Page 246 of The Edge of Darkness

“I told you before, we do not have what you seek,” he said.

“Do not play those games with me. It is here. I can sense it.”

Niall’s fidgeting halted. “What you are sensing is me.”

I whipped my head to him, having not expected him to say anything that would clue her in as to where his power came from.

“We’ve been over this, High Lord. Your power⁠—”

“Came from the amulet, yes. But I do not have it—nor does anyone in this territory. It has only ever been in the hands of your sister and her kind.”

A look of concern crossed Skadi’s face. “Well, that truly is a problem then, seeing as my sister is not here at the present moment.”

“If you’re patient, you might just see her on the battlefield.”

She lifted a brow. “Making deals with the gods for help? Didn’t take you to be the desperate type.”

“I’m just utilizing all the available resources.” He had the audacity to toss her a smirk, and she bared her teeth at him in return.

“Enough of this,” Lyceius hissed. “Surrender yourself now, Auren, along with the amulet, or subject everyone you know and love to the same fate as the king.”

Everyone I know and love.

Instead of my parents’ dead bodies, it would be the bodies of those that stood around me now lying in the dirt. Suffering. Bleeding out.

Try as I might, I could not shake that fear.

“You have the opportunity to save thousands,” Lyceius continued. “You can end this war before it even begins.”

Niall’s shadows tightened around my arm, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced down at them, and they curled, as if peering up at me. Begging me not to give in.

If I surrendered, everyone would be doomed to a world worse off than before, under the rule of a god who valued power and corruption over all else. If I faced him, if I defeated him and fulfilled the prophecy, then all the wrongs would be righted, and perhaps the humans and the fae could live in harmony once more.

And if for some reason I failed . . . well, at least I tried.

“No,” I finally said.

“No?” Lyceius echoed.

A long pause ensued.

Something dark crossed the fallen god’s face as his lips hardened to a thin line. “If words will not persuade you, perhaps actions will. I will give you some time to reconsider. If we do not have what we seek in two days’ time, I’ll assume you used the interim to prepare for your deaths.”

I didn’t object. None of us did. Two days would provide vital time for the rest of the armies to show up. We could not risk that.

Without another word, Lyceius’s inky darkness swirled up from the earth, encompassing the creatures, Skadi, and himself, and they vanished into a swirl of dust and darkness.

A warm wind tore through the valley, whipping against the fabric of our tent, and bringing with it, the scent of rain.

Niall and I sat together in front of the fire in our private quarters. I was nestled between his legs, my back against his chest, fingers drawing small shapes on his leather-clad thighs. Neither of us could sleep. After the meeting with the High Lords, and the jarring history lesson with Lyceius, there was too much on our minds, and the humidity that had rolled in hours earlier made it nearly impossible to get comfortable while fully clothed. We needed to be ready for anything to happen at any time. And that meant staying dressed and alert.

Despite the gusts of wind, the birds were already beginning to sing their songs, signaling that it was sometime before dawn.

I yawned.

Niall leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on my temple, cinching his arms tighter around me. “We will have to get some sort of sleep soon.”

“I know.” I nestled back into him.