Page 30 of Blade of the Nightking

“We have to do something.”

Without a word, he lifted me from the bath as though I weighed nothing and set me down on the obsidian floors. Heat radiated up through my feet, but it did nothing to steady me.

“He’ll take all of them.” I pushed away from him. “We need to stop him.”

“There’s nothing we can do.” His voice was grave.

I gaped at him, the world narrowing to the dull pounding in my ears.

He groaned softly and went on. “If Tharnyx has taken the mortal realm, he’ll be too strong to fight. Even if he is the last of his kind.”

“So that’s it?” I demanded. “We leave the wards in place, seal the humans in with him, and let them die?”

“Yes.”

I stumbled back, slipping in the water my feet had left behind. His arm shot out, catching me before I could fall, but I wrenched free of his grip.

“Right now, all we can do is contain him.” His face hardened, steel settling into his features. The High Lord, making a choice meant to save his people. “We will find a solution.” He offered it as reassurance, but I could hear the emptiness beneath the words. He didn’t believe there was anything to be done. The humans were already lost.

The truth struck so hard my knees nearly gave way, despair swallowing me whole.

Everyone was gone. Laurie was gone.

Aedric guided me gently from the bathing chamber and sat me on the edge of the bed before kneeling in front of me. He took my hands in his. Mine were cold, stark against his radiant warmth.

“El.” It was a hard command. “Do not dwell on it.”

I barely managed to nod.

“You once told me you worked to stave off the Infection in the mortal realm,” he continued. “That you spent your life trying to save as many as you could.”

He squeezed my hands.

“You cut off an arm to save a life,” he said firmly. “Or took a head to save a village.”

His eyes held mine, blue and fierce, almost savage in their certainty.

“This is no different. Cling to that.”

I nodded, though the words burned my ears.

“Humans are weak,” he went on. “Fragile. It’s unfortunate, but they’re always the first to fall. What matters now is that Tharnyx may be building an army. When he’s gathered enough bodies, he will test the wards again. And they may not be strong enough to hold him.”

My stomach churned.

“When that happens,” Aedric tightened his grip on my hands, “we must be ready. And we must have a solution.”

“Me,” I offered weakly.

He paused, considering, almost hesitant. “It would… certainly help to have a full-powered Eidra capable of obliterating him.”

He released my hands and placed his on my thighs, exhaling deeply. “We must continue your training. You must keep practicing, keep learning to wield what you are. Your magic is not yours alone. It is the accumulation of generations of Eidrae who came before you. We must unlock its memory.” He leaned closer so his forehead touched mine. “It’s our best chance of surviving.”

I nodded, the weight of reality pressing down until my chest felt tight. Nausea curled in my gut.

The survival of the world rested on me?

It was as though he’d read my thoughts.