The scent of cliftolight blood was toxic, it had made my eyes water when I had first killed one.
It was somehow ironic that I had a terrible gut feeling about today's performance. The shadows had whispered and I chose to ignore it.
"You aren't going to perform, right, Mor?" Ezra asked for reassurance that was beginning to pain me and also... surprisingly irked me. My mind began to drift, and I could not help but wonder if the crown prince looked like his father.
A frightening kind of beauty.
I looked into the mirror and smirked. An almost sadistic kind of smirk that would have surprised me if it weren't for the darkness in my heart beginning to fill up like a canister.
"They want a performance. I'll give it to them."
"No, no, no!" Ezra repeated in outrage. "You'll get yourself killed." He was livid, he knew first-hand how cruel royalty could be.
"From the cliftolights or fromthem?"I argued.
"You're emotionally unstable at this moment," Dezimus answered for Ezra.
"You don't know what I am capable of," I growled. Darkness clouded my mind in smoke. It had never gotten this bad. My friends had all gone silent and the room had darkened by a fraction. I made eye contact with Ezra’s, that begged. Elijah andDezimus were quiet and tensed. The darkness shrank away at the sight.
"Today will be my last performance. I want to make it count. After this, I want to start a life elsewhere," I said softly. Ezra's expression shifted immediately.
Leaning down to where I sat, he took my hands in his. "It will be our last day then."
"Our last day indeed."The shadows swirling inside me seemed to sing. My heart squeezed at the fact that Dezimus and Elijah remained where they were, I knew them better than anyone. They were upset.
They don't trust you.
They don't believe you can do this.
The shadows in my mind swarmed and gossiped.
"Well, isn't this just heart-warming? Look, brother, I told you they all fuck behind closed tents." Klarc Adonis nudged his eldest brother Braze, whose face was clouded over in thought. Klarc always made foolish comments but fortunately I did not waste my time on brittle brains. There was no need to speak to the brutes that Dritan called goddess blessed. Yes, they were strong, perhaps stronger than the few drops of elder blood, but not worthy of their power.
Ezra snorted. "Are you tired of fucking your own brothers, is that it?"
Klarc pushed through his brothers, making his way to Ezra. I rose from my seat, the dark wisps of my hair outside mydiokmoving with me. I trace the fire blade at my hip and sparks arise.
Klarc froze, refusing to let fear pass his eyes. I gave him a slow feral smile, showing the canines I keep well hidden. I tilted my head to the side. My eyes zoomed in on his throat swallowing where his pulse thumped.
"You have a performance to get to," I spoke lowly.
His eyes flashed. This time Klarc was the one smiling.
"And you don't."
I laughed. The brute had knocked his head around so much that he couldn't possibly think.
"We're fighting the cliftolights. The crown prince expects it," Braze, the eldest and more sensible brother spoke.
My stomach dropped. "That's not true."
Braze looked me dead in the eyes.
Solemnly.
He didn't want this.
Disbelief. This whole night was filled with the feeling of disbelief.
