I had told myself I would snare her with my shadows and then leave her. That she could wander until the wards ground her down to nothing, or until her Paladins risked their lives again to reach her.
But after our conversation, I had to return.
My curse ensured I was bound to darkness, but it seemed now I was tethered to something more dangerous: curiosity.
I found her where the moonlight broke faintly through the canopy. She had not run. That surprised me. Many would have tried to flee blindly, even knowing my wards would twist the paths into endless circles. Instead, she sat with her back againstan ancient oak, robes muddied, her hair wild, her chin lifted as if daring the night to test her.
When her eyes found mine, she did not cower. “You’re back,” she said, voice clipped with anger, though there was a trace of something else beneath. Relief, perhaps.
I let the shadows peel away from me, revealing myself. “And you are still here. I half-expected you to throw yourself against the wards until your magic bled dry.”
Her jaw tightened. “I did not waste my strength on futility.”
Ah. So she had tried, then. I could taste the faint scorch marks of her light against my boundaries. Brave, but pointless.
“You ask why I do this,” I said, stepping closer. “Why I pulled you from your Paladins. Why I keep you here. What I want.”
Her eyes narrowed, molten gold in the dim light. “Yes. Tell me.”
I could have spoken of vengeance. Of weariness. Of the lonely centuries gnawing at me until I no longer remembered the timbre of my own laughter. Instead, I heard myself say, “I want answers. And I think you want them too.”
She laughed once; bitter, disbelieving. “Answers? I know enough. You harm my people and call itnecessary. You are the monster that stalks our borders.”
Her accusations struck like arrows, each barbed with certainty. My temper flared before I could stop it. “I told you once already; I have never harmed a child.” The words came out a growl, harsher than I intended.
Her eyes flickered. Perhaps she had not expected the vehemence. Yet her lips curled. “Growl if you like. It will not frighten me.”
Foolish, fierce woman. She did not know she had already wounded me more deeply than fear could.
I forced calm into my voice. “Your city spreads lies. I have been hunted for a century, painted as a beast to justify theendless crusade against me. Tell me, High Priestess, have you ever once witnessed with your own eyes what you condemn me for?”
Her silence answered for her. No. She had only heard stories.
I went on, pressing my advantage. “You and I both know Solaris is not as stainless as its gold-plated towers. Your Elders lock away that shining plateau, blind to the world they scorn. Ask yourself, Elena: who benefits from blaming the monster in the woods for every ill?”
She sprang to her feet, glaring at me. “You expect me to believeyou?” she spat. Yet her voice shook faintly.
“I expect you to see what lies before your eyes,” I said quietly. “The truth festers at the heart of your city. If you and I remain enemies, it will stay hidden forever. If we join… perhaps we may unearth it.”
The word hung in the air between us: join.
Her fury hardened again. “You think I would ally with you? With the very creature I swore to destroy?”
I did not flinch. “You swore to destroy a monster. And I am not one.”
She stepped closer, close enough that I could see the fine tremble in her fingers though her voice stayed strong. “I do not trust you.”
“Nor I you,” I answered without hesitation. “But neither of us can win this fight. I cannot escape the wards. You cannot pierce them. Alone, we circle each other until eternity rots. Together, we might find the truth.”
The silence grew taut.
Finally, she hissed, “What do you propose?”
I extended my hand. A foolish gesture, perhaps. Mortal, almost laughably human. But symbolic acts hold power even when oaths mean nothing. “A truce. Nothing more, nothing less. While this accord holds, neither of us strikes at the other. Weseek answers instead of blood.”
Her eyes locked on my hand as if it were a serpent poised to bite. Her lips parted, then pressed together again. I could almost hear the storm in her mind.
“What assurance do I have that you won’t betray me?” she demanded.
