Page 62 of Haunted

Her heart-center has blackened. The pure light that I was drawn to is covered in a funeral shroud, defiled by the lives she took in vengeance.

I scream. I claw at my chest, wishing I could carry her sin. My beautiful light, my Niawen.

Kelyn’s men yell at her as they rush to aid their prince. Niawen hasn’t moved, stuck by some inward trauma that’s written on her face—

That I sense in her soul.

She has never killed before. I see that now.

She is horrified.

After more urging, Niawen snaps from her wonderment.

“My lady, can you save him?” one of the men asks. He’s talking about the wounded prince.

She simply nods and moves into action. After assessing Kelyn’s injuries, she says. “I can heal him as I move the arrow a fraction at a time.”

She begins the long process of healing. I’m fascinated. An arrow to the heart would be fatal for most mortals. Perhaps she got to the prince in time, perhaps Niawen is exceptionally skilled in healing with the light.

Light that she possesses, no matter how damaged it might be.

When she is finished, her men coax her onto her dragon and slip the prince into her arms. They must be traveling to the palace for help. Niawen looks spent, and the prince has lost a lot of blood.

I let Albus go.

I’ve seen enough.

I can do nothing to help her.

44

For a week, I don’t enter my familiar. The weather is poor, with sleeting rain. I let Albus hide from the elements, and I spend all my time tracing Niawen’s light with my mind.

Her heart-center is coated with an ashy shield. Niawen still bears her light, and she has not transitioned into a Dark Emrys. Maybe because she acted in battle, killing armed men? If she had killed an innocent, unarmed person, she most definitely would have fallen to the darkness.

So I take comfort that her light remains, no matter how damaged.

I ache to heal Niawen though. Somehow. Surely there must be some way to heal her.

Come to me. Look for me. I will save you.

I’m not sure if she’s scanned for my light since it’s been unveiled. How much time will she spend with Sieffre’s sons?

Niawen’s grown fond of the crown prince, that’s the only explanation for her lingering.

That infernal kiss they shared!

See me. See me and not him.

But something deep within my heart tells me she’s not safe with me.

I covet her too much.

If she comes, I’ll surely spell her doom.

45

The weather is nice for a change. Cold but sunny. Niawen’s light has been all over the palace today, so I call on Albus and have him lurk around the courtyard, peeking in the windows, hoping for a glimpse of Niawen.

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