“What else is there to say?” she replied, her voice trembling. “These Darklings want me dead, and they will stop at nothing until they get the job done. And I don’t want to die, Tristan. I don’t. I enjoy living too much…”
“You’re afraid,” I murmured, without letting go of her hand. She didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m afraid, yes. And I am tired. I don’t understand why they picked me, out of all the Aeternae in this world. Why me? Do I not deserve a chance at a long and happy life? Do I not deserve a shred of happiness and the opportunity to stop the Black Fever before it claims more lives?”
I moved closer, the distance between us shrinking, the air thickening with emotion. “They’re a cult, Valaine. Their motivations are skewed. It is no use asking for an explanation from these people. But I promise you, we will not let them win.”
“Easy to say…”
“Yet doable,” I replied, smiling gently. “I’ve been here for what, a week? A little more than that?” She nodded once, peering into my very soul with those beautiful black eyes. “They’ve tried to kill you three times, and we stopped them. We will keep fighting until we take down their ringleaders.”
Esme had told me about Trev and his Darkling infiltration, having asked me not to share it with anyone—not even Valaine. But I could no longer hold the information from her. I needed her to have a little bit of hope. Clearly, she didn’t have faith in her father’s armed forces, not that I could blame her. The Darklings had infiltrated every layer of Visio’s society, and they were even working with the Red Threads, unbeknownst to the lower-level grunts.
Valaine needed some encouragement, and the thought of Trev Blayne soon leading us to the Darklings’ ringleaders easily counted at such.
“You should know… Trev has likely infiltrated the Darklings by now,” I said, careful in my choice of words as I analyzed her expression. It morphed from dismay to sheer surprise in a matter of seconds. But there was also hope. I could see it in her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Valaine asked, her voice suddenly low.
“Kalon turned him, as his award for winning the Blood Arena tournament,” I replied. “Trev has been forging ties with the Red Threads, and he got one of their leaders to put him in touch with the Darklings. Now that he’s an Aeternae, he wants to pretend to join them.”
A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind—it was all there on her face, as her gaze wandered across the street and all over me. “Kalon didn’t tell me any of this. How did you learn?”
“Esme. She was with Kalon when they spoke to Trev about all this,” I said. “I’m sorry… I should’ve told you sooner, but I was asked to keep quiet. I deeply regret it.”
“Kalon should’ve told me,” Valaine murmured, her brows drawn in an angry frown. “I cannot fault you for this, though I would’ve appreciated the information sooner. Ideally before wasting my time asking the Red Threads about their leaders, when Trev was already talking to them. But I cannot be mad at you. I’ll kick Kalon’s ass, for sure.”
“I think they didn’t want you to know so you would do the interrogations, nonetheless,” I said after a long and heavy pause. “Otherwise, the Red Threads might’ve caught on that we were up to something.”
“I’ll still kick Kalon’s ass, if that’s what you’re trying to avoid,” Valaine replied dryly. “How did Trev get mixed up in all of this?”
I told her about him following my sister and Kalon the other day, along with the rest of their discussion, including Luna, Kalon’s dead cousin and the reason behind Trev’s determination to sink the Darklings, once and for all.
Valaine scoffed, shaking her head slowly. “I should’ve realized this myself. Trev was so in love with Luna. It almost killed him when she died. It took Kalon and me months to get him out of the house again. At least now we know why they killed her. Why they’re trying to kill me.” She paused, then looked at me. “So, he’s going for the leader of the Darklings.”
I nodded. “And he’s going to send us a message with all the Red Thread leaders’ names once he’s made it inside the Darklings. He didn’t want to risk getting himself exposed by serving them up to the Aeternae too soon.”
“That makes sense. Dammit, I wish Kalon had told me.”
“You seem to hold Lord Visentis to a higher standard than me. Why is that?” I asked, ever so slightly offended, when I felt so awful for having kept this from her, to begin with.
Valaine gave me a warm smile, bringing a hand up to cup my face. “You’re still new here, Tristan. And, to be honest, I find it impossible to ever be upset with you, regardless of the reason. Kalon, on the other hand… We go way back. He’s like a brother to me. He should’ve told me. It was his operation, his friend infiltrating the Darklings, his duty to tell me.”
Her response was so ample, so multifaceted, that I didn’t immediately catch on to the first part about me. When the words came through, and I understood what Valaine was telling me, a peculiar heat expanded inside my chest, hugging my heart and tightening its grip on my throat as I looked at her.
“You don’t think you’d ever be upset with me?” I asked. “I find that hard to believe. I am perfectly capable of doing things stupid or reckless enough to annoy you.”
The touch of her hand sent ripples through my skin, and when she tried to pull back, I caught it, keeping it as a warm frame for my cheek. Her gaze softened, and for a moment, only the two of us were left in this world.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Valaine replied, slightly amused. “I get that enough from Kalon. My brother from another mother.”
She made me laugh, maybe a little too hard, but it was enough to break the last layer of tension left between us. Valaine threw her arms around me in a long hug, and I had no choice but to lose myself in this embrace.
“Thank you, Tristan,” she whispered in my ear.
Her heart thudded against mine. I wanted this moment to last forever, so I could never be without her scent tickling my senses—night-queen and lily blossoms…
“For what?” I asked, closing my eyes for a moment.
“For giving me a reason to keep pushing. For being truthful and kind. For being you. Frankly, it’s refreshing in this day and age,” she replied.
There wasn’t much else I could say to her, so I settled for holding her close, welcoming her affection, and hoping I’d done enough to lift her spirits. It killed me to see Valaine sad. It was as if her emotions echoed all around, infecting those in her vicinity—including myself.
I, for one, preferred her smiling and determined to keep fighting. She was infinitely more beautiful that way, both inside and out. And if the Darklings were still trying to kill her, they would have to go through me first.
Esme
It was midnight, and Kalon and I were due to meet with Trev outside the palace, on a small and narrow side street. He’d managed to send a message to Kalon, advising him on his success in infiltrating the lower circles of the Darklings. They had accepted his candidacy, not at all surprised that a former Rimian was interested in joining their ranks. They only recruited Aeternae, yet many Naloreans and Rimians had tried to enter, thinking it was a good opportunity to throw a wrench into the empire’s wheels—little did they know that the Darklings weren’t anarchists at all…
We settled in the darkness, away from the solitary streetlamp flickering at the corner of the street. The local residents were likely sleeping, their shutters pulled and the lights out. I listened carefully, counting the jingling steps of nearby gold guards that patrolled around the palace. They couldn’t see us from the main alley.
I’d had some time to think about everything, and I had come to believe that I could not let Trev do any of this alone anymore. Kalon didn’t know about our invisibility potion, and the crew and I had agreed to keep it to ourselves—our safety hatch, in case anything went wrong.
“How are the white-haired twins coming along?” Kalon asked, drawing me from my deep thoughts. He stood close to me, one shoulder leaning against the wall of a house. “I still can’t get over how identical they look. The mirror image of one another. Gorgeous, but spooky.”
I smiled. “They’re getting there. I think we’ll get something soon on both fronts. Today, they were rushing around from one study room to another. I’ve got a feeling they’re about to make a breakthrough. Frankly, I’m just glad the Lord and Lady Supreme allowed Amane to come over. Amal is brilliant, but together they’re unstoppable.”
“I hope so. We’re coming up to ten infected Aeternae now,” Kalon said darkly, his brow furrowed. He’d lost his father to the disease, so I could only imagine how he was feeling about all this.
