Page 154 of At the Mercy of Midnight
He adjusted the straps of his pack and stared straight ahead, jaw clenched tight and eyes unfocused like he had descended deep into his own thoughts. Amelia thanked him quietly for the extra warmth of his cloak and continued beside him.
Her hand drifted to Silas’ arm.
“What are you thinking?” she asked over the wind, ducking under a collapsed column.
He blinked at her briefly. “Just going over it all.”
“Okay,” she said, looking ahead, the temple nearing. “This will be the right place, directly central to both Monoliths, where the magical convergence will be the strongest. If it’s going to work anywhere, it’ll be here.”
Silas nodded, not answering.
They were quiet again until they were at the steps of the temple, taking the steps steadily upwards. The magic between them was restless, tugging, and uncertain. Her chest felt uncomfortable with it, like it was stronger this close to where it had all started.
They reached the top and looked into the darkness of the temple, Silas igniting an arcane lamp in such a familiar way that she stood and stared for a moment.
“This is going to work,” Amelia said, looking to him as he passed her a lamp of her own.
He looked out over the Rift again, eyes shadowed.
“You said it yourself,” she continued, her voice trembling. “The last pair failed because they fractured. That won’t happen today.”
Silas finally turned to her, and the look in his eyes nearly broke her.
“I want this to work, Amelia,” he said gently, brushing her cheek with his fingers. “I just don’t know if trying is worth risking all the people who might suffer if it fails.”
The dread in her stomach coiled tighter. “What are you talking about? We can’t back out now.”
His mouth opened, but he never got the chance to speak.
From behind the columns and fractured stone walls, figures emerged, cloaked and silent. A shifting of stone and sand, Amelia turning with a gasp to find them behind her, shadows against the blaze of the sun.
Her heart jumped into her throat. “No…”
Silas swore from next to her, stepping in front of her as though to shield her with his body.
“I was wondering when you two were going to wander in,” came a voice. Amelia whipped back around. Demetrius stepped out from the temple’s entrance. “Waltzing in, pretending like you have any control over this.”
Her hand flew protectively to the hilt of her blade, stepping closer to Silas until their arms touched.
They were surrounded.
Demetrius gazed at them with an odd familiarity. Cold, calculated, eyes alight with a keen interest that felt too intimate. The lines on his face appeared deeper, the silver in his hair more pronounced, like the days since their escape had not been kind to him.
Amelia held up a hand in warning. “Back off,” she hissed. “I’d hate to have to remind you what I’m capable of.”
Demetrius’ answering smile was both amused and sinister. “Your tenacity is admirable, truly. It’s what made my decision…difficult.” His eyes sparked as he shifted his focus between them. “Go right ahead, Amelia. It would be doing me a favour for you to demonstrate.”
Amelia swallowed uneasily, sharing a glance with Silas. She nodded to him, letting her hand fall back to her side.
Silas focused on Demetrius, lifting his palm. Amelia saw the intention pass across his face, and just when she expected to see the Sanctum leader fly through the air, he simply grunted and took a slight step back. Like he had merely been shoved weakly by another person.
They looked on incredulously as Silas slowly lowered his hand.
Demetrius looked at them with a casual shrug. “The Rift, you know? Magic doesn’t cooperate unless you’reservingit.”
Amelia stepped forwards, voice shaking with rage. “You’re not stopping us. We know how to break the cycle andsurvive it. We’ve found another way.”
Demetrius looked at her blandly with a sigh. “There is no other way.”
