Page 110 of A Kingdom of Shadows

I sense him still.

I'm afraid to look.

"Nothing could ever be wrong with you," he whispers, and my eyes shoot up at him. "You're indescribable, ethereal, and morally perfect in every way. Whatever it may be, you should not feel that it is a bad thing. You're too strong to believe little of yourself."

I shake my head regardless of my racing heart. "I'm not the same as I used to be before joining the venators."

He nods slowly, digesting my words. "You're right," he says. "You're not."

It goes so quiet, yet I'm not sure what is beating the loudest, my heart or his.

"You're better." He takes another step, his hands cupping the sides of my face. "You're finally you, which makes you strong."

My stomach stirs with emotions I never thought I would have. I want to say so many things, but I don't know where to start because none have ever made such sense.

Now they make all the sense in the world.

"Darius," I've lost my voice. "I—"

Someone clears their throat.

We both turn our heads to the left, where Faye has her hands on her hips and is tapping the heel of her foot against the grass.

She arches a brow. "As romantic as this is..." A pointed stare between us. "We don't have all night."

Darius laughs, but I still don't have the strength.

She is right. We do not have all night.

Although I wish it so.

I pull Darius's hands away from my face and look up through my lashes. I smile even though it wilts in only a second over all the thoughts that are causing havoc in my mind.

"You will go in first," he says. "It shouldn't take long for them to attack. I will go in not long after, alright?"

I'm nodding, checking my blade is still inside my sheath. He looks hesitant to let me go, but I don't give in to his worries and amble to the edge of the lake.

My fists clench in and out, in and out, in and out. I look once over my shoulder. Darius's eyes are fixed on me just as Arlayna starts nearing him, and then I'm diving into the waters.

Cool, wet pressure batters against my skin as I sink further. My eyes are closed, my pulse steady as I let the weight of the water lift my arms. One-minute passes, and I can feel my chest tightening at the lack of air until I hear that same name whispered.

"Solaris."

I keep my focus on the mission.

"Solaris."

I can tell the Galgr’s are nearing me, trying to entice me to open my mind to them.

"Join us," one whispers as if they are in front of me like last time.

I'm reaching for my blade, my closed eyes tightening as I try not to let past memories flash inside my head.

A skeletal finger caresses my shoulder, and I work up the strength—the strength Darius knows that I have and unsheathe the dagger, jamming it into the side of the Galgr's arm as I open my eyes.

I'm met with hollow ones as the creature screeches in pain. Others surrounding me dart away, swimming to wherever depths of the lake they came from. I swing my arms back and forth, trying to maintain distance.

Black blood tints the water as it smokes from the Galgr's arm. She clutches onto it, and then a net comes over her. She's hissing, her inky hair flowing around her before I notice Darius holding the net and swimming upwards. I come up after him, gasping as I swim to the edge. Arlayna grabs my hand, pulling me onto the grass. I'm still trying to regain my breath when I realize Darius is dragging a thrashing Galgr away from the lake. He deposits her somewhere close to the well and ties the bit of rope onto the wooden rod holding the well's roof.

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