Page 118 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
“Harrow!”
It was Darya’s voice. Go figure.
“Harrow, hear me now!”
She snapped to awareness, but not awakeness—she was in a dream vision. Back in the room of fountains, she was seated across from the Water Queen, who looked even more haggard than she had during their visit six months ago. Her skin was paler than before, the shadows beneath her eyes darker, her hair messier, and her dress seemed to hang limply off her.
“What happened to you?” Harrow asked before she could stop herself.
“Good to see you too.” Darya lifted a brow. “I see you’ve reunited with your wraith and things have gone well.”
“Yes, they have.” Harrow flushed. How much had Darya seen?
“You didn’t tell him everything.”
She sighed. “I know, but I wanted to give it a day or two. If I can show him how much I love him before he remembers, then maybe—”
“Right now, he dreams over and over of waking to find he’s accidentally killed you in his sleep. He realizes he’s dreaming, falls asleep, and awakens again in the same scenario.”
Harrow covered her mouth with a hand.
“He knows he’s hurt you in some way he deems unforgivable, but he can’t remember how or why. He can’t imagine why he would ever hurt you and is afraid of himself and what he might do. You’re torturing him by withholding critical information.”
“I didn’t— I had no idea. I just thought he was confused.”
“I warned you he would have subconscious memories. I warned you he needed to know.”
“I know.” Shame filled her. How could she have ignored something this crucial?
Because of her own selfish fears, she realized. She didn’t want Raith to remember her leaving him. She didn’t want him to experience the hurt of remembering how she’d betrayed him. She was afraid he wouldn’t forgive her.
“You’re right,” Harrow said. “He has to know everything. And not through me telling him. You have to restore his memories now.”
“I agree.” Darya smiled sympathetically. “I know it’s hard, child, but you’re making the right choice for your mate, and that’s what’s important. Now, I’m going to dissolve our dream spell so I can focus on weaving the memory spell for Raith, which—”
“Wait.” She stared at the Water Queen. “You really did it. You made him a new body, and you’re really going to let him go.”
Darya frowned. “Of course.”
“You don’t hate him anymore.”
“On the contrary, we bonded during our six months together.”
“You did?”
“Oh yes. My child, if I’d wanted to kill him, I could have done it on the first day.”
“How?”
“As soon as Raith realized where he was and what he’d done, he solidified himself, as wraiths can do for short periods. As you know, I once tortured him for years, trying to force him to do that very thing so I could kill him, and he never broke. But this time, as soon as he was strong enough, he did so.”
“Why?”
“Harrow… He begged me to kill him for what he’d done.”
Harrow’s eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t, of course, for I had made a promise to my daughter of the Water. Instead, I told him how furious she would be if she heard him talking such nonsense.”
