help. It wasn’t the way I would have written my story, but that didn’t change the way things were unfolding. Our magic was stronger together and, if the legends about our kind were true, there was very little that it couldn’t accomplish.
So it was time to make another deal.
Without any more hesitation, I made my way over to him. “If I get you your heart, will you swear to help me take the Order down? That you’ll help me take Aleks back from them?”
He slowly looked back at me. That cold, dangerous calculation was back in his eyes. A look that told me he no longer saw me as another living being, but merely as a piece in some greater, more deadly scheme he was playing out in his mind.
I didn’t flinch. “Well?”
“…You know where it is?”
“Answer my question.”
His eyes narrowed. Suspicion was an even more dangerous look on his face—a blink away from violent refusal.
Still, I persisted. “You want your revenge against the Order, don’t you? You made your mistakes, but now you know the truth about what they did.”
“Some of it. There’s more to uncover.”
“We have a common enemy, though. That much is undeniable.”
“It is, isn’t it?” He canted his head, his calculating suspicion twisting into something slightly more…unhinged. A corner of his mouth curved up.
“Take it or leave it,” I said.
“You know I love a good bargain,” he said, holding out his hand.
THIRTY-SIX
Nova
We returned to find Rivenholt Palace and its grounds eerily quiet.
