“Don’t give me that shit, V. We aren’t talking about ungodly beings or even becoming gods who don’t know what they’re doing. We’re talking about the very firstbeingsto walk this realm.”
My foot crashes through a pile of rubble, sending dust plummeting through the air.
“They were meant to make the realm thrive. Not take everything from it. They were made as equals and were supposed to complement each other. Not lie, betray, scheme, fuckingrapeone of their very own.”
The torches flicker in and out of existence as the crumbling walls shake from my bellows.
“They all—even Derivius—have made choices that have truly and utterly screwed us all up. You. Kira killed your kind, V. They created men with the intentions to turn them into monsters.Now we, me and those very same men, have to fix this shit, and it is so unfair. It’s cruel. Manipulative. Fucking wrong!”
I release my scream and all the pressure building inside of me. Power pours from my hands in a vicious storm and my Chaos complements what’s coming out of me. My eyes drift shut and my arms stretch out as I unleash myself, yet I refuse to add to the wrongness around me. The echoes of rubble rising and moving blare around me.
It doesn’t feel like destruction.
It feels like something right’s tearing free.
Thayla
19
My knees hit the ground as my power snaps back inside of me, and a gasping breath shudders in my chest.
I allow my arms to fall limply at my sides as I tilt my head toward the ceiling.
The marbled ceiling.
What little air I had left in my lungs rushes out of me as my gaze roams over the black-and-white marble and the streaks of baby blue that scatter throughout it. Lights glisten around the grand temple, making the shards of gold flakes on the floor glitter like stars.
The obsidian statue standing proudly in the middle of the area is etched to perfection. It captures every one of Derivius’s features.
Including two bright, baby blue eyes.
“This is what his temple is supposed to look like. This is right.”
Air whooshes through the space as V flies over to me and waddles into my lap.
“My Chaos and Creation did this,” I whisper as the two powers still vibrate lightly beneath my skin. “I…That day in the Lost Sea, Doren said the responsibility of the Binding was mine because the guys were at risk of falling to the dark side without me. He never took me without them into account, though. Maybe he wasn’t warned.”
I continue to glance around the temple. I’m honestly in awe despite feeling raw and hollow inside.
“Without them.” I shake my head. “That’s a dark possibility, V. One I refuse to let become a reality. I don’t want to become someone I don’t recognize or fall apart or be destructive. I don’t want to become the Beginning Gods or anything like them.”
“You just proved you’re capable of not allowing that to happen, Thayla. Instead of destruction, you wielded your power in a way that righted a wrong done to him.”
My attention slides over to Derivius’s still sleeping form. He’s none the wiser about what I’ve done. The multiple broken bottles that surrounded him are nowhere to be found.
The anger I felt so strongly just moments ago is nowhere to be found either.
Deep sadness replaces it.
“Is he as bad as the others? Am I blinded by our relationship?”
“No. Much like…”
I swallow hard. “Riven.”
“Yes. Much like Riven, Derivius is severely misunderstood. He has and probably always will be the easiest to blame because of his power. He has a good heart and soul. Plus, very redeeming qualities.”
Redeeming.
