He nodded to her, clenching his jaw to keep his emotions at bay.
“So, you observed the shadows the rebels wielded?” Keir jumped in, turning to Evelina. He earned a warning look from Carwyn, but still, everyone looked at her, needing to know.
Evelina nodded, her shoulders trembling slightly. But her eyes were distant. Worn. “They weren’t just shadows, they were…” She struggled to find the words. “Streaked with crackling light. They felt like death, like I was breathing in acid just being near them.”
Maliena stepped forward, her eyes wide. “What else, child?”
“Their skin was almost transparent, their veins solid black and spreading across their entire body.”
“How could they harness this darkness?” Keir mused. “They’re a mostly human force, with very few ties to Essence. Even the fae on their side shouldn’t have this kind of power.”
“Furies,” Seretha said sharply, stunning the room to silence. “The rebels have Furies now.”
Daimon stilled. It couldn’t be.
“Furies?” echoed Lyria with uncertainty, holding Evelina tighter.
“The ancient texts talk of curses being used to inhabit a body—in this case, humans,” Carwyn explained. “They’re curses straight from the depths of the Vale, possessing a willing host and poisoning their souls. The Furies are the worst kind of curse, a kind of demon—something that could severely tip the scales in this war.”
“How could they have found a way to call on these curses?” Senna asked, his eyes wary.
Carwyn’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “The gods are at play.”
Her words sucked the air out of the room, an icy chill sweeping in. Daimon could feel the subtle shift from those around him, the fear.
“The dark gods are answering their prayers,” she continued. “Fueling their magic and warping it, creating Furies out of possessed humans.”
Rage simmered beneath Daimon’s skin. He knew Moros was willing to do anything to gain power, but this didn’t just damn his soul—it damned every human who willingly let a Fury in.
“Then how do we kill them?” said Keir bluntly. “Surely there’s a way.”
“In legend, Furies are strong, nearly impossible to kill,” Carwyn said. She turned to Evelina, her brows furrowing. “What happened with your light today?”
Everyone stayed silent as Evelina recounted everything she could remember, from the children who stared bravely into the face of death to the untapped power she felt deep within her and the light that exploded from her body.
“The magic just…came to me. I called and it answered. The only thing I could focus on was how I wanted to stop them from harming the villagers, to save the children that were about to be killed. It was like my shield had been magnified by a thousand.”
“So your magic is a weapon?” Keir asked, his eyes focused on Evelina in a way that made Daimon itch to stand between them.
Maliena shook her head. “I don’t believe it’s that simple,” she said. “It’s a protective form of magic, but it seems to manifest inan offensive way if needed in the moment. Since the threat was large, it chose to fight back.”
“Perhaps their reliance on shadows has also made them more vulnerable to the light,” added Neve thoughtfully, well-versed in the shadows. “Her light’s aim might have only been protection, but if their shadows were vulnerable to it, they would’ve collapsed on their own. It would certainly explain the ash.”
Keir took a step forward, eyes brightening. “Carwyn could have been onto something when she said we needed a secret weapon.” He tipped his head to Evelina. “She could be our edge.”
A sinking feeling weighed in Daimon’s stomach. His fingers curled into a tight fist, letting his nails bite into his flesh.
Those were the last words he wanted to hear.
He wanted Evelina as far away from this as possible. But it was Keir’s job as the Aegis council head to strategize and plan in this way. To always be calculating what the next move could be.
How could Daimon blame him? Something was finally turning the tides in this war, in the most dramatic of ways. All those rebels decimated in one single act of light.
Daimon wished he could see it the same way.
Whispers buzzed around the room, surrounding him from all angles.
“This evening has been overwhelming for everyone.” Carwyn’s voice quieted the whispers. “We will discuss this further in the days to come. For now, I think we are allowed an evening to rest. Evelina especially.”
