“The Dark-Hunters have one more weakness you don’t know about.”
“And that is?”
“If you put two of them together to fight, they weaken each other.”
Stunned, he stared at her. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because they were created as pawns to manipulate and control someone very dear to me. And I don’t think it’s fair that he has to suffer because of them. While I don’t want to see the Dark-Hunters killed, I hate the fact that he’s been hurt over them even more. As much as I want to stop it, I can’t. But if you do …”
Urian frowned at her words. There was more to it than that. He knew it with every instinct he had. Why would she tell him that now.
Unless …
Unless it had something to do with her guilt. “You’re the reason, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
Urian was incredulous as he put the pieces together in his mind. “Those powers that allowed you to drain a god … somehow they’re the same ones that created the Dark-Hunters, aren’t they?”
She didn’t have to answer. The horrified expression on her face confirmed it. The guilt in her eyes.
“You didn’t mean to do that either.”
Tears filled her eyes. “We all make mistakes, Urian. Can you imagine what an incredible world this would be if we didn’t have to spend the rest of our lives paying for them?”
Those words bit to the core of his soul and struck the mark she wanted them to. “Welcome to adulthood, princess. The time in our lives when we no longer have parents to scare the monsters out from under our beds. Rather, we realize that we’re the monsters who live under everyone else’s.”
June 1, AD 780
“Xyn!” Urian was nearly hysterical as he searched for his dragon.
There was no sign of her. He’d waited all night at their rendezvous, and she’d never shown. So he’d done what he wasn’t supposed to …
Come to her bower.
By the looks of it, she hadn’t been here in a long, long time. A thick layer of dust covered everything. Even the bed. And that wasn’t like her. She was a meticulous housekeeper.
This time, there were no notes. No gifts.
Nothing.
She was gone without a trace.
Without a word.
It was as if she’d never existed.
Tears blurred his vision. Sarraxyn wouldn’t do this to him. She wouldn’t.
Of all the creatures in the universe, she knew how much he needed her. That she was the one thing he relied on. His only tenderness. And if she wasn’t here and this place was in this condition, it could mean only one thing.
She was dead.
His knees buckled. Urian hit the floor as he choked on a sob. Of all the deaths, and there had been so many in his lifetime, this one was the hardest to bear. He pressed his fist to his mouth and sank his fangs into it. How could she be gone?
In that moment, he wanted to join her. Truly, he couldn’t think of a single reason not to. What was he fighting for at this point?
They had no hope of breaking this curse. Of seeing daylight. His father was a fool for even thinking it. Damned and cursed. Forever banished to darkness.
