Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
-brIDA-
My skin prickled, my heart thudding like the beat of a drum. He’s here. Dainan is here.
Dainan’s eyes shifted to my left. Shadows rippled from his body, moving faster than I’d ever seen, circling Marsh, crushing him.
“Dainan!” I screamed as the wind grew more violent by the second. Pushing myself through its thundering force, I ran up to him.
I reached for his face, but a shadow lurched up to stop me.
“Dainan! Dainan, listen to me!” In the eyes of Dainan, Marsh had been involved in the plot to kill his brother. I looked at Marsh, his skin now matched the pale violet tones of his hair. His eyes were beginning to bulge from his head. The pressure of the shadows was growing.
“My, my,” Melia made her way next to me, “I didn’t expect a show. How marvelous. Marius, you must return home more often.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I moved in front of Marsh.
Focus. Really Focus.
I looked at Dainan, at his stance, the placement of his hands, his body. It was hard to determine at that moment if his magic controlled him or if he controlled it. Closing my eyes, I let out a deep breath.
I can do this.
Let me out.
Turning my palms, they faced towards Marsh, save him, I thought. A warmth bubbled in my fingertips before moving into my hands. With a thrash that nearly sent me backwards, beams of light shot from my palms, rushing to mingle with the shadows.
“Holy Gods,” I heard Melia say from behind me, but I didn’t have time to think about her now. Whatever trance had Dainan locked in its spell, it needed to be broken.
Light swirled to the floor, dancing until it met the shadows. Where Dainan’s shadows hissed, my light sang—the beautiful song of the Pool of Vitality, the song of the water in the grove, it was a song of reverie.
Light forced itself into the cracks of the shadows, making a barrier between them and Marsh. The light pulsed, a living heart. With each beat, the light radiated more, blinding the shadows, pushing them further back from Marsh. Slithering, they crept back to their master, towards Dainan.
Marsh collapsed to the ground, raising to all fours, gasping for breath. He reached for his throat, caressing it, reminding himself he was able to breathe, that he was still here. Kneeling, I lowered myself to him, “Are you okay?” I whispered as I rubbed his back.
He offered me a curt nod before looking down once more.
My footsteps echoed across the floor as I made my way towards Dainan, the hall otherwise silent.
My light that had forced the shadows to Dainan returned to me in golden waves, each spiraling up to meet me.
Their warmth, their song, it was familiar.
As if they had been a part of me all my life, and yet I knew, they weren’t mine, not truly.
Taking my final step in front of him, the light burst outward, encasing us in its sphere.
For a moment, we stood in silence before his shadows wriggled up the dome, affording us even more privacy.
Dainan took a step towards me, and I felt my breath catch. The thudding in my chest was so loud that I wondered if he could hear it. I wasn’t sure if his hand lifting my chin, or the scent of smoke, citrus, and salt hit me first, but it took everything in my power not to buckle at the sight of him.
Him.
“I know you,” I whispered as our eyes locked onto each other. The shadows that so often danced in those eyes were replaced by embers on the precipice of becoming a blazing fire. A fire, that I knew, would engulf the world.
He dragged his thumb along my jawline, a low hum escaping him.
“Hello, Ilia.” A small dimple emerged in his left cheek, the first I’d ever seen on him, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
Placing my hand over his, I felt his warmth, and I leaned into it, to him. His embrace, him, it was what my soul had been yearning for. Every part of me was set afire.
“You found me,” I said, in a voice so low that only Dainan would be able to hear me.
Dainan paused before cupping my face with both of his hands. “I have found you in every lifetime, and will until my soul returns to dust. You are a part of me, Ilia, it was always you.”
Dainan brushed a tear from my face. “There could not be another, for you are my balance, my love, my equal. But where I am darkness, you will bring light. From the moment I saw you, I knew. My soul was yours.”
“Si talu me, amirale sig te afu mi,” I said through the tears that flowed freely down my cheeks. Our meeting had not been a chance but fate herself, weaving the threads. We were laid bare before one another. Dainan and Brida, Dawn, and Dusk.
“Yes.” He smiled as he said the words, “You were destined for me, Brida. And I will consider it the greatest honor of my life.” Dainan raised my hand to his lips before pressing a soft kiss there.
The caress of his breath against my skin, the feel of him. I yearned to pull him into me, to surrender to him here and now.
“Ilia,” Dainan raised his eyes to meet mine. “You are going to have to tell me why you chose to save him.” He gestured his head towards Marsh.
I proceeded to tell Dainan quickly about my last moments in the Court of Whispers, briefly mentioning the grove—we would discuss that later— and how when I’d found my father, I’d also found Marsh.
Dainan’s eyes reflected the idea that he’d heard my words, and despite knowing they were true, still wanted to act.
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, dragging his gaze back to mine, “where’s Lil? Is she okay?”
Dainan straightened his posture and pushed a few loose strands of hair back from my face.
“I’m not sure where she is. All I know is that wherever she is, she went there of her own free will and choice.
There is much to say on this matter,” Dainan’s eyes roamed the room, “but it is a conversation I would prefer to have alone.”
I nodded. Each of us had stories to share, and they would come in due course.
But for now, we needed to address the situation at hand.
“I think it’s best if we remove the bubble.
” I gestured around us, “There are things that must be sorted. I also don’t know if you noticed upon your arrival, but Asana is here. ”
With a whoosh of his hand, the shadows disappeared, and he offered me a smile, waiting to see if my magic would react similarly.
Sighing, I dragged a hand down his chest. “Before we go back into that, I need you to know that all of me, not just this part of me that isn’t my own anymore, has missed you every second we have been apart.
That every day without you felt as if part of me was broken, incomplete. I will never feel that way again.”
“You are my reason, Ilia. I wandered endlessly through the void until you called for me. You were the light that guided me through the darkness. It is always, and will always be you.” He leaned in, his mouth next to my ear. “I need you.”
I arched into him while whispering, “I know.”
Before we could distract ourselves further, I mimicked the motion of Dainan’s hand, but rather than the light receding as the shadows had, the ball of light exploded into thousands of brilliant shards around us, glowing jewels suspended in the air.
Everyone in the room paused what they were doing to look at the sight before them. Orange and yellow gemstones glinted for all to see, a sight I’m not sure any of us had seen before. Perhaps Marius, in a different life.
Dainan lowered his head to my ear as he wrapped his arm around mine. “It is almost as beautiful as you, light of my world.” He placed a warm kiss on my cheek before escorting me to Marsh.
The tension between the two of them was as thick as the mist that had surrounded us on Navaros’s ship. Two stubborn men, each refusing to speak before the other. Neither willing to risk the shattering of their pride. Each more fragile than glass.
“Seeing as the two of you are as you are, I will speak on his behalf.” I gestured to my right. “Marsh, Dainan is sorry he did what he did, but under the circumstances, I’m sure you can understand where he is coming from.”
The two refused to look away from each other, refusing to be the one to yield first.
“Dainan,” I turned my head to face him, all the while pulling his face to mine.
“Marsh is just as much a victim in this scenario as the rest of us. He was kidnapped, tortured, and abused. He had no part in Alvar’s death.
The only thing he is responsible for is allowing me to meet you.
” Something that part of me wondered how much he regretted.
I let go of his face, “The two of you need to cooperate, do you understand? We have bigger issues to worry about—we do not need a contest to find Azmeer’s largest megalomaniac.”
“There would be no contest,” Marsh said, “Dainan would win that title.”
“Be careful, cousin.” Dainan let the word slip from his tongue, sharp and precise—like a blade driving deep into my gut.
Cousin? How had they both failed to mention this?
“You and I will be having words about this later.” I looked to each of them to allow them to process my meaning: you are both at fault.
Tugging on Dainan’s arm, I pulled him down the line. “Dainan, I’m not sure you have officially met…”
“It is an honor to see you again, Mr. Larrow.” Dainan extended a hand to my father, whose gaze refused to leave mine as he extended his hand.
“I’m happy to say that I fare better than last we met.”
“Of course,” I whispered. Alvar. I gestured to my left, where Asana was standing with Melia and Marius.
Without a word or whisper, Dainan dropped my arm and strode towards Asana before wrapping her in an embrace. It was a strange sight to witness. Two of the most formidable figures of Azmeer locked in each other’s arms. A moment to acknowledge their shared grief and loss.