Page 144 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

There were gasps and murmurs, and it took me a moment to recall that although I hadn’t troubled to hide the truth in recent weeks, many magus here were unaware of my family’s real fate. “As you might fathom, this new tether became my hope and survival. I hadn’t felt connection to another being in so long, and the arrival of this bond—no matter that it was an odd one—was a beacon. I had to find the person on the other end.” I heaved a sigh, then smiled. “And so I arrived here expecting to be murdered on site, having only my childhood imaginings to go off.”

There were a few chuckles at that.

“Consider my surprise when I wasn’t killed or locked away.” I arched a brow. “Consider my surprise when I found a community and started to feel connection to those around me. Why did my mother and grandmother flee? Nothing added up. That mystery pressed almost as much at my mind as that of my mystery tether. And then the mating ritual with Wild began to ramp up. Tied in this ritual, I became aware of parts of my magic and past that I’d successfully locked away since the murder of my family. I became aware of a barrier in my divination affinity, the affinity I’d gained upon the loss of my grandmother, mother, and twin. I was, with the help of some here, able to piece together why a divination journey back to the night of my family’s murder always resulted with me waking at the base of the north mountains.”

This all seemed so long ago. I’d figured out so much about myself and the hidden past of my mother. Perhaps I deserved credit for that. My life had been turned upside down so many times, and I still managed to land on my feet most times.

The coven didn’t know where this was going. They didn’t want more bad news. They wanted to know about me too. They wanted understanding.

“For everything I put together, five more questions arose,” I admitted. “More than ever I had no clue about my magic, my past, the pasts of my family, the identity of my father, the person on the other end of my tether, nor of the mating ritual happening with Wild. There seemed no way to explore what had been. Each time I went back, I was forced into a deep chaos—a chaos that grew deeper and lengthier with each journey. I was stuck until, quite by chance, I followed an echo of my mother across the knolls one day. There was something about this echo of her that seemed off. I tracked this version of her across the meadow and up into the alpine forest. I followed her to a ravine there.”

Everyone knew what ravines meant.

“I hadn’t expected the sudden appearance of my grandmother in the repeat,” I said. “A conversation between them finally revealed who my father was and why my magic was blocked. Their conversation told me why they left and—” I swallowed. “—the conversation helped me to understand why Hazeluna made me swear never to join this coven.”

I closed my eyes. “I have struggled with the weight of this knowledge since that night. I have struggled with keeping such an enormous truth from those here. I have tried to convince myself—as others have—that this truth was not one I had to share. That I could keep it as mine alone until which time as I might ever want to tell this coven. Inside I have warred between the feeling that I was betraying you through omission, the feeling that I needed time to understand my new self, and also the towering fear of what may come once this coven knew all of me. Fear of losing my grip on the happy and healthy coven I envision and hope for in our future. All of those were in my heart and mind for the last months as I played Caves to win, knowing—as my mother and grandmother had—that demons were using the game to infiltrate our midst and conquer us. Knowing—as my uncle and grandfather had—that our time was running out and the division within this coven could be what eventually killed us.”

I stood and held my hands, palms out, toward the coven. “Caves is done now, however, and I have come to see that fear should not stand in the way of this coven, nor their right to choose their leader. I relinquish the authority so that the leader you elect can fill it. I will not sit there again unless you decide it when in full capacity of the truth.”

Dread filled me. Hope too. As well as a curious nudge from Wild.

I sent him reassurance, then tilted my chin. “That night in the ravine, I learned my father was the previous demon king. I learned that I am half demon. I learned that my demon was blocking my divination affinity. And I learned that my presence in the knolls could be making the demon magic here stronger. This is why my mother and grandmother ran from the coven. This is why I was made to swear never to return.” As the volume steadily increased, and magus surged to their feet, I raised my voice also. “This is why I can speak in the demon tongue. This is why my blood hurt the demon leader that night. This is why they fear me—because I am of the bloodline of their last ruler. This is why the new leader slaughtered my family five years ago, to be rid of anyone who could challenge him.”

The shouting made saying anything else pointless.

So I showed them.

I called forth my black smoke.

I called forth my black scales.

37

A small grate at the bottom of the cell door opened, and a cup of something chunky and sloppy was shoved through the gap. The cup toppled, and the goop spilled across the stone floor.

Wow, they’re really angry.

The door opened, and Huxley popped his head in, grinning.

“Joking,” he said. “Did you fall for it?” He banished the cup and goop spill, then set a tray on the single bed beside me. A tray filled with nutritious and freshly cooked food.

I grabbed a soft roll. “Yes, I did.”

He picked up the second roll and took a bite.

Only one of us was locked away, but sure, take my rations. “How is it?”

Huxley pursed his lips. “Wild went bonkers when he arrived to find you being led away. The coven is reeling. They’re talking. They’re in turmoil. They don’t know what to do.” He glanced around. “Clearly. This place could never hold you. Why don’t you walk out?”

I lifted a shoulder. “Why? I want them to let me out.”

After finishing the bread roll, I dusted my hands off. “Is Sven pissed?”

“Yep. So is Rooke, but she’s pissed on your behalf. Sven is just pissed at you. He says you had an out. You didn’t have to tell everyone the truth, and with Frond gone, you would’ve gotten away with it. He could have used his magic to bring back control.”

“Probably could have.”

“You don’t want control, though. You want truth.”

---