Page 227 of The Edge of Darkness

The goddess frowned. “What is this request?”

“Niall’s second-in-command is a host for the Aether, and he is ready, and willing, to unbind himself from it.”

Torin tilted her head, worry and curiosity tugging her brows together. “The Aether? In a fae?” She gave a humorless laugh. “I have wondered for quite some time why the entity has not shown itself in another witch since the days when we arrived here. I thought that somehow the curse had found a way of unraveling on its own.”

“It has found a home in a different kind, but it has not been unbound.”

“Yes. I was a fool to believe that we could be rid of that curse so easily.” She stared at the ground next to Nivelle. “How is it that this fae has managed to survive it?”

“He is disciplined beyond his years, and he has an unyielding soul. His will is forged in steel.”

“And I assume you want to know how to unmake the curse?”

“I already know how. What I need . . . is the stone from the hearth.”

Torin stiffened. “How have you come by this knowledge?”

Nivelle hesitated. She had picked up on the nervous tone in the goddess’s voice, just as I had.

“Tell me,” Torin demanded.

“It was found in an ancient book in the fae realm. There was no record of who wrote it.”

Torin’s nostrils flared, and she tried to hide her change of expression by turning her back to Nivelle. “I would like to see this book.”

“I do not have it.”

The goddess took a step, then another, weighing her movements as much as she did her words. “If you bring it to me, I will consider your request.”

“But we need the stone in order to⁠—”

“Do you even know what you are asking? The stone you seek is no ordinary stone, Nivelle, and I will not part with it that easily.”

“You would rather let countless beings fall to the same fate of the Aether?”

Torin spun. “You do not know what you are dealing with. The Aether is a force within itself. It is unpredictable.”

“Aremis is perfectly capable of releasing it.”

“Is he now? Is he willing to perform dark magic?”

Nivelle did not respond.

“To unbind a curse that was made with the dark, one must call upon the dark. It is the only way.”

“But the witch who bound it to herself⁠—”

“Whoever said it was a witch who bound the Aether? A simple witch could not trick such an entity into being bound to a vessel.” She studied Nivelle. “Come now, dear, you know better.”

Nivelle stared right back, challenging the goddess. “It was you. You forced the Aether into confinement . . .”

“I did what I had to do to try and save those that I could. But I think you already knew that. You’ve always questioned it, haven’t you? You’re too curious for your own good.”

“Is that why you’re so against using dark magic? Because you used it yourself, and failed?”

“What I did was not a failure! It was a necessary sacrifice! These marks”—she pointed to the ink on her face—“were not in vain!”

“Do not speak to me of sacrifice,” Nivelle growled. Her own marks seemed to appear more stark against her pale skin as she stared up at the goddess.