Page 33 of Hunted By Darkness (The Dark Soul Collector #2)

Nika

M y heart was in my throat when Lev shot across my eyeline, heading straight for the building after taking a powerful hit from the monstrous snake. I wasn’t close enough to get to him, and my magic wouldn’t make it in time to soften the impact.

The giant shifter Silas gutted with his sword writhed and hissed, blocking my way. I dodged its wriggling body as black blood flooded the street in front of me, creating a treacherous path to navigate. I could only watch in horror as Lev flew head-first toward certain death.

Every imaginable outcome cycled through my head.

He could be injured but still come out of it with enough healing. I’d brought a few potions, and with help, we could make it back to others we kept at the safe house.

He could live but be severely injured in such a way that neither potion nor magic could fully recover him.

The damage could steal his magic from him, or worse, his personality.

I’d seen it before—injuries so great that Fae came out of it different, changed, vacant.

It wasn’t much different to the humans we claimed superiority over.

Or…

He could die. No matter our intervention, an impact like that could kill him. I’d be forced to watch his soul leave his body, and this time I wouldn’t be able to put it back. I might even need to help him crossover if he refused to leave.

I’d already lost my mother, father, and grandmother. Maybe even Dugan. Losing Lev would destroy me. I wouldn’t know how to take on a demon without him. I hated how much I needed him, but I did. I couldn’t lose him.

Emotion crowded my throat so terrible it locked down my voice. The hands wrapped around mine tightened and pulled. Tometi and Ryker weren’t going to let me give up.

We started to run together, their strength giving way to mine. Then out of nowhere, Salvator swooped in and caught Lev midair. His large bear form soared with a grace it shouldn’t have. The ground shook when he landed, his shape instantly morphing into a man.

I didn’t think, I just ran for them. My arms were already around the massive shifter before I understood what was happening. He tensed in surprise but didn’t pull away.

“Thank you, Salvator. Thank you so fucking much,” I murmured over and over, pressing my face into his naked chest, eyes shut tight.

My voice was shaking. Actually, my entire body was. I’d only noticed after his arms wrapped around me to hold me close. Awkwardly, as if he’d never done it before, Salvator rubbed my back in what I suspected was meant to be soothing.

It felt like forever since I’d breathed again. A lifetime. Watching Lev come so close to death was terrifying in a way nothing had ever been. I didn’t expect it to affect me so much, but when the tears started to pour down my face, I realized how scared I’d been to lose him.

Sighing, I finally pulled away and gave the shifter one of the biggest smiles yet, hoping it’d express how grateful I was. How he’d saved me a world of agony. He didn’t have to, but he did.

Salvator was a good man.

“You did good, Sally,” I teased.

He stared down at me, arms still holding tight. Hair fell over his face and his eyes beamed a light-brown, different from the typical fathomless abyss. Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, a smile ghosted across his mouth. Mine grew. But his immediately disappeared when he glanced up.

“Little rebel?” I heard someone call out.

I turned, suddenly aware I was hugging a very naked Salvator in front of the only man I was meant to hug naked. Shame hit hard and swift, and I distanced myself without another thought.

“Big beefy man tantrum incoming,” Ryker whispered to Tometi, no longer visible so it was only Salvator and I who heard it.

Lev, ever the insightful friend, cleared his throat. “Um, aren’t I the one you should be hugging, Niks? I’m the one who almost died and all.”

“Oops,” I said with a sheepish grin.

And just like that, the tension melted.

I was taken into Silas’s arms and checked over. He swiped away all the remaining tears with his jaw clenched tightly enough to reshape his face. He didn’t say another word, just guided me away from the devastation we’d caused and the very uncomfortable moment that came after.

“So…last night didn’t go as planned. Guess it’s on me for expecting it would,” Lev quipped with a laugh, paging through the book we’d stolen. He took a long sip from his steamy cup of tea, while I nibbled on a piece of toast Silas had insisted on making for me.

“It was still fun, all things considered,” I offered, tapping the text. “But it’s good we didn’t—”

“Die? Get you kidnapped?” Lev supplied, monotone.

I stole a glance at the two towering men nearby, who hadn’t spoken much since the weird thank-you embrace. “I was going to say argue.”

Lev tilted his head and considered my statement. “Wow! You’re right. Should we get them checked? You think it’s contagious?”

Hiding a smile, I pretended not to hear Silas click his tongue and mumble something about a cute wanker mouthing off. “Better safe than sorry. Who knows what we’ll do if we catch it.”

“Dance?”

I glowered at him, but Lev acted as if he didn’t notice. Sighing, I returned to the task at hand—learning how to corrupt my gem. I checked my notes, still no further into my quest for answers.

The ritual to send Rilas back was straight forward enough.

Thanks to Grandmother, I knew the feeling and how to use magic to draw symbols, but I couldn’t summon the old magic until I’d achieved a perfect balance.

Nothing in the journal or the Dark Fae Society book explained how to do that.

It almost felt intentional at this point, like it’d been left out of everything my grandmother and mother had covered in theirs for a reason.

Why hadn’t they talked about how to corrupt the gem? Was it out of fear I’d do it too soon?

Dugan said he’d been asked to wait until Silas came looking for him as Dugan and not Trevion.

The more pieces I gathered, the more I understood that each piece had been left with the intention to be found at a certain point along the way.

So was the next piece one I wasn’t meant to find yet, or had I missed it altogether?

The silence that permeated the space was a heavy one as I reviewed a page I’d read through enough times to memorize it.

Silas leaned back against the countertop, his eyes never leaving me. “Well, love? What do we think? Can you summon the old magic, as you say?”

Tired, I rubbed my temples and shook my head. “I’m still not sure how to corrupt the gem enough to make it grey and achieve the right balance.”

Salvator grunted, his jaw ticking. “Grey? Balance?”

Looking up from the text, I nodded. “That’s what my grandmother wrote. It’s best to stay in the grey. Soul Collectors who want to use the old magic need to find a perfect balance. She talks about it a lot in her journal.”

The dark-haired shifter made a sound in his throat before he came over. Silas watched him like he would any enemy but didn’t move.

Salvator took a seat and leaned forward, looking at the journal in question. He brushed back his hair, and the muscles in his chest contracted. He’d refused to wear a shirt again, and after the night we’d had, I was afraid of how Silas would respond if he caught me staring.

The last thing we needed was another fight.

I’d had enough of the two being at each other’s throats to last me a lifetime, and Silas would use it as an opportunity to seek out more affection. I’d barely made it out of the room this morning. He’d been all over me since we made our way back.

It came after a little argument we had. He’d wanted to find another safe house, but I didn’t think it was worth it.

Salvator was sure Bones would be back, and soon.

Said he’d know if the mercenary broke their contract, and he hadn’t.

The ones who attacked us hadn’t found us with Bones’s help.

Instead, it was better to expect another attack and prepare in place.

“I’m not sure if this will help, but that old fox said something strange to me before I woke up in the forest,” the tribesman started, catching my attention right away.

Silas made his way over. “And you’re just telling us this now, Sally?”

Salvator’s jaw clenched off and on before he cut a sour look at the other mercenary. “That woman spouted a lot of cryptic bullshit over the months, Sparkles. I didn’t think it was important until Nika mentioned the words grey and balance.”

Curious, I waited for him to elaborate.

Knitting his fingers together in front of him with his elbows perched on the top of his knees, Salvator went on, “I don’t remember it word for word, but she said something about how grey was a necessary balance for you.

That old woman liked to talk in riddles, but this rhyme stuck with me, I guess.

‘It’s the choice you’ll have to make, the soul you’ll be forced to take.

’ And then she said something about how balance is struck by choosing between life and death.

The old fox refused to explain, just said you’d understand. ”

Salvator shrugged, not sure what it all meant.

But I did. It was a staggering epiphany that hit as every word connected several things together in a terrifying way.

Silas was rigid and quiet. Same with Lev.

They’d been clued in every step of the way.

I’d shared everything. Like me, they understood what every word meant and what it implied.

My thoughts spiraled out of control. I was having a hard time catching my breath.

I’d been so sure I’d be relieved when I knew what to do.

I thought my burden would ease knowing how to send the demon back.

Having the answer couldn’t be any worse than fighting a demon with my lover’s face, right? But I was wrong.

Nothing but agony filled my chest.

I’d have to choose between two people I cared about, and the thought of taking the life of anyone close to me stole every bit of my strength. I finally understood why they didn’t want me to have all the pieces from the start. Father knew I’d try to find a way to save them both.

“You, my dear Nika, are so much like your mother. You’re infinitely kind and will do whatever it takes for the ones you love. It’s both your greatest strength and your most devastating weakness. Because not everyone can be saved. Our fate can’t be changed no matter how much we try.”

He'd said it to me decades ago. It floated to the surface of my memory as my eyes flicked from the shifter I’d come to care for as a friend and the mercenary I loved. The Soul of Death and the Soul of Life. Without doubt, I’d found them both.

Salvator looked from face to face in confusion. “Does it make sense to you assholes?”

“Maybe it’s not what we think,” Lev murmured.

Silas crossed his arms and blew out a sigh. “Or it’s exactly what we think.”

“What am I missing?” the shifter growled.

The two phantoms hovered nearby, just as confused as Salvator was. Only Lev and Silas knew about who we thought was the Soul of Life and the Soul of Death and about the choice I’d have to make between them. I needed to explain everything to them, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.

“The Soul of Life, if you remember, was something my mother mentioned,” I started, and Salvator nodded, having been present for that conversation in my head.

“She also mentioned the Soul of Death. She was sure that Silas was one of them. I agree because I’m confident he’s the Soul of Life.

But the other one…” The shifter’s jaw clenched. “We think—”

“It’s me? Because I’ve come back from death?” he quickly deduced. “You think this cryptic rhyme is about me and this silver-haired bastard?”

For once, Silas wasn’t smiling or cracking jokes. He was quiet, and the silence from him was damning. He knew what it meant to suggest the two souls were them, and what I’d be forced to do in order to summon the old magic to send Rilas back to the After. Every piece had slotted into place.

Fate’s mystery was no longer a mystery.

Like Grandmother said, I’d know what to do when the time came, and I did. It was right there in her rhyme: “It’s the choice you’ll have to make, the soul you’ll be forced to take.”

I wasn’t ready to accept it as the only option, though.

My eyes dropped to my hands gripping my knees. “But there has to be another way,” I murmured, pulse pounding. “Or maybe Grandmother had it wrong.”

Lev touched my hand as I shifted uncomfortably. “We’ll keep looking around, Niks. Or we’ll find a way to collect souls and use enough power to balance it to grey.”

My eyes lifted and caught on Silas’s silver ones. He came over and helped me to my feet as the reality of what I needed to do came crashing down on me.

“We’ll sleep on it for a night, yeah? No sense in overthinking it when we don’t know where he is. It’s as the lad said, maybe we’ll do a little soul collecting before our clash with that bastard brother of mine.”

I didn’t have strength in my legs, so Silas swept me up in his arms and carried me upstairs without making a single comment about it.