Never let the woman out of my sight? Pick off my most dangerous enemies one by one, praying to the fucking Fates that I never slipped up? There was no decent option for risk mitigation whenIwas the godsdamned risk.
And if there was another way, you would’ve found it by now—implemented it before you had to hurt her like this. Better to see her miserable than dead, you selfish prick.
The truth tasted bitter on my tongue. As she stepped into her apartment—slamming the door—I slunk in behind her, entirely unseen. It took a great deal of arcane energy to pull total invisibility off in close quarters like this, even for me. But in a way, this was my penance. A tiny, microscopic fraction of penance.
I had to be absolutely certain that I’d done enough damage to keep her away from me for the time being.
Yes, I had set the entire scene up at the tavern with intention from the start. Even as I was hunting through Pyrhhas,searching for Caen—I had eyes on Arken all week. Thanks to Jeremiah and Hans, I knew exactly when her friends had managed to get her out of the house, and I set my fucked up little plan in motion. It was all too familiar, playing this role again—straight down to the flirtatious manipulation that convinced Laurel’s friend to bait them to the tavern where I had been lying in wait.
I had let Arken think she stumbled into something I hadn’t intended for her to see—and then I dug the blade in deeper by pretending I didn’t even care. I was playing with her insecurities like some daemonic marionette, andgods, it had worked all too well.
I suffered in silence, watching from a darkened corner as Arken collapsed to the floor, pushing her knees up against her chest and burying her head in her arms, crying harder than before.
I am so, so sorry, sweetheart.
“Why?” I heard her whisper to herself quietly.
I wish I could tell you. I just need you safe.
And that’s when I smelled smoke. Arken hadn’t moved though, hadn’t lit any candles or…
Wait. What?
Tiny, flickering flames had formed around her fists, and my heart began to pound.
When Arken realized her tights were getting scorched, her misery gave way to anger. We were indoors, but I could’ve sworn I felt a strong gust of wind swirl around the room in emphasis of that. A few crumpled strips of parchment blew off her coffee table, confirming my suspicions. All I could do was simply stare in horror as those small flames around her hands gave way to smoke—no. Not smoke. Arken’s flames had given way toShadow.
She noticed that, too, and it made her furious.
“For fucks sake!” Arken shouted down at her own hands, as if they were sentient. Like they had a mind of their own, but also…like this had happened before.Light arcana immediately flashed from her palms, an act of rebellion to dispel the darkness.
The scent of smoke stirred a recent memory in my mind: that moment of confusion in the Wyldwoods that had distracted me—the way the daemon had seemed to crackle andburnunder Arken’s blow. I had just chalked it up to the potential that Light could burn too, if it was bright enough.
But that wasn’t Light aether. Those wereflames.
I knew what Fire arcana looked like. I was intimately familiar.
There was no fucking way.
As Arken continued to pace with visible distress, her thigh bumped up against the kitchen table, knocking some small object to the floor. I watched with growing horror as instead of bending over to pick it up, the woman simply summonedthe stone back into her palm. Her lip curled with disdain as she glanced down at it, and then I realized that it was the astral quartz that I had found on the beach. The gift I had left behind.
I flinched as she hurled the stone at the wall with alarming force—force beyond what muscle alone should have reasonably been able to accomplish—and the crystal shattered on impact, dropping to the floor in tiny shards.
Fire. Air. Shadow. Earth. Light.
I knew if I watched from the Shadows long enough, I could probably see her control Water, too. I felt an eerie prickle against my neck and back.
In the realm where few can wield one, He must find the one who wields all.
She was…
No.
I begged the Source in silent desperation.Please.Let this be a figment of my imagination, another fucking nightmare.
Not her.
Anyone but her.