I remembered each moment of the night my mother had told me the story with stark clarity. I’d snuggled deep into my covers, my mother’s rich voice enveloping me. Outside, the night had been thick as velvet, as if waiting to be formed into something greater than itself.

“The Sellas went to the crows, born of night, and asked for their help as repayment for creating them. The crows agreed. The sun crow gave them light in ribbons of gold, the fire crow and storm crow, warmth in crackling fires and pleasant winds. The water crow and earth crow revived their crops, and the battle crow kept them safe from the creatures that haunted the night. The shadow crow challenged the night to a battle, and the night agreed. They dueled, battling at the speed of darkness, too fast and shadowed for the Sellas to see. The fight went on and on in silence, the only indication it raged wisps of black that escaped from the night like ink dispersing in water, until finally, the crow emerged from the dark, victorious.

“The night kept its word and ended, returning to its natural cycle with day. The Sellas thanked the crows and welcomed them into their homes. And so began the relationship between them.”

The firelight flickered, throwing shadows across the room. “When I asked what the speed of darkness was, my mother said, ‘Snuff out the only candle in a room. Watch how quickly the darkness comes.’ And she blew out the candle at my bedside, dousing us in night.”

“I’m guessing there’s a moral here?” Kiva asked.

“Darkness spreads quickly,” I replied. “Quicker than light. If we keep doing what we’re doing, if Rhodaire and Illucia keep retaliating against each other, it’s never going to end. The darkness will spread and spread until everything is consumed.”

She regarded me with heavy eyes. “Pain begets pain,” she whispered. “That’s what my mother said to me when she told me what happened to my father. I asked her why she didn’t destroy the people who did it, and that’s what she said.”

I nodded. “The only way to end the cycle, the only way to truly defeat Illucia, is to help them change. They need a better ruler. A better leader. And I think Ericen could be him.”

Kiva pulled a couch pillow over her face, groaning. “You want to ally with him too, don’t you?”

“I figured our job wasn’t hard enough already if you have time to flirt with Auma every day.”

She chucked the pillow at me, and I laughed, snatching her remaining cake and scurrying to the other side of the couch before she could stop me from eating it.

“What about you?” she demanded. “Falling for those green eyes of Caylus’s, are you?”