Page 47 of Song of Night

“Zara!”

Asher is shaking me, hands on either side of my face, panic written in his features. When I straighten and focus my eyes on him, he wraps his arms around me, burying his face in my neck.

“Thank the dark goddess…”

He kisses my neck, my jawline, my lips, lingering there. A sphere of magic rolls in the space between our hearts, spinning slowly.

When he pulls back, he frowns. “Another vision?”

I don’t answer his question. I’m too fixated by the words he just used. “Dark goddess…” I murmur. “I saw…”

Asher stares at me, brows furrowed, waiting for me to continue.

“In the vision,” I explain, “The wild magic is pulling me down a path. Something evil is following me. And then I see three images on repeat. Down in the tunnels they moved too fast for me to see. But now…I know what they are.”

I take a deep breath to slow the racing of my heart, which is still pounding from the intensity of what I’d seen. What I’d felt.

“The first image is a strange pattern of lines made of wild magic. The second is a set of black stairs… they look like obsidian. And the third…”

When I pause for several moments, Asher prompts me. “The third?”

“The third is…” I look up at him, locking gazes. “The third is a goddess.”

Asher’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Do you mean—”

“She has black hair and a black stone in the center of her forehead, and she wears a dress woven of light and magic…a violet dress.” My tone is hushed, my words halting. “I think—I think she is Night. She is the source of our magic.”

“But that—I don’t understand,” Asher says.

“I don’t either. All I know is that the wild magic—she—wants me to find her, before that thing does. That thing of wings and teeth and darkness.” I shiver.

“Did the vision show you where she is?”

I shake my head. “Not exactly. But I think I’ve always known… I just didn’t realize how literal it was. When I call on my magic, I feel it beneath the city… I think she is trapped there. Underground.”

Asher is silent a moment. “If she’s trapped, then that means…” His eyes widen in horror and then he places his face in his hands.

“That she’s been trapped since the day you accidentally summoned all the magic,” I say softly. “Over two centuries ago.”

Asher lifts me off of him, setting me upright on the floor and walking away. He strides into the corner of the room and stands there, arms braced against the wall, head down, clearly deep in thought. I give him a couple of minutes before I approach.

“I’ve never felt malevolence from Night,” I say softly behind him. “Never felt that the wild magic was wicked or vengeful. She must know what you did was an accident.”

He doesn’t answer me for a long time. When he finally speaks, he says, “I’ve always known I can never atone for what I did. Not fully. But now? This?”

I rest my hand on his shoulder and slowly turn him around to face me. “You can atone. You can help me find her. She clearly needs both of us to release her. She brought us together for that reason.”

Asher’s eyes search mine. “So, you’re telling me the way I feel about you is nothing but the will of a goddess? And once we free her, our purpose together is complete?”

My chest tightens painfully, and I have to force words from my throat. “You should be relieved. You’ve wanted to walk away ever since you found out where I came from. This should make your choice even easier.”

He nods, and just that simple gesture sends a spike through my heart.

“We don’t have full access to our magic, though,” he says with a frown. He lifts one hand, calls magic into his palm and watches as it runs up his arm. “It’s the strongest it’s been since the explosion, but it’s still not all of it. I don’t understand…”

“I don’t either,” I say. “But we know now what we need to do.”

“How are you going to find her, though? An obsidian staircase… that’s not much to go on.” He frowns.

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