Page 71 of Darkness and Deceit
“Can they stay that way forever?”
“Some never awaken,” he says, carefully. “Others flare open when least expected. And some… are waiting for the right spark.”
My pulse jumps. The right spark. The right moment. The rightperson.
Augustus steps closer to Kai, studying the flickering golden light threaded with blue. It almost looks alive, writhing beneath the surface like lightning crawling through storm clouds.
He swears under his breath. “This is just as I feared… it’s rewriting him.”
“Can we stop it?”
“I don’t know.” His jaw tenses. “But at least now we know what we’re up against.”
A beat of silence stretches between us. I study Kai. He’s still fighting, even like this. I can feel it.
Augustus’ head tilts slightly. “You’re stable,” he says.
I frown. “But I feel?—”
“Afraid. Angry. Reckless,” he finishes. “But your bond has not frayed. If anything…” He pauses, watching me, thoughtful. “It has grown stronger. That might be why the flame has not consumed him fully. He is still anchored.”
I lower my eyes to Kai, to the scryer still pulsing faintly against his chest. I reach for his hand again. This time, I swear—I feel the smallest twitch in his fingers.
Not much, but it’s enough.
My breath catches, hope threading through the fear. I don’t speak it aloud, don’t dare break the moment.
Behind me, Augustus begins rewrapping the scryer in its cloth. “I’ll report to the others,” he says quietly. “But if anything changes… let me know right away.”
“I will,” I say, without looking away.
He lingers, just a breath longer than expected. “For what it’s worth,” he says softly, “I’ve never seen a tether hold this long under such strain.”
I don’t respond.
I don’t need to.
Because deep down, I already know?—
It’s not simply the tether that’s holding.
It’sus.
He leaves with the door clicking softly shut behind him.
And I stay right where I am. Fingers laced with Kai’s. Waiting. Watching.
Holding on.
Twenty-Three
SIMON
I don’t knowwhat it means to pray, but I’ve been doing it anyway. Not to the gods. Or the Balance. Or the Keepers.
Just to Kai.
To whatever part of him is still in there, fighting to come back.
