Page 117 of Where Darkness Falls

“Little Fion and Aine,” he continues.

My vision blurs and hot tears sting my cheeks as I recall the memory of their limp bodies.

Their laughs.

Their hugs.

“Maeva and I are going to play dress up,” Aine says excitedly.

“Stop,” I whisper.

“Deidre, Aidan, Cillian,” he continues.

I see Deidre reading and drawing in the parlor.

Aidan and Cillian’s mischievous grins.

I bite my lip in an attempt to stop my quivering chin. As my breaths increase, I feel ill as I try to shake my mind free of the memories.

“Stop,” I plead, louder this time.

My starlight pulses under my skin as the king steps closer. I feel its hum, begging for retribution.

No, Maeva,Saoirse begs.This isn’t the time to be impetuous. He’s provoking you.

I know she speaks truthfully, but my restraint is on the verge of snapping as King Tiernan pushes my hair to the side—his hot breath caresses my ear.

Maeva, my dear,Saoirse pleads,listen to m?—

“Cara,” he croons.

Cara’s broken body is in my arms as she coughs up blood.

Her hand slowly falls away. “Until Eternity, sister,” she whispers.

“STOP!” I roar as my starlight unleashes, flinging the king across the courtyard. With a satisfying thud, he lands against one of the decaying hedges. Pain courses through me as my ability thrums in my chest—awakening me. My hair floats on a phantom wind, as my body rises off the ground in a blinding luminescence.

So… much… power…

So much rage.

Energy courses through me as the pounding in my ears continues its onslaught. Searching, I find the king, but he isn’t crumpled on the ground as I’d anticipated. Rather, he watches me with a keen curiosity, leaning against a hedge. His golden eyes glow fervently as his shadows coil around his forearms, desiring a tryst perhaps.

I smirk, flexing my fingers as I consider how I could easily kill him and end the suffering of this kingdom. He might’ve survived a strike from my starlight, but could he overpower the full weight of it?

Only one way to find out.

Maeva, stop!Saoirse growls.

I ignore her protest because even she can’t withhold this darkness from me.

Tiernan claps, elated. “Look at you, my darl?—”

“You can’t bring them back from the dead,” I sneer, my voice engulfed in the flames of my anger. My starlight flecks off in all directions around the courtyard. However, he doesn’t cower as I expected.

He laughs half-heartedly. “Oh, but I can,” he coos, “if you retrieve the Crógemma.”

Liar.

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