Page 68 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

“The discarding of innocent people at your mercy, under your orders,” Lenna added, and her heart thundered in her chest with anger. “The roixers roaming free and killing whoever they want, whenever they want, with no consequences, because they have your permission to use brute power to impose their laws, your laws. The degradation you need to inflict upon others to place yourself above them. Because that is the only thing you truly have: an evil, wicked mind that cares about nothing and nobody other than your damned self.”

Lenna’s body was trembling with anger, her teeth clenching anytime she shut her mouth, so instead she continued, “And you want me to learn what, from your punishment? You want me to learn to behave when your fucking exemplar behavior is making us bleed? I thank you for your punishment, because it has clarified any small doubt I could ever have about who the fuck you truly are, and how you want to rule over us. And as for what you want from me… I will never apologize to a piece of shit with powers.”

Rhei Coralt clapped his hands three times, the sound echoing in the throne room. “Very clarifying for me too, Lenna Brachyan, to hear your list of torments. To see that, as I had rightly believed, you are incapable of evolving. Some beings are narrow minded like that.”

The Organ Mandor moved his silver eyes to Ayla, who was quiet as dead next to Lenna, probably not even daring to breathe too loudly.

“Lucky me, I have an alternative option for the Heir of the North House. A much more suitable option, according to what your parents have told me. An option that, according to the Librarians of Time, is close enough that shouldn’t alter the flow of the magic within the land too much.”

Rhei Coralt continued, “Why complicate my life with a rebellious little panom heir playing empowered woman when the panom you shared your womb with can obey my rules? Why should a few minutes of difference at birth make any difference twenty-five years later?”

“Since I have memory, I have wished to not be the heir of my House. You’ll be doing me a favor,” Lenna winked.

The Organ Mandor smiled, and Lenna wanted to take her eyes away from him, but couldn’t. Not as he extended his arms and a continuous arrow of black sparks flowed into Lenna’s chest, extracting a small North Petal golden shape from it that floated in the air until it penetrated Ayla’s chest, who inhaled sharply and went extremely pale.

A panomquake followed, much smaller than the previous one when Lenna and Jake had interacted, and the only panom that didn’t move his position was the Organ Mandor, his ruling ass on his ruling throne. Ayla, Lenna and Jake readjusted their positions.

“Happy heirloom-stealing day, sister,” Lenna said. “Your wishes come true at last.”

“True destiny always delivers, Lenna Brachyan,” Rhei Coralt said, still smiling. Ayla said nothing, but her body shaking next to Lenna’s probably meant she was holding her happy tears in.

“Destiny is a piss-taker. I only believe in the twisted minds of the Cardinals,” Lenna said. She didn’t feel any different now that the actual North Petal that she didn’t know was stuck in her chest belonged to her sister.

“Twisted indeed. Female minds, twisted indeed,” Rhei Coralt nodded.

Lenna was hoping for a dismissal, so she didn’t have to see his wicked face for a second longer. But that horrific grin appeared on his lips again, as if he had had some sort of last-minute revelation.

“I think it’s time to leave problems knotted properly. You and your also twisted mind, Lenna Brachyan, are one of my unforeseen problems that I have no time for. Since you haven’t liked the peculiarities of my punishments so far, I would like to try something I haven’t used in a long, long time. Will I be doing you a favor if I take your panom powers away?”

Lenna’s heart stopped, the sound on her ears blank as time seemed to stop. “You can’t do that,” she whispered.

“Incapable minds don’t learn,” Rhei Coralt kept grinning. “I can very much do that, girl.” He extended his arms in front of him again, the blackness coming out of his hands aimed towards Lenna’s chest again. She covered her panom mark with both hands, golden sparks flowing from her hands as she Gave herself a barrier against the Organ Mandor’s power.

The golden physical barrier made of her magic was translucid, allowing her to see the delighted face of Rhei Coralt as he welcomed the challenge with open arms. The golden colour of the barrier was now interlaced with navy laces, reinforcing it. Lenna was busy enough concentrating on keeping the black strikes away from her chest to look at Jake. But him standing up for her against his father again did something to the rhythm of her heart.

The barrier became all navy shortly after, golden sparks and black sparks flying around it. And the navy sparks sucked the black ones, making them disappear. The barrier was gone.

Lenna stopped, feeling the black pressure against her source of magic on her chest. Her panom mark. She couldn’t lose her panom mark, her panom abilities. It was the only thing she had. The only thing that truly mattered.

“Touch her and you will regret it,” Jake spat, his silver eyes penetrating his father’s, navy sparks emanating from his hands, his body, his hair.

The Organ Mandor was not smiling anymore. “You don’t want to become another problem of mine, boy. Your mind is capable. It’s just as stubborn as the Fifth itself.”

The black arrows made of sparks shoot through Lenna’s chest before Jake or she could put another barrier up, and she felt the ink on her skin diluting as the black sparks erased her panom mark from her. The power balance that had felt so uneven at the high effort of Giving so much trying to keep the barrier in place—

The magical balance didn’t feel uneven anymore. Because there was no balance. No magic.

Lenna Brachyan was not a panom.

Lenna crumpled into the floor, her mind fogged with fear and frustration and anger and fear. Fear, so much fear. She opened her hand, willing her sparks to appear. Emptiness was all she had left. In her hands, her mind, and her heart.

Lenna didn’t know if things happened in her head or in reality, when she saw Ayla with tears in her eyes saying, “Sorry.” When Jake placed a hand on her neck and they moured away, the surroundings spinning almost as much as her own thoughts. As her own life.

42

Hope

Tall trees surrounded the small clearing where Ciaran had moured Hope to. She would have stopped to marvel at the red-tinged night sky above her, should the corpse of her mother not have been laying at her feet. She had been staring at it blankly for seconds, minutes, or hours.

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