Chapter Forty-Seven
Keiran
What will it feel like to have my magic back?
The trip back to Twilight House can’t come fast enough.
It’s been so long since I’ve held the full strength of my magic that I think I’ve forgotten what it feels like. To be able to create and destroy anything I want with a snap of my fingers. Destroy armies with a wave of my hand.
I am suddenly desperate for it and terrified of it all at once.
We’re back in my study. Xaden is at the bar pouring himself a drink. The twins are lounging on the couch staring at the Offering in the love seat before them like a meal.
I requested that she bring back clothing from her mother’s castle. And she’s had enough time to bathe and change into a white lace dress that makes her appear like a doll.
The white bow she added to her half-up hair is simply punishing.
I’m going to fuck her the second she begs for it. Make her writhe and sob.
Xaden, to my surprise, brought a glass of spiced rum over to me. He’s never been one to take care of others but the Offering has changed us all.
The Demon Slayer has chosen a liquor that smells like smokey wood and sea salt. I take a sip, relishing the burn on my tongue.
“Ready, boss?” Kallias asks as Xaden and I simultaneously drop into leather chairs.
I tilt my glass towards the stars. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“What will it feel like?” Remi asks, and Xaden and I and the twins instantly tense.
We’re not used to being questioned. To have another voice in the room besides the occasional growl of Vienna.
Where the hell is she, anyway?
“It will feel like the island,” Xaden says, in a tone that’s too dark, even for this storm-filled night.
“And what does that feel like, Xade?” Kallias is an asshole.
Xaden shoots me a glare that reminds me of an unstable university student. One that belongs to a chess club in the dungeons.
“It feels like death and destruction, Witches-born,” Xaden cuts back, refusing to make eye contact with Kallias.
Kallias curls his fists. And I can feel that Rhodes is looking at me from the shadows in equal ways, a warning and a question.
He’s saying both are you going to do something? And, if you don’t, I will.
Always so protective of Kallias.
But now we have a person we all care about more than any other.
“D-death and destruction?” Remi asks from her spot.
“We won’t let it hurt you,” I assure her. “But the real question is, has the Pearl Split open?”
“I’ll be ready to chase,” Xaden says, nodding to me from behind his rum. “You have my word.”
A dig at the twins, no doubt.
Loyalty and power play swirls in the room like wraiths.
I do not have time for this. I do not have time for Xaden and the twins to fight.
“Alright,” I say. I take another pull from the glass and set it on the table before me, right next to the glowing white box.
There’s a single latch on it, imbued with magic, no doubt.
My heart is beating so hard in my chest, I can feel it in my throat.
Everyone takes a collective breath as I reach forward and grab it. My fingers wrap against the lid.
Even Rhodes is leaning forward at this point. The excitement in the room is a shared, palpable thing.
This is it, the final moments.
I push open the lid.
And find crushed, broken diamonds. More than just the stones from my Black Pearl.
“What the fuck?”
There’s a flash of light, then not one, but two essences of magic fly out.
One from a Black Pearl, and another…from a White.