Page 25 of Claim the Light
“Tell me as much as you can, as quickly as possible,” she says. “We can’t linger here and you all need to get dry and warm, but it’s important that we understand what threats await us.”
Beatrix looks to me. “Sophia?”
“I was conscious for all of it,” I say, and then I proceed to describe Tyler’s sudden appearance on the rooftop of Zahra’s home and the impossible fight with him.
I explain about the ash and how it clung to us and spread between us. How Gisela and Dane fought him off with Beatrix’s and Felix’s help. Then about our plan to wash the ash off in the river.
Lana, Callan, and Isaac listen intently, but their brows furrow more intensely, their expressions becoming more worried with every word I say.
By the time I reach the part where we plummeted into the dark space within the river, they’re all incredibly tense.
I struggle to describe the oblivion we fell into and to explain my encounter with the keeper of dark magic. The way he claimed the ash and seemed surprised I didn’t fight to keep it.
I finish by describing my battle to bring us all back to the surface.
Throughout my story, I speak quickly, but I have to take deep breaths to hold off the cold fear that returns at the raw memories.
Finally, I say, “I saw Isaac’s light and I followed it upward.”
I finish to silence.
Lana is the first to break it. Despite the deep furrow in her brow and the worry in her eyes, she’s no-nonsense and to the point. “We have two goals now: The first is to protect Sophia. The second is to protect the dragon’s light. Tyler wants to destroy both.”
“The safest place to hide the dragon’s light is within the veil, but we can’t take it back there,” Callan says, turning briefly toward us from his surveillance of our surroundings. “That would only repeat the mistakes of the past. But we also can’t place the burden on Zahra to guard it now. Not when she needs to protect Emika against this new threat.”
Lana is nodding. “The dragon’s light is my responsibility. I can stay with Zahra and guard it.”
Callan doesn’t appear happy with that suggestion. “Zahra’s my sister. Let me do this.”
I take glances between them, not liking what I’m hearing. “Neither of you should stay out here,” I say. “Tyler wants to provoke you. Hewantsa fight with you. The dragon’s light gave him his new power. I don’t think it’s in his interests to destroy the stone. He may want to possess it, but it isn’t his target.Youare.”
Lana gives me a small smile. “As are you,” she says to me. “Which is why we’re sending you behind the veil.”
CHAPTERNINE
Aprotest rises to my lips.
Logically, I know that disappearing into the veil is my safest option. But I’ve been forced to give up so much in my life. I’ve been made to accept too many compromises. Worse, I’ve been thrown into situations where my wellbeing was damaged by other people’s choices.
I can’t accept that Tyler will tear me away from the people I love. Not when he spent so many years isolating me from my own clan.
“No,” I say. “I won’t hide. Tyler can’t take my new life away from me. I won’t accept that I’m destined to be alone.” My voice breaks. “Abandoned. I won’t let him do that to me, because then he’s won.”
Lana’s lips part with a quickly indrawn breath as she rises, crosses the distance between us, and reaches for me.
“You have no need to fear being cast out,” she says, taking my hand as she settles into a kneeling position beside Micah. “You’re family to me, Sophia. And I…” She glances at Micah. “Wewill never abandon you. Not the Dread and not the Grudge. You have two clans now who will watch your back and protect you.”
Micah’s arm tightens around me, but I’m too agitated to look up to see his expression.
“Then why send me away?” I ask.
“This is not about pushing you away,” Lana says softly. “And you will absolutely not be alone. It’s about giving you the chance to grow stronger.”
I swallow hard, fighting the fears of my past. Lana takes a deep breath and continues.
“Before Bella Vorago became your dragon, your presence was like twisted vines in my senses,” she says. “There was a web around you from which it seemed you couldn’t escape, and the harder you tried, the tighter the web became. But I also sensed a tidal wave.”
Her lips rise in a gentle smile. A determined smile that challenges me to believe her. “There’s an immense power within you, Sophia. Even now, I sense layers that need to be peeled back to reveal what you truly are. I don’t think you’ve even scratched the surface of what you can do.”
