Eve was in the Inbetween. Of that, she was sure. She marched towards the open, marble space, determination in each step. She would not come back here again. But first, she would confront the man who stalked her nightmares.
She stepped into the bright space and the sound of someone clapping echoed off the walls, the ceiling, the pyramid.
"You purged a black guard," Althian said, standing at the base of the pyramid.
She was surprised at the sight of him. For once he looked like no one she had ever seen. Nothing about him was like another. His dark hair was slicked back and braided down the column of his spine. His face was strong and all sharp angles. His eyes were dark under thick brows. His skin – a few shades lighter than Eve's – was smooth yet muscled, disappearing under a strange set of navy robes that fell to the floor. They looked almost like the ceremonial robes sometimes worn by the wealthy back on the Isle, but there was something different about them. And he towered above her, as if he had a new, reinvigorated strength.
"Your blood," he said, hands clasped behind him, "is singing. Charged by the stars."
"I'm not coming here again," she said, her voice hard. "I just wanted to tell you that before I leave."
A corner of his mouth shifted upwards. "I won't be here, even if you did come back. I called you here to ask something of you."
"This is a dream. Or a nightmare. Either way, I'm not going to do you a favour."
His half-smile didn't falter. "Do not go to the Isle of Light, Eve. Nothing but suffering awaits you there."
The words were somehow familiar. But she brushed them aside, ignoring them.
"Stay here," he said, his voice firm but gentle. "Stay here and I can give you a world you could only dream of. Freedom for our people. More than freedom. With you... With you by my side we could have everything. Our power alone is unending. Together, it could be infinite. We are two halves of a whole. Light and dark. Balance. Stay with me."
He held out his hand, offering it to her. She stared at it. Stared at it until it lowered to his side. He sighed and smiled again, although there was something unsettling about the way he bared his teeth, like a feral dog giving a warning.
"May whatever luck protects you run out. Soon."
She stepped back,something like dread knotting in her stomach. But she squared her shoulders.She turned around. She left the Inbetween and the Underneath behind. And shecast Althian from her mind at last.
YOU ARE READING
A Dark and Starless Night
Fantasy***true first draft*** CW: physical violence and some scenes with potentially graphic violence, mentions of SW, depression A story of death and darkness. Magic and murder. Evelyn Mintarryl - duchess by adoption - has spent nearly eight years adaptin...
