Page 13 of Secrets and Starlight

She quirked her head. “Don’t look so concerned, I’m just playing along with Rimu. As far as anyone can tell, I’m a normal dog and not a minor deity.”

The large black dog snuggled up to Rhett, streaking slobber over his jacket. Meanwhile, Ninti pawed the bedroom door open and went in search of Ayla.

I leveled with the merchant prince. “I don’t see you interrogating Ninti.”

Rhett scratched Rimu behind the ears. “That’s because you’re much more fun to infuriate.”

Somehow, that got a laugh out of me.

Rhett examined the slobber on his jacket and frowned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to clean this up.” He vanished into his bedroom.

Alone, I glanced out the large balcony windows, finding that full darkness of night had finally come upon us. Securing myself in my shadows, I opened the doors and stepped outside.

The ocean roared, waves crashing against the cliff. Several stars now glistened over the cloudless expanse of sky. We faced west, but I could no longer see the distant mountains of Dusk Isle.

Sunset had long since passed, and there had been no word from Eleanor through the speaking stone. Not that I expected anything—our plan was to communicate only when necessary—but it was hard to shake off the last month of caring for my sister in spite of her demanding relationship with the Shadow Throne.

Gloom would expand if not kept in check. Her mists were commanded to overtake the isles because some of the mysterious shard bearers commanded her to do so. They abused the shards, the remnants of the deity’s artifact.

Fortunately, Eleanor could slow the effect, helping Gloom to stay in one place, but it only worked with Eleanor on the throne, meditating upon it for endless hours each day. The process drained her, robbing her of what little strength she had regained after becoming the Shadow Queen.

Yes, I’d carved out a new path, and it was no longer my role to ensure her welfare. Ysandra had taken that responsibility. And perhaps, if I was honest, the guard was better at it than me since Eleanor actually listened to her.

But still, the old habits remained. Eleanor had needed me our entire life, and it was all I knew.

Now I was the one responsible for finding the remaining black diamond shards and ending this. We only had one lead: Calindra had a shard. There had to be a clever way to find it quickly.

Settling into a seated position, I allowed my breathing to slow and my consciousness to drift. I touched the surface of the Underworld, and my heart rate slowed.

I settled in the highest level of death, my vision of the undead superimposed upon the Living Realm. With my next steady inhale, I identified the familiar scent of funeral flowers, noting how it mixed with the essence of Mer, salty and citric.

The royal graveyard was quiet, the souls there having moved on. It was peaceful, the dead at rest.

Except. Not quite.

There was something I could almost detect, a faint purple light so dark it was almost black. I descended a little further, the current of death strengthening as I homed in on the sensation.

The purple light was coming from my cloak, brightening one of its many pockets. Uncertain, I raised myself back to the living and searched. The pocket itself was carefully stitched and sealed by several buttons. Within the pocket, I found a small pouch with a note.

You’ll need this more than me, but you’re too noble to take it for yourself.

I’m fine. Stop worrying.

Eleanor

I shook my head rereading her final line, torn between annoyance at how well my twin knew me and relief.

Eleanor would be safe. I had to trust her.

As for the pouch…

I poured the contents into my hand, already suspecting what it contained.

The shattered remains of a dark diamond shard pooled in my palm, the sharp edges threatening to cut my flesh. Eleanor was supposed to keep the fragments to ease her communication with Gloom, and she’d been smart to sneak them into my procession because I never would have agreed.

Inarus had used this shard to amplify his powers, and I hated any reminder that his necromancy wasn’t all that different than mine.

But perhaps Eleanor was right—I could use this. If I’d been able to sense these fragments in death, maybe I could sense the other shards the same way.

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