The King of Darkness | ✔️

Chapter Nine

When Darian finally steps away from me, I turn back towards the doors and resume what I was doing. The night air is cool and eases the ache in my chest.

I take a seat on the chair that despite the harsh weather still looks as good as new. "Is there ever daylight here?" I ask as I look towards the horizon. I hear the sound of metal grazing against the concrete and know that Darian is sitting opposite me - however, I keep my eyes trained on the starlit sky.

"The summer solstice. One day a year, on the longest day, the sun rises. Other than that we are swarmed in darkness and banished to a life of living in the shadows," Darian's voice catches at the end and I can't help but notice it.

I turn to face him but find that he is also staring out towards his kingdom - something in his eyes that I just can't quite decipher.

"Have you ever travelled outside of your court?" I ask another question hoping that he will go off on a tangent and forget all about our previous conversation. However, I find it hard to believe that Darian is capable of talking for a lengthy amount of time.

"Enough of the questions. You can only ask me said things when you enlighten me on the subject of your whole glowing situation," he waves his hand haphazardly as if this isn't the information that could change the whole course of events. I huff in defeat.

"You'll have my head if I tell you," I say just below a whisper and he faces me again.

"Well, you'll just have to hope that I am feeling generous today," the spring in his voice only makes me want to refrain from telling him even more. I've already died once today, why not make it twice.

"The Amour court has a history of... chosen ones I guess you could say," I say hesitantly and try to gauge how he is feeling but his face is void of any emotion. "It is said that they are chosen by the Goddess of light herself - Anith. Those who are chosen are granted the gift of... light," as soon as I finish I close my eyes and wait for him to explode.

A long stretch of silence fills the night air and I open my eyes expecting Darian to have left but see him sitting there running over what I have just told him.

"I'm going to need more than a history lesson Nova. Are you a threat to my court? What does this light do?" he asks and I brace myself.

"I wouldn't say I was a threat exactly b-" I begin but Darian cuts me off.

"Explain," that one word immediately stops me from beating around the bush. I take a deep breath and try to convince myself that I am not signing my own death warrant.

I tell him everything; about the vision I had when I was poisoned, I tell him about seeing my father, about how Anith told me that I killed him. I told him about how my powers are not truly light but rather are far worse than darkness.

It's when I told him about how my light doesn't save but kills that it hit me. I stand abruptly from the chair and begin to pace. I can't of, I wasn't in control so maybe it didn't work.

"Whatever revelation you have just had... spill," Darian stands and I continue pacing. It's fine, nothing happened. Nothing happened.

"By any chance... was anyone... you know when I was glowing... did anyone... touch me?" I finally manage to say. My mind is running a million miles per hour over this and I'm begging and begging that I am wrong.

I stop in my tracks and Darian is frozen to the spot. "Aelin and... me, I was touching you," Darian says cautiously and I let out a sigh of relief.

"You're not dead so it's fine... it must not have worked," I rake my fingers through my hair and try to make sense of this all.

A harsh knocking sounds at my door and Darian is stalking towards it before I can even take a breath. I hear them murmuring to each other and I step closer to hear what they are saying.