Page 42

Daimon

The throne room was deathly silent. Everyone was frozen in time, their breaths held as Evelina’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

Daimon’s head was spinning. He didn’t even notice Brielle standing behind her until Evelina took a small step forward. Her skin was pale and smeared with dirt. She fell to her knees, her body trembling.

“You’re alive,” he whispered in disbelief, his throat hoarse.

His words set the room into motion.

Everyone jumped to their feet. Carwyn seemed spellbound, as if struggling to decide who they all needed more right now: the leader, or the sister. Lyria raced to Evelina and met her on the floor, knee-to-knee as they hugged. He watched the way Evelina’s mouth tilted downward and her hands shook as she embraced her sister. Lyria’s delicate arms held Evelina with a protectiveness only a sister could possess.

Ren ran over next, helping Evelina back to her feet and hugging her fiercely.

No one spoke as the siblings embraced. They had risen from their seats but were not yet moving, as if waiting for things to fall apart at any second. It wasn’t until they were all mostly calm that anyone dared disrupt the fragile moment.

“While we are all certainly glad to see you well, Princess Evelina,” said Seretha, drawing out the words, “we would all still like to know how you have made it back to us.”

“As you can see, I didn’t die during the attack,” Evelina said softly, her voice hoarse. Ren was close to her side, looking ready to catch her at any moment. “I was blasted back from the town’s square—by my light or the force of the shadows against it, I’m not sure. My Essence was drained, so much so that no one could hear me calling for help. Until Brielle came across me.”

“Vero spotted her from the sky. We rode back as fast as we could,” Brielle said, her gaze on Daimon.

He nodded to her, clenching his jaw to keep his emotions at bay.

“So, you observed the shadows the rebels wielded?” Keir jumped in, turning to Evelina. He earned a warning look from Carwyn, but still, everyone looked at her, needing to know.

Evelina nodded, her shoulders trembling slightly. But her eyes were distant. Worn. “They weren’t just shadows, they were…” She struggled to find the words. “Streaked with crackling light. They felt like death, like I was breathing in acid just being near them.”

Maliena stepped forward, her eyes wide. “What else, child?”

“Their skin was almost transparent, their veins solid black and spreading across their entire body.”

“How could they harness this darkness?” Keir mused. “They’re a mostly human force, with very few ties to Essence. Even the fae on their side shouldn’t have this kind of power.”

“Furies,” Seretha said sharply, stunning the room to silence. “The rebels have Furies now.”

Daimon stilled. It couldn’t be.

“Furies?” echoed Lyria with uncertainty, holding Evelina tighter .

“The ancient texts talk of curses being used to inhabit a body—in this case, humans,” Carwyn explained. “They’re curses straight from the depths of the Vale, possessing a willing host and poisoning their souls. The Furies are the worst kind of curse, a kind of demon—something that could severely tip the scales in this war.”

“How could they have found a way to call on these curses?” Senna asked, his eyes wary.

Carwyn’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “The gods are at play.”

Her words sucked the air out of the room, an icy chill sweeping in. Daimon could feel the subtle shift from those around him, the fear.

“The dark gods are answering their prayers,” she continued. “Fueling their magic and warping it, creating Furies out of possessed humans.”

Rage simmered beneath Daimon’s skin. He knew Moros was willing to do anything to gain power, but this didn’t just damn his soul—it damned every human who willingly let a Fury in.

“Then how do we kill them?” said Keir bluntly. “Surely there’s a way.”

“In legend, Furies are strong, nearly impossible to kill,” Carwyn said. She turned to Evelina, her brows furrowing. “What happened with your light today?”

Everyone stayed silent as Evelina recounted everything she could remember, from the children who stared bravely into the face of death to the untapped power she felt deep within her and the light that exploded from her body.

“The magic just…came to me. I called and it answered. The only thing I could focus on was how I wanted to stop them from harming the villagers, to save the children that were about to be killed. It was like my shield had been magnified by a thousand.”

“So your magic is a weapon?” Keir asked, his eyes focused on Evelina in a way that made Daimon itch to stand between them.

Maliena shook her head. “I don’t believe it’s that simple,” she said. “It’s a protective form of magic, but it seems to manifest in an offensive way if needed in the moment. Since the threat was large, it chose to fight back.”

“Perhaps their reliance on shadows has also made them more vulnerable to the light,” added Neve thoughtfully, well-versed in the shadows. “Her light’s aim might have only been protection, but if their shadows were vulnerable to it, they would’ve collapsed on their own. It would certainly explain the ash.”

Keir took a step forward, eyes brightening. “Carwyn could have been onto something when she said we needed a secret weapon.” He tipped his head to Evelina. “She could be our edge.”

A sinking feeling weighed in Daimon’s stomach. His fingers curled into a tight fist, letting his nails bite into his flesh.

Those were the last words he wanted to hear.

He wanted Evelina as far away from this as possible. But it was Keir’s job as the Aegis council head to strategize and plan in this way. To always be calculating what the next move could be.

How could Daimon blame him? Something was finally turning the tides in this war, in the most dramatic of ways. All those rebels decimated in one single act of light.

Daimon wished he could see it the same way.

Whispers buzzed around the room, surrounding him from all angles.

“This evening has been overwhelming for everyone.” Carwyn’s voice quieted the whispers. “We will discuss this further in the days to come. For now, I think we are allowed an evening to rest. Evelina especially.”

The group split in a loud rumble of diverging conversations. Annora broke from her parents’ side, rushing to Evelina.

Evelina laughed as tears welled in her eyes, pulling her friend in close. Annora was as much a sister to her as all the others were. Lyria hugged Evelina again from her other side. Daimon watched every muscle she moved, noted the way her arms shook and her skin had paled. He narrowed his gaze, a warrior assessing someone who was experiencing shock. He’d seen it in battle time and time again. Her laugh with Ren was too on edge, too high-pitched.

“Commander Daimon.” Carwyn snapped him back to attention. “Escort Evelina to the infirmary. Ensure she gets there— safely. ”

Daimon nodded, turning. Ren, having heard the order, directed Evelina toward him. She walked slowly over to his side and they left the room, her eyelids fluttering. She looked exhausted. This close, he could finally see what she had endured. Her eyes were swollen and her hair was tangled into knots. Her riding pants were singed on the bottom hem, as if they had been held against a flame, and her shirt was covered in soot.

She swayed sideways and stumbled a step. Her knees buckled again; only this time, she kept falling. He lunged forward, catching her by the waist. She was leaning heavily enough that the majority of her weight was against him. She couldn’t walk like this.

He scooped her up and cradled her against his chest. She felt so small in his arms, her skin cold. She laid her head against his chest and her eyelids fluttered closed. Every twitch of her body had his eyes flickering down, his hand sliding over and tightening around her waist. Her entire body trembled now.

He pushed open the door to the infirmary and strode in. Though the healer there seemed taken aback by Evelina in his arms, she got quickly to work, directing him to set her down on a cot before running to the other side of the room to grab supplies.

As carefully as he could, he sat her down on the edge of the cot. He didn’t let go until he knew she could sit there without falling over.

She looked up at him and he instantly shifted, prepared to catch her. Still, neither one of them spoke. Evelina paused, taking him in. Then she flung her arms around his waist. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her loosely.

He hadn’t held her in years. Even the times they rode together on Zephyr weren’t like this. They were close out of necessity, but this… She was choosing this.

He could feel her melt into him, his arms winding around her waist and pulling her so close that she could rest her cheek against his chest. His heart was beating wildly, moving so rapidly he was certain she could feel it tapping against her face.

His senses were overwhelmed. His arms encased her in a safe place. He could smell the traces of lilies that clung to her like a second skin. He knew he should pull away, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. No words passed between them, but he could feel the ice melting away entirely as she clung to him.

She was safe. And he would keep it that way for as long as he could.

This was where they had always belonged. Now that he knew this, he would never let go.