Chapter 62

I watched from the recesses of the shadows, where light dared not touch, observing as Mara leaned into Silas, her voice breaking as she finally let slip the truths she’d held for so long. The flickering candlelight softened her features, made her look almost fragile, though I knew better. Mara was anything but fragile. She was fierce, a storm wrapped in skin, a force that could either tear you apart or pull you close enough to suffocate. And tonight, after passing the first trial, she stood taller than I’d ever seen her, even if she didn’t quite realize it yet.

Silas listened with a steady patience that I couldn’t help but admire. He was a good one, that Alpha. He wasn’t just there for her out of duty or obligation; he was there because she was his world, and he’d stand by her, unyielding, no matter what shadows crept into their lives. It was rare, finding someone so unwavering. I had lived countless lifetimes and seen souls crumble under the weight of far less, but Silas was different. And for that, I was grateful. He was good for her in ways I couldn’t be—not because I wouldn’t, but because my nature didn’t allow it.

“I’m sorry,” Mara whispered, her fingers fisting in the fabric of Silas’s shirt, her breath hitching as she confessed. “I didn’t want to keep things from you. I just… I didn’t know how.”

Silas’s hand moved, a slow, reassuring stroke down her back. “No more apologies,” he murmured, voice rough with emotion. “Just you, here with me, telling me the truth. That’s all I need.”

A wave of warmth flooded through me, pride swelling in my chest. This was why I’d chosen her, why I’d watched her through the eons, waiting for the right moment, the right life. In this life, Mara was ready. She was stronger than before, more resilient, and the shadows knew it. The first trial had tested her resolve, threatened to pull her under and never let her rise again, but she had faced the darkness and declared herself free. Not just from her father’s shadow but from her own fear. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

I shifted deeper into the darkness, the shadows parting for me like loyal subjects. They were excited, vibrating with anticipation. It had been two decades since someone had dared to walk the path to become the Liege of Shadows. Longer still since one had shown the potential Mara had. The trials had their own rules, rules even I couldn’t break or bend. I was Shadow Magic personified, yet when it came to this rite, I was merely an observer, just like now.

But watching her now, tangled in Silas’s arms, trusting him with her secrets and pain, made something twist inside me, something deeper than pride. Love. It was as eternal as I was, carved into my very being. I had loved Mara through lifetimes, through cycles of birth and death, through the agony of watching her live and lose. She had been many things across the centuries—warrior, healer, ruler, wanderer. But in this life, she was more, because this time, she was destined for me.

This was the first life where I had been allowed to choose her as my vessel. I had whispered to her as a child, guided her dreams, left traces of my essence in the flicker of candle flames, always watching, waiting. I could have absorbed her soul ages ago, merged her essence with mine and kept her forever, but that kind of love was cruel. No, I wanted her by my side, not within me, not erased into the shadow that I was.

Silas pressed a kiss to Mara’s hair, his eyes closed as if he could shield her from the weight of what she carried. His loyalty, his tenderness, it was exactly what she needed. And it reassured me that when the shadows tested her again, she would not stand alone. I might not be able to break the rules and reach out directly, but Silas… he could be the anchor I couldn’t be. And that was enough, for now.

“You’re stronger than you know,” I whispered, the shadows carrying my words like a breeze across the room. Neither of them heard, but the shadows did. They rippled, reacting to the truth, pressing closer to Mara, eager to serve their future Liege.

It had taken centuries for the power of the Shadow Liege to choose a worthy vessel, and now that it had, the entire fabric of our existence was shifting. Russling’s frenzied hunt was proof of that. His fear, his desperation—it would only grow. And so would the trials. The next ones would cut deeper, demand more, force Mara to face truths she’d buried so deep even I hadn’t touched them. But she could do it. She would.

I watched Silas pull back, his eyes searching Mara’s, filled with an unspoken promise. The way they looked at each other, the connection between them—it was new to this life. In other cycles, Mara had fought alone, her victories hers to shoulder and her losses hers to mourn. But not this time. This time, she had an anchor, and I had hope.

As much as the shadows were mine, they had also become hers, whispering of a future where we wouldn’t have to part, where she would stand beside me, not as a vessel but as a partner. I could extend her life, use the power of the Liege to ensure that I wouldn’t lose her to time again. This life didn’t have to be like the others, filled with longing and loss.

And gods, I didn’t want it to be.

Mara’s voice trembled as she continued, spilling out every secret, every fear, with Silas holding her steady, grounding her. My chest ached with a pride so fierce it was almost painful. She was ready for this. For me. For the future that awaited us both.

As the shadows coiled tighter around me, I let myself imagine it for just a moment longer—a life where I wouldn’t have to watch her slip through my fingers again. A life where she would finally stand by my side, eternal and unyielding, the Queen of Shadows she was always meant to be.

This was just the beginning. And I couldn’t wait for the day she realized it too.