Page 51 of Awakened Gifts
His eyes soften as he looks down to her, and a tear spills from her eye. I feel like an outsider looking in. So much has happened and I’m the root of all the dark stuff. If it wasn’t for the fact Alice is still out there, I’d be willing to sacrifice myself while I can just to ease their suffering. They’d miss me, but they could finally have lives.
But Alice… I have to find a way to kill her first.
My mind flashes back to our epic, catastrophic battle. We were trading licks. She wasn’t invincible yet, and I was only so strong—well, my savage was only so strong. There was a connection that was missing, and the strength she dug deep for seemed to be missing or buried out of reach.
I remember her frantically pulling and shoving out power, but it wasn’t enough. And Alice wasn’t any better. It was essentially like we were trading licks, each of us inflicting just as much pain as the other until neither of us could hold on any longer. She retreated, and my savage became a part of the wind just after calling Jase. I remember being terrified for why she wanted him.
“Get Jase, dammit,” I grumble, but instead of anyone acknowledging me, Rex simply grabs a pack of blood and tosses it to the table beside me, still too scared to get too close. They should get the hell out of here if they’re so scared, because my savage doesn’t have to touch anyone to kill them.
“He won’t come,” Mom says at last. But that doesn’t make sense, because he did come. He was just down here.
She reads my confusion and reluctantly continues. “The only way to tame your savage is to reconnect you with Kellan. And this time the connection needs to be strong. Simone has figured out how to do it, but we had to wait on you to wake up.”
I shake my head, furious about this whole stupid thing. “Make it work with Jase’s blood. If she can do it with Kellan’s—”
“Don’t you think she would if she could?” Uncle Brazen asks gently, joining us in the small dungeon-like room.
It looks like one of the old prison holding cells. I suppose given the nature of my latest offenses, a place like this is where I deserve to be.
“There has to be another way,” I almost whisper.
I look over at Kellan who is staring down at Simone with longing affection. He really does want to be with her, and I can tell she wants to be with him just as much. Having an unwanted counter is about as pointless as having dormant gifts. We should be able to choose. It’s obvious fate made one hell of a mistake by pairing us together to begin with.
Evolution happens at a rapid rate, and what might have been perfect seven hundred years ago is not perfect now. We’re part of a world that needs room for change, and the rigid rules of our heritage seems to stifle any room for happiness these days.
“If there was another way, we’d do it, honey,” Mom says with unshed tears in her eyes, bringing her hand down gently to cup my shoulder.
Rex’s phone rings, and he walks over to the side to answer it. My ears burn against hearing the obnoxious sound, and I glare at him. But no one else seems annoyed by it. I suppose even my ears are more sensitive.
He answers it briskly, his eyes averting mine, and that only piques my interest.
“I’ve got to head to Herlan for a few days to smooth over some of the buzz. Take care of her, and let me know when… it’s done.”
I know that voice on the other line, but I’ve never heard it so bitter before.
“It’s being argued about as we speak,” Rex says, his eyes coming up to meet mine.
The sympathy there isn’t enough to make this feel like less of a betrayal. Not only does fate want to screw me over, so does everyone else. Only this time, it’s not just me and Jase suffering; Kellan and Simone are suffering, and they’ve both already suffered enough.
I hear Jase release a sigh that carries all the misery I’m feeling, and I cross my arms defiantly over my chest while glaring at Rex. I’ve stared down hell and death, now I’m staring at my crumbling future.
“She’ll do what she has to. Just like all of us. It’s fucked up and it sucks, but that’s apparently our world,” Jase mumbles.
I get up to go get the phone, but Rex takes a wary step back.
“I think she wants to talk to you.”
Jase mutters something I don’t understand, and then he breathes out deeply. “I can’t. Just call me when it’s done. If we talk, it’ll just make it harder.”
My hand recoils to my chest, and I the pieces of my heart shatter just a little more. Rex hangs up just as my eyes fall to the violet jewel on my hand. At least the savage left me that much. She stole everything else.
“Aria, I need your blood,” Simone says in a pained tone that relays all the reluctance everyone else feels.
“No,” I whisper, not removing my eyes from my ring.
“Aria,” Rex groans. “No one wants to do this. I know you love Jase, but—”
“But nothing. It’s not just about us anymore.” My eyes come up to meet Kellan’s, and I see his rigid body. “You deserve to be happy, and so does Simone. So does Jase. So does everyone. My legacy shouldn’t be a burden. I’ve learned a lot these past few weeks. My gifts are unlocked. I don’t need my savage to beat Alice. And despite what my lunatic thought, I don’t need my counter either.”