Page 95 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
Darya turned to stare out the window into the darkness. “You need to understand. I was once rich beyond measure in the blessings of those I considered my own. Now I am alone. I’ve outlived every one of my children—a mother’s worst nightmare. All except you. The idea of something happening to you haunts me.”
“So you wanted to kill the man I love,” Harrow said dully.
“No, I— Yes, I did. But only because I didn’t understand.” Her silver eyes were beseeching. “Harrow, I swear to you, I didn’t know. How was I to know his true nature and what he had become? I was so consumed by my grief and fear for your future, I didn’t consider that this could be something greater than a simple vendetta between sisters. And, though I wish I’d broken the news to you differently, you needed to know the truth. Even if you chose to love him still, you needed to understand the connection between you and why it is there. I’m sorry if it seems like I intentionally manipulated you.”
“A simple vendetta between sisters?” Harrow couldn’t believe her ears. “Do you know what thissimplevendetta has cost? The Territories have been at war for centuries, and my people are dead! If you really saw yourself as our mother, you would have found a way to stop this long ago, before I became the only survivor. My family and my real mother are gone because of you. Because of whatyoudid. You started this.”
Darya had the grace to look ashamed.
“And it didn’tseemlike you manipulated me,” Harrow continued, her anger pouring out freely now, “you did manipulate me. You knew exactly what to say to make me doubt myself, and you used me as a tool to achieve your own selfish aims. Which is all you’ve ever done, I see now.”
Darya’s mouth opened as if to retort, and Harrow readied herself for an argument. She almost wanted it to happen; she needed to vent some of the helpless rage that filled her whenever she thought of her clan’s deaths and the pointless, never-ending war—and now, Raith’s tragic history.
But the Water Queen closed her mouth again and then took a deep breath for composure. “You are right, Harrow,” she finally said. “I have been selfish, and I did use you, which I regret immensely. My feud with Furie has hurt those I loved and those I was supposed to protect more than anyone else. It is time to make things right, beginning with an apology.” Darya looked her in the eye. “I am sorry I manipulated you.”
“And I’m sorry I was weak-willed enough to believe you,” Harrow said quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust in myself and my connection to the Water enough to realize I’d been manipulated. I’m sorry I didn’t choose to trust the man who’d done nothing but protect me over the word of someone who would torture an innocent being for fifty years. I’ll have to live with that shame for the rest of my life, but let it never be said that I don’t learn from my mistakes.”
Darya smiled ingratiatingly, the relief plain on her face. “Of course you do, child, and I’m so proud of who you’ve become. If your mother was alive, she would be too. And I encourage you to deepen that connection with the Water. I should’ve been there to teach you, but I thought you were better off without me in your life. I realize now that was a mistake. I should have been there to guide you. Maybe if I’d gotten to know you better, I would’ve been able to see past my grief and spare you this pain. It’s too late to change the past now, but I can still try to influence the future.”
“If you want to influence my future, let me go back to scrying for Raith,” Harrow said impatiently. “I think he’s gone to Furie’s castle to try to kill her, and I need to figure out what’s going to happen so I can stop him. Every second I spend here is a second wasted.”
Darya blanched. “He’s going to try to kill her?”
“That’s what Malaikah thinks, and I believe she’s right.”
“But he won’t be able to.”
“How do you know? Raith is strong. If anyone can do it, it’s him.”
But Darya shook her head. “Furie is the most paranoid woman this world has ever known. She lives in constant expectancy of attack, though not a soul has dared set foot in her castle in centuries. She uses her wraiths as servants, since her human staff long ago fled her domain, and she’s constantly surrounded by powerful magic. Even alone in her chambers, she keeps a shield of Fire around her, so thick it would burn alive any who touched her. Besides, our powers are very great. The chances of an Elemental being able to hurt us are low.”
But the opposite certainly isn’t true, Harrow thought bitterly.
She stared at Darya, dread consuming her. “So what do I do? How can I stop him from going after her?”
“Nashira won’t take you there?”
“No.” Harrow gripped her hair in frustration. “I begged her over and over, and she refused. I don’t understand why, since she was the one who explained everything to me in the first place.”
Darya didn’t look surprised, however. “Nashira sees things differently than you or I. What seems logical now may not be so in the future, and her magic goes against the natural order in many ways. Her direct intervention often has adverse effects. Perhaps she’s seen things play out a certain way and knows that without her interference, it will turn out for the better.”
A tiny ray of hope sparked within. “So that means Raith won’t be killed, then, right?”
“Unfortunately, we can’t make that assumption.” To her credit, Darya looked innocently sympathetic. Harrow wasn’t that trusting anymore, though. She needed Darya’s help now, but she wasn’t naive enough to believe the Water Queen wouldn’t turn around and try to kill Raith as soon as she got her hands on him again.
But right now, Harrow didn’t care about Nashira’s choices or Darya’s supposed turnaround. She just cared about Raith. “So what do I do? I have to go after him.”
“Return to your scrying. I’ll join you as well, and we can merge our magics for a clearer result. Your line of thinking was good—perhaps in the present we can’t be of much use, but we can influence the future by gaining knowledge of it now.”
She wanted to scream in frustration. “But thereisno future for Raith if Furie kills him.”
“The drop of a stone in the ocean can create a ripple that washes the shores of another land. You can’t know that we can’t influence the future from here if we don’t try.”
…
Raith flew to the top of the tallest tower and landed noiselessly on the windowsill. Peering through the glass to the room within, he was afforded a perfect view of his target. It was all so simple.
There was Furie, kneeling before a roaring fire in the hearth. The rest of the room was dark, but the fire was so great, flames licked up the outside of the stone chimney and around the sides.
