Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

H ow badly I want to take it.

How badly I was drawn to this crown when I first saw it on the keeper's head in that black-marbled place that he said belonged in a throne room.

But…

I didn't.

I didn't take .

When I met the keeper for the first time, instead of wresting the power from him, I gave .

I gave my heart instead.

I recognized that he'd been caged, just like I had been. I yearned for family and belonging, just as he must have.

And after that, just like he said, no matter what he put in front of me, I chose hope.

Because my mother taught me to believe that even dark creatures are worthy of love.

She may not have been able to tell me about her history, but she gave me what I needed.

If I take this crown, the keeper will die.

If I claim this terrible power, he will cease to exist. He will never have his vengeance. And my own will be empty.

There will be an empty space in my life because he is not filling it.

He… with all his complexity and lies and betrayal… he fills a place in my dark heart that I need filled.

So I retract my claws and withdraw my hand and fuss a little around his blanket, taking a moment to check his wounds.

He has stopped bleeding. The wounds are still open. But there are hints of healing.

Oh, my heart. The damage it can do to him.

Unless I can heal it fully…

There must be a way to mend the breaks.

Now that I have the answers I sought—or at the least the most pressing ones—I will find a way.

I have to believe that by mending my own heart, I can fix this.

Resolutely, I pull the fur blanket back up across his hand, covering the ring and pressing the material firmly over it.

I put away my fears and doubts because I realize what else my mother might have wanted me to know.

I speak aloud, a declaration I want my pack to hear. "There's a difference between darkness and evil."

I want Halle and her people to hear it, too, because it means everything.

I exhale every frightening thought I've had since I opened the door into this snowy place. No, even before that, the fears I carried when I stepped into Veritas, when I tore through the apple orchard, and even earlier, when I ripped apart The Book of Dark Magic .

All of my confusion vanishes.

With it, the friction around me vanishes, as if my pack had been reflecting my agitation and can now reflect my calmness.

Anarchy nudges my arm with hers. Across the fire, Lucian gives me a nod. The three dark elf brothers give me varying smiles. A serious smile from Riot, a mischievous grin from Strife, and a chin tip from Rumble.

To Halle, I say, with a certainty I feel at the heart of my very being, "I left my cage seeking vengeance, and that is what I will have. Vengeance for all of us."

I cast my gaze around my pack, these dark beings who have chosen to stand at my side, and then I focus on the keeper, whose motivations are far more complex than I could ever have imagined.

I will have vengeance for my brother against the gargoyles. Vengeance for me against my father. And for the keeper…

Somehow… Somehow , I will have vengeance for him, too.

With that resolve, and maybe it is only wishful thinking on my part, I sense the rhythm of the keeper's heart becoming stronger.

"First, I need to rest," I say. "I need food?—"

My stomach chooses that moment to make its unhappiness known with a low growl.

"And I need sleep," I continue, accepting my exhaustion, both emotional and physical.

"And then?" Halle asks.

"Then I'm going to see your brother," I say.

She stares at me in surprise. Then her eyes narrow. "To ask for information or to kill him?"

"Not to kill him," I say.

"A shame." She huffs before she glares daggers at Jonah. "Well. Good luck finding him."

Ignoring the jotunn, who is eyeing me cautiously, I give Halle a smug smile. "I already know where he is. He's with Elijah's mother."

Halle's eyes widen, her dead iris flaring with amber light. "On Mount Greylock? No, surely not. He would never be so foolish as to venture there."

I resist the urge to glance at Jonah, maintaining a deadpan expression as I return Halle's shocked gaze. I don't know exactly where Mount Greylock is located, but I'm sure my pack will help me.

" You certainly can't go there," Halle says, staring back at me. "That's a very bad idea."

I'm not sure why she's suddenly so worried until Anarchy leans in toward me. "Mount Greylock is a dangerous place to visit."

"As dangerous as Saber Lane," Lucian says, his golden eyes filled with a worry I can't ignore.

"Saber Lane?" I ask.

"Assassin territory," Lucian replies. "Mount Greylock is under the protection of the Assassin's Legion."

Hmm. That isn't happy news. Mom warned me about the Assassin's Legion. Their base is hidden in Boston and she told me to do everything I could to avoid them.

Riot speaks up, his voice as serious as always, but there's a depth of concern in his tone that, like Lucian's worry, I can't ignore. "If the same women who controlled Mount Greylock before we were imprisoned do now, then they don't need protection."

"I saw one of those women when we took Elijah to safety," Anarchy says. "I'm glad we kept our distance. Even the keeper was on edge around her."

"Who are they?" I ask, intensely curious now.

The four dark elves speak in unison. "Furies."

Oh . Fuck .

Riot elaborates. "We don't know much about the current state of affairs because of how long we were caged. But Mount Greylock has been their stronghold for millennia. You don't go there unless you have a death wish."

If the women who control Mount Greylock are furies, then he isn't exaggerating. My mother was clear about them: Furies are vengeance incarnate.

But in some ways, that only feels more fitting to me.

It's their nature to see inside a supernatural's soul and identify every awful thing that supernatural has ever done—and then deliver terrible retribution for it.

I quickly recall what my mother told me about their abilities. They're self-healing, they have the power to inflict pain and disease, they carry whips that can flay the flesh from my bones even more effectively than light magic, and they wear multiple poisonous snakes around their bodies.

They usually live in threes, which triples the danger.

Anarchy chews her lip, revealing the sharp fangs she can use to immobilize prey. "You're strong, Darkness. But furies are built to take down any supernatural, no matter their strength. They are unique in that way."

"Judge, jury, and executioner," Lucian says. "They're a contradiction—dark creatures who kill dark creatures."

I consider my pack one at a time. Each of their concerned faces.

Oh, if only creatures of the light could see the extent that dark creatures can feel . Just how much we worry and care.

"You can't come with me," I say to them. "Not to a furies' nest. Even if you could, I would ask you to stay here and watch over the keeper."

"No, Darkness," Anarchy whispers. "There must be another path. If you need information about your father's operations, there must be another way to get it."

"There isn't. My mother had a wealth of knowledge, but that information is over twenty years old. Taiven didn't share the inner workings of his empire with anyone but his generals—correct, Lucian?"

My brother nods, although it's a reluctant movement.

"And Halle's knowledge is as dated as my mother's," I say, which leaves only her brother.

"What about Jonah?" Anarchy persists, turning to the jotunn.

He shakes his head. "Veda is right. Only James can predict what Taiven will do next."

"But the furies?—"

I reach for Anarchy's hand before she can continue. "They will only harm me if I deserve harm." I pin her with a determined look. "If that means they say I deserve death, then I fucking deserve death."