Page 70 of The Edge of Darkness

I replayed the legend over in my head while making my way up to the second floor’s guest corridor. When I knocked on the door to one of the chambers, Maeson was immediately there to greet me with her beaming smile—a bright light that cut through my gloomy thoughts.

“Auren!” She gave me a quick hug and pulled me inside. “You’re just in time!”

Across the room, in a simply made bed, Fallon sat upright, talking with his sister. He was smiling—the first time I’d seen any emotion on his face. The coloring on his cheeks had somewhat returned, painting him a muted shade of tan. It was an improvement from the deathly pale tone he’d donned a week ago. His dark beard had also been trimmed neatly around his cheeks and mouth, and his hair had been washed and cut, and now hung in loose waves just past his collarbone. He was a fierce-looking fae—handsome, even.

He kept his eyes lowered, but he laughed quietly at something Morah said.

As I approached, Morah turned. “I was just about to ask Sorscha to summon you,” she said to me before leaning into her brother. “Fallon, you have a visitor.”

He straightened his shoulders and attempted to sit up further, but kept his eyes lowered to the bed.

“Oh please, don’t trouble yourself,” I urged.

“This is Auren,” Morah said, patting Fallon’s hand. “She’s the one I was telling you about—the one that got all of us out.”

“Euryphaessa,” Fallon stated. “And ward breaker.” His voice was deep and had a rough edge to it, like a storm on the horizon—seemingly calm from afar, but brewing something powerful within.

Suddenly, remembering that he was the rightful heir to Benmoor, I dipped into a small curtsy to show my respect, but he raised his free hand to stop me from completing the movement.

“No need for the formalities,” he said calmly. “I can’t see them anyway.”

Indeed, he hadn’t looked up at me yet.

“Oh. Of course.” I felt my cheeks flush red, having forgotten that he was blind. “Can I ask how you knew⁠—”

“I heard your feet shuffle. And your right knee clicked as you bent it,” he said. The corner of his mouth tilted up in a polite grin.

“Right.” I wrung my hands together in front of me.

When he finally lifted his unseeing gaze, it landed on the left side of my waist, and I saw that beneath his thick brows, he had eyes that looked like they were once hazel, but were now coated in a milky sheen. He couldn’t see me, but he was wholly aware of my presence and my general location.

I recalled Morah telling me of how he had become a seer against his own will. His magic was to blame for the loss of his eyesight.

A blessing, and a curse.

I straightened, and his eyes flicked right to my face this time, pinning me to the spot. His brows narrowed.

“I must say, I have never been in the presence of a god before, but if this is any indication of what it feels like, I should be emerging from this bed and falling to my knees in front of you,” he said.

I nearly laughed. “I’m not⁠—”

He held up a gentle, but commanding hand, pausing me. “Do not be abashed. It is your birthright. Your power stems from the gods, and it is very potent. But seeing as I am as lame as a horse right now, I will ask your forgiveness on the ‘falling to my knees’ part.” He grinned, offering a glimpse at his gentler nature, the other half to the warrior counterpart he embodied on the outside. “Please, come closer.”

I stepped up to the bed and Morah motioned for me to sit next to her on the sheets. I hesitated, but when she practically yanked me down, I went willingly.

Fallon let out a breathy laugh. “My sister—as I’m sure you’ve realized by now—has a way of getting what she wants.”

I couldn’t help but smile, even though he couldn’t see it. “I know that very well.”

Morah placed a hand on my knee. “I still feel like I haven’t thanked you enough.”

“You don’t need to keep thanking me. I would do it over again,” I assured her—for what I was quite positive was the twentieth time. “I’m certainly happy to see that you are recovering well,” I said to Fallon.

He blinked and nodded, his hair shifting forward over his deep green tunic. “All thanks to you and your healers.”

“I’m also glad to see my mate has found you something to wear that’s not his traditional color.”

Maeson cackled from the corner where she was mixing some sort of tonic.