Page 53 of Midnight Reign
“It will allow Crimson to be split from me,” Addy murmurs. “We need to do this. The horrors that I’ve seen…” She looks up at me with those dark eyes that thrill me. “We need to do this. I trust her.”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t,” I spit out. “She made you try to kill yourself.”
Addy rolls her eyes. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But we’ve reached an understanding, Crimson isn’t the enemy, Randall is. To both of us. And if Crimson dies, so do I. As I said, we are connected in ways I’m just beginning to understand. Our life forces are connected. I was born to be her conduit.”
“What?” I drop my hand from Addy’s head, breaking the connection with Crimson. “No, Adelaide, that’s not true. You are you. You are amazing and special?—”
“Thanks,” she says with a small smile. “But it doesn’t make it any less true. My mother…” She turns to Blackthorn. “You know, and you are going to tell me everything right now.”
I look between Blackthorn and Addy, the other guys and Crimson are forgotten. Blackthorn is silent as they glare at each other, but my mind is reeling. Crimson says I can create a bridge between worlds. How? How the fuck am I meant to do that?
I’ve always known my djinn abilities were unique, even among my own kind. The power to shape reality, to create small pockets of existence - it’s a gift that’s both blessed and cursed me. But this is on a whole different level.
My gaze drifts to Addy, watching as she confronts Blackthorn. There’s a new strength in her stance, a certainty that wasn’t there before. It’s like she’s finally embracing who - or what - she truly is. And yet, I can’t shake the unease that settles in my gut.
Conduit.The word echoes in my mind, heavy with meaning. Was Addy really born for this purpose? To be a vessel for an ancient, powerful being? The thought makes me sick.
I remember the first time I met her, how lost and confused she seemed. How human. And now she’s talking about destinies and life forces and bridging worlds. It’s almost too much to comprehend.
My thoughts are interrupted by Blackthorn’s voice, low and grave. “Let’s start with hers,” he begins, and I can see Addy tense. “She was a remarkable woman. Powerful beyond measure, but also unstable.”
“Unstable, how?” Addy presses her voice tight.
Blackthorn sighs. “At the very beginning, she had the same duality that you’re experiencing now. Light and dark, constantly at war within her. But she couldn’t maintain the balance. In the end, the darkness won out.”
I watch as the colour drains from Addy’s face. “Are you saying I’m going to end up like her?”
“Not if I can help it,” Corvus growls, moving to stand beside her.
But my mind is already racing ahead. If Crimson’s mother couldn’t maintain the balance, if she lost herself to the darkness, what does this mean for Addy?
My role in all this suddenly becomes clear. The bridge I’m meant to create isn’t just between worlds - it’s between light and dark, between Addy and Crimson. A way to maintain the balance that Crimson’s mother couldn’t.
“I’ll do it,” I hear myself say, my voice steadier than I feel.
All eyes turn to me, curious.
“Do what?” Zephyr asks, his eyes narrowing.
I take a deep breath, straightening my shoulders. “Create the bridge. Between our world and wherever Crimson needs to go. But,” I add, looking directly at Addy, “only if we’re sure this is the right thing to do. Only if we’re certain we can maintain the balance.”
Addy meets my gaze, and for a moment, I see both her and Crimson looking back at me. It’s disconcerting, but also strangely reassuring. They’re two halves of a whole.
“How exactly do you plan to create this bridge?” Ignatius asks, his curiosity overriding his caution.
I shake my head, a wry smile tugging at my lips. “Honestly? I have no idea. But I know I can do it. I can feel it.”
And I can. It’s like a new power has awakened within me, responding to the challenge I’m facing. I can almost see the bridge in my mind’s eye - a shimmering pathway between realities, anchored by Addy and Crimson on either end.
“It’s going to be dangerous. We’ll be messing with forces we don’t fully understand. But if this is what it takes to save MistHallow, to stop whatever’s coming and to save Addy, then I’m in.”
She smiles at me, but then looks back at Blackthorn. “My mother. I need to know.”
23
ADELAIDE
I face Blackthorn. “My mother,”I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “You know her. You know who she is, don’t you?”
