“This goes beyond the contest,” Tarnan replied, folding his arms on the table. “I feel Liraen is on the brink of something—history will be made. The only question is—”
“Will it be our downfall or rebirth?” Elyssa finished. The same feeling ran through her veins.History.That was her goal. Change the world, spark a fire, tear the past apart and start a new history book altogether. A blank page to be written, filled with glorious colours.
Chapter37
Amira
Tossing in her bed, Amira kept replaying Elyssa’s words from last week when she’d foolishly danced in the empty ballroom: ‘I don’t believe anyone is doomed.’Elyssa was wrong, shewasdoomed. Doomed to an existence of suffering because of her curse, because of her brother and Karwyn. Avoiding her pain had made her turn to hurtful pills and made her use Elyssa.
Amira’s breathing sped up as she thought of Elyssa lying in the room next to hers. If she focused deeply, she could hear Elyssa’s calm breathing. Far from her intensity after Amira’s overdose. Amira would have never guessed Elyssa was hiding so much pain. Her confident behaviour had fooled Amira into thinking she was a firecracker fighter who liked to flirt, but there was more to her…
The sound of Elyssa moving in her bed stopped Amira’s heart for a second. She shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts. Caring about someone was a risk she could no longer afford, not when the object of her affection risked death.
Her affection.It was already bad enough that Karwyn had assumed she loved Rhay. If he ever found out she had even entertained the idea of liking Elyssa, a human girl, he would destroy everything in her life. So would Wryen.
Feeling the darkness in her rise, Amira swallowed hard. Without fortae, it was becoming increasingly difficult to control her powers. All the time, Amira had to think about not giving in to the desire to use them. The withdrawal had been hard, cold sweats, scratching her skin until it was bleeding, vertigo—she had experienced it all. But now that she knew the horror of fortae, she would never use it again.
Elyssa’s breathing returned to normal. Behind closed eyes, Amira pictured the curve of her lips, her sun-kissed freckles, her bright golden eyes that held a hint of hazel if she looked closely enough. She hadn’t been able to shake the fire in Elyssa’s words when she’d called Amira breathtaking.
Amira put her pillow over her head, sighing in frustration. Why was she thinking about her? The only thing Amira should focus on was finding a way to remove her freakish powers. Once she stopped being a witch, her life would be worth living.
As if it had understood her desire to part ways, the beast in her chest awakened, roaring at her intentions. Her bed shook, the footboard scratching the wooden floors.
Stop it,she told herself. But the darkness wasn’t listening. The creaking sound of the bed was getting louder—too loud. Suddenly, the glass window burst. Pieces of glass fell to the floor. What if someone heard?
Amira jumped out of bed and desperately tried to gather the pieces of glass, but she only managed to hurt herself in the process.
“What happened?” Elyssa’s tired voice startled Amira. She turned, broken glass clenched in her hands, to find Elyssa standing in the doorway.
Elyssa took in the mess. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“They’re going to know I did it. They’ll know about my curse.” Amira tried to gather more pieces of glass, cutting her finger but not feeling the pain.
Elyssa stepped towards her, barefoot, avoiding the broken glass on the ground. As she lowered herself, she gently grasped Amira’s hand.
“We’ll say it was the freaking wind,” Elyssa said. Her wild red curls hit her shoulders. Amira let her remove the broken glass from her hand. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
As they walked to Amira’s bed, she noticed that Elyssa was only wearing a long shirt, her strong legs glistening in the moonlight. Her hand twitched, longing to touch Elyssa’s soft skin. Instead, Amira bit her lip so hard she drew blood, the silvery taste overwhelming her.
Elyssa helped Amira sit on her bed. Sweat coated Amira’s forehead, capturing some of her hair. Pushing away a dark brown lock, Amira shivered at Elyssa’s touch. Amira lost herself in Elyssa’s gaze, their bodies so close Amira could see Elyssa’s chest rise and fall. Elyssa didn’t appear as bothered by their closeness as Amira was. The time they had almost kissed flashed before Amira’s eyes, setting her heart in flames. The same fear of giving in gripped her now.
“Can I ask what triggered your powers the first time?” Elyssa asked, searching her eyes.
“Loss,” Amira confessed, the echo of Quynn’s screams running through her head, cooling her desire.
Elyssa gently touched her shoulder. “Right, your father. I’m sorry.”
Amira didn’t feel like correcting her. Better she assumed her pain was only connected to the loss of her father.
Elyssa reached out, drying Amira’s tears with her hand. Her touch was careful, barely grazing her skin, yet Amira felt on fire. For the first time, the heat wasn’t threatening. It was lighting her up in a way Amira couldn’t quite put into words.
“You’re gonna learn to control it. I know you can,” Elyssa said. Amira didn’t understand what she had done to earn that belief. Elyssa pulled her hand back, and Amira fought the urge to reach for her. “I think I can show you how to fix the window. I’ve seen my friend do something similar before.”
Amira was torn between her desire to fix her mess and her profound fear of using her powers. What if the more she used them, the harder it became to remove them?
Elyssa stood up from the bed. “Come on, you wouldn’t want your maid to clean all of this?” Her tone was teasing, but her eyes were serious.
Following Elyssa to the window, Amira carefully avoided the broken glass left on the ground. “Put your hands on the window frame and close your eyes.”
