Page 114 of Curse of Darkness
A sigh escapes her, and then she is gone.
Gone into a world where we cannot follow.
The night lies silent, never again to pulse with life. The Darkness feels empty.
And his heart—which beat all for her—falls still.
“Carolain,” Death whispers. “Carolain the Defiant. Carolain the Fearless. But in my heart I called her Caro.”
And I see him walk away from her village, from their son and their grandchildren, his shoulders held rigid. A sacrifice made to protect them, for who is he but the Shadow Sinister? The Ancient Chill? The Inevitable?
“You will be the end of your wife,” Death whispers. “It is the burden we all share. You yearn for her light, because a part of me is within you. But you will smother it eventually.”
Any sense of sympathy I might feel for him vanishes. “No.” I push away from the wall. “No, I will not.”
“And your daughter?” he warns.
Between one footfall and the next, I stand frozen. I never wanted to feel any hint of understanding for this creature, but I know its fears, just as it knows mine. “She is safe from me.”
There’s a brooding kind of silence within me.
“Will your precious Iskvien still love you when you steal that seed of Darkness from within your daughter?”
I shut him down, locking him deep inside that vault within me. We are not the same. I willneverharm my own child.
But even as I swear it, I see his thumb stroking across the cheek of his son.
I need a target. I need to slake this fury within me.
Turning, I nearly slam right into Thalia, catching her by the upper arms. Andfuck, I need to get my hands off her. I’m not wearing my gloves…. I’m not….
There’s fabric beneath my palms. She’s wearing sleeves.
And I’m not Death.
My touch won’t steal the life from her lips.
Will it?
“What aren’t you telling me?” Thalia asks, reaching for me.
“Nothing,” I brush past. “Stay here. Keep an eye on Vi for me.”
“Thiago?” Thalia’s hand falls from my sleeve as I stride past. “Thi?Where are you going?”
Where I should have gone long ago. “I need to end this.”
“What does that mean?” she calls.
“I can’t just sit here any longer. It’s time for Adaia to die,” I throw over my shoulder, flexing my hands. “Guard my wife and daughter. I’ll be back.”
* * *
I makeit halfway up the tower steps to the Hallow before I hear footsteps pounding after me.
Well, that didn’t fucking take long. “Go back to the training yard,” I throw over my shoulder. “I’ll be home by nightfall.”
Finn shoves past, wearing his training leathers. He should have been asleep but his shoulder-length brown hair is knotted on top of his head and sweat clings to him. Training hard, no doubt, when Thalia ran straight to him.
