Page 29

Bria

T he moon is hanging high in the sky, a bright glowing orb, when I arrive back at the inn late that night.

From the looks of it, the full moon will likely hit right around Nimai’s birthday.

Funny that the descendant of the sun and all things light and bright will have the full moon grace that precious day.

Though it feels like yet another connection between us, another sign of the prophecy.

That the full moon, the phase that symbolizes transformation, would be present for the day she comes into her gifts fully.

Shadows whirl around me and I am at peace in the dark, in the night. Maybe it’s something I can thank my blood for, thank Lilith for. The darkness calls to me, it calls to the magic in my blood, and I welcome it.

The inn is tranquil when I step inside, a surprise considering how close we are getting to battle.

Everyone has already retired for the night, and I amble down the hall to Ash’s quarters.

It’s later than I normally visit her, and I know there is a chance she’s already in bed, but I desperately want to tell her about my day. About Silas.

Cato and I returned to the library after training and stayed long into the night discussing the future—what might happen with Nimai and the prophecy in the coming days.

He’s of the opinion that Nimai healed Evander the other night and restored my energy for the coming days, that I channeled her blossoming power without either of us even being aware of it.

Kiara had been gifted with healing and Cato believes Nimai and I have been communicating via dreams and visions, that the connection between us is growing—taking root as she comes of age.

I glossed over why Evander and I were together when the vision hit, and what we were doing, for that matter.

But given the smirk I saw on Cato’s lips, I was grateful he asked no further questions.

He didn’t appear to have the same reservations with us that Quinn showed, which is intriguing.

Instead, he urged me to pay more attention to what I saw during the visions, to listen and look—that they might give insight into how my sister is faring, and how her powers are manifesting.

I plan to tell Ev the next time I see him, perhaps ease his concern over the wound a bit.

And if I’m being honest with myself, it’s a good excuse to go to him again.

After knocking softly on the door with no response, I turn the knob to find it unlocked. Ash is sprawled on her bed, fully absorbed in the book resting in her hands. She looks up, a bit shocked to see me standing there.

“I didn’t even hear you!” she exclaims, sitting bolt upright and tossing the book beside her. I love her pure and vibrant smile and her eyes that always seem to glimmer like gemstones.

“I wasn’t sure you would still be up,” I say, my eyes making their way to the bedside table, where I see two half-empty glasses of liquor. They drift to the bedding beneath Ash, a disarray of cream and violet. Ash is dressed in a thin, white nightgown and my brows raise in question.

“You’re not interrupting anything,” she answers, without me needing to say a word.

I laugh, pointing out the glasses and the bed. “It’s late enough that you’ve already had a visitor and sent them away? I’m sorry, I can let you rest.”

“Mmmm, there was no need for him to stay,” Ash responds, a glint in her eyes. “Shut up and come sit with me.” She pats the bed and I walk over, climbing onto the bed to lie next to her.

“If I weren’t so tired, I would have a problem lying on your dirty sheets. Was it poor Cade yet again?” I ask, aware Ash has been seeing him regularly for the last week or so since their first encounter.

“It was, but I think maybe it’s run its course. I want to go out for a drink tomorrow night, see what the new villagers have to offer,” she says, throwing me a wink.

The prospect makes me uncomfortable, and I think of Ev and how much I want to see him. But with so little time left, I also want to enjoy the time with Ash, to spend as many moments as possible with the family bestowed upon me by the fates.

“Wonderful idea,” I respond, my lips lifting into a smile at the sheer delight reflected in Ash’s expression when I agree.

We lie together talking into the early morning hours.

I recount the day with Cato and Silas, finding it difficult to put into words the way the energy pulsed from Silas when I was near him—how he was visibly drawn to me and how I could feel it in my soul.

How we had this instant connection, and I knew that he would follow me anywhere if I asked. Including into battle.

But siphoning his energy had proven challenging, leaving both Silas and I depleted at the end of it.

I need to check in on him tomorrow, ensure he’s alright after today.

I had focused that ball of energy that surged in my core and instead of flinging it outward toward the graves, I had pulled it in, reaching out to touch Silas, holding his hands in my own and continuing to pull—sucking the pure white glow from his body into my own.

I recall Cato urging me to slow, to hone my focus.

And it quickly became apparent why he had warned about me harming Silas.

It would have been easy to breathe in every last drop of magic from his body.

I could have left him a shell of the man he once was.

And he would have let me do it. But Cato had reeled me back in, forced me to look at Silas while I pulled so that I could monitor his well-being, ensure he was safe and unharmed.

I had stared into those icy blue eyes while they locked in on mine until I felt as if my body was brimming with white-hot liquid.

Ready to erupt, I had dropped his hands, slamming my body to the ground.

When my fingers dug through the frozen dirt, the energy propelled forth, coursing like a raging river of flames through my veins, my bones.

Light had burst from my hands into the earth and not one, but ten graves exploded all around me.

The shards of stone had rained down upon the ground and littered the fresh snow.

Ash’s eyes are wide, deep pools of emerald as I explain how the warriors moved and she pushes up to rest her head on her arm, enthralled by the story.

I tell her how I can close my eyes and see each one of them, see from their vantage, tell her how the world melts away around me when it happens.

It’s so different from how I cast shadows into nightmares, creating creatures with sharp talons and fangs to strike fear into the minds of others and attack.

With that, I focus solely on myself. Those creatures are conjured from my mind.

These warriors are different, they move like they live.

And it requires far more energy than I have to keep them standing and wielding weapons.

Silas helped with that so much more than I’d expected.

He had dropped to the ground beside me when I’d finally released him.

Cato insisted he was fine when we finished and I apologized profusely, feeling wracked with guilt when I looked down at him.

His sinewy body was formed of tight, lean muscles, the kind you only get from a life of manual labor, and he had been a useless heap on the ground.

But Silas would hear none of it. To him, he was mine. To use as I saw fit. As uncomfortable as that thought was, we were linked through our magic. I could sense it, even if I didn’t completely understand the how and why of it yet.

“Bria,” Ash says breathily when I’m finished. “This is amazing.” She’s beaming now, captivated by the revelation.

I chew on my lower lip and at this rate, I feel I may put a hole right through it with my discomfort. “Helara wants him to join us when we go to the Woods. She’s insisting he stay with me.”

Ash’s face breaks into a giant, radiant smile.

“I mean, I like this idea of your little pup following you around all the time. But the real question remains...how is he on the eyes?” She’s being crass, but I struggled to convey the connection between us and that’s just how Ash is. So, I suppose this is warranted.

“He’s young. He has these light blue eyes that look touched by ice, a strong jawline.

” I imagine the young man looking up at me from the ground with such adoration across his face, like I was the only person he could see.

“He’s quite tall...and handsome.” I look pointedly at Ash, who is barely containing her glee. “And you’re going to leave him alone.”

She lets out a hearty laugh, her body shaking from the force of it. “From what you’ve said, I don’t think he’ll be showing any interest in me,” she responds, tilting her head to the side, fiery curls falling over her shoulder.

I contemplate how to better explain the connection to her, what it is exactly, but I don’t even fully grasp it yet.

“It’s not like that. It’s...” I trail off, not finding the right words to express what I feel for Silas.

Not love, or adoration, or even lust. But an attachment nonetheless, an understanding of one another that I’ve not felt from another person.

Not since I had my parents torn from me years ago.

Deep in my soul, there is an awareness that this man understands me, my purpose.

My destiny. And he is going to do whatever he can to help me, to protect me.

“Such a shame. The way you talk about that power in him…” Ashbel pushes out a long breath, the hint of a whistle coming along for the ride. She feigns fanning herself as if she might swoon. “It sounds hot.”

Not quite the way I would describe it. And while he is an attractive man, pleasing to look at for sure, he’s not Ev.

My mind now wanders to Evander, and I realize that he may have come to my door tonight.

Looking for me. Those damned butterflies thrash in my stomach when I let my mind sift through the images of last night—and this morning.

Had I not been hit with that awful vision at such an inconvenient time, what would have happened?

I swallow forcefully. I know what would have happened.

And though I’m aware Evander has been with women before, and likely many of them, I’ve only been with Cedric.

He knows about Cedric, saw us together plenty of times.

But we never speak of him, no one ever speaks of him to me aside from Ash.

Does Ev know just how inexperienced I am, and does he even care?

A smile creeps across my face when I realize how Ash has this way of turning my thoughts from the dark impending future I hold to things much more pleasurable.

She does so without me ever even noticing the shift until my mind is elsewhere.

Ash is able to quell the fear that rises in me, the fear that’s becoming so constant these days.

I’m fortunate to have her as a haven for my feelings.

She accepts what I have to do but never treats me any differently. And for that, I am immensely thankful.

We talk until neither of us can hold our heavy lids open any longer and then we sleep, side by side, hands intertwined.

Both painfully aware this is one of the last nights we have in the camp, one of the last nights we have together.

Neither knowing what will occur within the coming days or weeks.

No one knows how long it will take for Nimai and me to be ready for battle, for Helara and Reinhardt to rally all the forces they can muster, but it won’t be long.

They’ve been preparing for this for years.

They’ve waited years for this. For us.