Page 83 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

I crouched before her, my heart aching in my chest. All I ever wanted was her love. For her to be proud of me. But I realized then that she could never provide what I needed. She was a broken creature filled with malice and heartbreak. And a broken chalice can never fill another until it is mended.

Grandma did not wish to be mended. Not now. Perhaps not ever. And I couldn’t force a mend upon her. She had to choose it.

A hole grew in my soul… one that had been there all along, though I’d never realized it. It was like an old friend, always there, always hungry. It was fed with scraps of her attention and grew with the bereavement of her absent love.

It was about time I let myself grieve the grandma I needed, as that was a grandma I never had.

It was time that I love myself as I had loved her: with grace, compassion, and gentleness, forgiving of mistakes and allowing others to bear the consequences of their own actions.

My rage dwindled as I looked down at her and felt only sorrow. Sorrow for what she could’ve been. Sorrow for what we could’ve had. And sorrow for what would never be.

“Better to die knowing you did what was right than to live with the guilt of innocent blood,” I said.

Dad grabbed Grandma’s arms and took her to her home, where she would live out her days in whatever peace she allowed. I couldn’t kill her, but I wouldn’t allow her manipulative lies to deceive my people any longer.

I was Matriarch of the Reds, and it was time to find peace.

Something nudged my soul.A gentleneed.

I smiled, thinking it was Ran’s last parting gift to me. For a moment, I couldfeelher. My bond, as she was the very first time I met her. Whipped and alone and near death, and all she had needed was a hug. This time, though, she needed a hug I couldn’t give her.

My knees gave out. I stared at the blood-drenched sand, unseeing, my mind somewhere far away where no pain could touch me. I knew I would have to get up, get back to work, lead my people. But it felt so bleak without my best friend here to keep me straight, to tell me when I was being an idiot, or to watch the birds fly as we cuddled in our favorite clearing.

“Alia—look!" Jacob said, his voice rising at the end with a hint of fear. I glanced up, my eyes hazy from a sheen of tears.

I turned just in time to see that Ran wasglowing,pulsing with a soft, warm light. Her body lifted from the ground, her horn glowing like a tiny sun.

My Reds yelled and gathered weapons as unicorns stepped from between the trees, their white, brown, and golden bodies glowing with an ethereal light.

Shen held up a hand to stay their blades. My Reds glanced from him to me. I nodded, telling them to listen, but I held up two fingers, saying to use caution as I stood, prepared to kill those Ran loved in order to protect my people.

Shock ran like cold lightning through my veins as the unicorns gathered before Ran and bowed a knee, their chins resting on the sand that had swallowed my bond’s lifeblood. I had never seen crazed unicorns so... tame.

Maybe because you've never looked,said a sweet, sweet voice in my mind.

"Ran?" I whispered, my lips numb and my knees weak. I took a step forward, but my legs almost didn’t hold me. Shen was there, holding me upright, but I didn’t—I couldn’t acknowledge him.

I glanced up at the white light, and I had to shield myself from it as it grew to rival the sun. Then it was gone.

I blinked away the lingering black spots and—and—Had I passed out? Was this all a broken dream my subconscious provided to prevent me from losing it? Was it all?—

Stop talking yourself into insanity,she said with an imperial snort.

I ran.

The unicorns who could disembowel me with their horns didn't even cross my mind as I darted between them to the being in the center. My heart leapt up to my throat as I slowed, staring at the beauty and majesty of the creature before me.

She slowly rose, getting her feet beneath her and stretching her wings out to the sides. She shook them a few times, then folded them down so they wouldn't hit the surrounding creatures.

Hello, Two-Legs,she said, her voice knowing and sassy, yet a sweet melody to my mind. Her voice became wry and mischievous as she dipped her head toward me, her warm brown eyes nearly glowing with happiness.Did I surprise you?

My laugh was broken by a whimper, and I face-planted into her scales. Her wings came forward and her trail wrapped around me as she cocooned me in a warm embrace. My body shook as sobs rose from deep in my chest to wash the plains of her scales.

My bond. My friend. My sister.

Alive? And a blasteddragon?

I will tell all later, Two-Legs. For now, know I was cursed into that form and the Sacrifice of True Love set me free. I had to die before I could live again in this body, Alia. I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, but I did try to warn you. You were just too much of an idiot to realize it.

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