Page 43 of Secrets of Avalon
We pass through the doorway, the heavy wooden doors slamming shut behind us with a resounding thud. The sound echoes through the empty corridor.
Fenrir shrugs off my grip, his shoulders heaving with each labored breath. Wraith places a steadying hand on his back.
"This can’t continue like this," Ares growls, his eyes flashing dangerously in the dim light of the hallway. His voice is a low rumble. "They can't keep us leashed forever."
I nod, my own anger feeding on his energy and simmering just beneath the surface. The frustration claws at my insides, threatening to spill over. "No, they can't. But we have to be smart about this. We can't afford to make any rash moves, not with so much at stake."
“Easy for you to say that” Ares says, his voice sharp and biting. “You’ve got your mate here.”
“It’s not like you can have her,” Fenrir whirls on him, his eyes blazing.
“I wasn’t angling for his woman. I’m just saying–” Ares starts, his tone defensive.
“Easier?” I rub my hands over the scruff on my face in disbelief, the rough texture grounding me in the moment, I’m so emotionally exhausted from holding myself together in front of the council. “That she’s here. Yes. But how about the constant fear that the council will find a way to take her away? The fact that she’s emotionally bonded to a fucking Drakonii? The fact that she can’t control her magick and it makes people sick? The fact that when I kissed her she pulled away and tried to run? Or the fact that I’m going insane being more than five feet away from her?”
Ares snorts out a laugh, the sound bitter and hollow in the cold corridor. “Well, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound quite as nice as I imagined.”
Boaz sighs heavily, rubbing his hands together, the fatigue evident in his movements. "Hawke is right, though. We need to bide our time, gather our strength, and be careful. If the council notices our struggle, they’ll call for our heads."
A soft round of agreement rumbles from each of the men.
I thought I had it worse with my feral nature coming out to play from time to time. Now I can see I might be in better shape than everyone else. Although I haven't seen Wraith lose his control yet. So maybe he's doing better than the rest of us. He hasn't been here overnight yet, so we'll see.
In the meantime, I need to get back to Melinda. She's been away from me for too long already. The separation hurts all the way into my bones.
Episode 7
CHAPTER 19
Darkness Is Coming
Melinda Mayweather
I can barely breathe. The implications of what she's saying... Hawke will die without me? The thought is both terrifying and exhilarating, a twisted knot of emotions that threatens to unravel me completely.
“How?” I ask. “How is that possible?’
The revelation that I carry a piece of Hawke's soul sends a shockwave through my entire being. A part of me is elated, thrilled at the idea of being so intimately connected to him. But another part, the part that has lived with the curse of my magic for so long, is terrified. How can I be Hawke's savior when I'm the one who brings destruction to everyone I love? I can’t be both the hero and the villain.
Kellan's body is tense, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. He steps forward, placing himself between me and Nimue, a living shield against the Siren's presence. "You speak in riddles, Nimue. Say the truth as you know it," he demands, his voice a low growl.
Note to self. Never get on Kellan’s bad side. I lean to the right, peering around his massive body.
Nimue meets his gaze unflinchingly, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Exactly what I said, Kellan. Hawke and Melinda are bound by a force greater than either of them can comprehend. They are meant to be together, and without her, he will succumb to the darkness that threatens to consume him."
My breath catches in my throat, and my heart pounds so hard it feels like it might burst from my chest. An icy shock races down my spine, my skin prickling with a mix of fear and disbelief. My stomach churns, a knot of anxiety tightening as Nimue's words sink in.
“What darkness?” he asks the question hanging on the tip of my lips.
“A piece of his soul has been missing for over five hundred years. You can only survive broken like that for so long,” Nimue answers, her tone solemn.
"What happens to someone who's missing a piece of their soul?" I ask, my voice trembling.
Nimue's gaze softens as she looks at me. "It's like a wound that never heals. Over time, it festers, eating away at the person from the inside out. They become a shell of who they once were, consumed by a darkness that can never be chased away.”
My chest clenches at the thought of Hawke enduring such pain, such emptiness. "And me being with him... it can stop that from happening?"
"Your presence, your connection, it's like a balm to his wounded soul," Nimue explains. "You are the missing piece, Melinda. Without you, the darkness will continue to grow until it devours him completely. He’ll go feral."