Page 148 of Curse of Darkness
And only Darkness will stop her from falling.
The voice dies away, the words imprinted on my heart, on my soul.
Clapping my hands over my ears, I try to still the ringing in my head. The world spins around me like a kaleidoscope of colors. I’m losing myself in the whirlpool, circling those words as though I’m drowning in them.
Rise, dark queen,whispers the crown in my head.Wield me to defeat the Horned One. Crown yourself.We’ll make them all bleed. We’ll make them all kneel. Starting with your mother….
I can’t stop its claws from digging into my soul.
“What did it say?” the Dream Thief demands, his hands gripping my shoulders.
I gasp, locking my fingers around his wrists.
Oh yes,whispers the crown,let me get a taste ofhim…. All that power….
I scramble away, trying to lock it out of my head. It’s like it’s been there waiting for me all this time, lurking in the dark recesses of my mind.
“Vi? Vi!” Hard hands shake me.
I gasp as the prophecy chews me up and spits me out, the words still ringing in my ears. The dream spits me out, and I slam back into my body.
Thiago’s face appears, harsh with worry.
30
“What the fuck was that?” Thiago demands.
I tell him everything, letting it spill from my lips as he fetches me a glass of water and eases me onto his lap.
“You’re okay,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head. “I’ve got you.”
“Lucere heard everything.” I rub my knuckles against his shirt. “Thiago, it said I would shatter both Seelie and Unseelie if I unleash the power of the Hallows.”
His palm splays across my spine, stroking gently. “Then we’ll deal with that when it comes.”
* * *
Morning dawns,bringing clarity and determination.
We’ve got what we came for. Now we need to thwart Mother’s attempt to antagonize the situation.
But since the case involves two rulers among the alliance, it means both Evernight and Asturia have been asked to step aside as the other three debate the evidence.
“Why do I get the feeling Mother is setting this all into play as a distraction for us?” I demand, summoning flames in the small garden where Thiago and I have been drilling for the last hour.
“Because you know her.” He seems calm. And maybe he is.
Kyrian will vote for us. And Lucere is already working for us, but does she dare display her hand too early? Does she dare defy Mother so openly?
Will Thiago’s gambit with Baylor work?
“Hold the flame, Vi.”
I focus on that diamond of flame, holding it steady. Sweat drips down my spine. He’s been putting me through static exercises all morning, ones designed to force me to concentrate.
“Circle,” he says.
I push the diamond into a circle of flames, gritting my teeth with the effort. “Why can’t I just set fire to something and save this bullshit for later?”
