Chapter 27 #2
It worked. My heart is still pounding in my chest at what I’ve accomplished.
I channeled some of my air magic into the dagger, and a faint glow surrounded it, warming in my hand.
The merchant’s orb had a faint blue light to it.
This, though, was beautiful. A bright white light.
The dagger flared almost as if it remembered something.
Perhaps my mother’s magic. Either way, I will do this whenever I can, infusing it with my magic.
I’ll capture the details here for the next heir to continue the tradition.
The one to save us will have power given to her freely for the good of all our people.
The words weren’t new to us, but it confirmed everything. The next page gave a detailed account of where she held onto the blade, where she channeled her magic into it, what it looked like, and how long she did it.
I lifted my head to Kade. “Can you grab my dagger?”
He stood, grabbing it from the table before returning. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
I ran my hand over the blade, my light magic causing it to glow like it always did. “Can I try to cut the darkness out of you again?”
His face sobered and he nodded once. “Of course. Found anything useful in the journal?”
“Nothing more than an understanding of the power held within the blade. I’d like to try to push my magic into where the journal says the others stored theirs. Maybe it would be more powerful.”
“I’m at your disposal.” He bowed his head.
“Hold on, I’m almost done. For fuck’s sake,” Storm grumbled under his breath. “Give me a minute and you can go about stabbing him all you like.”
Laughing, we let Storm finish.
When the sharp tools stopped prodding me, Storm leaned back in his chair. “Take a look.”
He swallowed, almost nervously, straightening slightly as I rose. His eyes remained trained on the design on my back instead of on me.
“Nervous?” I asked playfully as I turned to look in the mirror, while I held my hands against my chest.
I gasped.
“Storm.” My voice came out awe struck as I stared at the intricate design. Gorgeous blooms ran along the back of my shoulder. My design wasn’t at all like theirs. Instead, Storm had created something that would forever be mine. It was simple yet refined.
“There are seven flowers,” he explained, pointing out each one. “Your mother and father, the king and queen, Elisabeth, Hale, and Corbin.”
I couldn’t say a word as my chest tightened. Tears pooled in my eyes, daring to tip over the edge.
“Your markings are a reminder of who you fight for. Your love is as strong as your light.” He finally met my gaze in the mirror. “My queen.”
I turned, Kade’s shadows quickly cocooned my bare chest as I wrapped Storm in a hug.
My heart carried the death of each person with me daily, but this, to have them marked into my skin, to remind me of what our victory would cost, of who died to allow us to live…
It was more meaningful than I could voice.
“You did well, brother,” Kade said, patting Storm’s shoulder.
Storm pulled away, grinning. “All right, I get it. I’m incredible.”
I laughed through the tears still streaming down my face and grabbed my shirt to relieve Kade’s shadows of their duty to keep me covered. I glanced over at the dagger lying on the bed as if it called to me.
“Let’s keep fighting this darkness,” I said. “Kade?”
Kade held out his arm, and I lifted the blade, touching my forefinger to the spot immediately under the handle, where Queen Daniella referenced holding it to infuse her magic into the weapon.
Pressing down on Kade’s forearm, I made a small gash and closed my eyes while directing my light into the dagger.
The dagger pulsed in my hand, and I opened my eyes to find it glowing in my palm.
Hope flared in my chest, and I smiled, meeting Kade’s eyes. Holding my breath in anticipation, my gaze returned to Kade’s arm only to let out a sharp exhale a moment later.
A few small wisps of darkness curled out and away from his wound, but nothing to the extent we saw with Ian.
My heart sank. A desperation festered, growing more each time we failed. What was I missing?
Angrily, I threw my blade across the room, groaning and covering my face with my hands.
You can’t purge the darkness out of someone when it has become a part of their being. No dagger can eliminate darkness this deep without death.
Andras’s words bounced around my mind, echoing to the point of overwhelming me. But he didn’t know about how many generations of my line had powered the blade.
“Hey.” Kade’s thumb brushed against my cheek. “We will figure this out.”
I forced myself to meet his gaze.
The gentleness in his eyes wavered. “We should discuss the prophecy, combined with what Andras said—”
“No.” I stepped away. “They’re not connected.”
Kade sighed. “At some point we have to face what will happen if we can’t get rid of my darkness. Thames can’t survive.”
I slammed my hands against his chest. “I said no.”
“Lana.” Kade’s tone turned clinical, detached.
“There is a way in the journal. I will keep reading and this won’t be an issue.”
“Who do you think the sacrifice is about?” Storm asked.
I whirled on him, glaring. “I don’t know, but we don’t need to worry about it right now.”
“When it comes time to face Thames, we need to be prepared,” Kade said, tugging me back to his chest.
Collapsing into him, my forehead rested against the solid muscle beneath his tunic. “The sacrifice isn’t one of us. It’s not. It can’t be.”
Kade hugged me tight. “Well, I refuse to let it be you.”
Looking up at him, I responded, “You don’t think I feel the same?”
The love reflecting in his eyes as he took me in calmed my anxious nerves slightly. He leaned down, kissing me gently. “Of course you do.”
His body jerked suddenly.
“Kade?” I frowned as he took a step away from me. “Storm, do you see this?”
Storm looked up from cleaning his tools, his skin losing all color as Kade’s body jerked once more.
A grey mist, lighter than his shadows, swirled around his feet, climbing rapidly up his body.
No.
My mind froze as it immediately took me back to that heartbreaking moment in Dargan’s study when Thames appeared, trapping Kade.
“Get back,” Kade ordered, fear flickering in his eyes.
I didn’t listen, instead stepping closer toward him as my heart pounded in my ears. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Kade said. He flung his shadows out, but as they tried to wrap around the mist, they were swallowed up too.
“Lana,” he breathed out heavily. “Don’t do anything crazy, please—”
Before either of us could react, Kade was gone.
Disappeared without a trace.
I fell to my knees and screamed.