Page 45 of Unseen Lord

"I know what you are, Hunter," she says.

"Huh. It's actually Watcher now, so your knowledge is dated."

"I know the power you possess," she says, unaffected by my charming wit. "I can train you, Unseen Lord. Teach you the power of Shadow. Stay here, and you can master your abilities."

"I can't," I say, though I won't deny the pull. To learn what I can do, that would be something. I feel more growing in me, but I don't know how to tap into it. "I have people relying on me." A whole shit ton. Like all the people in the Nine freaking Worlds.

Marasphyr frowns, her eyes going distant. "I was once gifted with the power of sight. I have seen the future. If you leave, Unseen Lord, things will not end well."

Well, damn. That's not the kind of news a warrior likes to hear just before battle. "I have to try," I say.

"Very well," she says. "The choice has to be yours." She waves and the water around the sword disappears.

Something seems off about it though, now that it's not obscured by water. I peer more closely and shoot an accusing glass at Marasphyr. I grab the sword with two hands, pulling it from the light. "It's broken," I say, holding two pieces of one sword. "I thought the steel was indestructible."

Marasphyr shrugs.

"This is how it was before I came."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a broken sword?" I ask, totally deflated.

"I told you I would give you the sword. I never told you it would be in one piece."

Chapter 12

Iris

We arrive backat the caves, broken sword in hand, feeling all kinds of pissed off. And the news gets worse from there.

Kayla pulls me aside. "I have some bad news," she says.

I raise an eyebrow at that. "More? I'm good. All full up on bad news today."

"The little girl you saved, Lala?"

My heart thumps hard against my ribs. "Yeah? What about her."

Don't say it. Don't freaking say it.

"I'm so sorry to tell you this, but she died a few minutes ago from injuries sustained during the storm."

She freaking said it. And everything in me burns. "Take me to her."

Without a word, Kayla walks through the cavern and down one of the paths that leads to smaller alcove. Elias follows us, his eyes shadowed. And there, before a fire, lay Lala, a blanket over her, her eyes closed, her face at peace, as her parents cry over her. When they see me, they beckon me in.

"You gave us more time with her," the mother says. "We will always be grateful for that."

"It wasn't enough," I choke out, as I drop to the ground next to the girl.

The fire burning in me is stoked by pain, by rage, by my own feelings of being let down. "I should be able to do something," I say through tears pouring down my face. "I'm the Unseen Lord. I can return from the dead, over and over. I should be able to do something!"

Elias puts a hand on my shoulder but it's Kayla who speaks. "Your brother had the power to bring others back. You have the power to bring yourself back. I'm so sorry."

"No. There's something more in me. I can feel it." I've been feeling it, for some time now I realize. Which is why it tempted me, for a moment, Marasphyr's offer. There is more I can learn. More I can do. And I don't know how to teach myself.

I place my hand over the child's heart, and I pour everything I have into her. My hand glows and that magic reaches into her body, lighting her up.

For a moment I feel hope. Can I do it? Can I bring her back from the dead?