Page 180 of Duskbound

"By the Void," Vexa breathed. "Look at them, Aether."

"They're responding to both sides of her," he said softly, moving closer to examine the blades. "Incredible."

"Just like their wielder." Vexa's smile was fierce with pride, but I caught the glimmer of mist in her eyes. "No more borrowed weapons. These are yours, made for exactly who you are."

"Try throwing them," she added quickly, blinking away the emotion.

I hesitated only a moment before I turned, launching both daggers at a dead tree thirty paces away. They struck true, burying themselves deep in the trunk with a satisfying thud.

Then I felt it. A pull. Like invisible threads connecting us.

With a single thought, the daggers ripped free, spinning through the air like deadly stars before slamming home into my waiting hands. The sensation was electric—like finding limbs I never knew were missing.

Fucking. Incredible.

"Nowthat," Vexa grinned, "was worth all those sleepless nights in the forge."

"I don't know how to thank you," I managed, my own vision blurring. I tried to remember the last time someone had given me something so meaningful. If I hadeverbeen given something so meaningful.

"Just put them to good use." She clasped my shoulder, her grip tight with emotion. "And try not to get yourself killed before I can forge you a matching set of throwing knives." She paused, then pulled me into a fierce hug. "You're one of us now," she whispered.

With a final wink at Aether, she turned and headed back toward the fortress, leaving us alone in the field. I watched her go, the daggers warm against my palms, feeling for the first time like I truly belonged somewhere.

"So…" I turned to Aether, still mesmerized by how the crystals pulsed with dual energy. "You were in on this?"

That dimple appeared as he smiled. "Vexa spent every night in the forge while you were healing. I searched the archives for anything that could help." His golden eyes held mine. "We wanted you to have something worthy of what you are."

"And what exactly am I?" The words came out softer than intended.

"The Blade of the Realm, of course." He moved closer, his fingers trailing over one of the arcanite shards. "It's what we call our leader, our Queen." He shook his head, something like wonder crossing his features.

"You make me sound much more impressive than I am."

"Do I?" His expression turned serious. "You survived Valkan's torture. Saved my life. Discovered the truth about siphons and arcanite. You connected us to a growing resistance in Sídhe. And now..." His eyes swept across the field where tiny blades of grasspushed through dead earth. "Now you're bringing life back to a realm that so many had given up on."

Heat flooded my face. "I didn't do any of that alone."

"No," he agreed. "But you gave us something we'd lost. Something even I had forgotten was possible."

"What's that?"

"Hope." He smiled down at me as he took my hand and pulled me through the dead field, our boots crunching against brittle grass.

"There's still so much work to do," I admitted.

"Valkan's troops are the immediate threat," Aether finally said, his voice low. "We expect his brother to claim his title soon."

"I know." I watched the wind breathe across the gray earth, stirring dust into the air. "And we need to give our allies in Sídhe time to plant their seeds. To grow their numbers."

"You trust Laryk to follow through?"

The question held no judgment, just quiet concern. I considered it carefully before answering.

"I trust that he'll help us," I said slowly. "Even if his reasons aren't entirely pure."

"Two wars," Aether said quietly. "One brewing in the South, another in a realm a world away. Both with the power to destroy everything."

The weight of it settled over me. Months ago, I would have crumbled under such pressure, would have run from any whisper of responsibility. But as I looked across this dead field toward the fortress that had once been my prison, I realized how much had changed.

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