Page 46 of A Touch of Darkness

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, focusing on the pull of the energy beneath me. It’s raw, untamed, but it’s also mine. I can feel it coursing through me, thrumming against my skin, wrapping around my bones.

I think about Lara and our parents, about all we’ve lost.

I think about the way everything has been ripped so violently from my grasp.

And then, I let go.

The magic erupts from within me, crackling like lightning, flashing through the air, searing the space around me with its power. I gasp as it ripples outward, the stone beneath my feet shaking with the force of it. For a moment, I lose myself in it, in the feeling of power, of freedom. I open my eyes and a purple shimmer creates a glow about the room. It’s unholy. It’s intoxicating. I allow my eyes to fall closed once more as I inhale a deep breath.

It’s something entirely otherworldly. And it’s within my grasp.

But as quickly as it came, it fades. The room falls silent, the magic dissipating like mist in the air.

I open my eyes, breathless, to find every eye in the room on me. The cloaked figures are still, watching, waiting for my next move.

The woman steps forward, her expression unreadable. “Impressive,” she says, her voice quiet but filled with approval. “You’ve only just begun to understand what you are, Sylvie. But you’ve passed the first test. You canwillyour magic to life.”

I try to steady my breathing, my heart still racing in my chest. “What now?”

A slow smile curves at the edges of her lips. “Now, you begin your initiation into the Solstice Society.”

I don’t know what that means yet, but as the others move forward, drawing closer, I realize one thing: I’m in deeper than I ever intended.

“I’ve just come to learn more,” I say, trying to buy myself time as my instincts scream at me. “I don’t understand what you want from me. I think I have a right to learn that before diving into any sort of initiation. I have questions about yourintentions, and I also want to know how you can help me get my sister back. Isabel said you could, but it makes no sense to me,” I say, letting my words trail off as I glance around the room. I cannot even imagine Sylvie from a year ago doing this. Hell, even Sylvie from two weeks ago. I would have crumbled under the pressure—and I can’t help but think about how being strong really is the only option.

The woman’s smile widens, a flicker of something almost destructive crossing her features. She doesn't seem bothered by my hesitation. Instead, she steps closer, her presence heavier now, and the air grows even colder around me. The energy in the room shifts subtly, like the influence of an unspoken promise hangs between us.

“Of course,” she says softly, her voice smooth like silk now. “You deserve answers, Sylvie. You’ve been led here for a reason. And perhaps you’ve already begun to sense it, haven’t you? This power, this connection. What you’ve always been, yet never truly understood.”

I want to ask more, press her for the truth, but I can feel the words in my throat, heavy with unspoken possibilities. My hand still tingles from the magic that surged through me moments ago. Was it me? Or something else—something that has always been hidden beneath my skin?

“You think you're just like them,” the woman continues, her voice growing more intimate now, as if she can see into my very soul. “The others. The clean witches, the rotten vampires... You think you’re just one of the lost humans. But you’re not, Sylvie. You never have been.”

Her words sink into my chest like ice. It’s a dangerous thing, the way she speaks—like she’s coaxing me to believe something bigger, something tempting. She’s akin to a false prophet, a cult leader, someone who has a certain expertise when it comes to drawing people in for their own benefit.

I can feel the part of me that wants to hear more, that part that aches with the need to understand the truth, to finally know what Lara has been trying to tell me.

“You were born for a purpose,” the woman says, her voice soft but filled with a quiet, intense conviction. “The blood of ancient hunters and witches runs through you. You’re the key to ending this devastating cycle. The power within you will change the entire world, Sylvie. You don’t need to hide it anymore.” Her voice is melodic, like she’s singing a symphony with her words.

I swallow, my heart pounding harder than before. “What... what do you mean? Can you explain how I’m supposed to do that? How I’m the key to ending the cycle?”

She steps closer still, her figure looming above me, the intensity of her gaze almost suffocating. “You’re afraid. Afraid of what you might become. But that fear—it's what holds you back. We can help you, Sylvie. We can guide you, shape you. You don’t have to face this on your own, or with the incorrect team behind you. We can give you the strength to find your sister, to rewrite everything that’s gone wrong in your life. You can bend the world to your will... if you choose to.”

The words are dangerous. So dangerously appealing.

But she’s talking in circles. Not fully answering anything.

“Don’t you want to understand what you truly are?” she practically sings, each word stringing together with the next. “The Solstice Society is offering you the power to change everything. To reclaim all you’ve lost. We will teach you how to use your gift, how to master it. And we will give you the option to end the vampire curse once and for all. To clear humanity of waste. To make the world a better place. And, in time, you will have the ability to reshape everything—fate, magic, life itself.”

The temptation hangs in the air, suffocatingly so. There is a darkness to it that calls to something deep inside me.

“You think you’re ready?” she continues, sensing my hesitation. “Maybe you think you’ve found your strength already. But there’s so much more we can give you. With us, you won’t have to live in the shadows of uncertainty anymore. You can have the power tosaveyour sweet sister, your other half—to change your fate. To change everything.”

I struggle to hold back my own words, the confusion swirling in my mind. “And what do you want in return? What is the price?” I ask to hold her off because my brain is spinning. They’ve essentially admitted that Lara isn’t dead. That I could save her. This means it’s possible…unless they’re full of shit. But if there’s something they want from me, I could figure out how to use it as leverage to get Lara back.

Her smile falters, just a smidge, but it’s enough that I notice. “We don’t want anything from you, Sylvie. We wantyouto fulfillyourdestiny, which may include many things. It’s already written in the stars, in the blood of your ancestors. All we ask is that you allow us to help you embrace what you truly are. The rest will fall into place exactly as it should.”

I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice, staring into the abyss. The pull of power is intoxicating. But at what cost? I don’t know. And the worst part? I think part of me wants to take that step, to let the Solstice Society guide me, to embrace what they’re offering.

---