Page 74 of Tides of Shadows

Should it swallow their powers and drain their bright flame,

The world falls to ruin, and nothing remains.

My whole body shook. Then I took a horse. I didn’t think. The gray gelding snorted, as if he felt my turmoil. I sprang to the saddle and raced forward, across the court, through the gate, until the wind sheared tears from my cheeks.

White City lay in a bay, but beyond that stretched the white cliffs, stretching along the coast like giant’s teeth.

I galloped toward them, faster and harder, my heart beating to the drum of hooves. I felt nothing, neither chill nor weariness, only emptiness. I did not want to be chosen. I did not wish to save the world. I didn’t even want the world that asked it of me.

When the horse labored for breath, I slowed to a canter and slid down. My knees loosened beneath me. I went to the edge of the cliff, too near, and looked upon the dark, heaving sea. The wind dragged at my hair, salted with the taste of water and far-off rain. I heard hooves behind me. I turned. Against the paling sky rode a single figure, Aidenar. He dismounted next to me. There was no usual swagger in him. He was grave, intent. He came to me with care.

“Nerissa... please step away from the cliff.”

I didn’t move. The world was spinning, too loud and too fast at once. I was going to fall. My body moved unbalanced.

I grasped the air.

His hand closed on my wrist, strong and sure. He pulled me close. Before I knew what I was doing, I was nestled against him. His strong arms held my body. He smelled of lavender and rosemary, as always. The scent anchored me. Tears began to roll down my cheek. Not out of grief. Out of helplessness. Out of the feeling that everything is too much for me.

“I am here,” he murmured, thumb brushing salt from my cheek. “You are not alone.” He pressed me and kissed my forehead. I wished to believe those words, though I knew they were not wholly true.

“Did you know?” I asked, scarcely more than a whisper.

“Of the sacrifices, prophecy, darkness and world’s end?” He raised a brow with a bitter half smile. “No.”

He paused. “And you?”

I shook my head.

“I didn’t know we were made that way on purpose,” I said. “I thought our powers were a twist of fortune.”

“My sister might have died,” he said, voice firm, then breaking. “I don’t know if I am allowed to feel gratitude that it only took my father.”

“I’m still trying to sort this all out in my head,” I whispered.

We stood a while in silence, with only the wind and the roar of the coast. Aidenar’s gaze stopped on my neck. I saw anger in his eyes.

“You are not safe here,” he said at last.

“None of us is,” I said quietly. “Cedric. What of him?”

Aidenar looked at me with confusion.

“The huntsman who was bitten.”

He lowered his head.

“He could not be saved.”

My knees buckled. Aiden caught me even tighter, as if afraid I would fall. I held onto him with all my strength, gripping the fabric of his coat until my fingers turned white. I wanted all of this to disappear. I wanted all of this to stop.

Aidenar’s hand moved through my hair, slow and deliberate, trying to calm me. Our horses fretted behind us. It was time to go back.

Before we left, I looked at Aidenar. The same boy who had annoyed me no ends, now was the only person who made me feel… less lost. Our kiss seemed far away, stripped of meaning.

Aidenar walked me back to my chambers. At the door my father’s men waited, silent, their armor stained with salt and the dust of travel.

I stopped at the threshold, and Aidenar turned to me. His hand ran over my cheek, as if he meant to say something, but decided against it. He kissed my forehead.