Page 71 of Their Promise

Mom teleported into the yard, surveyed the situation, and asked, “What’s going on?”

“She took it from us,” Mason snarled. “She took it and now it’s going to hurt her! Give it back, Lily!”

“She said it feels like it’s going to explode,” Nana Jolie informed Mom.

Dropping to my knees, clutching at my chest, I could barely breathe. My heart hammered in my chest and my lungs ached for more air. The pressure from the darkness built higher and higher, spreading all throughout my body. Looking at my arms, I could see it leaking out of me, like steam off my skin. There was so much darkness in the shield that I couldn’t see out of it anymore.

“Lily!” Mason, Kayden, and Trey screamed.

The build reached a crescendo and I screamed as it exploded outward. A feeling of weightlessness filled me, a sensation of being underwater.

Darkness surrounded me, pulsed within me, was me.

I was the darkness. The darkness was me. One and the same.

Someone pounded on the shield around me, several voices screamed, but I couldn’t understand any of it.

My necklace warmed against my chest.

“Accept the darkness,” a deep, unfamiliar voice said. “Accept it and make it yours. Once you’ve made it yours, forced it to accept you as the one in charge, you won’t have to fear it. Once it’s yours, you will be its master and it will do as you order.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“A friend,” the voice replied. “Now, accept it, force it to submit to you. Become the person you are supposed to be.”

“Who is that?”

“A goddess,” the voice whispered.

The necklace cooled and the cool feeling gave me a bit more control.

Doing as they said took a lot longer than I liked, but once I got the power under control, I was able to absorb it back and extinguish it.

With the smoke gone, I could see out of the shield.

Trey, Mason, and Kayden were on their knees in front of the shield, staring inside. All three looked terrified.

Grandpa Nico, Mom, Caleb, Riddick, Triston, Branson, Nana Jolie, Great Aunt Leona, and Great Uncle Silverowl all stood around the shield as well.

Getting to my feet, I stretched my arms out to my side, drew in a deep breath, and summoned the darkness. It swirled and wrapped around my arms and morphed into a black smoke snake with red eyes. The smoke snake looked at me with reverence. “You will do as I say,” I told it.

The snake dipped its head in acknowledgment.

Closing my fist, the snake disappeared, the darkness went back within me, swirling in my body, but calmly, and I realized I no longer felt the bloodlust like I normally did when it was moving within me.

Looking up at the trio, I smiled and said, “New power unlocked.”

Chapter

Eighteen

Once they were sure I was safe, they removed the shield and ran to me. Everyone, but the trio.

Mason turned his back on me, shifted into his raven form, and flew away.

“Give them some time to adjust,” Nana Jolie whispered as she hugged me. “Having it removed and thinking you were about to die is a lot to deal with.”

I nodded and hugged her back. “Thank you for listening to me.”

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