Page 59 of Hunted By Darkness

Looking up from the text, I nodded. “That’s what my grandmother wrote. It’s best to stay in the grey. Soul Collectors who want to use the old magic need to find a perfect balance. She talks about it a lot in her journal.”

The dark-haired shifter made a sound in his throat before he came over. Silas watched him like he would any enemy but didn’t move.

Salvator took a seat and leaned forward, looking at the journal in question. He brushed back his hair, and the muscles in his chest contracted. He’d refused to wear a shirt again, and after the night we’d had, I was afraid of how Silas would respond if he caught me staring.

The last thing we needed was another fight.

I’d had enough of the two being at each other’s throats to last me a lifetime, and Silas would use it as an opportunity to seek out more affection. I’d barely made it out of the room this morning. He’d been all over me since we made our way back.

It came after a little argument we had. He’d wanted to find another safe house, but I didn’t think it was worth it. Salvator was sure Bones would be back, and soon. Said he’d know if the mercenary broke their contract, and he hadn’t. The ones who attacked us hadn’t found us with Bones’s help. Instead, it was better to expect another attack and prepare in place.

“I’m not sure if this will help, but that old fox said something strange to me before I woke up in the forest,” the tribesman started, catching my attention right away.

Silas made his way over. “And you’re just telling us this now, Sally?”

Salvator’s jaw clenched off and on before he cut a sour look at the other mercenary. “That woman spouted a lot of cryptic bullshit over the months, Sparkles. I didn’t think it was important until Nika mentioned the words grey and balance.”

Curious, I waited for him to elaborate.

Knitting his fingers together in front of him with his elbows perched on the top of his knees, Salvator went on, “I don’t remember it word for word, but she said something about how grey was a necessary balance for you. That old woman liked to talk in riddles, but this rhyme stuck with me, I guess. ‘It’s the choice you’ll have to make, the soul you’ll be forced to take.’ And then she said something about how balance is struck by choosing between life and death. The old fox refused to explain, just said you’d understand.”

Salvator shrugged, not sure what it all meant. But I did. It was a staggering epiphany that hit as every word connected several things together in a terrifying way. Silas was rigid and quiet. Same with Lev. They’d been clued in every step of the way. I’dshared everything. Like me, they understood what every word meant and what it implied.

My thoughts spiraled out of control. I was having a hard time catching my breath. I’d been so sure I’d be relieved when I knew what to do. I thought my burden would ease knowing how to send the demon back. Having the answer couldn’t be any worse than fighting a demon with my lover’s face, right? But I was wrong.

Nothing but agony filled my chest.

I’d have to choose between two people I cared about, and the thought of taking the life of anyone close to me stole every bit of my strength. I finally understood why they didn’t want me to have all the pieces from the start. Father knew I’d try to find a way to save them both.

“You, my dear Nika, are so much like your mother. You’re infinitely kind and will do whatever it takes for the ones you love. It’s both your greatest strength and your most devastating weakness. Because not everyone can be saved. Our fate can’t be changed no matter how much we try.”

He'd said it to me decades ago. It floated to the surface of my memory as my eyes flicked from the shifter I’d come to care for as a friend and the mercenary I loved. The Soul of Death and the Soul of Life. Without doubt, I’d found them both.

Salvator looked from face to face in confusion. “Does it make sense to you assholes?”

“Maybe it’s not what we think,” Lev murmured.

Silas crossed his arms and blew out a sigh. “Or it’s exactly what we think.”

“What am I missing?” the shifter growled.

The two phantoms hovered nearby, just as confused as Salvator was. Only Lev and Silas knew about who we thought was the Soul of Life and the Soul of Death and about the choiceI’d have to make between them. I needed to explain everything to them, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.

“The Soul of Life, if you remember, was something my mother mentioned,” I started, and Salvator nodded, having been present for that conversation in my head. “She also mentioned the Soul of Death. She was sure that Silas was one of them. I agree because I’m confident he’s the Soul of Life. But the other one…” The shifter’s jaw clenched. “We think—”

“It’s me? Because I’ve come back from death?” he quickly deduced. “You think this cryptic rhyme is about me and this silver-haired bastard?”

For once, Silas wasn’t smiling or cracking jokes. He was quiet, and the silence from him was damning. He knew what it meant to suggest the two souls were them, and what I’d be forced to do in order to summon the old magic to send Rilas back to the After. Every piece had slotted into place.

Fate’s mystery was no longer a mystery.

Like Grandmother said, I’d know what to do when the time came, and I did. It was right there in her rhyme:“It’s the choice you’ll have to make, the soul you’ll be forced to take.”

I wasn’t ready to accept it as the only option, though.

My eyes dropped to my hands gripping my knees. “But there has to be another way,” I murmured, pulse pounding. “Or maybe Grandmother had it wrong.”

Lev touched my hand as I shifted uncomfortably. “We’ll keep looking around, Niks. Or we’ll find a way to collect souls and use enough power to balance it to grey.”

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