Page 106 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

And yet… part of me longs for that kind of bond.

To not walk this life quite so…alone.

Words begin to blur. I blink and rub my eyes, but nothing changes. I’m too tired to continue.

With a sigh, I close the diary and wrap the thin leather string around the metal clasp, determined to try reading again as soon as I can. Maybe I should tell Ferria about the diary. There has to be a reason my mother left the book behind for us. Maybe she will be able to help me figure out what it is? I just need to solve Darius’s problem first…

I stand and lift my arms above my head. My spine cracks when I rotate, and my shoulders sag when I drop my arms.

I’m running out of time. The featured event of the Late King’s Festival is tomorrow or⁠—

I glance at the dusty timepiece on my table.

It’s actually later today.

I rub my throbbing temples.

In two days, I’m due to fulfill my end of the bargain. The clock is ticking, as it always has been. But things are different now.

Yes, the Fae would do anything to save Darius. Draven might even be capable of razing Verdanthia to the ground. But Jaxon and Rian? I’m not so sure.

I think of their disgust when hearing about the abused women in Verdanthia. There’s decency in the superior race I wasn’t expecting. I don’t want to believe they will let my neighbors suffer for my failure. But what if they don’t have a choice?

I glance at my marked arms. The shadows are still, as if sleeping, like I should be.

I have no knowledge of Fae power or the repercussions of the shadows embedded in my flesh. Do the Fae have control over this extension of their magic? Or is our deal’s magic a separate entity? Would they be able to call it off if they wanted?

I lower my hands and sigh. It doesn’t matter. I won’t let things get that far.

The first thing I did after returning from the forest tonight was open the Fae tome to the section Rian finally told me to read.

I nearly gave up after the first ten pages, unable to understand how the vague history and cryptic herbal remedies could help me. But then I saw two words.

Light gift.

Immediately, I thought of the way my power flared that night by the forge—how it lit up the dark when I fought off the beasts. Could the two be the same? Could a “light gift” be what flows through my veins?

I scoured the section with bleary eyes, desperate to understand anything and everything about the mysterious light gift.

That’s when Ferria shuffled in the front door—red-eyed, yet still ready to help. It took all my effort to convince her that sleep mattered more. For both of us. Not that it did me any good.

I look through the bedroom door and bite my bottom lip. I should try to read it again and see if⁠—

“FIRE!”

I blink. Fatigue dulls my senses. That’s the only reason I don’t immediately register the alarming word crashing through the open kitchen window.

“Fire! Near the southern shacks. Spreading fast!”

Another blink.

Fire?

Fire!

I bolt across the sitting room, knocking over the chair in my path, and grab my satchel from the hook on the wall.

“What do you need?” Ferria appears at my side.