Page 19 of Moonlit Guardians
“How would it feel? I mean, how would you know when you need to break the connection?”
“The bond or hosting The Veil’s power?” he asks.
“Both, I guess.”
“I’ve already taught you how to draw on the energies and how to use the souls, but that was just a taste. The feeling that fills you when you step inside the Echoing Spire is amplified tenfold. It’s the sweetest drug and, yet, it instills a real fear within you,” Pyre says. “I trust you with this, Baron, but this must be handled delicately. If you allow the power to consumeyou, it will be far worse than anything you could ever imagine. An unmatched darkness with unspeakable power at your fingertips. There’s no greater power in this world than the power The Veil holds. And half the Guardianship will fall to you. As for our bond, not much should change.”
Pyre’s words hit me like a ton of bricks.
I have to believe I’m strong enough to stand beside Pyre and Eilish, as their equals. “I’m not Abedon or a god with power. I’ve been given the opportunity for ultimate power before and I turned my back on it. Everything has a price but I’m willing to pay this one if it means you live, Pyre.”
“Never have I known greater friendship.”
I can hear the sincerity in his voice and it takes me a moment to work up the courage to ask, “Not even with the woman you loved?”
Pyre shakes his head. “In the end, I was the one who made the sacrifices, not her. You and Eilish are the only ones who have ever given something so that I may live. For so long, my death has been something I’ve just accepted. But you’ve shown me I should have faith.”
“You should always believe in yourself.”
“I meant you, Baron,” he snorts. “I should have had faithin you. You vowed to rescue me from this prophecy and now I think we may have a way. You showed resilience when I was ready to bow to the will of the prophecy.”
“You would do it for me.”
“I would,” he admits. “But what about Eilish?”
“What about her?”
“Do you think she will truly accept me after knowing the soul within Aima is that of the woman I once loved?” He pauses for a moment. “If we go through with this, it will bond me to her and she to me. It will bond us as lovers.”
I shrug. “She accepts Theren. I don’t see why she wouldn’t accept you.” I grow concerned as Pyre shuffles uncomfortably. The necromancer is usually more confident in himself and this anxiety surprises me. “What is it?”
“The situation,” he answers. “I have not been with Eilish for as long as all of you have. I don’t wish to come between anything…”
“Listen,” I cut in. “We all love her. In our own fucked up ways, yeah, but we all love her. Eilish depends on you, Pyre. You aren’t getting in the way of anything. You’d be adding to it.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
CAMBION
Mercenary Stronghold
The sound of fighting in the barracks is soothing. It’s not real fighting, of course, just sparring. But the sounds are soothing, nonetheless. Scorching hot sunlight causes sweat to cling to my skin, but I don’t have perspiration pouring down my face like the other soldiers. My balance shifts and before I know what’s happening, Aima throws me to the ground, holding her sword to my throat.
I knock the blade aside with a frown and flip onto my feet, circling her like a predator. “That was a good one,” I offer.
“You’re not on your game,” she responds.
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
I chuckle. “Oh, and why do you think I’m not on my game?”
“Because you’re too much in your head.”
“Too much in my head about what?”
She glares right back at me. “You need to go talk to your brother,” she says as she sidesteps one of my attacks.
