Page 145 of Balance

“Oh,” I interrupted. “You mean when he said you were dabbling in black magic.”

Yes, I did recall such a conversation. Miles had been acting so very suspiciously.

“I am not dabbling in black magic!” Miles turned red, and his eyes widened. “I’m just—”

“Areyou doing something you’re not supposed to?” I pulled at his sleeve, asking even though the answer was obvious. “What did they mean?”

Miles frowned, looking from me but not pulling away. “Allof our abilities have two sides, but it doesn’t mean any of our abilities arenecessarilybad.”

I pursed my lips. That didn’t make any sense. If they weren’tbad, then why was certain magic banned?

“You know the Tai Chi symbol,” he said confidently. I opened my mouth to agree, but he interrupted, pointing at me. “Don’t even try to deny it, Miss ElvenEdgeLord69.”

“I wasn’t going to deny it!” My face heated. I still didn’t understand the big deal about sixty-nine but hadn’t dared to Google it after their reactions. “You’re saying this is about opposites?”

“Exactly.” Miles nodded. “Working with black magic is a lot like walking through the dark.”

What a terrible analogy, considering that Miles had zero sense of direction at night.

And, quite possibly, every other time too.

He didn’t seem to pick up on my doubt, because he pressed forward, fully in lecture mode. “It’s scary at first, because there are things out there that you can’t see. But once you know how to find your way—to rely on more than just one sense—your understanding of the world only grows more profound. It’s like that with all of our abilities.”

“So… both are okay?” I asked.

“It’s easier to get lost in the darkness because, unless youreallyknow what you’re doing, you’re working blindly. There’s always something lurking nearby waiting for the moment to strike. Every power has their own version of monsters, and witches hide theirs in the dark. It wasn’t always so dangerous. Originally, blood magic, such as that practiced by the Cole family, was more commonly practiced.”

My breath caught at his words. “What is it?” I asked. “The monsters?”

He crossed his arms, nodding. “Evil was once good, always, as everything has the capacity for good or for bad.”

“I still don’t understand how this is relevant…” I began, mentally cataloging this conversation to the back of my mind. Even though Damen’s explanations were extremely confusing, he was way better than Miles at getting his point across.

Miles sighed, the confident quirk of his mouth wavering. “The pointisthat you should never feel guilty for usingeverythingin your disposal to keep balance in this world.”

“Are you afraid?” I asked, tucking my hands in my pocket, trying to not think of the implications. “I mean, of the dark?” I clarified in response to his questioning frown. “Julian said you’ve beendabbling… What are you looking for? Do you need help?”

“No. Not anymore.” His expression suddenly closed off, and he turned his attention back to the stones. “Once I remove the capstone, the spell will fall,” he said, attempting to change the subject as he crouched close to the ground and pointed to the rocks. He’d balanced on the balls of his feet, knees spread as he touched the ground between them. “Are you ready?”

I would let this slide, but only for a moment. My quest for answers wouldn’t be deterred for long. “What will happen?”

“Nothing spectacular,” he answered, picking the plain stone up and holding it in front of him between two fingers. He frowned, brow wrinkling, as he muttered something under his breath. The air warmed, but only for an instant, and then a hush seemed to fall over the area. “The barrier is dropped. There’s no use keeping it up anymore.”

Even the air seemed to have lifted, and the early morning sun was brighter. “It feels lighter,” I muttered, rubbing my upper arms.

At my statement Miles twisted, moving his fist to rest over his right knee. “You can feel that?” His dark eyes seemed to swirl with caramel, and his breath was sharp.

“Yes…?” Why shouldn’t I?

I actually thought he might answer, but instead, his eyes dropped for a second, studying the ground, before his expression molded over into a false joviality. “That’s great,” he said. “At this rate, you’ll be more like me than me.”

I blinked at him, unsure how to respond. Miles was always so down-to-earth and straight-forward that this sudden, though minor, hint of sarcasm was out-of-character.

Come to think of it, he’d been acting touchy this entire trip. A warning rang in the back of my mind as his posture changed. It felt as though he was on the edge of something big—his body strung as tight as someone ready to act on pure desperation.

I understood that feeling; your heart beat fast, and your stomach twisted. Rationality had fled, and survival became priority. It was in those moments when you had nowhere else left to run, and you had no choice but to act, but there was no way to foresee the end result.

He’d still never answered my earlier question: whatwashe searching for—here, and within the darker sides of his abilities?