Sinister Secrets

There's Darkness Within You

"Mate?" I said, my voice fumbling along the small word with such a big impact.

"Mate." The witch nodded.

I glanced back at the Dark Lord. "And you knew this?"

He watched me. "It's not definitive. Only if we act upon it. Just because we're mates doesn't mean we have to be together."

I stared at him, my brows knitting together. "What a wonderful thing for you to say."

He held up a hand. "That's not what I meant."

I shook my head as I turned back to the witch. "What else?"

The witch stared down at the cards and then lifted her eyes to the Dark Lord.

"You told the Dark Lord you had a message for me. What's the message?"

She slid her eyes to me. "Your friend isn't dead."

My heart slammed into my chest as I stared at her. Understanding sank into my body as I realized what she was saying. 

"What?" I asked her as tears filled my eyes.

"The friend you worried had died is not dead. Not yet."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, but she's alive and she can be saved. I see two very different outcomes and if you do things the right way, she will live."

"What do I have to do? Who has her? She wouldn't just not... she wouldn't disappear like that."

She flicked her eyes to the Dark Lord. "Stay with him. Whether you choose to hide the Ouroboros or absorb it's powers. The Dark Lord is the way to saving your friend."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Good luck, Auden of The Wall."

I turned back for the beads. I don't know what all I was feeling, but anger and frustration was among them. I paused just alongside the beads and turned back to the Dark Lord who was waiting to see what I did.

He lifted a brow to question my pause.

I gestured to the beads. "I don't have a weapon or powers and if that thing is still out there, I'm sure there's an even greater chance that I won't be absorbing any powers."

He blinked and then slid his eyes to Ezra before heading towards the beads with Ezra in tow. He stepped in front of me, moving his body around the beads and holding them open for me to follow. What a gentleman. I wanted to roll eyes, but didn't. Ezra flanked me, acting as a shield from anything that would try to attack me from behind. I kept my head down as we moved through the cave. There was so much information to absorb. So much to sift through and study. We made it through the caverns with ease, no creature in sight. We moved past the waterfall and back toward the direction we'd come. I stared out at that lit area in the distance as we walked. 

"Is that the Land of the Light?" I asked. "Or is that a Dawner quadrant?"

Ezra followed my gaze. "That's the Light."

The Dark Lord and Ezra shared a look before Ezra drifted off into smoke. I watched him go, waiting for a moment before finally turning my gaze onto the Dark Lord.

He held a hand out for me and I stared at his outstretched hand for before taking it. He guided me to his chest pausing briefly with soft eyes on me before he wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes tightly, letting the smoke curl around us and then disappearing from the caverns.