Page 303 of The Edge of Darkness

The first time I’d done this, Syros had appeared immediately afterward and granted me my shroud. It had felt more like a selfless sacrifice then. This time, it didn’t. This time, my power had indulged itself. The mere memory of what I’d felt just moments ago when my power was ripping through the world disgusted me.

All around me, blanketing the ground like freshly fallen black snow . . . was ash. There was nothing left. It was complete decimation—the true consequence of my shadowfire.

I stared down at what lay before me, and my throat constricted. The dirt was charred, littered with ash where a winged body had just been. Where . . . Saxon had just been . . .

Even though he was already dead, Saxon hadn’t been an enemy. I thought I’d commanded my power to only go for the enemy⁠—

My whole body began to tremble as an all-consuming panic set in.

If his body had been turned to ash just like the rest, what did that mean for everyone else? What if, in my failure to keep control over my power, I wasn’t able to spare my own kind from the assault? And if they had survived, would they see this outburst as me protecting them? Or would they fear me?

Hesitation bracketed every joint in my body and rooted me in place. I didn’t want to turn and face what waited behind me.

Then there was a voice . . .

Niall . . .

Ashes rustled as a breeze blew by . . .

Niall . . .

A deep rumble hummed from somewhere far off . . .

“NIALL!”

Auren?

Slowly, I looked over my shoulder.

There she was, alive, unharmed, emerging from under the wings of Remic and Silas. Vanir was there too, pushing to his feet, but badly shaken. The look he gave me said a thousand things, and none of them seemed particularly good. Behind them, fae, witches, Dionachs, Dreki . . . all . . . miraculously . . . unharmed.

“NIALL!” Auren shouted again, pointing.

She wasn’t pointing at me. She was pointing past me.

I swung back around to see the sky turning black over the horizon. It was the same thing Auren and I had witnessed from The Lookout.

Beneath the growing mass of shadows, was Skadi, standing alone atop a hill. She was far enough away that I couldn’t make out the features of her face, but I knew her focus was pinned on me. I had no doubt that my burst of power was a beacon to her.

She slowly raised her arms at her sides.

“No . . .” My voice was barely a whisper.

The ground shook. That same deep rumble that was groaning in the background grew louder. Then, shadows were stretching upward from the dirt, taking form at her side, one by one. Skadi held her stance, rolling her wrists in the air like she was conducting a sinister chorus and raising the dead. Dozens of figures continued rising, knitting themselves together and turning their sights on me.

It wasn’t enough. The thought landed heavily in my head, and there was no removing it. I’d wiped out the remains of an entire army, but it still wasn’t enough. Because of Skadi. Because she’d come here and reinforced Lyceius. And now, we were running out of resources and time.

The fallen god was still nowhere to be seen. I started to think that perhaps whatever blood oath Skadi had entered into with him had given her an unforeseen advantage that he hadn’t been aware of. If she was using his power to fuel her own—to summon her shadow forces, knowing they were harder to defeat than his . . .

There was only one thing left that I could do. I hesitated again, not wanting to make the call. Aremis hadn’t even had the chance to unleash his power yet, but he still could, as long as we provided a way for him to not be overtaken by these new forces.

And we had to get to Lyceius. Somehow.

Other creatures were now slithering in between the shadow beings. Most of them were keres, drawn out from the depths of Salterra by my power . . . which meant Lyceius still wasn’t finished. There was more he was withholding.

I let out an unsteady breath, knowing that I had nothing else up my sleeve after this. This had to be the final push.

I didn’t look back over my shoulder again. I held Skadi in my sights as I rose to my feet and made the call in my mind. A few moments passed—long enough that I imagined Skadi was starting to smirk with pride, thinking she had brought us to our end.