Page 80 of The Discovered
“What have you learned?”
Daelon cleared his throat. “Not as much as we’d hoped. Her mothers channeled the dark magick of their own murders to conceal her for so long. They cut her off from her power and kept her blind to the witch realm. She—”
“That’s an understatement,” Lucius interrupted.
“Right.” Humor seeped into his tone.
Yet again, I was the punchline. I fought back tears as intense, bitter anger rose in my chest—as if my heart was physically breaking. I had never felt so stupid.Soashamed.
“And as far as her access to power—it’s exceptional but still not comparable to yours. I speculate it’s just the Universe’s reaction to the imbalance created.” Daelon’s voice lowered as he spoke, as if he was telling a secret.
I sensed Lucius’s energy shift like Daelon had said something offensive.
“You’re starting to sound too much like Amos,” Lucius hissed. “Theuniverseis not conscious. It is the canvas on which reality is painted. It does not feel or desire anything.”
“I know,” Daelon said quickly. “I’ve been away for too long.”
“Yes you have,” Lucius said, his tone changing back to a more upbeat, nonchalant air. “I even started making Nathaniel keep track of humorous moments I wanted to tell you about but couldn’t. He really hates you, you know.”
“I’m well aware.”
Nathaniel.That was where I’d recognized him from. He was one of the men who flanked Lucius in the astrals. He stood closest to Lucius on the other side of the missing space, as if he and Daelon were Lucius’s two favored men. Why hadn’t I made that connection sooner? If only I had paid better attention. If only I hadn’t been so trusting. Blinding nausea rose in my gut. I was going to be sick.
Lucius clucked his tongue. “When I told you to get close to her, I hadn’t realized you would take it so literally. It did make the betrayal all the better, though, and her pain so much more enjoyable. Points for creativity.”
I heard shuffling. I didn’t know how much more I could stand to hear, but like a horror movie, I just couldn’t look away. Or, rather, stop listening.
“That’s very unlike you. Am I going to have to be the one who scoldsyouabout honor now?”
“It was a necessity, yes,” Daelon sighed. “But it was the only way to keep up the charade. It was the natural progression of things, unfortunately.”
Through the heaviness of my exhaustion, even as every fiber of my being yearned to give back into the peace of slumber, red hot anger flooded my veins. This couldn’t be real. There was no way that Daelon had faked any of what we had—it was too intense, too pure.
I opened my eyes to a dimly lit bedroom, vast and ornate, with white and green accents. A lavish canopy hung overhead where I lay. Daelon and Lucius stood to my left near a wardrobe, their backs turned to me.
“Tell me more a—”
“Fuck you,” I spat. I tried to move, but my limbs were locked in place. My power was nonexistent.
Both men whipped their heads around to assess me. Lucius’s demeanor barely shifted, his eyes widening ever so slightly. Daelon paled, but quickly regained his impassive composure.
“You’re quite off in your estimations,” Lucius muttered to Daelon. “And I take it respect for her divine ruler didn’t make it into the curriculum?”
“She knows better than to speak to me like that,” Daelon said, stepping forward. “Don’t you, little witch?”
“Brutal,” Lucius laughed, grabbing Daelon’s shoulder. “Fantastic. You should be grateful I didn’t go back to my original plan of killing you after that little stunt,” he said, wagging his finger at me. “Really, you should be more grateful to Daelon for convincing me I’d be better off with you alive.”
I glared, struggling to free my limbs from whatever spell they were under. I didn’t think I’d ever been more angry or more hurt, not since my mothers had been murdered right before my eyes.
I ignored Lucius, fixing my stare at Daelon. His face was unreadable, showing only coldness in his eyes.
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t begin to find the words for what I wanted to convey to this man I’d let in, despite all of my doubts, and put my trust into in such intimate, vulnerable ways. I showed him the Divine—what my mothers, and maybe even his parents, called the Goddess. I showed him my soul and everyone else’s souls, too.
I kept glaring at him, my eyes boring into his, unwavering even as they grew heavy with exhaustion.
“Well,” Lucius said, looking from Daelon to me then back again. “As much as I appreciate a well-orchestrated, complete emotional destruction of a person, we still have much to discuss from your intelligence mission. Let’s retreat to the study.”
The floorboards creaked as Lucius turned away, his expression cavalier like he’d grown bored of the entire ordeal. As my vision went awry, I watched Daelon look away, turn his back on me, and walk out.
