With my mind made up, I focused on his back and unleashed my power again. This time, it hit. I felt it sink into his psyche, and my veins lit up with that addictive high.
“I’m not weak,” I whispered, knowing he heard me as I shoved raw pain down the connection. Calix groaned.
I got up on shaky legs, puffing out a laugh as I stalked closer, power thrumming in my veins. Years of being underestimated boiled up?—
His hand shot out, snatching my throat and lifting me like I weighed nothing.
What the fuck?His body should’ve been locked in torment.
His eyes were bloodshot and blown wide. Blood dripped from his lip, and his fangs were bared. He looked monstrous, nothing like the smooth, controlled Calix I knew.
He snarled. “You think we haven’t been trained to resist mind manipulation? Fairy, mage, demon—it’s all the same.”
Even before his fingers squeezed, I’d lost my breath.They’ve been trained for this? They know how to resist it?Hope blossomed in my chest. My mind was focused on only one thing, and it wasn't the pain Calix was inflicting.
I wheezed, clawing at his arm, desperate to hear the truth. “Did… Nova get… this… training… too?”
He glared at me, bows pinched, before dropping me like dead weight. My power snapped away from him.
“Fuck.” He shook his head. “I don’t like that feeling,” he muttered, rolling his shoulders.
Coughing a few times, I croaked again, “Did Nova… get that training?”
For a heartbeat, behind all his fury, I caught a flicker of something unexpected: respect.
“Yes, dipshit! We all did.” He looked around, exasperated. “Did you really think Nova would have a second who could control her? Do you think we would let her?”
The words hit me harder than his punch.I can’t control her.
For years, I’d been repeating it in my head like a curse. It had been the reason I told her no. My whole body suddenly light, the years of guilt lifting away like smoke. I bolted for the car. I hadto see Nova. Had to talk to her. Explain. Maybe, just maybe, we could start over.
My stomach coiled tight, breath coming in erratic bursts, but my heart was light for the first time in months. I didn’t even register the pain from Calix’s punch anymore.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Calix shouted after me.
I raised my hand without looking back. “I don’t have time to deal with you anymore. I need to talk to Nova.”
Slamming the car door shut, my engine roared to life, mimicking the way my own soul had come back online. Gravel spit under my tires as I tore out of there, Calix shrinking in the rearview, arms crossed, glare sharp, but the corner of his mouth had lifted.
He played me. Again.
Fucking Calix.
It didn’t matter because, tonight, I’d prove I wasn’t the weak link he thought I was. The time for caution and patience was up. I was going to show her that she was mine.
* Heartless by Diplo ft. Morgan Wallen
15
NOVA
?*The cool rim of the glass pressed against my lips, bringing with it a steadiness that held me back from the cliff’s edge. I’d been filled with pain and frustration all afternoon, but now the chilled Hellfire liquor slid down my throat and smoothed the edges of the storm, a clean burn that cut through and settled into my belly.
I told myself I wasn’t punishing him. I wasfreeinghim. I kept saying the words to myself over and over until they sounded like the truth.
It was cruel and selfish to keep him chained up next to me and perpetuate this toxic loop we were in.
My fingers closed around the crystal glass until the engraved initials bit into my palm. The thoughts scraped on the insides of my skull like claws, striking sharp and deep. I shook my head and guzzled down the mind-numbing liquid. The burn made the feelings dull. Manageable.
