My heart urged me to lash out, and I did.
I turned to face him again, my eyes narrowing. “And what about you? You’ve been hiding in the shadows for years, never caring about these people until I came for you. You’re no better than the Elders.”
Dario’s jaw tightened, a flicker of something dangerous passing over his face. “I never claimed to be better,” he said, his voice low, the calm veneer cracking slightly. “But I’ve never lied to you, Elena. Not about what I am, or why I’m doing this.”
The raw honesty in his voice caught me off guard, and for a moment, I was at a loss for words. I could feel the intensity of his gaze, the weight of everything that had passed between us since we struck our uneasy truce.
There was no denying that Dario was dangerous—he was theShadow King, after all, a creature cursed by the night itself. But there was something else beneath that darkness, something I hadn’t expected.
Vulnerability.
I took a step back. The air between us crackled with unspoken tension, the shadows around us seeming to swirl and shift in response to the unsteady rhythm of my heart.
My breath caught in my throat, and for the briefest moment, I saw something raw and unguarded in his expression.
I shook my head, trying to push the growing storm of emotions away. “We have achieved nothing today,” I said, my voice firmer now. “We still don’t know who’s behind these disappearances. You claimed it was the Elders, but we still have no proof. I cannot turn against my people forthis.”
Dario’s lips twisted into a bitter smile, though there was no real amusement in it. “I’m not trying to turn you against anyone, Elena. I’m trying to show you the truth.”
“And what truth is that?” I demanded, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “That everything I’ve believed in, everything I’ve fought for, has been a lie?”
He held my gaze, unflinching. “Yes.”
The simple, stark truth of that word made my stomach churn. I wanted to fight him, to tell him he was wrong, but deep down, I knew there was truth in what he said.
I had seen it with my own eyes tonight.
But even as the weight of it all pressed down on me, I felt Dario’s presence beside me, solid and steady. He had his own reasons for what he was doing, but in that moment, I realized that he wasn’t my enemy. Not anymore.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I admitted, my voice cracking slightly as I looked away from him, my gaze falling to the cracked earth beneath my feet. “I thought I knew my purpose. I thought I was doing what was right, but now...”
I trailed off, unsure of how to finish that thought. How could I admit that everything I had built my life on was crumbling before me?
Dario stepped closer, his voice soft but unyielding. “You’re still doing what’s right, Elena. You’re questioning the truth. You’re seeing the world for what it really is, not what you’ve been told it is. That’s what makes you strong.”
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat growing tighter as his words hit home. It wasn’t comfort, exactly, but there was a strange sense of reassurance in what he said. Even in the darkness, I could still fight for the light. I could still find the truth.
The silence after his words felt heavier than the night itself. I turned sharply, forcing my gaze back to the boy’s door. The wood looked so frail, its hinges crooked, the frame warped by years of neglect and drought. It would not keep out a determined thief, let alone a mage. Yet behind that fragile barrier a child slept, clutching false promises to his chest as though they were lifelines.
And here I stood—High Priestess of Solaris—watching, waiting, doing nothing.
I pulled my cloak tighter around myself, trying to suppress the shiver that wasn’t born of the night air. The urge to move, to act, burned in my veins. I wanted to march to that door, wake the boy, and tell him the truth before it was too late. But Dario’s quiet presence beside me held me still. His logic gnawed at me because I knew he was right: if we frightened the mage too soon, the thread would snap, and we’d lose the trail.
Still, that didn’t ease the ache in my chest.
“I hate this,” I whispered, barely daring to let the words slip past my lips.
A low sound stirred beside me. “Waiting?” Dario’s voice was like velvet woven with steel, soft but edged. “Or feelingpowerless?”
I turned to glare at him, but the shadows cloaked his face, leaving only the faint gleam of his eyes visible. “Both.”
He didn’t laugh, didn’t mock me the way I half-expected. Instead, he leaned against the rough trunk of the tree that sheltered us, folding his arms with a strange, deliberate grace. “Patience is a blade, Elena. You sharpen it or it cuts you.”
“That sounds like something Nyx would say.” My tone was sharp, but inside, my heart jolted.
His head tilted slightly. “And you think your god of sunlight prefers reckless bravery over strategy?”
“My god,” I shot back, “values protecting the innocent above all else.”
