The Glow Beneath the Shadows

Summary/Recap:
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Giada never meant to fall in love with someone who defied heaven and hell. But then again, she never meant to wield dark magic, either.

At twenty, she was the quiet girl in the back of every lecture hall, with green-and-blue hair that shimmered like ocean tides and mismatched eyes-one deep forest green, the other violet like dusk. Most kept their distance. Whispers followed her everywhere: Witch, curse-born, stay away. No one understood that her magic, though dark, had saved more lives than it had harmed.

Then there was Xyros.

Twenty-two, dark-skinned, lean-muscled, and half-celestial by birthright, Xyros had the kind of presence that made silence seem comfortable. One of his eyes-milky white and unseeing-was the result of a battle he never spoke about. The other, black and knowing, missed nothing. He had the kind of sarcasm that left you thinking, Wait, was that a compliment? and the kind of gentleness that could only come from someone who'd seen the world burn and still chose to hold it tenderly.

They met by accident. Or fate. Or maybe the universe just got tired of keeping kindred souls apart.

Now they were married. And they had Nyxi.

Nyxi was five, and no one-not even the Ancients-knew quite what she was destined to become. Her hair was wild and beautiful, green fading to violet like dusk slipping into midnight. Her skin was a flawless blend of her parents', a harmony of shadows and light. One eye was as dark as a starless sky. The other glowed with the soft, amethyst shine of promise.

And she was powerful. Far too powerful for five.