Page 86 of One Last Promise
“How can that be?”I breathed.It didn’t make sense.You had to be one or the other.You couldn’t share light and dark.
“The fire twins were found wandering Dreonarus as infants over nine hundred thousands years ago.We know very little about where they came from,” Darce explained before taking a sip of his wine.“They are our best kept secret, and have never fought in any of our wars against Dylin.”
“Why not?”The words fell out of my mouth without even thinking.
“We choose not to pick sides,” Nisha replied as her eyes faded back to the cooling lava appearance.“We have our own dwellings in the mountains, but the Noxlin are the benevolent race in Afterlight.Zohar has poison running through his veins.Dylin have been corrupted for so long that they can’t remember the way they once were.There is no helping them.”Nisha touched my face.“Yet, you might be the one to finally bring them back to the light.”
“What did you see?”I asked her, desperate to know my fate.
“The events have been set in motion.You and the prince are entwined until fate runs its course.”
“What does that even mean?”What had she seen in the future, and why wasn’t she telling me?
“The events have to run their course without intervention,” Lisha explained.“The future is a delicate thing.If you know too much, it will affect the outcome.”
“You can’t even tell us the outcome?How are Darce and I meant to know if we’re on the right path?”
“You follow the path until one of you loses their life.”Nisha spoke the words so coolly that I almost didn’t take it in.
“One of uswhat?”I exclaimed.Darce gripped my wrist, making me look at him.“What is she talking about?”The look on his face told me that he already knew about this possible fate.“Youknewabout this?”
“Let’s go back to my chamber.We can discuss it better there.”Darce sighed, looking back towards Nisha.“Did you see any power loss or implications at all?”I couldn’t understand what he meant until Nisha replied.
“The two of you joining poses no threat to her or yourself.It will only strengthen your connection.”
“Thank you, Nisha.”Darce was up out of his chair in seconds, pulling me with him as shadows surrounded us.I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to the twins before we were back in the comfort of his bedchamber.
“What does she mean about one of uslosing our life?How long have you known about this?”Pulling on the collar of his tunic, I made him look at me.“You said no more secrets.Do you think I wouldeverrisk you?I will not do any of this if one of us dies!”
“You know seers’ visions are subjective.The future can change in the blink of an eye.It’s one possible outcome for us.There is nothing to worry about, Starshine.Nisha can be a little...dramatic.It’s her age, really.She likes to flaunt how powerful she and Lisha are.”
“You can’t throw this under the rug!How long have you known that one of us might die?”
“Alora, please.It’s nothing to worry about.Trust me.Nisha’s powers show a lot of outcomes.The visions here aren’t like your seer’s back in Dallethas.The power they harness is different.It’spure.It’s not inherited like ours.”That put my mind at rest a little, but I wasn’t finished with the subject.
“Do you have any idea where their power came from?”
“It’s ancient, but neither of them have any memory.I personally think they are a force reborn from a different veil.”It made sense, but I didn’t know enough about the twins to make that judgement.“Either way, you don’t need to worry about what Nisha said.Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“I’m not worried about something happening tome,” I whispered, tracing the line of his tunic that exposed a part of his bare skin.
“I have powers, Alora.It would take a lot to kill me.”He was trying to sooth me, but his loving smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.“I thought you might have been thinking about Nisha’sotherstatement more.You’ve been begging me for so long, and now that the twins have finally read you, we have our answer.”Heat spread through my body at the realisation of what this all meant.
“Did Nisha just give you the all clear to claim me?”I heaved, catching my breath.Watching his dark, hooded eyes, I didn’t really need him to answer me.
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t she have done that sooner if all she had to do was search for our future?”
“Nisha needed to be near you, to soak in your essence.It would appear Noxlin and Dylin can be intimate.Not that it’s ever been tried before, but you know me, I’m willing to try anything twice.”
“Twice?”
“Twice...to make sure I really didn’t like it the first time.”How could he joke at a time like this?“Not that I don’t think I’m going to enjoy fucking you.”He swallowed hard, taking a step back and allowing his eyes to slowly move down my body.“In fact, I know I’m going to enjoy ittoomuch.”Was he stalling?He studied me carefully for a moment, trying to get a read on me.He must be able to tell that my body was burning for him.“I won’t act on it until you’re ready, Starshine.Having a Noxlin take you affects you much more than me.I’ll break Noxlin tradition and wait, if that’s what you need.”Wait?Is that what he thought I wanted?
I had been trying to make Darce take me for centuries, and now that we had our answers, there was only one thing left to tell him.
“Please, for the Mother of Mercy,fuck me!We have our answer.You know what I want...what I’ve wanted forsolong.I’m not afraid.I want you, Darce.Claim me!”
