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Do they not have as much faith in the prophecy as the elder did?My thoughts swirl together. And after a long moment, the shadow beast in front of us turns away and returns to the fire, whispering quietly to the others beside him.
Rayne and I exchange a look.What the hell is going on?
Dusk moves forward and takes me by the arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”
If the prophecy is true, if they know about it, the mating bond we’ve formed should’ve been cause for celebration.Is there something I'm not understanding?For the millionth time since I came here, I feel like I have a bunch of puzzle pieces that aren't going together, and I want to groan in frustration, hating that our special moment, our moment of happiness, seems to already have passed.
Dusk leads us to the tunnels. Torches line the walls. A couple shadow beasts walk down it, see us, nod, and continue onto the big room, but we continue forward through the dark, dank tunnels, past the room Adrik was in when I first saw him, to Elder Aeuro’s room.
There, we pause in the entrance. It's the same as before. A simple room with pillows surrounding a big fire in the center. Aeuro sits on one of the tufted pillows, staring straight ahead at something I can’t see. When Phantom clears his throat, his gaze sharpens and focuses on us for a minute before he seems to relax. My men give a little bow, and he nods at Phantom and Dusk, signs a greeting to Onyx, and ignores me. It’s okay. I don’t mind so much. I have a feeling right now he's a bit frustrated with me. But hopefully he won't be when he hears our news.
Phantom speaks first, his voice low and respectful. “The mating bond has been completed.”
Aeuro’s brows lift and he smiles, a relieved smile that eases some of the tension in my chest. “Good. Very good.”
Dusk steps forward. “So now what?”
Phantom continues. “How do we win?”
It feels like we're all holding our breaths. Whatever this elder says, we've put a lot of faith into being the answer to all of this. He seems to have a power that none of the rest of us have, a power of prophecy, or perhaps just the power to hear these "shadows" whispering. Whatever it is, he has control over things that seem strange and magical to me.
Aeuro looks from one of my shadow beasts to the others. Then he glances at Rayne and me, shakes his head. “I don’t know. I thought it would be obvious.”
Obvious. Obvious in the human world is neon signs and flashing lights. I wonder what it is in the shadow realm.
"What's obvious?" Rayne asks, looking upset. "What usually happens when a prophecy is fulfilled?"
The elder seems to choose his words with care. "When the shadows whispered to our Goddess, they told her that there was another world. A world where the shadow beasts could be safe, could thrive. All she had to do was find it. And she did."
"But it cost her her life. Her heart." Phantom doesn't look happy. "It wasn't as simple as just finding the world."
"I never said it was simple," the elder says. "Just that it would take us down a path that will end in us successfully winning this war."
"Great," Rayne mutters.
“So it’s just a legend? Creating the mate bond hasn't changed anything for the war.” Disappointment deepens Dusk’s tone and Phantom crosses his arms over his massive chest, widens his stance, and squares his hips as if he’s preparing for battle.
Aeuro purses his lips. He isn’t afraid to answer, but he is honestly considering. “I’ll speak to the shadows and get back to you. I'm sure that now that we're on this path, they'll be able to lead us to the next correct step to winning this war.”
But none of my shadow beasts look confident.
"Elder," I say, trying to make sure I'm being respectful. "Have the shadows said anything about my powers? If I could learn to use my light, maybe I could really help end this war."
Aeuro's brows draw together. "They have whispered about you. About your powers. That they’re part of all of us. A key to turning the tide. But they have not... given me the manual for how to control your powers." He gives me a small smile. "Most of the time, powers like yours can only be influenced by the person controlling them. Perhaps you should spend more time trying to figure them out."
He's not wrong, but I do wish thiswonderfulsource of information was more helpful. "I'll give that a shot."
"But I will speak to the shadows on this matter too." And then his shoulders curl a bit, and I feel a little bad. This man should be enjoying his twilight years, not trying to solve all the problems of the universe. "Before you go, please spend some time with the men. They haven't been coming to my cave recently and the shadows are whispering that trouble is brewing. Our men can't handle a lot more trouble. Not right now."
Judging by the disappointed nods, this isn’t the best news. But my men each bow and thank the elder, then turn and leave. Onyx leads us out of the cave. No one speaks. His words seem to be hanging as heavily on them as they are on me. I keep staring at my hands, wondering about how exactly to explore my powers. They kind of just seem to be... gone when I don't need them.So how do I convince my damn powers to let me practice with them?
When we’re through the tunnel and outside the main cave again, there are almost three times as many shadow beasts assembled as when we went in. They're standing together, talking in low voices, but when they realize we're there, all eyes turn to us. Rayne moves closer to me on one side, Dusk on the other. And the tension in the air... it feels like we're standing against enemies rather than allies. A feeling that makes me more than a little uneasy.
The shadow beasts close in, but the one I've learned is named Flame speaks. “How can we win?”
A murmur rushes through them. They’re all waiting for that one magical answer that will end the fighting and all the death. I just wonder how they'll respond when they realize we still don't have a clue.
For some reason, just the idea scares me. I look at my men. They're all wearing their confidence like a cloak, but I can see beneath it. They're worried too.
