Page 80 of Petals for Deadly Power

“Once I name my prices, refusal will not be an option. In return, you will be granted the Fifth Power.”

Any remote sign of amusement or nonchalance left Jake’s body, his shoulders and arms tense with the risk she posed in front of him. Lenna didn’t have any doubt—it was a fucking trap.

“I will not go into such gamble blind. There are conditions,” Jake demanded.

The East Cardinal tilted her head. “Two conditions you may name.”

Jake inhaled deeply. “Lenna Brachyan will be alive and unharmed, untouched by you or your sisters, by this gamble or any others.”

Lenna’s heart squeezed so tightly it could fit inside her fist. She wanted to shout “Don’t trust her” so badly, but it would be useless, because Jake already didn’t trust the wicked mind of this goddess.

“Repulsive, but agreeable. One more condition you may name before I reveal the prices you will pay.”

“The woman I share blood with, Hope Nevada, will remain alive, unharmed, and untouched.”

“Wise, but not wise enough, Jake. The obsessive protection of my dear sister over your half-sister is unmatched. You wasted your second condition, but I respect your first. I will now name your due, and you will receive your well-deserved Fifth Power.” Her finger touched his lip, breaking it in half, blood droplets pooling at his feet.

“Get your fucking hands off him, spiteful winged creature of Hell,” Lenna shouted. The moment her voice left her mouth, Jake’s widened silver eyes were on her, a warning and a plea that she was not going to comply with anymore.

To Lenna’s utmost shock, the East Cardinal took her finger off him, but it was the utterly delighted and satisfied smile on her red lips that froze her in place.

“By the time the sun rises, I will have killed every member of the East House. You will become the new Ruler of my House, Jake. You will bear your title with the honor it deserves, and I expect you to make me and my House proud. The second price, though, is the highlight of my night.” The East Cardinal looked at the Core Cardinal as if this was her personal vengeance, as if whatever hatred she was putting in Jake’s gamble was fueled by much more than the man she was making bleed. “It’s a favor you will one day thank me for. To become the ruthless panom ruling the Harming petal, you must let go of what makes you weak and vulnerable.”

Jake shook his head slowly, blood dripping down his chin and cheek as his strong fists clenched at his sides, as if he had realized something that was too late to undo. He turned to meet her golden stare, and his eyes showed the biggest terror Lenna had ever seen.

Terror bigger than losing one’s life, terror greater than witnessing the end of the world.

“From now on, Jake Coralt of the East House, you will not be able to love.”

51

Hope

Lennacrumbledtoherfeet, gasping for air as if every particle of oxygen had burned with the final words of the East Cardinal. Her shaking hands covered her devastated face. Her golden, tearful eyes clearly debating the need to stop watching at how Jake drank his Fifth Power. Hope tried to walk towards her, but invisible magic held her inside the circular center of the chamber.

Lenna was alone, crying at the foot of the throne belonging to a goddess who still ignored her. Jake had ensured she was alive, unharmed, and untouched, and yet, Lenna was the vivid image of someone dying inside, her heart being ripped raw from her chest without asking for permission or forgiveness.

The North Cardinal cleared her throat, claiming the attention of the panom who had also tried to leave her petal to be with her twin with no success. “Continue we shall. Ayla Brachyan, successful striver of the Giving ordeal. Do you present your feather to unveil the fate of your gamble?”

Ayla stared at the Cardinal of her House as if she wished tostabher feather into her red eyes, and Hope couldn’t even blame her. It hurt her deeply to see how Lenna was ruined, and she wasn’t her blood, birth-twin. Whatever Ayla was feeling wasn’t patience and understanding.

“Am I dealing with a deaf striver?” The North Cardinal chuckled.

“I present my feather,” Ayla muttered between clenched teeth. If she held the crystal feather any tighter, there was a real risk it would explode.

“You are the current heir of my House, and in your ordeal, you proved how incapacitating the imbalance of your inner magical scale is.” Her smooth hands repositioned the white diadem atop her cardinal-red hair, and then Hope saw it. By the small, backwards step Ayla took, it was evident she’d seen it too.

The small white pieces forming the diadem of the North Cardinal wereteeth. Teeth of beings. Human beings.

The goddess fluttered her eyelashes as she saw the focus of Ayla’s green eyes. “Beautiful, I know.” She sighed; her grin seemingly genuine. “Your blindness limits the use of your magic. If you didn’t have that painful impairment anytime your inner balance tilts,andyou had the Fifth Power, you would be unstoppable. How badly do you want the Fifth Power, Ayla Brachyan?”

When she spoke, Ayla’s voice was a whisper. “You want my eyes.”

The North Cardinal laughed, pure joy and happiness on her face. “Clever girl. Your emerald-green eyes would make a pretty necklace. It would looklovelyamongst all the red. So, what do you say?”

Ayla didn’t say anything. She lifted the palms of her hands to cover her eyes in the exact same way Hope had seen her protect herself when her balance was uneven, when the use of one power broke the even balance of the panom powers.

After a while, Ayla sighed. “I accept, on one condition.”

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