Page 331 of The Edge of Darkness

Let me go, Tether, it echoed from somewhere beyond. Cut me free.

I did as it said, focusing on the foundation of my essence and severing the last of the threads, one by one.

I release you—all of you, I whispered, willing every stronghold to crumble. I pictured the walls around my heart and mind coming down, and emotion flooding in. With each broken barrier and severed tie, I felt more of my soul coming back to me, breaking free from its once eternally dampened state.

Leave the good untouched, I silently begged the Aether as I watched the last of it slip through the gap of my consciousness. I wasn’t referring to myself this time, but to those around me, to everyone who fought on our side, and the innocent lives that we were fighting for.

All of a sudden, a sensation rose up from beneath me like an earthquake. It rattled me to my core as it built like fire and ice, all wrapped up in a rush of wind. The energy pushed against my skin, against my body—which I was now becoming more aware of. A scream rallied in my throat, tearing through it as the Aether erupted. My flesh strained as the power surged out of me and into the world, blasting in every direction. Thousands of voices split the air and plunged through the atmosphere. The chaos swept forth until there was nothing left in me, not an inkling of the Aura or its essence, nor its power, nor the voices or the madness.

There was a long sigh of relief from the Aether, as the last of our bonds broke apart, and it drifted freely into the distance.

Darkness settled back over me.

The fissure was gone, and so was the Aether.

The curse was broken.

Somewhere, close by, someone was repeating something . . . A single word.

My heart was beating in my ears, and there was a rush alongside it. A rush like fire in my gut and energy in my limbs. Adrenaline. It fueled me into motion, jolting me back into my body.

I opened my eyes to flesh that was whole, not shredded, a form that was my own, a soul that felt reborn, and a pair of bright, green eyes staring back at me.

Blinking, I brought the female’s face into focus. Red hair framed her cheeks, which were smattered with some sort of black substance, and she was saying . . .

A name.

Aremis. Aremis. Aremis.

I blinked again, and everything came rushing back to me.

There was . . . a fluttering in my heart, a thrumming in my chest, and a sudden urge to cry.

Was this what joy felt like? It was. I knew it was. I knew the fae above me. She was the epitome of it.

Hot air filled my lungs as I sucked in a breath.

The Aether had kept its word.

And there was only one word on my lips. The one word I would praise and worship the rest of my days.

“Maeson.”

I was in a nightmare; I had to be. This couldn’t be real. But as badly as I wanted to open my eyes and wake up, this was reality, and my heart was shattered into a thousand pieces.

Niall lay motionless in my arms, and I could do nothing but stare in disbelief.

Perhaps he was just fighting the poison. Maybe some time to rest would be all he needed to wake up again. But those thoughts were fleeting, and I knew better. What he had given me was all that he had left. And I had used it.

All of it.

He’d known exactly what he was doing—that he couldn’t fight the poison while I was draining the last remnants of his power. And yet he’d still used his magic and compelled me to do it.

The hole in his side showed no signs of healing. It had barely even clotted.

I hated myself. Hated that he’d compelled me. I wanted to give it all back to him—to take back what had just happened. He shouldn’t have used what he did on the battlefield. If he would have just waited . . .

A sob broke free, and I let it pour out of me. I cradled Niall’s head to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut.