Page 225 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

I spit the grit from my mouth and rise on shaky legs, wiping my eyes and cheeks.

Bits of manacles litter the beach, and Darius sits slumped against Anders. Shadows slither over his once-covered wrists, too weak to billow out the way Silas’s had.

I hurry to his side.

My knees bang against the wooden dock as I land in front of him.

Darius’s complexion is sickly gray. He’s unconscious, and the pulse flickering in his throat is dangerously slow.

The scent of charred flesh reaches my nostrils, and my hands fly out.

I grip the cursed Fae’s fingers and shove light magic into his body.

My skin glows, like parchment hovering over a candle. Warmth flows as steady as water from an open faucet, pouring from my body into Darius’s.

The light stays bright as it trails up his corded forearms. It surrounds the inky curse that coils around his tendons and bones—that’s wedged between his muscle fibers. I clench my jaw, and my power singes the darkness, burning it to ash.

A soul-crushing screech pounds against my skull.

RELEASE ME!

I gasp. My magic flickers.

I’ve heard that voice before…

The first time I tried to heal Darius, it shouted the same two words at me.

DO IT, CHILD. BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

My magic regathers and then surges.

The voice sounds ancient. Powerful. And…feminine.

Sweat breaks out on my forehead.

I thought the voice belonged to the curse—that the evil entity could somehow speak its demands into my mind.

But now, as I struggle to shove more power into Darius, I can’t help but wonder if it’s not the curse talking, but my light magic.

Yes, you fool! The same voice trills. Now listen and RELEASE ME!

Gods, save me…

I-I don’t know how, I think back to the entity.

I grit my teeth against the icy cold trying to combat the warmth I send into Darius. The hand holding his begins to shake.

Since manifesting light, I’ve always felt my power had a mind of its own. It reacts to the world. It expresses emotion. But having a voice of its own? I…I don’t understand how this is possible.

It is not hard, the voice counters. Just undo the bindings holding me back!

I send another wave of heat, scorching the cursed tendrils attempting to retake the ground I’ve gained.

That doesn’t make sense!

It doesn’t have to! Just do it!

Anders speaks, but the blood pounding through my skull masks his words.