Page 53 of To Ashes and Dust
“We did before The Darklings’ Descent.” His gaze drifted away from me, dulling. “After Matthias fell, we hunted the darklings until they passed into the Mortalrealm. Selene tasked us with eradicating them to prevent the human world from falling into darkness, and here we are today.”
“Darklings’ Descent?” I asked, head tilting to gaze up at him.
Damien drew a deep breath, as if preparing himself for what he was about to share. “When Matthias became corrupted and the first darklings attacked, destroying our home...”
The sorrow filling his eyes was too much to bear. I wanted to know more, wanted to ask, but I couldn’t bring myself to push. I wondered if the vision I’d seen through his eyes of Moira when we’d begun training was from the time Damien spoke of, when the immortals were prosperous, ruling their own kingdom in the Godsrealm. I could only imagine how wonderful that time might’ve been. I’d looked so happy through his eyes. I wouldn’t press, though, couldn’t stand to pull him through the difficult memories of the kingdom’s fall.
“What’s going to happen to the humans in the city when things get worse?” I asked, unable to resist asking the question that had been burning in the back of my mind for months. Recalling the terrible night of Elena’s death, I couldn’t stomach the thought of suffering that fate again, watching my home, my family, my friends all die. My mind wandered to my parents, to Kat and Cody. How could I protect them from something like that? Would I even be able to help them when the time came if I’d failed as Elena?
Would I live long enough to face Melantha at Damien’s side?
“I fear for them.” Damien let out a ragged sigh, and his words pulled me from the spiral of doubt. “We can use our influence to try to evacuate as many as we can without revealing the truth of everything, but I fear many will die. The humans living nearby were caught in the crossfire when we fought Melantha during The Fall of Kingdoms, and we were left with a tremendous mess to clean up. There was so much destruction, we had to create a natural disaster to cover it all up.”
I halted, my brows furrowing. “You... created a natural disaster?”
He nodded. “The Johnstown flood of 1889. The two thousand humans who died in the flood were really casualties of the war. We had no other option to clean up the mess in a way that would cover up any proof of our existence. Any survivors had their memories altered. We couldn’t risk the humans learning of our race.”
My heart sank. I hadn’t connected the dots, counted the years. I swallowed. Two thousand people... slaughtered, not drowned.
“I need to get my family out of the city.”
Damien frowned and his lips parted, as if he might say something, but didn’t.
“What?” I dared to ask, hopeful for anything that could be done to keep my family safe.
“We have connections. If you could somehow convince them to leave, I could pull some strings, get your parents jobs elsewhere—somewhere safe. They’d be well cared for.”
A thought crossed my mind. “Are there darklings elsewhere?”
He shook his head. “We’ve only seen darkling activity here in Johnstown. There’s been signs in the cities surrounding us, but very minimal, as if they won’t go any farther.”
“Why, though? What keeps them here?”
He shrugged. “We aren’t sure. I think there’s a ripple in the veil somewhere, where they slipped through when they fled from the Godsrealm. Perhaps it’s the subtle hint of magic lingering around Johnstown, leaking through the ripple in the veil.”
“There’s magic in the air in Johnstown?”
Damien nodded. “Not enough to affect anything, but it does draw in creatures. Think of it like tossing a raw piece of meat in the woods. Predators would be drawn in by the smell.”
If he could relocate my parents, they’d truly be safe from the darklings. There was no way I’d ever be able to convince them to leave, though, not with me here. My mother would never leave me behind.
“Sadly, I don’t think I could convince them to leave that house behind for all the money in the world.” I sighed. “You mentioned Selene changed. What happened?” I asked, shifting to a different subject.
Damien eyed me warily. “I don’t know. No one does. It wasn’t long after you were born that she changed, growing so cold and distant with those who once loved and cherished her.” He came to a stop as we neared the end of the hall.
“How did we meet?” I asked, and his brows rose, as if he were surprised by the question.
He smiled then, those amber and ashen eyes lighting with... endearment? “I was five when we met.”
Five. What did Damien look like as a child? I couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my lips as I imagined it. Bouncing black-brown curls, those intense, full eyebrows that amplified every expression that danced across his face. He probably got into the most trouble.
“I’ll show you.”
I stiffened as he leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine. “Are you sure?”
He smiled, closing his eyes in silent confirmation.
Hesitation stiffened my body, but my lids fell shut, feeling that connection, that bridge between us. I reached out, slipping into his thoughts, warmth washing over me. When I opened my eyes, I was... I was elsewhere, standing in a hall of warm sunshine, the smell of lush forest and stone filling my lungs. Tall, stained-glass windows broke up the walls around me. Depictions of battles and creatures filtered the sunlight shining through the panes. It was similar to the place I’d first seen Moira through Damien’s memories, the only vision I’d ever been able to see of Moira. Her memories had remained unreachable, and I couldn’t seem to figure out why.
