Page 87 of Hollowed

Ididn’t recognize my own voice asIspoke. “PerhapsIwill be the first.Perhapsthe others were merely lacking in proper motivation.”

“Youdon’t know what you’re doing,” she snarled, her crown singed down to ashes and the flames licking at the ends of her hair now. “Youkill me, and you risk upsetting the balance of the world.”

“Howunfortunate.”Ididn’t care.Icared about nothing save seeing her charred body at my feet.

Myflames overwhelmed her shadows once again, pushing with more vengeance this time.Visionsflashed through my eyes.VisionsofBrom’sface asItumbled down the riverbank.VisionsofAdelaide’smissing eyes.Visionsof my mother’s sneer.VisionsofCiara’slifeless body.Andnow, visions ofAlexander’sblood, running in rivers of red from his body and feeding the earth.

Myrage was palpable, the aura of fire around me pulsing.Ileaned into my power, feeding the beast with more memories, more visions of my mother’s disappointment, my father’s apathy, the glaresI’dgotten from people in the street,Devlin’shand on my arm, the wordsCiara’smother had spoken beyond the courtyard.Allof it fed the monster in my soul.Thefire grew higher, whipping out from my body violently with jerking movements.

Angerwas freeing.Angerwas better than guilt, than grief, than the tearsI’dshed overAlexander’sbody.Theanger was cleansing.

Death’sblack eyes widened slightly asIadvanced on her, wings snapping out wide as they tugged on my back, on the very core of my soul beneath my skin.Shetook a step back, the hot air pushing from my wings, lifting her hair from her shoulders, now singed off up to her shoulders and still smoldering. “You’llnever kill me, phoenix.”

“Let’sfind out,”Iwhispered, and unleashed all the rage that had been brewing.Myvision blacked out as the roar of flames mixed with the thunder of my heartbeat.Ilet my eyes slide closed, relishing the sounds ofDeath’sscreams as the flames bubbled across her skin.

Wasthis power?Wasthis whatIwas meant to be?

Thesatisfaction that flooded through me at the sounds ofDeath’spain told me that this was whatIwas meant to be.

Adestroyer.Nota savior.

Adelaidehad been right all along.

Thescreams of the being who’d taken everything from me faded andIopened my eyes slowly.Myheart thundered in my ears, pounded in my throat as my vision cleared.Deathstood before me, her entire body consumed by flame, what used to be her face stretched open in a scream.Witha beat of my flaming wings, the statue of cinders crumbled into ash, floating away on the wind.

Wasshe dead?

Icouldn’t imagine any being could survive being burned into ashes, but there was no way to be sure.

Onlythe taste of ash and smoke remained, the taste heavy on my tongue.I’ddone it.Mybreath shuddered from my lungs in a cry.I’ddone it.I’dsavedSleepyHollow, savedmyself.

Specksof black rose into the sky, catching my attention before disappearing into the distance.Mygaze fell from the swirls of ash toAlexander’sbody, lying in the grass, his hands still bound and his blood pooling.Crimsonwas smeared across his face and neck from whereI’dheld him, trying to keep the life inside his body.

Ifell to my knees, just out of reach of his body.Stillwreathed in flamesIdidn’t care to call back.Ididn’t want them to touch his body.Iwanted him whole, to bury him properly.

SleepyHollowhad taken everything from me and from him.I’dsaved them, but lost one of the few people who mattered to me.Oneof the few people who cared about me.Iwas alone once more.

I’dsavedSleepyHollow, butI’dfailedAlexander.

Theground began to shake, a rumbling that vibrated my very bones.Isqueezed my eyes closed, tears once again falling down my cheeks and dripping onto the earth.Therumbling faded slowly.

WhenIfinally opened my eyes, nothing seemed different about the cemetery, about the forest beyond.Thoughthe lingering pile of ashes fromDeath’sbody had disappeared entirely.PerhapsIshould be worried about what would come next, about the consequences of killingDeath.

ButIfelt nothing but an endless hole in my chest.

Asob ripped from my throat, which turned into a scream that had me throwing my head back and cursing at the sky until my throat ached and my ears rang.

Whateverretribution theOtherworldsought could find me.I’dhad enough.

Forty

Myflames wrapped around my naked body asIcried, tinting my vision with reds and oranges as they coiled around my head, shooting off around me in flickering movements.Ineeded to get up, to pull the fire back into my body and find a way back toSleepyHollow, toHenryandPriscilla.ButIcouldn’t bring myself to move.Icould barely bring myself tobreathe.

“Katrina.”Thewind carried a whisper that barely reached my ear.

Mysobs faltered at the sound of my name, andIsqueezed my eyes shut, bowing my head asIfelt the blaze grow around me.Thevoice sounded like it belonged toAlexander, but he was lying dead on the grass.Iclenched my fists to keep from lifting my head to look.Itwas a trick, surely, andIwould not fall for it.

PerhapsI’dnot killedDeathafter all, and she was punishing me.Orthis was my consequence from theOtherworld, to be haunted byAlexander’svoice as punishment.

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