Page 46 of The Edge of Darkness

Roirdan let out a rough laugh and reached up to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead before they dripped into his eyes. “See, she’s fine. No harm done.”

Niall shook his head at his commander. “Not even ten seconds back to life and you’re already at it with the lewd innuendos.”

“That’s how you know I’m in the right state of mind.” He gave me a wink, then lifted his arm, admiring the golden skin that was no longer tainted with black veins. “Does this mean I can tell everyone that, for the right price, they too can summon a god between my legs?” He glanced up at us with a smirk, fully aware that his antics were nipping at Niall’s nerves.

Niall ground his jaw, giving his commander a tight smile that threatened to send him back to the brink of death.

Amarna grasped Roirdan’s arm almost violently, eager to assess the transformation.

“Careful.” Roirdan winced. “It’s still tender.”

The Elder examined the arm like it was a foreign specimen. “Who did you summon?”

“Nephira,” I replied. I didn’t mention that the goddess wasn’t the one who answered my call.

Amarna nodded, and she and Maeson set forth asking Roirdan questions about what he felt, directing him to move his arm this way and that.

Suddenly, my knees wobbled and gave out.

Niall caught me in an instant. “Whoa. Come on. Let’s get you seated for a minute.”

What was left of my power fizzled out like the last spitting embers of an exhausted fire, and I clung to consciousness, hoping I hadn’t gone too far. Thankfully, Æbon didn’t seem like he had any plans to collect my soul anytime soon.

No one asked me what happened while I was in my own little world with Æbon, and I wasn’t about to tell them about the bargain I made when I wasn’t sure what the outcome of it would end up being.

Roirdan was alive, and that was all that mattered.

On the other side of the room, Morah was helping collect the glass that had broken when the table had overturned during my god-summoning. When she finished, she strode over to me.

“You never cease to amaze me,” she said, gripping my hand.

I mustered up a smile, which was quickly overtaken by a strong yawn.

“How’s Fallon?” I asked breathlessly, fighting the desperate need for sleep.

“He’s okay. Maeson was able to bring him out of whatever reality he was being kept in. He’s lucid now, but sleeping. His body is exhausted, much like yours.”

“You need to rest,” Niall said, pushing the hair back from the sides of my face again and planting a gentle kiss on my lips.

Gods it had only been days since I felt his lips on mine, but it seemed like an eternity had passed since then. I kissed him back, closing my eyes and savoring the feeling.

Roirdan was alive, Niall was safe, Fallon was awake, and we had all made it home.

I opened my mouth to tell my mate that I loved him, but sleep claimed me faster than I could form the words.

“. . . Something that the ancients feared and what haunts ones’ dreams. I will come to collect it when the time is right.”

Æbon’s words echoed over and over again in a loop as I tore through the forest, desperately trying to get to Niall.

I could feel him. He was close.

The thrumming tugged at my chest, pulling me this way and that, around trees and through marshes. I willed my legs to keep going after what felt like hours of running.

One more push, I told myself, forcing my leg muscles to move.

With one final stride, I broke through the tree line and fell to my knees upon a sea of gray soil and crumbling mountains and hills. The barren, harsh land smelled stale and tarnished. Nothing but rocks littered the landscape, save for a lone tree on a hill maybe forty feet ahead. It was dead and warped beyond its natural posture, its limbs sagging downward as if they were tied with invisible ropes and being pulled into the underworld.

And there, beneath the tree, Niall lay motionless.