Chapter Thirteen
“You’re lying.” She whispered as she stumbled back a step.
“Am I?” I tapped a finger on my lips. “Have you mated? Have you kissed? Has he ever touched you other than what was necessary? Or has he been politely affectionate? Holding your hand, patting your head, and keeping a distinct distance between the two of you.” I was playing with her head.
Contorting the facts to suit my narrative better, but it was doing what I wanted it to. It was making her weaker.
Toya snorted. “I bet he hasn’t even done that. He has probably told her they need to keep space until they have bonded to keep her honour intact.” She smiled, and it was vicious. “I bet you that at the graduation it was the first time Rowan allowed her to even touch him.”
She shook her head. “You’re lying.” But her voice betrayed her.
“You think he is the puppet, but in fact, you are.” I laughed, bending at my waist.
“You’re lying.” She shrieked again. “You are trying to turn me against him.”
I wiped my tears as I stood back up. “Why would I do that? You keep acting like I want to break you up, but I have no reason to do that.” I leveled a stare at her. “I am not forgiving. And my wolf yearns for her mate. The moment he left me to burn was the moment any affection I had left me.”
Now she laughed. “You think I’ll believe you? He’s the King!”
“Oh Verity. You act like that changes anything.” I looked at my nails. “He is a king. But I am a queen.” It was the first time I was admitting it, but she wouldn’t think anything of it. She would think I was just boasting. “Power is everything. And you yourself felt my power yesterday.”
She glared at me. “So you have some power. Rowan is still stronger than you.” I wanted to laugh, but I kept my mouth shut. “You still have to bow down to him.” She smirked. “To me, when I become your queen.”
Toya laughed. “You think so much of yourself. The hollow queen. No one will take you seriously.”
“Shut up.” Verity whirled on her. “You will bow to me.”
Toya held up her hands in surrender. “I will bow down to my rightful queen, and no one else.” She turned to me. “I’m tired, and we have other things to do tonight. What do we have to do to get her out of my mind?”
Verity laughed. “There isn’t anything you can do to get me out of here.”
I snapped my hand out, catching her by her throat again. “You always seem to underestimate others, Verity.”
“And overestimate yourself.” Toya added.
She choked for a moment, clawing at my hand. “There isn’t anything you can do.”
“You see, that is where you are wrong. I can assume this is like spirit walking. Your soul leaving your body makes it vulnerable to others.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Your body…just an empty shell, ready to be taken over by any wandering soul out there. Looking for a nice new life to try again.”
“I’m not spirit walking.” She tried to deny it.
“I said like spirit walking. A portion of your soul is here, digging away at Toya and my friends. But another is in your body.” I smiled. “However, a partially exposed body is still exposed, and a whole soul would win against a partial one.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shook her head.
“But she does.” Toya came close. “She almost lost her life to a Mara.”
I could see the terrifying truth on Verity’s face. “A Mara…”
Toya nodded “A bitter soul who decided to spirit walk without an anchor…You do have an anchor, right Verity?” Toya flipped her braid behind her shoulder. I looked at her for a second before turning back, an idea forming in my mind.
Verity shook her head. “A Mara can only enter an empty shell.” She was trying to push the truth away.
I nodded solemnly. “You are right.” She smiled. “But isn’t a shell empty if a part of your soul, and your attention, are here? Couldn’t the rest of you just be pulled out?” I plucked a piece of her hair. “Like this hair, and then you will be left to wander.”
She shook her head. “No.” But she didn’t sound confident.
I lifted my shoulder. “You might be right. But it doesn’t matter.”
“Why doesn’t it matter?”
“Because what I really want to know is what happens to this part of your soul if Toya forces you out.”
She grinned. “She can’t. I’ll be here for as long as it takes, eating away at your bond.”
“But just think about it. What would happen?” I pushed.
“It wouldn’t, but I can assume it would hurt.” She tossed out.
I smiled then, wider than I had before. “Then I guess I hope this fucking kills you.” I spun, and I slammed my power into the tiny brown glyph on Toya’s shoulder.
“No!” Verity shrieked as I pumped more power into the mark hidden on Toya’s dark skin.
She thought I wouldn’t notice the slight discolouration on her shoulder.
But I have spent years sparring with her, years being her friend, shifting with her almost daily.
I knew her body, and I saw the slight difference as soon as Toya moved her hair.
Toya stumbled back and her eyes flashed with confusion. “What the hell?” She turned to look down. “It fucking burns.” She snarled as I sent a fresh wave of magic into her shoulder.
“I know, and I’m sorry, but it has to go.” I grabbed her and pulled her closer to me. “Do you trust me?”
She stared at me for less than a second. “Of course I do.”
I nodded as Verity screamed again. “You can’t fucking do this.
” She stumbled towards us as I shifted my hand into claws behind my back.
I pulled back my power from Toya’s shoulder, like I was giving up, like her power was too strong to break through.
I panted and flashed a look at Toya. She gave a tiny nod as I turned away.
Verity smiled. “Wait…that’s it? The-oh-so-powerful Amy.
” She straightened her back as she came closer.
“Yet your power did nothing to my glyph.” She went from scared to boasting quickly.
I nearly growled but let her have her moment.
Let her boast her power, let her revel in this win. “Honestly, that was pathetic.”
Toya snorted. “If it was so pathetic, why were you so worried?” She looked down at her shoulder and lifted her hand to trace the glyph. “I can barely make it out.” She snapped her eyes to mine. “How did you notice it?”
I let out a breathless chuckle focusing on my words as I gathered my power into my claws behind my back.
“We have sparred more times than I can count these last few years. My face has been pressed up against that shoulder more than a few times.” Just a little more power, and then I can strike. I funneled more power into my hand.
Toya threw her head back. “True enough.” Her finger traced the skin again, then she turned back to Verity. “You burned this into my skin?”
She smirked. “Brilliant, isn’t it? The glyph sticks to your skin after contact. And then it worms past your defenses, giving me a way in. Once I was in here with you, and you touched another of your friends, you transferred the glyph to them. Giving me a way into each of your friends.”
“Wow, you are like a super villain.” I shook my head.
“What?” She turned to me.
“No, no, finish your evil monologue.” I nodded towards Toya. “You obviously had this prepared.”
“Shut up!” Verity stomped towards us. “You have to have a comeback for everything. Look at me, I’m Amy. I’m so witty and powerful. I’m gorgeous.” She mimicked, and I threw my head back and laughed.
“I wouldn’t say gorgeous, but I’m easy on the eyes. I will give you that.”
“My Goddess, do you not tire of your own voice?” She snarled.
“Funny that you say that. I wasn’t the one giving a monologue of my evil doings just now.” I looked at Toya and rolled my eyes.
She snorted. “Honestly, I wouldn’t really say Amy is witty either.” She looked at me with a wink. “She is a little too slow to be considered witty.”
“Hey!” I called. I felt my fingers burning with my power and I knew it was ready. But I needed to be sure of one thing.
“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” She screamed, fisting her hands like a toddler.
“I have invaded all of your friends. The only way to get me out was breaking that glyph.” She pointed to Toya’s shoulder.
“But you were too weak to do that.” She laughed triumphantly.
“Don’t you get it yet. I won! You won’t ever get rid of me.
I will continue to infect everyone around you, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. ”
“Wait a minute.” Toya held up her hands. “I’ll continue to infect more people.”
She nodded. “Yup.” She did a tiny dance.
“Genius isn’t it. I created this as the primary glyph.
All the others are tied to it. If this one failed, all the others would disappear, because they draw power from the host. That’s why I put the first one on you.
Because you were the only one strong enough to feed it. ”
“So you’re saying if Toya’s glyph is gone, everyone else would be free.” Triple checking before I did something rash.
“Yeah, but you were too weak to do it.” She did another dance.
“Perfect.” I slammed my claws into Toya’s shoulder, shredding the skin. Toya screamed as she dropped.
“I’m sorry.” I pumped power directly into her.
She screamed as it burned, but she turned her wide eyes to me. “I trust you.” She screamed through gritted teeth. And I could see it in her eyes. Even though I didn’t warn her, even though I ripped into her, she still trusted me.
“Are you fucking insane?” Verity screamed. But then she froze. “There’s no way.”
I smiled as I pumped pure power into Toya’s shoulder. “Oh, but there is.”
She screamed and tried to run to us, but I pushed even more power into Toya’s gaping shoulder.
Blood poured from her. Urbi howled behind us, but I needed to do this.
I looked at Toya, and she gritted her teeth against the pain.
Her eyes snapped to mine again. “Do it.” She gave one nod, and then I ripped the skin from her shoulder completely off.
She screamed again, blood pouring from the wound. Her shoulder was shredded. Urbi ran to Toya, licking the wound to start the healing. But I turned to watch Verity. She was on her knees. “No.” She panted. “This is impossible.” She stared at the skin I had in my grip.
“Is it impossible?” I glared at her. “You know you’re a leech, a parasite. You use others’ power to fuel your life. Toya’s power to fuel your little glyph. Rowan’s power to level up your position. You do nothing on your own and it is just fucking pathetic.”
She snarled weakly at me. “You are in no position to judge me.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
She glared at me. “Didn’t you do the same? Get close to Rowan so that you could be queen?”
I laughed. “No. No, that isn’t what I did.” I knelt in front of her, raising the skin in front of her face. “I actually liked the man. I would have accepted him if he was a regular Alpha, a Beta. Fuck, I liked him so much I would have accepted his as my mate if he held no rank at all.”
She shook her head. “You’re lying.”
“Sad thing is, I’m not. But I respected his choice. He wanted to find his mate. And if that didn’t happen, his wolf was interested in another wolf. He wasn’t going to choose a mate his wolf doesn’t agree with.” I leaned in. “Tell me Verity…does Erubus accept you?”
She snarled in my face. “He does.”
But I could see the truth. “Liar.” Then I pushed my power into the flesh in my hand, igniting it.
“No!” She screamed and tried to dive for it, but it burned away too quickly, burning her away with it. Her body flaked off into ash and she drifted away. I turned back to Toya.
“Are you okay?” I knelt next to her.
She gave me a pained smile. “Nothing we can’t heal. But we need to get back.” I nodded, and leaned in to kiss her brow.
“Thank you for always trusting in me. And thank you for fighting for so long.” I pulled back and stood.
“I’ll see you in a minute.” Then I turned and ran back the way I came.
The sand shifted under my feet until I made it to the shadows of the trees.
The unfamiliar trunks and patches of grass gave way to more familiar trees, and a soft grass that I knew like the back of my hand.
Nix and Megan were waiting for me. “Did you do it?” Megan tilted her head.
“Did you doubt me?” I smiled back at her as I crossed the last barrier.
“Not for a minute.” She rubbed herself against me as Nix mirrored her on my other side.
“What happened?” Nix settled against my leg.
“I’ll tell you later. I need to check on everyone.” I ran my fingers through both of their furs, settling my stomach.
“Did you just rub Toya’s blood in my fur?” Nix’s voice was amused, but I froze.
“I didn’t even think. I’m sorry.” I leaned in and kissed her head.
“It’s fine. Check on our friends.” Megan bumped my shoulder and then they ran off.
I opened my eyes to find everyone at the table. My hand was covered in blood. Wendy and Hanna were pale, but Toya and Micca were smiling at me. “Toya?”
“I’m back. I’m okay.” She looked at her shoulder, and thankfully, it was knitting itself back together.
“What the fuck was that?” Hanna pointed at my hand.
“What?” I looked at her.
She pointed at my hand. “You were just standing next to her, and then suddenly you slammed your claws into her shoulder, shredding it.”
Toya moved her shoulder in a circle. “She was saving us.” She sighed. “But it hurt like a motherfucker.” She turned to Micca. “How are the whispers?”
“Gone.” She sighed in relief.
Wendy smiled. “Mine too.” We turned to Hanna.
“Mine too.” She sighed in relief.
“Perfect.” I sat down with a sigh. “So, who’s ready to find out their lineage?”