“Then so be it.”
“An entire world held hostage for your sake? Really?”
“I think very highly of my own existence.”
“Monster.”
He chuckled darkly. “Survivor.Monster. The line between the two often blurs, I’ve found.”
I couldn’t find the words to dispute this, so I stayed silent.
“Well? Do we have an understanding?”
No,I thought, dully.This is foolish.
But instead of telling him to fuck off, as I knew I should, I heard myself say: “I have a demand of my own, first.”
He regarded me curiously for a moment before answering. “Of course.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Give him back to me.”
“I will, once?—”
“No. Not eventually.Now.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then we go back to dancing that violent dance between us.”
“Even if it means the entire world suffers?”
“Even then.”
His brows lifted. “You would risk the whole world for him?”
“I think very highly of his existence.”
His smile was almost…proud. “You drive a hard bargain, Little Shadow.”
I bristled at the nickname but kept my head held high, refusing to show anything but determination in that moment.
He rolled the tension from his shoulders and said, “We have a deal, then. Of course, the world will need proof of our agreement.”
“…Proof?”
“Give me your hand.”
Hesitantly, I offered it.
His smile turned sly. His eyes met mine, and a hundred lifetimes seemed to flash within their dark crimson depths. I saw—no,experienced—centuries’ worth of powerful, painful emotions in the span of only breaths.
When he finally let go, I watched, dizzily, as the mark of the Light Vaelora appeared on my wrist: The two crescents, each curving away from either side of a centered sun…except all of it was faint and shimmering, like a scar that had been there for years.
Above the symbol, a darker, x-shaped sigil pulsed faintly.
The heat radiating from thexand shooting up my arm was immense, but I forgot it an instant later as I watched Aleksander’s body go alarmingly still. His head bowed. Light bled from every inch of him, outlining his frame with searing brilliance. The air all around us turned strangely heavy with magic, blurring all but his figure; it was like watching the sun trying to fight its way through a thick fog.
That light eventually shuddered and collapsed to a single point in front of Aleksander’s chest, hovering there for a moment…
