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Chaoswas a more fitting name than I’d anticipated, apparently.

Several times, she opened her mouth only to snap it shut. Finally, she asked, “What do you propose, then?”

“That we find Luminor together.”

“I would rather die a thousand excruciating deaths than willingly travel anywhere with you.”

“Well, that’s good to know. Because you very likelywilldie without the help of me and my soldiers.”

She finished cutting her bandages and stabbed her knife into the dirt floor with excessive force, but she held her tongue.

“There were nearly three dozen of those soldiers when we landed here, you know.”

She continued bandaging her leg while regarding me from underneath her lashes, her curiosity clearly piqued.

“The ones who remain are the ones who have learned how to survive in this desolate place. The rest…” I let the comment hang heavily between us.

She stared at her impaled knife, a tormented look in her bright eyes.

Without looking at me, she said, “Go on.”

“They’ve had more practice than you at keeping the ghosts and demons of this world at bay,” I said with a shrug. “And trust me: You want escorts well-practiced at this. Because living things don’t truly belong in this realm—even those with magic such as yours.”

“So you’re offering to escort me to the sword, even knowing I don’t intend to let you have it back? I’m going to find a way to repair the damage it’s done and continues to do. And then I’m going to use my magic to neutralize the blade. I’m going todestroyit, if I have to.”

“Ah, so you actuallydohave an ultimate plan? That’s reassuring.”

“I always have a plan,” she muttered.

“We have that much in common, at least. Which brings us to the other part of this proposal,” I said, calmly, “and what’s in it forme.”

She wrapped her hand around the jeweled hilt of her knife, but left it in the dirt, and she didn’t interrupt as I continued.

“Something about you and your magic seems to have stirred my own magic, waking me up in the process,” I said. “And it seems to bekeepingme awake—more awake than I’ve been in some time—even if it’s giving me a headache to go along with it.”

She considered my words for a long moment, her fingers tapping against her weapon.

And then that wicked, chaotic beastsmiled.

“Have I said something amusing?” A snarl slipped into my words.

“You need me in order to stay conscious. I give you, the King of Light himself, life. I just find it ironic how desperately youneed me, even though you called me—what was it? AnAbysmal Creature of Death and Chaos.”

“And you needmeto keep you from meeting a gruesome end in this realm.”

“Debatable.”

“If you think so, then feel free to leave. Best of luck on your journey.May the road show you mercy, favor, and light, as they say in my kingdom.”

She shot me a nasty look before getting to her feet, testing her weight on her injured leg before making a few adjustments to the bandage she’d tied around it. She looked as though she was considering walking away from me, but she couldn’t bring herself to move.

I took a step closer to her. Then another. The closer I drew, the more the restless magic inside of me settled. The clearer my mind became. It was such an odd, unexpected reaction that I couldn’t help but draw even nearer, chasing the sudden clarity without regard to much else.

Her knife was at my throat in the next instant.

I almost smiled at the feel of the cold steel pressing against my skin; at least she was entertaining. How many years had it been since I’d felt this alive?

“You’re impressively quick with your blade.”