Daughter of Dusk

I search for any semblance of a hidden passageway in my small room, but after accepting that nothing is here, I turn my attention back to my books, soaking in as much information as I can with my newfound determination. At least, until I can get back to Kera to search for more answers about my mother. Soren did say he’d find a way to get me out of here, but when that will be, I can’t say.

As terrifying as the notion of compelling is, part of me finds it fascinating. From the sounds of it, the process involves inflicting intense pain on whomever you’re trying to infiltrate the mind of. The idea sends a pulse of nausea through me; I would never dream of doing that to someone, not even Father. But the part I find interesting is there is a way to connect your mind to someone else’s through less invasive means if you both have a strong enough connection to one another. Which I think is a much more heartwarming idea.

It makes me wonder if it’d be possible for Soren and me one day.

Oh well. I can dream for now.

I eventually fall asleep on the cold stone, but it seems like no time has passed before a shiver jolts me awake again. I’m not even sure if it’s morning yet, the cold and darkness make time so hard to gauge down here. At this point, I’m almost certain the stone is at least spackled with ice. I do have my thicker sweater on to compensate, but it doesn’t help the chill too much.

I rub my hands together and blow into them, creating another ball of light. There’s a small amount of warmth radiating from the force; not enough to counteract the cold completely, but it’s enough right now.

My eyes become heavy as I become transfixed by the shimmering light again, and with a sigh, I let it diminish.

I’m about to let myself succumb to some form of sleep again, when the last voice I expected to hear suddenly echoes through the space.

“Luna? Where are you?”

I jolt awake again with a gasp, but this time, it’s warmth that radiates through me. “Soren!” I call back.

After a moment of silence, there’s a knock on the wooden door in front of me. “Luna? You’re in here?”

I quickly run to the door, too excited to hold back. “Yes!”

“Stand back, I’m going to break the lock.”

“What? No, you’re not!”

“Trust me, it’ll work. It’s something my mother taught me.”

I’m confused, but I do as he says, and moments later, a soft bang echoes through the small space. I don’t think it was loud enough to be heard outside of here, so I think we’re okay, but it’s hard to say.

He opens the door, and even if I can barely make out his features in the darkness, just sensing his energy before me is enough to throw myself into his arms.

“Woah, hello to you too,” he jokes before holding me just as tightly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I look at him. “What time is it? How are you down here? If Father found us here . . .” I trail off.

He places his hand on my head as he pulls me close again, holding me to his chest. “It’s like five in the morning. No one is up yet. We’re safe right now.”

I savour the feeling of his arms around me as his strong heartbeat echoes through my ears, before questions buzz in my mind and I glance up at him again.

“Wait, how did you even break the lock? I would’ve thought you needed a key.”

“Oh, you compress your energy together until it builds up enough to create a little mini-explosion. Like this.”

He backs away and I create a small amount of light in my hand so I can see what he’s doing, and I watch as he brings several wisps of darkness together into a small ball of shadow, before releasing it with a small bang. It’s much quieter than the one he used to open the door, but it still makes me jump.

“Oh, I’ve done that before. On a bigger scale, but still. Very creative.”

He nudges me playfully, looking between me and the light still lingering between my fingers. “You’re telling me! Since when can you do that?” Excitement shimmers in his silvery eyes.

I grin back. “Last night. I . . . I figured out how to wield Light as well as Shadow.”

He smiles that infectious smile that I’ve come to recognize. “Which means you really do wield Aether.”

I nod and recount the memory I recovered last night; or, I hope it was a memory. But even if it wasn’t, even if it was just a dream, I know Father lied to me about my mother not wanting me. I just know it.

“You’re incredible.” He pulls me against him again and leaves a featherlike kiss on my forehead, but he keeps his arms around my waist as he continues. “Come on. If that really was a memory, and Darius was lying to you, you should get back to the island and figure everything out as soon as you can. It’s the perfect time for you to get back, while everyone’s still asleep.”

It takes me a moment to process his words, and as reality begins to set in, I put my hands on his shoulders. “Father can’t know you’re down here. I don’t want you to get punished for helping me.”

“He doesn’t know. I told you I’d help you get out of here. I’m only sorry I couldn’t get here before now; it was too dangerous.” He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “But I knew I had to do something. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.”

“Soren . . .”

He seals the sentiments with a kiss. I wrap my arms tightly around his shoulders as his heartbeat echoes against my own, holding him closer than ever. His hand cradles the side of my face with all the tenderness in the world, and I let the sensations overwhelm me. His gentle nature, his selflessness, his want to do right no matter what.

And I somehow got lucky enough to be with him through the darkness of my life. Through the shadows of my family, the mysteries of my identity.

I can’t fathom it at times.

I pull away, unable to stop a smile from crossing my face.

He blows into my hands. “You’re so cold. Let’s get you out of here.”

I leave my books behind and create the shimmering white orb of light again to help us gain our bearings before we continue our way down the narrow passageway and up the spiral staircase. It gets noticeably warmer as we head up the stairs, leaving the coldness of the dungeons in the far corners of my mind. But part of me wonders if I would have been able to discover I can wield Light if I wasn’t in the darkest place in Zala.

Perhaps I’ll never know. What matters now is I know I can.

He leads the way as we reach the top of the stairs, gently opening the door and ensuring we’re okay to go before I follow him into the upstairs corridor.

We make our way through the winding halls as quietly as we can. It’s too risky to head through the servant’s quarters; they may not be starting their duties yet, but they’re likely getting ready for their day soon. Instead, he leads me to another part of the Manor; one where I know there’s another exit out of here, but one that I’ve always felt was too risky to pursue because of its close proximity to the study. But at the moment, it’s our safest option with it being so early. Father and my siblings will still be asleep in another area of the Manor.

At least, that’s the theory.

But that theory soon becomes null as footsteps from the opposing hall echo around us.

I freeze. I can’t tell from here if it’s Father or not, but even if it’s just a servant, they’ll know I’m not supposed to be up here. And if they report seeing Soren with me . . .

We can’t trust anyone.

The footsteps come closer.

Without thinking, I take Soren’s hand and pull him toward the nearest door, and we both slip inside before I shut the door behind us as quietly as I can.

We keep the lights off and Soren holds me tight, staying as silent as possible until the footsteps come and go. I still can’t completely tell who it was, but as long as we stay hidden, we should be okay.

I find the light switch next to the door and turn it on to somewhat help with my bearings, and what meets my eyes is a room I surprisingly haven’t been in before. It’s sparsely furnished, with a bed and a nightstand, and a dresser on the other side with a small mirror, all made of the dark wood I recognize from the trees outside. But there’s a layer of dust and a heaviness to the air that suggests this room hasn’t been occupied in some time.

Whose room was this? Was it my mother’s? Could there be clues about her here?

I turn to Soren. “I just want to check some things in here, then we can keep going. Is that okay?”

He nods, but his face is whiter than a ghost, sending a shadow of panic through my blood.

I run my hand along his shoulder. “Is everything all right?”

He shakes his head out of his daze, nodding again, but meeting my eyes this time. “Yeah, sorry, I’m fine. I just feel weird being in here.”

I frown. “Oh? How so?”

He thinks for a moment. “I don’t know. It just feels . . .I can’t even explain it.” He takes a breath, giving me a small smile that I know. “If you think there’s something here though, I’ll help you look. But we shouldn’t wait too long to get you out of here.”

“I know, I’ll be quick.”

I make my way over to the nightstand, where there’s a single drawer that doesn’t look like it’s closed all the way.

Hmm.

I open it, revealing a small, dusty, leather-bound book, with pages littered with swirled ink.

Perhaps this belonged to the person who stayed here.

I don’t think I can hide my secret from Darius any longer. If my calculations are correct, I should be about four months along now. I can only hope that Darius thinks this baby is his. For all I know, they could be. But somehow . . . I just know they aren’t. Nox and Melinoe are only a year and a half old now, but I hope they take well to having a new baby brother or sister. And I pray that if the baby isn’t Darius’s. . . that he doesn’t find out the truth.

I gently close the book as I process what I just read.

This room had to have belonged to Nox and Melinoe’s mother. But that passage doesn’t sound like the type of person who would have abandoned her children, as Father liked to remind them. But then . . . she was unfaithful to Father, from the sounds of it. But why?

Something isn’t adding up.

Is she gone too? And what about the baby? Did they survive? Or did Father find out the truth about them?

What secrets is Father hiding?

I put the book away where I found it, making a mental note to explore the notebook more later and quickly get up, joining Soren at the door. I don’t have time to spend hours reading a notebook from so long ago. My goal is to get back to Kera.

“What’d you find?” he asks.

I shake my head, quickly recounting the passage to him.

He blinks as a newfound seriousness surrounds him. “I – I don’t even know. Everything about this room is so strange.”

I squeeze his arm. “Let’s not worry about it for right now then. Let’s just focus on getting out of here.”

He nods, cracking the door open, ensuring we’re alone before we slip back into the hall.

We manage to get through the remainder of the hallways with no surprises, quickly heading through the door that leads to outside.

This particular passage has brought us to the other side of the Manor, where the mountain looms over us far more ominously than the area closest to the forest. But perhaps my imagination is getting away on me.

He turns to me as the muted green grass crunches under our shoes. “I should probably leave you here. Is this a good spot to travel back to the island?”

I look around, noticing the shadows cascading from the mountain. It’s not as perfect as the willow tree – though, I don’t think anything could be – but it will do.

I nod. “I think so. And – thank you for everything.”

“Of course.” He gives me a hug, and I savour the feeling for as long as I can before he releases me. “Good luck. I’ll await your return just as I did before.” He gives me a quick but gentle kiss.

“Hmm,” I smile. “I’m going to have to sneak around when I get back, they’ll still think I’m in the dungeons,” I think aloud. “Meet me in the library? There’s plenty of places to hide there if we need it.”

He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Sounds perfect. I’ll see you then, and I hope you find what you’re looking for on Kera.”

“I think I will.”

“Then it’s all worth it, even with the danger of your father.” He gives me one last, lingering kiss. I savour the feeling of his lips on mine for as long as I can, and the feeling of fluttering moths fills me as I lace my hand through his soft, whitish-blonde hair. He holds me in his strong arms; closer than ever, it seems. As though my heart is connected with his, that they’re reaching out to one another, intertwining in an endless embrace.

He backs away, giving me one last kiss on my cheek. “See you later.”

I can’t help but smile. “See you later.”