Falling into a comfortable silence is easy, just as it’s effortless to flip through the pages, devouring word after word as I finally see the essence of being a scythe, and not from someone deemed the enemy intent on controlling us.
I smile from ear to ear as I pause on a page, digesting a fact I came to learn all on my own. But seeing it written there, in black and white, by another, solidifies it.
The powers of a scythe are beautiful in many ways, but embracing the strength to pull energy from one source and offer it to another takes a lot of hard work and focus, creating one of the most stunning gifts to ever be written into existence.
“Elodie,” Kael murmurs, pulling me from my thoughts, and I turn to him with wide eyes and a nervous smile as he tilts his book toward me, letting me read for myself.
A confusion we have seen many times over the years concerns the transformation of a scythe’s eyes. Some believe it’s the ultimate heartache of broken magic and pushing too far, butthat is simply not true. Each red ring represents a scythe’s connection with their magic. The first comes when they learn to harness it, understanding that it can be used for impure purposes, but acknowledging that isn’t their intent. The second comes only when they use all of their strength to remain true to who they are, representing our origin in ways some could never dream of. A scythe is at their truest potential when both of their eyes bear a red ring.
My heart thunders in my chest as I snap my gaze to his, letting the words take root. His smile is soft, safe, and understanding, like he knows what it’s like to feel a sense of belonging after being certain for so long that it didn’t exist.
I murmur my thanks, but he waves me off, tapping the leather of my book to draw my attention back to it, and I go willingly, easily swept up in the information readily available.
Flicking through a few more pages, I pause when a passage catches my eye.
It’s important to understand that, as a scythe, our emotions control us in many ways. You have to be at peace for your magic to truly resonate safely inside of you. The morepanicked you are, the more open you are to being controlled. You are your own pillar of strength, blessed with such rare abilities that many will never truly understand. Trust in yourself, trust in your path, and trust in your heart; it will guide you through any storm.
It’s my turn to grab his attention to show him the passage, but when I spin his way, I find him already staring right at me.
“What?” I breathe, and he shakes his head.
“Nothing,” he answers, his eyes still devouring me, and I gulp.
“You’re making me nervous,” I admit, and he snickers, but it quickly dies off as his gaze remains heated and locked on me.
“You just… looking at you, it’s…” His words die off, making my pulse thunder in my ears as I gape at him, desperate for more.
“What?” I push when I’m sure an eternity has passed, and he shrugs, but I don’t miss the way he exhales slowly.
“Looking at you is everything. I feel lighter and calmer in your presence, like this is where I’ve always been meant to be. As if everything shitty I’veever dealt with was so I could feel the true difference in your aura. And I’m not mad about it. Feeling the contrast in my life is like night and day, but I’m addicted to feeling like this with you near. Which means I would face all of the hardship life has to offer if I know I still get to bask in your light.”
I blink at him, unable to say a single word as my mouth sits agape, nothing coming out. But he’s not done.
“Yet despite all of the beauty you offer me, I feel enraged for you. I want to burn the world to nothing to make sure you are safe forever. No matter what it takes, no matter the cost. You’re worth it.”
“You’re insane,” I croak, tears prickling the backs of my eyelids as I see the truth shimmering in his eyes; he means every word of it.
“No,” he whispers back, ghosting his finger down my cheek. “I’m in love.”
I’m going to die from these three men if this is what it feels like to be in love. “I lo?—”
“I know,” he interrupts, pressing his finger to my lips, and I gulp. “But I want to take this moment to tell you another truth. Something that I noticed while I was gone,” he explains, and I cock a brow athim, waiting impatiently as he shifts his hand to cup my chin.
“You are just like your mother.”
My blood pressure skyrockets, making my entire face pulse as I blink at him. “You think?” I rasp, and he nods.
“I watched your father’s strength intensify in her presence. I feel that with you too,” he shares, and I lean into him, taking the exact potency he’s talking about from him while he remains completely unaware.
“Hopefully, I get to see it for myself one day.”
Another kiss to my forehead, and I’m a puddle in his arms as he whispers once more. “I vow with all that I am that you will.”
27
THORNE
Exhaustion clings to me like a second skin. I’ve never felt so debilitated in my life, but I only have myself to blame. It was for a good cause. Unfortunately, I’m now feeling the consequences of burning out my magic to nothing more than a wisp.
