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When Night & DarknessMeet

T he female strode through the forest. A circlet of stars was on her brow, shadows drifting around them as if they were in the night sky itself. Long silver hair ?owed behind her as she moved quickly, misty shadows trailing in her wake. She could not be here. Not yet. It was not time.

She stepped into a clearing, peering into the darkness until a ?gure in black stepped from shadows of her own. Her bare feet were ?oating on a cloud of night, and white ?ames wound through her silver hair, mixing with orange embers and dancing ice crystals. On her head sat a crown worthy of the queen she had been born to be, and resting on her shoulder sat a phoenix that was bonded to a Fae of Fire. She had thought that bond would break when the Fae lost his magic, but she could still feel it emanating from the spirit animal.

“Star?re,” Saylah breathed, taking in her daughter, who stood before her as the darkness she had needed her to become. Shirina prowled back and forth between them in clear agitation, glowing eyes always watching.

“Mother,” she said coldly, her lips pursed, features tight. “How did you get here?”

Her head cocked to the side, silver eyes glinting with a wickedness only the gods were capable of, as she reached up a hand and slid it along Amaré’s feathers. “One could say I made my own way.”

“You cannot be here yet,” Saylah said. “And yet here I stand.”

“You cannot be here until you have found the lock,” Saylah insisted. “You do not understand what is at stake. You do not know everything yet.”

“I do not care.”

A sneer curled on Saylah’s lips. “You need to care , Child. This is your destiny.”

“Not anymore.”

Saylah stilled, shadows coiling around her ?ngertips. Shirina let out a low snarl. “What do you mean ‘not anymore?’”

“It is my understanding that you brought this upon this world, not me,” her daughter replied calmly, her own shadows writhing around her.

“I have sacri?ced everything to try to ?x that mistake,” Saylah said sharply. “I sacri?ced you. ”

“And I am no longer willing to be your sacri?cial offering of repentance,” Scarlett said with an air of arrogant indifference.

Saylah’s brows shot up at her audacity. “You do not have a choice , my daughter.”

The corner of Scarlett’s lips tilted up. “You will ?nd a way to restore Sorin’s power, or consider my services no longer available.”

“I cannot do so. It will upset the balance,” Saylah retorted.

Scarlett shrugged. “That is not my problem.”

Saylah took a step towards her. “It will be if Arius comes to correct the balance himself.”

“If Arius could come here, he would have done so already. Same with Achaz.”

“You know nothing of this war, Child,” Saylah hissed.

“I know enough,” Scarlett replied, her voice going lethal and star?re ?aring in her silver eyes. “You will ?x this, Mother . Or when I return from collecting my family, I am bringing Alaric with me, and he can have you.”

“You will sentence an entire world to death?” Saylah demanded.

“ You did that when you came here,” Scarlett retorted. “But no. I will not sentence an entire world to death. I will save them, but I will not save you.”

“I am a goddess,” Saylah said sharply.

The smile that ?lled Scarlett’s face was as dark as the darkness she’d come from. It was worthy of Arius himself. “And I am your salvation or your destruction.” She took a single step forward. “It appears I am your god now.”