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“You saw my mate in the dreamscape, I assume,” she said. Not waiting for a response, she continued, “Then you’ll understand my need for haste. Tell me how it’s done.”

The swirling black that hovered above the altar rippled before she heard the Everdark’s voice once more.

I am the darkness that stalks the night. I am what mortals fear in the recesses of the deep. I am seduction and shadows.

It seemed to pause.

I will coax out your inner shadows with my own. Then you will be able to access your truest power. You will be a child of demons.

Still not understanding, she said, “Tell me what to do.”

The Everdark hovered in the air and seemed to gesture to the altar.

She hesitated, a hand reaching toward a knife sheathed at her side—a weapon that would be utterly useless against this demon. For a moment, she thought about refusing. But as the image of Elias from the dreamscape returned to her mind, she nodded.

Swallowing past the fear that had her heart thundering in her chest, she lay down on the altar. The stone felt like ice through her leathers, and she bit back a shiver that started to work its way up her spine.

Do you submit to me?

The Everdark’s voice was all around her. She felt it in the earth’s shadows and deep within her—as though something inside her responded to his magic.

“How will I feed?” she asked.

There was a rumbling in the shadows, almost like the greater demon laughed.

You will see in time.

That wasn’t an answer. But did she dare to press him? She needed to unlock her magic before Hadeon could find her. There wasn’t time to delay.

“Do what you must to awaken my magic,” she said. “I won’t fight you.”

The swirling black above her shifted until it took on the shape of a man.

It looked similar to the form the Everdark had taken in the dreamscape—a faceless shadow in the vague outline of a human. But then the shadows peeled back and something unearthly stepped forth.

It was utterly naked with skin that was a deep gray like decayed flesh. Sharp nails protruded from its fingers and toes, and on its face were two slits that opened to reveal eyes as dark as pitch. It didn’t have a nose or ears or any other human feature.

Slowly, a maw opened below its eyes, revealing a too-large mouth filled with countless sharp teeth that were narrower than mortal teeth but also far longer. At the center was a long, thin tongue that lashed out like a snake.

Without meaning to, she flinched away, tilting her head away as it flicked its tongue toward her.

This is a manifestation of my magic,the Everdark said, and she thought she sensed his magic in the darkness hovering above the altar. As he spoke, bands of darkness wrapped around her wrists and ankles. It pulled her arms over her head.

Resist, and this will not work,the Everdark continued as she pulled at the bands of shadows holding her down. Even her shadows were being subdued by some inky darkness beyond her sight.

You want to save your mate, do you not?

Gritting her teeth, she swallowed back both fear and pride before saying, “Just do it.”

As the demon lowered itself so it hovered above her body, she didn’t flinch, didn’t dare move as its claw-tipped fingers clicked against the stone as it placed its hands on either side of her head.

Then a piece of the Everdark’s magic moved.

Reaching a hand up, it pressed a single claw to the center of her forehead. Magic speared into her, and a single tear slipped down her cheek as pain sliced into her center.

Elias,she thought.I can do this for Elias.

Tendrils of shadow enveloped her, spreading out until they filled her, until there was only the darkness.