Page 31 of Dark Symmetry

“Not a resurrection,” Julian said, “but something new.”

“You did this?” I asked.

Elation had, at least for a moment, lifted the millstone of grief from Julian’s neck. He nodded, fairly glowing with pride.

“How?” Lilin reached up, her fingertips barely brushing the petals of one crimson flower. “Julian—how?”

“It was like—” He paused, turning his gaze to the sky, as though seeking answers there. “I felt it before I saw it. That energy—just like I felt before, after Abigor—” He cleared his throat. “It was the same, and I thought—it had to have something to do with you both. And I was certain it could be used, channeled, much like I channeled your energy to bring Abigor back.” His hands moved rapidly as he spoke. “I made mistakes before. I know that now. But something about this—something I felt—I was absolutely certain it would not fail.”

Beside me, Lilin went still. Very slowly, her gaze slid to the side and caught mine. “Julian,” she said, but he ignored her.

“Don’t you see?” he said, pointing at the silent bodies on the ground. “I cannot bring back something already dead, but I can—” He gestured toward the villagers. “They live, still. And from that power, I can create. I can restore them!”

“Julian,” Lilin said again, louder this time.

“The runes, the herbs—” His eyes were wide, slightly wild. “I don’t need them. Not this time. Just the fire, and this!” He cupped his hands before him, and I felt my chest thrum with something vast and urgent as the air around him lit with energy. A glowing blue orb appeared between his palms, twisting and sparking and rippling.

“JULIAN!” Lilin shouted, lunging toward him. She seized his wrists and wrenched his hands apart, and abruptly the orb dissipated, the pulsing energy in the air evaporating into nothingness.

Julian let his hands fall to his sides and took a step back, staring at her in bewilderment. “What have you done?” he asked. The exhilaration in his voice had vanished, and he looked once more like the Julian we had met in the graveyard. “It’s finite—I can’t get it back. What have you done?”

“What have I done?” Lilin said incredulously. “You’re out of control, Julian. You’re in no place to be casting. These are people’s lives.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Julian’s voice was at once heavy with emotion and crackling with anger. “Do you think I’d be so cavalier?”

“It certainly looked that way,” Lilin snapped. “Channeling energy from God knows where—”

“Lilin,” I said, lifting an eyebrow. Was she truly going to pretend she didn’t know where the energy had come from?

She whirled on me. “What?”

I tipped my head toward Julian. “Tell him.”

Lilin’s cheeks turned bright pink. “We don’t know if that’s what it was,” she sputtered.

“Oh?” I tilted my head. “Do you have another theory?”

“No, but—”

“Excuse me,” Julian interrupted, stepping between us. He looked first at Lilin, then at me. “I’m not quite as dim as you both seem to think I am.”

Now my face heated. “I never said—”

“Do you think I observe nothing?” Julian said sharply. “That I cannot see what is plain to my eyes, or indeed, to anyone who has eyes?”

“We didn’t mean that.” Lilin sounded slightly sheepish.

“If I didn’t know exactly what generated that energy before,” Julian retorted, glaring at us, “I certainly do now. As you’ve both made it very clear.”

“We didn’t mean for anything to happen,” I said defensively. “It just…did.”

Julian gave me an exasperated look. “I don’t care what you intended,” he said. “I care only about the result. Don’t you see?”

“Creation,” Lilin said slowly. She turned to meet my gaze, and for the first time, I saw hope in her eyes. “Not destruction. Perhaps…perhaps we’re capable of both.”

Julian nodded. “Whatever you’ve done—and I don’t need specifics,” he added, holding up a hand before either of us could clarify, “I can use it.”

Lilin took a deep breath, and a moment later her hand slipped into mine. “You’re certain?”

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