Storm sniffed, her eyes falling to her hands as she pulled in a shaky breath. Nightmare stepped up beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you for that, Remy,” Nightmare said, his voice softer than air.
“Are you all blood-related?” I asked, biting my lip.
Nightmare shook his head. “We are siblings because we’ve been together for so long. We are family.”
“I see,” I said, my eyes shifting to the harsh footsteps outside the front door.
It opened abruptly, the door slamming against the wall. Darkness took two big steps inside and pointed at the door, his eyes locking with Nightmare’s gaze.
“I do not appreciate being deceived,” Darkness roared, his voice rumbling with fury. “And like a complete idiot, I had genuine concern for your wellbeing. I should have known better when it came to you.”
“Brother, we had to do it,” Nightmare said, gesturing toward me. “We needed her to see. She is Balance reborn just as we thought.”
Darkness’s shoulders rose and fell with his rapid breaths. “It was not your place.”
“She accepted,” Storm said softly as she hugged herself.
Darkness glared at the both of them for a long moment before turning to me. “Leave us.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
After they’d left, Darkness sat down beside me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. “Tell me what happened.”
I told him everything from the moment he’d left the house until the minute he got back in vivid detail. He stared at the wall as I told him about meeting his sister.
“She’s well then?” Darkness asked.
I nodded. “She seemed very happy.”
“So, you’ve truly accepted who you are?” Darkness asked.
“Nightmare and Storm seem to think I have, but like I didn’t declare anything out loud or even to myself,” I replied with a sigh. “I don’t really know what I should do. If I accept, does that mean I will never see my aunt again?”
Darkness kissed the top of my head as his fingers lightly caressed my shoulder. “I honestly don’t know what would happen. This is the first time in my existence of someone being reborn like this.”
“What about you?” I asked, my voice trembling with uncertainty. I was afraid to hear the answer.
Darkness tilted his head, his gaze locking onto mine. “What exactly are you asking me?”
“Your life before the Between… did you ever go back to it?” I pressed reluctantly.
Darkness shook his head, the depth of sorrow filling his eyes. “I never sought to return. There was nothing left for me in that world. I believe that has been the case for all of us here.”
“I won’t leave my aunt all alone.”
“Not even to save the entire world? Including her life?” Darkness asked with an arched brow.
I met his eyes. “She is my world.”
“Well,” Darkness said, getting to his feet. “I suppose I should have the other artifacts collected. There is a lot of work that must be done.”
“Who has them?” I asked.
“They are locked in a safe place with my brother, Honor.”
I folded my hands together. “Of course they are.”
“What do we do once they are all together?” I asked, with a quick breath as I stood in front of him. “It’ll just stop? Won’t having them all in the same place be risky?”
“Hm,” Darkness said, tapping his finger to his chin. “Perhaps. Or maybe they will all bind to you in the same way the medallion has.”
I frowned as my eyes shifted to the medallion. “I don’t think I should have them all. Are we even ready for all this?”
“We have no choice but to be ready.”
“Maybe you need more rest. Nightmare and Storm too.”
Darkness nodded. “Yes. Possible.”
“I wish we had a better idea of how to stop the war,” I said, my shoulders dropping as if weights had been placed on top of them.
“I’ll let everyone know to rest up, and then we will attempt getting the artifacts together like The Oracle envisioned,” Darkness said, shaking his head. “I think we must try. I will introduce you to my brother, Honor.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
