88. The Stranger
Chapter Eighty-Eight
The Stranger
Y our power has defined your usefulness. Without it, you are nothing to anyone. Blessed by a god long since vanished from this world.
The words echo in my head as I stand alone in the gazebo where she left me.
Your usefulness is your power. You are nothing without it.
Your power is your use.
Your power.
Your use.
Useless.
My hand slams through one of the supporting legs of the gazebo, shattering it, uncaring as the shards cut into my hand, making me bleed. I glare at my hand, watching the blood drip down my palm and onto the ground.
Hurry, gather his blood. We must carve the binding into his flesh with his own blood, or he’ll escape!
My power explodes, the wall of the gazebo turning to dust, floating in the sea air.
You are nothing without this power. Without this strength. You’re nothing. I am not committing to you in any way. Because you’re nothing.
More of the gazebo turns to dust as I drop to my knees, the present and the past coalescing in my head.
You will be the blade that slices through every enemy, the one they fear above all else. No one will know your name. You’ll be a shadow in their nightmares, and you’ll kill at the snap of my fingers. You’ll torture until I’m amused.
Covering my ears, I try to block out the past, trying to shake the voices that press in, reminding me of the long life I’ve lived.
You’re a monster, a killer, and you’ll never be anything more than that. You’re nothing. She can care for you and still reject you.
More ash forms and spreads around me, my power leaking unchecked.
“I expect better of you,” a cold voice slices through the memories.
My eyes drift up, focusing on the silver-skinned woman standing in the shallows on the beach, a sneer on her face.
Scale patterns cover her shoulders, a stole of royalty marking her.
As if the silver hair and glowing eyes are not enough.
“Get up,” she snaps, her voice clipped and short. She speaks in the common tongue, no doubt for my benefit, or the better to castigate me with. “You always were such a foolish boy.”
My eyes narrow, my breathing ragged, but some of my power returns to me as I look at the regent of the seas.
Morrigan.
“It’s been a long time since anyone has called me boy ,” I say, forcing my voice to even out as much as possible. Standing, I look across the beach at the queen, and she stares at me, her eyes as cold as I remembered.
“You are a boy to me,” she says, looking me up and down dismissively. “Come, we must speak.”
“No,” I reply, gathering my power back to me.
“No?” Her eyes flash cruelly. “Who was that female who was with you earlier? I heard the most intriguing rumor about a Seelie who still lived?.?.?.”
The threat dangles between us, and I can’t help but laugh. Of course Morrigan would seek to use her as leverage. Was this not the reason I kept my identity hidden from Summer? From the seers who constantly watched my future to make sure I didn’t turn my focus on them?
“You think you could ever be a threat to her ?” I mock, cruelty shaking my tone.
“So she does mean something to you,” Morrigan says, crossing her slim arms over her silver torso.
“If you were watching, you saw her reject me.” The words taste like ash, but the truth is heavy in them.
“No, the thing you have to fear is not me, but her. ” Even with the lingering hurt of her words, pride coils in me.
“Summon your army, your power, and find that you’ll face an enemy who will do more than destroy you. ”
She’ll drag you into the darkness that she’s just learning to feed on and drown you within the immensity of her power.
I am a fool.
Turning my back on Morrigan, I head back to the resort, my hands in my pockets. How many times will it take for me to realize that she’s not someone I can dictate and control? That’s what drew me to her, and what I hated about her at first. She stood toe-to-toe with me and demanded her way.
Morrigan calls out my name, but I don’t stop.
Summer fights me, and every surrender from her is hard-won, but all the sweeter because it is.
I’m a fool.