Page 57 of Shadowed Fate

Our eyes lock, and I spring to my feet. I have no idea how long he’s been there or why Lochan and I didn’t notice him.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

Marius laughs, and the sound hits every raw nerve I’ve got right now. "Oh, little bird. There's so much you don't know."

"Then enlighten me," I spit, taking a step closer. I’m so tired of all the questions and uncertainty. "What do you know about... this?" I gesture vaguely at myself, at the lingering shadows in the corners of the room.

He pushes off the desk, prowling towards me with predatory grace. "I know that you're special. That you have a— let's call it a destiny."

"Destiny? What destiny? What are you talking about?"

Marius circles me, his eyes never leaving mine. "The prophecy, little bird."

My peripheral blurs and my vision narrows. The scroll. The symbols. Marius knows. I feel like everyone here knows more about me than I do. I will myself to sound dismissive. “And what does this so-called prophecy say about me?"

He stops inches from my face. I can feel his cool breath on my skin. "That you're either our salvation... or our destruction."

I swallow hard, fighting the urge to step back. "That's insane. I'm nobody."

His eyes whip to mine. "You're far from nobody."

Images flash in my mind—ravens, blood, battlefields. I shake my head, trying to clear it.

Marius leans in, his lips brushing my ear. "You know what you are. You just have it locked away. Let it out, little bird.”

I shove him away, finding my voice. "Get out."

He doesn't move. "You can't run from this, Brigid. The power inside you will only grow. And there are those who will stop at nothing to control it. Or destroy it."

"What do you want from me?"

Marius smiles. "To help you, of course."

I laugh bitterly. "Right. Out of the goodness of your heart?"

His eyes darken. "Let's just say I have a vested interest."

He moves to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. "Think about it, Brigid. You're in over your head here. You need allies. You need me.”

As the door clicks shut behind him, I sink to the floor, my head in my hands. What am I going to do?

The shadows in the room seem to pulse with power. My power.

I need to understand what's happening to me, what this prophecy means. But every step I take feels like I'm walking further into a stormy sea of confusion.

I'm drowning here, surrounded by secrets and lies. And I have no fucking clue how to swim.

Chapter 27

Brigid

The floor must be wearing thin beneath my feet with the amount of time I’ve been pacing, my thoughts a swirling mess.

Fuck Lochan and his accusations. Fuck Marius and his cryptic bullshit. And fuck this whole goddamn academy for turning my life upside down. I wasn’t happy back home, but at least life was normal.

Was it though?Even I know that’s not the truth.

I remember my visions, and the relief that has come from not having them pounding in my head anymore.

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