Riyan was a mess of impossible contradictions—and that is what made hima wonder.
His right hand broke through the surface of the water. He caressed the side of my face with his thumb and water from the spring ran down my cheek along withmy tears.
“They talked about you all the time.” His voice broke. “I barely made it into our Selection class with my mid-June birthday, so I had joked about marrying you. Erik wanted me nowhere near you, but Endre secretly gave me his blessing tochoose you.”
A laugh rippled in mysore throat.
The corner of Riyan’s mouth flicked up for a moment like he wanted to smile. “After that first battle, Duke Hyton said I grew too big to marry an Ashmore bride, but General Hyton convinced him to let me back into Selection Night after my victory. I’ll forgive him for never admitting he was my father for that alone. I never would have evenseen youwithout him.”
He stroked my cheek again. His touch was likea kiss.
“And I wanted you the instant I saw you through that magic mirror, but when you put on that raven tiara, I could almost feel Erik Ravenwood kicking me in the ass to remind me of my promise to look after you. Everything about you was so impressive, so wonderful, soright,that I thought I was doing the first good thing in my life bychoosing you.
“You did.” I smiled up at him. I pressed my hand against his chest and he relaxed. The golden glow passed through my skin into his. His into mine. Back and forth for eternity. “When you chose me, yousaved me.”
Riyan finally smiled back and his dimple appeared. “Before you, my life was so bleak and dark, like I was living in endless night. Every time you say my name is another break of dawn. Your touch is daylight on my skin. Your guiding light brings me out of my nightmares, out of the churning black sea, and into a future I want to wakeup to.”
Riyan cupped my cheek and jaw with his forefingers. He leaned down as he held me and his breath warmed my bare chest. His face was a kiss awayfrom mine.
“When I look into your eyes, Serafina, I finally seethe sun.”
I leaned into his touch—his warmth, his honesty—, but then tension pulsed through the water. Our bright bond of safety and happiness faltered and revealed a crackof insecurity.
“But every time you are hurt, or edge closer to your mortality,” his voice was darker, shakier, “the endless night wraps around me again. I never know if I am the hero you need or the monster you haveto slay.”
I let out a slow breath. My soul was bared and undefended. Even though the golden light consumed my entire body, a magical presence in the water swirled under me and crept through my open wound at my side. The presence was even older than our ancient blood bond, but it worked its way through my blood as if itknew me.
The magic rattled around in the open iron cage where I had kept all my secrets and dragged the ugliest one out. The secret clawed its way up my throat with the magic pushing it to escape and I opened my lips to freethe truth.
“Riyan, you are nota monster—”
An ancient voice in my head finished the secretfor me.
“—but youare, Serafina.”
Invisible icy hands with claws of flame gripped my mind and pulled me out of my body, under the water, and down, down, down where no glow of a blood bond or the magical healing spring could touchthe darkness.
“You cannot hide anymore,” said theancient voice.
Darkness. Nothing but darkness. I could not move. I couldnot scream.
“I see you,Serafina Ravenwood.”
West of the Moon and East of the Sun—a place without day or night that transcends the mortal confines of goodand evil.
The mythical land of the legends was not the snowy peak of Nordingaard like Riyan had said. No, it was the chasm of darkness where Iwas held.
A creature with an unseen face held me in the darkness. My head hung back on my limp neck as the rest of my body was still as a corpse. My heart did not thump, my chest did not rise or fall, and I was completely helpless against the creature that held me underneath its breath. A thin arm held my hooked legs and another braced my shoulders. I looked up at the vast darkness as I searched for the rays of the sun or the glow ofthe moon.
I searched in vain, knowing deep within my blood that no light would reach me. I was in the chasm between the sun and the moon—a place where time couldnot touch.
All I heard was echoes of water and all I saw was a smothering blanket of ink, but I did not feel isolated from the world I had just left. Instead, I felt as if I hovered above it all like I was floating, looking down at the entire world in the darkness, and waiting for whispers of knowledge to reach my ears so I couldpass judgment.
The potential of knowing all things was exhilarating, but I still did not know exactly what held me in itsstiff embrace.
I tried to hum through my frozen throat and call outto Riyan.
“Your silver tongue will do you no good here,” the ancient voice whispered. The voice was both cold and warm, both cruel and kind. “You cannot lie to me, Serafina. I see everything. Iknow everything.”
