Page 114 of Moon Cursed

“It means...” Cold, dimming eyes met mine. “The shadow is me.”

I jumped up, shooting between her and Hope. “Nia, what the fuck is going on!?”

“You would need to ask that.” She sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Gods, it makes me so mad that they kept so much from you. All your life you’ve only been told about high priestesses like you. Children of Luame who birth the next generation and keep the werewolves alive. But what no one ever told you is every hundred years, another child is born on the same day and at the same minute as the child of Luame. Another high priestess,” she said. “A child of Ola.”

My mind latched on one single word. “Priest-ess.”

“That’s right. A girl—now woman.” She threw out her hands. “Hi, sis.”

I breathed hard, sucking lungfuls in too fast to hold on to them. All I was thinking was one thing—I wouldn’t be able to shift and hold Hope, so what would I do if Nia did shift to stop us?

“Thinking about running away?” Nia asked, quirking a brow. “There’s no need for that. I mean you no harm, Daze. If I did, don’t you think I would’ve killed you a long time ago? Well, I almost did after you landed me in the hospital, but in the end, I forgave you because you were checking me out just like I was checking you out. We both passed the test.” She beamed at me. “We earned each other’s respect.”

“I don’t understand this.” My throat was too strangled to do more than whisper. “You’re a soul stealer? How?”

She shrugged. “Your mother gave you a special power. My father gave me one too. Not that big of a surprise.”

Our mother and father. She wasn’t speaking of the ones who raised us. She was talking about Luame and Ola.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out already,” she continued, cocking her head. “I came right out and told you that I was in the room when they killed Rici. Do you really think the alpha council would’ve let little old omega me run around with a secret like that in my head, without bashing it in? Of course I had to be special to them in some way.”

Bile rose in my throat. Badr said that. He told me exactly that, and I didn’t listen to him. Of course that part of the story never made sense.

“Oh gods,” I whispered, clutching the crib rail. “Oh my gods. It was you. You killed Nyx’s twin brother.”

“Ugh, he told you about that, did he?” She scrunched up her nose. “It wasn’t my fault. Daddy and I were out in the woods. He was teaching me how to train and control my power when those two came out of nowhere. Daddy told me my power had to stay secret no matter what, so of course, I had to kill them.” She dropped this like she was talking about crushing a daffodil under her boot. “But after I killed the first one, Daddy freaked out and got mad at me. Said I couldn’t use my power on people. Ugh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Oh, well.”

“What are you?” Suddenly I was shouting. “What’s wrong with you!? You killed an innocent boy! You were going to kick off a war that gets women bred like dogs and omega babies killed!”

“Hey, that wasn’t me!” she shouted, jumping to her feet. “That was the council’s plan, not mine! I didn’t know about any of it until you told me!”

“Bullshit!”

“It’s true,” she insisted, taking a step toward—

“You stay the fuck back!” My claws tore free. “You come near my baby and I’ll strangle you with your own guts!”

“Dammit, Daze, I’m not here to hurt you or Hope!” She took five steps back, holding up her hands in surrender. “I’m here to tell you the truth. Something that no one has ever done, not even Luame!”

“And what the fuck do you think is true,sis? Is it sneaking around, lying to me and pretending to be my friend? You wouldn’t know the truth if it was written on the brick I’m going to beat you with!”

Hope babbled in her crib, not even the least bit bothered by all the shouting.

“This is true.” Nia ripped up her shirt.

Right there plain for me to see... was nothing. No belly button on her smooth, brown stomach. All that was there where it should’ve been was a loopy, black depiction that almost resembled an anvil.

The mark of Ola.

“I am who I say I am, Daze. Luame gave you the gift of creation, but Ola gave me the only power he has—the gift of destruction. To take what is pure and innocent in a person and...” Nia placed one of her clips on her palm. Before my eyes, the clip glowed—shining bright—as a faint scream lit the air. She snapped her hand closed, crushing the clip, and the scream cut off.

“Oh my gods,” I breathed, hands shaking. “Was that...?”

“Yes. Do you like them?” She gestured to her many clips that had suddenly taken on new, terrifying meaning. “My gift is truly incredible, but I promise you, I never would’ve used that gift to aid in alpha domination if I knew their endgame. All I did know was that they were holding my brothers hostage, and I had to do whatever they told me if I wanted them to live.”

Her eyes pierced me. “You saw what they did to Ava and Melisent. You know that wasn’t a bluff.”

I didn’t let any sympathy for her work its way in. “That doesn’t explain why you lied to me, Nia.”

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