Page 288 of The Edge of Darkness

“That depends. The severity of the punishment often matches the terms that were agreed upon. If someone agrees to protect someone else and fails, they often pay with their own life. If someone guarantees money and fails to pay it, their family’s well-being could suffer, or they might lose their honor in other ways. No one knows the consequence until it is brought upon them. As for bargains with gods, I would assume it’s just as grave, or worse, even. So I’d suggest you don’t go making any of those. Not unless you know you can follow through.”

“But you made one with Torin. You offered her land in exchange for her help.”

“The land is mine to give if I wish, so I can make good on my half of the bargain. Only a fool would offer something they do not have.”

A tidal wave of fear and shame washed through my gut, and I internally scrambled to get out from underneath it. I began chewing on my bottom lip, nervously. Niall noted it and leaned forward, drawing my eyes back to his.

“Auren, whatever happens tomorrow, promise me you won’t make a bargain with a god, especially not for me.”

But . . . I’d already made a bargain—for Roirdan’s life, not Niall’s.

Keeping it a secret felt like betrayal, but I could not bring myself to admit what I’d really done to save Roirdan. We were going to war in mere hours, and the last thing Niall needed to worry about was a bargain his mate had previously made with the god of death.

Slowly, I nodded, and said, “I promise.” The vow was heavy in my mouth, heavy with the weight of what felt like a lie, even though, technically, it wasn’t. I would not bargain tomorrow. I would never bargain again.

My throat grew tight, a prickling of sweat forming on the back of my neck. But before I could attempt to change the subject, Niall’s shadows flicked free from his shoulders and drifted on the air toward me.

“I will burn Skadi from the inside out for laying a hand on you,” he said as the shadows gently wrapped around me and tugged me toward him. His voice turned deeper, darker. “I’ll ignite the world if I have to. I’ll turn it all to ash.”

I searched his eyes, watching his pupils flare, the black swallowing up the gold ring that was just beginning to glow around it.

“Niall . . .” I put a hand to his cheek, waiting for him to calm, for his eyes to return to normal. “You can’t turn the entire world to ash for my sake, my love. You need to remain in control.” My fingers traced his cheek, then his jaw, brushing through the thick stubble that hadn’t been tended to in several days. “I need you to promise me you’ll remember who the real enemy is when we get on the battlefield.”

The golden glow pulsed again, beating back the black. But his shadows continued to swirl around me, pressing me closer, holding me tighter. I could feel the thickness of the swarm encasing me like a cocoon.

Finally, he said, “I promise to only kill those who deserve it.”

Not the exact words I was expecting, but the meaning was the same. “Good,” I whispered.

His eyes lowered to my lips, his lashes shading the glow that grew brighter beneath them. Shadows lapped against my body as his hands found my face and angled my head for a kiss. It started out slow, sensual, and intensified with each stroke of his tongue until he was angling my head with his hands and pulling me on top of him.

You’re mine, his voice rippled through my mind as his tongue worked between my lips.

Always yours, I answered.

Moments later, our pants were on the ground, and I was in his lap, riding him like it was my last night in this world. He threw a shield around us to keep our cries of pleasure from echoing through the encampment. The shadows of his power danced alongside the shadows our bodies made on the tent’s walls.

When both of us were spent and sweating beneath the leather that still remained on our chests, we dressed again, and lay in each other’s arms.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“Not as much as I love you, darling.”

The tent grew quiet. Both of us wanted to sleep, but neither of us could. Not with the weight we both carried.

Two great powers to bring the change.

If I closed my eyes, I could imagine we were back in The Keep, tucked inside the mountain. I could pretend there weren’t thousands of warriors waiting to march into battle just outside our tent. That instead, there was an orb dozing off just outside our door, waiting to wake us for breakfast when the sun rose. Sorscha would be there with a plate of cinnamon sugar toast, and all would be right in the world.

I opened my eyes, finding the tent’s vaulted ceiling above me, bathed in the fire’s dim light. The sound of a soldier’s armor clanked outside.

I tightened my arm around Niall’s torso, and he did the same to me.

If peace was a rope, we were at the end of it, and the threads were about to unravel.

Dawn was coming, and with it, war.

With the coming of the dawn,