Page 119 of Obsidian Dream

He kneeled on the other side of Talik as he gazed up to the sun.The silence between them grew, but Khalida didn’t acknowledge or interact.

“What would you do to have him back?”

Khalida wiped a tear and looked at Lucien, seeing him for the first time.He was ancient—and while he presented as a chaotic being who didn’t care about the world, he couldn’t quite hide the rawness in his gaze.There was a sliver of emotion in his glacial stare, the barest hint of pain.Pain that she knew was reflected in her own gaze.

He blinked, and it was gone.

“What would you do to have him back?”Lucien slowly repeated.He looked Talik over.“Alive and well.”

Khalida tried to comprehend what Lucien was asking her, but it didn’t make sense.No one had the power to bring back the dead.Not even the ancient gods.She swallowed.“I would do anything.”

Lucien sat next to her cross-legged, so they were at eye level.“Anything?”

The silence stretched between them.In the background, the voices became muted.

“Yes,” Khalida answered.She would give up her life without thinking if it meant that Talik could live.“I would only ask for a day together.”

There would never be enough time in the world, even if they lived until the end of time, to say goodbye, to have their last kiss.For her to tell him that she didn’t hate him anymore, had fallen in love with him a second time.

“A life for a life?”Lucien asked.“Once this has been given, it can never be undone.Not even the O’hurani has the power to alter this course.”

Khalida blinked, her heart in her throat as she tried to decipher Lucien’s comments.What game was Lucien playing?She held on to Talik’s arm, refusing to give up just yet.“Without hesitation.”

“What if it isn’t your life?”

Khalida hesitated, but only for a second.Talik had always told her she had too many heroic tendencies, and she had laughed him off.But in the end, Talik had been the hero, willing to die for her and the world.She would be willing to sacrifice the world for him.In a heartbeat.“Yes.”

“You would offer your ability to create life?”

Khalida looked up, her mouth open.She touched her stomach.She thought of Sidra and countless futures, but without Talik they would not exist.The silence between them stretched.

“Yes.”

He smiled sadly.A single blood tear streaked down his face.“Do not squander this gift.”

Lucien clicked his fingers.The sound echoed like an explosion.

“Even the ancient gods do not have the power to destroy a consort bond.They cannot take what they have not been freely given.”

Talik gasped.