Page 134 of The Edge of Darkness

“But I am,” I cut him off. He eyed me with concern, but I didn’t give him time to interject. “Have you ever given deeper thought to the prophecy?”

“The prophecy?” His expression twisted. “What does that have to do with it?”

“A flame of light, a flame of dark . . . stars and ash . . . two great powers? All of that speaks of two different beings, two different powers.” I saw the pieces click into place as the words turned over in his mind.

“You and Auren?” He shook his head. “How did we not see it before?”

“I’ve been asking myself that same question.”

“But if it’s true, then that means . . . you’ll need to use your power, alongside hers, to get rid of Lyceius?”

“No, I’m pretty sure only her power can do that. But mine might . . . give hers a boost? It sounds mad, but based on what I’ve read in Evander’s journal, and everything else I’ve recently learned, I’m starting to think that the reason I even have this power in the first place has something to do with helping Auren. Like . . . I need to give her my power, somehow.”

“Perhaps combined, your powers could create something truly catastrophic, making it impossible for Lyceius to recover from.”

“I thought so too—Amarna said it’s possible. But what bothers me is that our powers are light and dark. They couldn’t be more opposite in their nature.”

“But that does not mean they are opposite in their purpose.”

I nodded, letting his statement sink in.

“You two are mates—that much is already fated. The prophecy seems to speak of both your powers, which leads me to reason that a higher power has their hand in this. We just need to figure out how it’s going to unfold.”

“I’m not even sure it’s something we can plan, Aremis. And that’s what worries me the most. You know how I am.”

“Two steps ahead of those that already think they’re two steps ahead, I know. But this may be something you have to take in stride and go with what feels right in the moment—as much as it might pain you to not have it all planned out.”

I blew out a breath. What he said made perfect sense, but I was still struggling to come to terms with it. “What I do know is I’m going to have to use my power like I did at Gabbath.”

When I met Aremis’s eyes, I could tell he was reading everything I wasn’t saying, and finding it written clear as day in my expression.

“You fear you won’t be able to come back from it.”

I didn’t reply this time.

“Have you talked to Auren about all this?” he asked.

“No, but I will.”

He unhooked his hands and dragged one over his face. “Niall, the ceremony is tomorrow⁠—”

“I know. But I don’t want to throw this on top of it. Not with everything else that we’re trying to accomplish.” Which was also why I needed to expend this energy and clear my mind so that I could focus on tomorrow. The shadows were itching to get out, and the last thing I needed was for them to be provoked into action during what I was certain was going to be a very eventful evening. “I’ll handle it after.”

Aremis didn’t agree with me, but he didn’t press the matter any further. “However this power came to be in you, you were also gifted with the ability to harness it in a way that Evander wasn’t. That has to count for something. Auren needs every advantage she can get to allow her to take down Lyceius. So if you really are part of this prophecy, you’re going to have to find the balance again, for whatever capacity in which you end up using it. It may not look like it did before, but it’s there. It has to be.”

Balance. It was almost laughable. Ever since Benmoor, I had been fighting a silent, uphill battle. At this point, I didn’t know if I could ever achieve balance with my power again. But I would damn sure try. I wasn’t giving up.

The shadowfire in my veins seemed to snicker at the mere thought.

I rolled my shoulders, as if I could shrug off every worry. “What about you?” I asked, needing to focus on something else for a while. “Learn anything of importance while you’ve been investigating the Aether with Maeson and Nivelle?”

He sighed. “I think I’ve learned more in the past day with them than I have in all the years I’ve spent trying to figure it out myself.”

“Funny how that works,” I said, trying to muster a half-smile.

“We found an ancient spellbook in the library. One of its kind, I suspect. There’s a spell that involves . . . well, it’s quite complicated. But it’s achievable. I’m, uh . . . I’m going to need a stone from Torin’s diadem in order to break the dark magic that binds the curse to me.”

I lifted a brow. “Is that what the spell requires?”