Jacob and Cornelius answer as one, “No.”
The voice falls silent, and as one minute stretches into the next, I begin to wonder if maybe someone will call for the rewinding of time. It’s almost unheard of, and I would be genuinely shocked, but given the charges having to do with Vivian Jones, it would be slightly less surprising.
Click. Click. Click.
My entire body tenses at the sound. Zion, Cornelius, and Jacob are equally as tense beside me. Then the voice says, “Then you all shall go. Otherworldly knowledge stripped clean. Survive or don't. The truth will only be revealed when the truth speaks for itself.”
I open my mouth to protest, all three men beside me obviously preparing to do the same, but we don't manage to speak a word before the ground disappears beneath our feet.
We're suspended in the air for a moment, the clicking picking up speed until it becomes a sharp white noise whirling in our path.
And then we're shoved to the right.
Falling.
Falling.
Reborn.
THIRTY
INTO THE DEEP
Vivian
Thinking back on my life,I can’t quite pinpoint when I knew something was different about me.
Maybe it was always there, lingering on the outskirts of my memories, waiting for the right nudge to fully rise to the surface. Maybe it was just one layer deep, constantly smudged by Gemma’s interference, her tendency to keep me under her thumb making the revelation an impossibility.
Or, maybe I never knew at all. Maybe it was buried so deep beneath my human aura that the only way to retrieve it was to knock it loose. To have all the pieces shattered into bits and then fall into place intricately, like a puzzle box unlocking the secrets within.
Enter stage left, Zion and our bond, and stage right, Cornelius and his right hook—a sudden jarring remedy that leaves me in shambles as my now-jagged edges attempt to fuse anew.
Cornelius and Jacob allow me a few minutes to collect myself.
I walk away from them, unsure of where I’m going until I find myself standing over the sword previously knocked from my hands.
Staring down at the glinting blade, a feeling of familiarity rolls over me, a pulse of warmth radiating from my brain down my neck, settling in my chest. Kneeling, I reach for the hilt of the sword, quickly jerking my hand back as electricity zaps my fingertips. With a frown, I rub my smarting fingers together, glaring at the sword as it winks in the muted light.
Annoyed, I make a grab for the hilt, this time wrapping my hand around it, squeezing against the zap of pain until it fades and then releases. Using both hands, I raise the sword in front of me, bringing the flat of it up until it’s directly in my face, my eyes focusing on the intricate patterns in the steel, the kaleidoscope of light behind them.
Closing my eyes, I focus inward, attempting to locate whatever is inside me that hums for attention. A sharp pain ignites in my brain, and I wince, but remain steady, giving way for the truth to reveal itself.
Layers unfurl, time sifting along the outer planes of my psyche.
Vivian.
Frowning, I cock my head, listening intently.
Silence.
Echoes of silence.
My fingers flex on the sword’s hilt, my head tilting back, a gasp of agony falling from my lips as the pain returns, tenfold.
Vivian.
My body twitches, but I remain standing, allowing myself to settle in the calm, chasing away the agony. As light and dark mingle, showing me a murky path illuminated by blood and chaos.
