Chapter 23 #3
Aela shook her head, imagining the grief she’d give her friend. How many conversations over the weeks they had worked together had Tabitha sensed Aela skirt the truth?
The old crone failed to mention that when telling me about her fellow Virgos.
“Of course,” Heze murmured and unfurled his hand, revealing a delicate cobalt blue flower with a vibrant yellow center. He tucked it behind her ear.
Kaus cleared his throat and the meeting fell underway once more. Tarek was properly chastised for not adhering to his determined number of guests and disrepair of his city, however minor, as the Ascended Primaries took over the meeting.
They discussed the limited crystal stores throughout their Houses without dictating outright how dire each of their situations was.
In Aela’s instructions with Arche, she had learned the formation of the Senate and peace between the Zodiac Houses was relatively new.
Still, for so-called allies, the Primary Stars hardly divulged any useful information.
Is this how the meetings are going to go? All this posturing so as not to appear weak?
On their own accord, Aela’s eyes slid to Eros—his magnetism an inevitable snare. His fingers bracketed his temple and chin while he leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair, listening to the other Primaries. Aela forced her attention away lest he catch her staring again.
“Our Viewers have been watching the skies, but no astral projections have come through that will aid us in locating crystal deposits,” Kaus said, his admission a brave acknowledgement.
“What of The Darkness?” Aela asked. She regretted her question as soon as the words left her lips.
Seven sets of eyes settled on her. Aela glanced at Tarek but found no help in his russet stare.
“What about it?” Kaus replied.
“What can be done against it?”
“The Darkness is a phenomenon we are still learning about,” Heze said. His tone was patient, lacking condescension. “For now, we are bolstering our wards, praying to the Gods that will be enough.”
“The wards don’t help,” Eros chimed in.
“He is right,” Kaus murmured, stroking his beard. “We need a better strategy for dealing with The Darkness. We’re fighting on too many fronts. With limited resources to recharge our efforts after we lure The Darkness away, we’re left with nothing to devote to resisting the pull of the realm.”
“Speak for yourself,” Tarek said. “Say what you will about my tactics in jumping Avarice, but we can evade The Darkness that way.”
“For how long?” Pollux challenged. “What happens when there’s not a realm to speak of? When we’ve all been consumed? Where will you run then?”
Tarek didn’t respond.
Kaus’ deep timbered voice filled the room once more. “This is as good a time as any to break. Let’s reconvene shortly.”
The Virgos were the first to leave, followed by Kaus, Proxima, their guards, and the Geminis. Tala and Arche quickly flowed out of the room. Aela went to follow them when an ebony hand wrenched her shoulder back. Tarek grasped her hand in his, pulling her behind him. Aela stumbled.
“Tarek, slow down,” she hissed.
He released her hand, spinning around so quickly Aela fell into his chest. Gripping her face between his hands, Tarek crashed his lips against hers. Aela shoved against him, breaking the kiss.
“Tarek!” her protest echoed in the meeting room.
“Not here,” he said, voice low. Forcibly intertwining their fingers, he headed off again, towing her behind him. Eros watched their interaction from where he still sat. As they exited the meeting room, Aela turned to look at the Primary over her shoulder, but when she glanced back, he was gone.
The Darkness permeated the air within Theora, searching, hunting for her.
She was here. Thinning into smoke, the attendants garbed in gray didn’t notice him clinging to the hem of their robes, their footsteps.
The Darkness could be any forgotten areas that gathered dust in the dark.
Flowing into the Bull’s shadow, he resisted the urge to cling to Aela’s form wrapped in what should be his essence, as she was pulled behind Tarek.
He restrained himself from sending his shadows to lick at her skin, alerting her that something was there.
The Darkness had watched her. He always waited for her to slip into her dreamscape so he could get closer.
She ran away at every turn. Never mind that he liked the thrill of the chase.
Yet, he wanted her to know him as he knew her.
She had spoken to him. For once, he who clung to the shadowy places and observed unseen had been acknowledged.
She didn’t know what he truly was. If she did, she would have run like she did in her dreams. It didn’t matter how far she ran, he’d chase her across the realm and into the next—follow her scent anywhere she tried to hide, feel her pull call to him across the cosmic sky. There was no escaping him.
The Bull pulled Aela through a doorway, and the bright light from within sent The Darkness skittering back into the hallway. Crawling up the walls, The Darkness slithered through the finite seams in the ceiling and through the wards until he spilled into the night air.