Page 34 of The Edge of Darkness

“You were saying?” I pressed.

Silas’s mouth remained a tight line as he said, “She is my Dionam.”

My heart jolted at his proclamation.

One would think that my mate having a Dionach—a guardian who was assigned to her by the gods and the fates—would be something that would ease my worries. Yet I found myself skeptical and . . . fucking bitter. Not to mention the effects of the mating bond were still fresh, and my instincts wanted me to keep Auren away from any other male, especially one who sought her for himself.

All replies were lost on me as I warred with my emotions. So, I just stood there, in silence.

Thankfully, Remic spoke up. “Who gives you the authority to say so?”

“My wardeness, Nivelle. She received the summons from Torin just a few months before the king’s tournament in Galenagh.”

Auren’s eyes widened. “So, you were there for my protection?”

“Yes, as the fates willed it,” he answered. “Though, I didn’t know it was you until I saw you enter the courtyard at the castle. Even then, I wasn’t completely sure I believed it. But when you took that hit to your face, and I watched you fall to your knees, there was no doubt. It took everything I had not to blow my cover and break every bone in that man’s body for laying a hand on you.”

I stiffened. Hearing of someone hurting my mate was kindling to the fire that was raging inside me. It had been raging since Ramil played his damned mind games with me. But I shook my head and willed my shadows to stay tucked away . . . for now. I couldn’t keep my hands from Auren though. I needed to feel her. My palm found the small of her back, and she settled into my touch, grounding me with the movement.

She studied Silas, and if I knew her, a dozen questions were swirling in her mind. Sure enough, she asked another. “Is that why you yielded to me? Because you didn’t want to hurt me?”

“Yes. I could never hurt you, nor would I ever want to. You are my charge.”

I watched the Dionach carefully, trying to get a read on him, all while fighting back the urge to toss him over the edge of the patio to see just how well his wings worked. He was every bit as tall as Remic, but with slightly broader shoulders and a bit more bulk. Where Remic looked like the striking sting of death, Silas was the final blaze of its glory. Seeing the two of them cross swords would probably be akin to watching the gods in a duel.

“And how, exactly, did you know I would be at the tournament?” Auren pressed.

“I didn’t, actually. You see, each Dionach has a wardeness—a witch who guides us to our destinies. They receive their information directly from the witch goddess, Torin. Then, they relay the information and point us in the right direction to find whomever it is we’re fated to protect. But I had nothing to go by except your name and why I was to protect you.”

She slowly nodded, contemplating. “You said you received your summons just a few months before the king’s tournament.”

His brows bunched together. “That’s right.”

“If you knew my name, and you had your summons beforehand, why didn’t you just come and find me?”

Silas tilted his head, seemingly baffled by all of her questions.

I, on the other hand, was delighted by her interrogation.

“Because parading around Belthria and asking everyone if they knew where to find Auren Everton would have garnered far too much attention for both of us. And I knew that, regardless, the fates would put you in my path eventually. They guide everything, including what we do until we find our Dionam.” He glanced up at Remic, as if to look for some sort of agreement or endorsement, but another one of Auren’s questions pulled his attention back to her.

“So, what did you do in the meantime?”

“We’re taught to keep ourselves glamoured. To blend in and keep a low profile. So, I hid my identity, and lived my life in the human realm for a bit. No one knew I was any different, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be, because life must still go on as planned for everyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that everything that happens can have a direct impact on multiple lives. Our journeys are woven into the trajectory of others’ as well. Just as everyone you’ve ever come in contact with, no matter how briefly, has crossed paths with you for a reason. Say you’re at the market, and you drop your bag, and someone distracts you with a question before you can pick it up. Unbeknownst to you, the delay stalled your trip to the butcher, and in that time, someone else purchased the tainted meat you would have bought for yourself.”

Auren frowned. “But still, whoever bought the meat would suffer.”

Silas lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “That is their fate, not yours.”

“That’s a horrible example,” I said dryly.

The Dionach glanced at me. “But that is how the fates work. I was sent to the human realm to find my Dionam, and just by being there, I affected other lives, not just Auren’s. That is how I ended up at the tournament in the first place.”

“What did you do?” Auren asked.