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Twin plumes of fog formed as he exhaled down his nose. “We believe that animals are too pure for this life. They are all ascended beings who live in the after. Everything is perfect there. No pain or misfortune or heartbreak. But sometimes, they peer beyond the veil between this life and the next, and they see us here in the depths of our suffering, and they choose someone. One soul they want to help over any other. They come to us as… dear friends”—he cleared his throat—“when we need them most. You needed Onyx when you first got here, Saeris. He saw that perhaps, and he came. But now—”
With its slitted nose, the gills at its neck, and its hairless, waxen skin, it looked like the kind of creature that lived in deep, inky waters at the bottom of an ocean. I had seen something very similar to it in one of Foley’s books. It was impossible to read its mood normally, but right now I could feel the anger radiating from it like heat. “Our agreement gives me leave to watch you at my leisure, Saeris Fane. It does not give you leave to summon me and ask questions.” “Then why are you here?” I demanded. “Why did you even come?” “I will not come again. I am here now to make this very
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Stargazers, also known as kingfishers, can be found in abundance from the Gilarian Mountains all the way down to the coastal cities of Marinth, Bodish, and Inishtar. Many individuals among the Fae, selkies, elemental sprites, and satyr populations consider the stargazer a symbol of hope.
He laughed a little breathlessly. “Yes,” he agreed. “You are crazy. You came looking for me. You took on Belikon by yourself and you outsmarted him. And you made a costly sacrifice to save a friend,” he added. “Only a crazy person would have done all of that. But I would have made the same choices, Saeris. So I suppose we’re well suited.”
and spat the Faeling out. His eyes were rimmed silver like the stars.” “I didn’t know myself,”
He could only ever be Khydan to me now. And he was ready to face whatever awaited us on the other side of this door.
“It’s never been given an official name here. The pantheon of undergods and the dragons they breed there call it Diaxis. But personally… I’ve always called it hell.”
“The murder of my offspring!” The dragon roared.
Ereth. The Lord of Midnight who had attacked me at the coronation. He’d been a religious leader of sorts. He had told Khydan that he worshipped different gods. Undergods…
You’ve condemned her to hell, Khydan Finvarra. You will be dismembered piece by piece. She will watch, and when we’re done with you, we will make her one of our concubines. We will breed from her until it kills her or we grow tired of her. She will know nothing but humiliation and shame in this place. She will never see the sky again—”
Sorry, Osha. Arissan has always guarded Diaxis. I’ve spent centuries practicing at hiding information behind locked doors in my head. She saw what I wanted her to see. But you? I knew she’d look into your mind. You wouldn’t have been able to hide it from her. There just wasn’t time to prepare you. Khydan’s words were laced with regret.
“Impossible,” Crave whispered. “You can’t—You aren’t—” The male shook his head, clearly struggling to understand what he was seeing. “Shadow magic doesn’t belong in your realm. Where did you get this power?” “The same place I got the sword,”
“Do you trust me?” he asked. “Yes. Always. Yes.” And for a split second, he smiled the most heartbreakingly beautiful smile. “I love you, Saeris Fane.” He kissed me hard, and so many unspoken things passed between us as he did. Promises and hope. Oaths and regrets.
“Who… are you?” Crave choked. “Only… half-gods may wield shadows.”
“I’ve come for a dragon, as is my right. Summon our father. Tell him I’ve come to make a trade.”
