I narrow my eyes at him. “But you’re dark magic, not old magic, so then…”
How did he break the curse, let alone contain it?
His jaw clenches. He shifts a little. Hunches his shoulders a little. Squints at me. “Yes.”
“Yes… what?” But then my eyes widen with a realization. “Oh, but of course… The magic that created you was old magic, wasn’t it?”
His lips thin and then turn down at the corners. “It was the oldest of creation magic. Extinct now, like so many of the old beings.”
I consider the solemnity of his statement. For all he knows, he could once have been one of those beings that doesn’t exist anymore.
I once asked him if, despite not knowing who he was, he would have become the keeper by choice. He answered me with a question:Is there truly a choice when the world you know will be consumed if you don’t act?
Whoever he was when he became one of the four keepers, he stopped the world from being destroyed.
And now, here he is with me… and I am a dark creature who, according toTheBook of Dark Magic, will tear the world apart again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Isqueeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the dark thoughts invading my mind so I can focus back on the panthers’ curse.
“Are you concerned that when you broke the curse, you somehow accessed that old magic?”
“The magic at the fabric of my being.” He nods. “It shouldn’t be possible, but it would be incredibly dangerous. I can’t quantify the risks if I were to accidentally trigger it again.”
My voice is a bare whisper. “Are we fucking lucky to be alive?”
“Probably.”
Damn. “I’m glad I didn’t know that at the time.”
“Now you do.”
My forehead puckers, my hand flexing against his chest. “But we can’t leave them as panthers.”
He scoops a finger under my chin. “I will try to help them, my Veda. I’ll do everything I can to break the curse using only dark magic. But I won’t risk anyone’s life in the process.”
“I understand.” At that moment, the sun comes out from behind the clouds. I turn my face against his chest and squeezemy eyes closed, my voice becoming muffled. “The sunlight’s too bright.”
He wraps his upper arm around me. “We should return to a nocturnal existence. Sleep in the day?—”
“Train at night,” I murmur.
“I’m sorry I can’t turn day to night,” he says. “But I can give you a comfortable place to sleep during the day.”
I’m aware of the dark light flickering around his fingertips before screens form across the hut’s open sides, each appearing to be made of black paper stretched between pieces of wood.
I breathe out a sigh of relief and my muscles relax as the screens drop us into a lovely, murky darkness.
Dark light flares again and, in the next moment, a pillow and blanket appear, both in just the right place as he lays me down onto the floor and settles in beside me. I prefer a hard surface for sleeping, but I won’t deny how luxurious it feels to have a nice pillow beneath my head.
“Better,” I mumble, nestling into his side before I fall asleep.
I wake to low voices outside the hut and immediately recognize the keeper’s voice and Anarchy’s melodic tones. Or perhaps… not so melodic since there’s a tension in her words I wasn’t expecting.
It must be nighttime now because the sun no longer glares behind the black screens. Fresh clothing sits in a neat pile next to me, but I don’t reach for it yet.
I don’t want them to sense that I’m awake because their heightened tension is giving me pause.
