I had spent my entire life devoted to the light, to the Sun God, and yet here I was, standing on the edge of something darker, something I didn’t understand.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to step away.
For a moment, time seemed to stop. The world around us faded into the background, the village, the trees, the sky—allof it melting away until there was nothing but Dario and me, standing on the precipice of something that felt too big, too dangerous, and too real.
His eyes flickered to my lips, and my breath hitched, my heart slamming against my ribs. The pull between us was undeniable now, a force that seemed to have a life of its own.
I could feel the heat rising in my chest, the fire of the Sun’s magic swirling with the dark energy that surrounded him, and I—
Dario’s owl hooted loudly, and the spell broke.
I stepped back. Just in time.
I inhaled sharply, my mind reeling as I forced myself to turn away from him, from whatever had just almost happened.
“We can’t—” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I know,” Dario said quietly, though there was a note of something like regret in his voice.
He didn’t try to close the distance again, didn’t push, but the air between us still thrummed with that same intensity.
We stood there, both of us caught in the aftermath of whatever had just passed between us, the night still heavy with unspoken tension.
But one thing was clear—we couldn’t ignore this pull forever.
And the thought of that terrified me more than anything else.
Chapter 12: Dario
The air was cool the next night as we moved through the village streets, the evening shadows stretching across the cobblestone pathways, blending easily with my own as I kept close to Elena.
The streets were filled with the sounds of a village at night—the pubs emptying, people fighting, night markets setting up their wares.
And through it all, a sense of hopelessness pervaded thevillage.
The people went about their business as usual, but their eyes were dead.
Through them all, Elena stood out, for she walked with purpose, her cloak pulled tightly around her to disguise the glow of her presence, the soft light that seemed to emanate from her even when she was trying to go unnoticed.
We walked in tandem without saying a word, but the silence between us was anything but empty. It was thick, weighted with the tension that had grown between us, a tension that had gone far beyond the simple clash of enemies.
I didn’t know how much longer I could bear it—the constant battle within myself, the urge to push her away and pull her closer at the same time.
I could still feel the weight of our almost-kiss from the night before, the magnetic pull of her lips toward mine. It had taken every ounce of willpower to step back, to deny what my body and soul had been screaming for.
What madness had come over me?
She was the embodiment of everything I had fought against, everything that had cursed me. She was the High Priestess of Solaris, the chosen vessel of the Sun God.
And yet, when I was near her, all I could feel was the tightening in my chest, the ache of something I hadn’t felt in so long—something dangerous.
It was wrong. All of it was wrong.
I pushed aside the inconvenient attraction simmering under my skin, the growing draw I felt whenever she was close.
It was nothing.
I was nothing to her but an ally, one that she’d likely discard once her precious city was secure again. I had her trust, shaky as it was, and I’d have to be satisfied with that.
