Page 240 of Gift from the Source
She sighs deeply and crosses her arms. “No, I wouldn’t. Not because you wouldn’t deserve it. You sure as fuck would. What you don’t deserve is any more of my time, energy, or resources to keep you alive. You’ve takenenough from me throughout the years. I surely won’t be willingly giving you anything else.”
“I wouldn’t have had to take—”
She waves her hand in the air and a glob of mud slaps against his mouth. “Eww, no, you won’t be doing that. I’m not sure why men like you, Franklin, and Malvolio try to blame your disgusting behaviors on me as though I made your choices for you, but I won’t be hearing you tell me how anything you did to me was my fault. It’s bad enough you’re too stupid to learn how to put up a mental block and I have to hear the bullshit in your mind. I can promise you I won’t be hearing it come out of your mouth.”
My eyes narrow on him, then I turn to Tillman.
That deadly glare aimed at Donald is all I need to know.
I was too caught up in how well she’s handling herself to truly pay attention to what my brothers were doing. Now it’s glaringly obvious they’re ready to snap his neck.
I forgot they haven’t spent the last six weeks down here slicing him up with me. I have more patience than they do.
She removes the mud from his mouth and gives him a few seconds to spit it out, then she stands.
“Unlike you, Donald, I take full responsibility for my actions and my decisions. Each and every time, no matter the consequences. There is a very distinct difference between hurting someone innocent for pleasure and hurting someone bad because they deserve it. I promise, you deserve everything that’s coming to you, and I stand by it wholeheartedly.
“By the blessed responsibility placed upon me, I, Willow Vito, Source of Elementra, sentence you, Donald Griffin, to death. For committing treason against this realm, plotting and attempting to harm the royal family, kidnapping innocent citizens, and breaking the laws in the nonmagical realm.
“For every broken bone, black eye, and bloody nose. For holding me down to get my blood drawn, strangling me, throwing me in a grave naked for days, attempting to drown me in freezing water, kidnapping me from my true Nexus, aiding in my torture, and marking me.
“For ripping away my innocence, raping me, and forcing yourself on me against my will at every turn. And for trying to break me. Your sentence will be carried out and upheld now.”
Her hands slam together, and I shiver as the most resounding blessing erupts through the room like a fucking volcano. The heat radiating off her is glorious against my cold skin.
Right now, she’s the embodiment of light and dark. Power and grace. Balance and chaos. Revenge and justice. Good and bad. Right and wrong.
She’s everything.
I’ve never been more proud of her.
The walls slowly stop trembling and their settling reveals the sounds of Donald fucking hyperventilating. His eyes are pinched shut and the tremors coursing through him nearly have him vibrating out of the seat.
As the room falls silent, we all look at him like he’s lost his mind.
He eventually calms down enough to open his eyes, and he scans them across us like he can’t believe he’s seeing us standing here still.
Honestly, I startle a little bit when he throws his head back, laughing manically.
“What the fuck?”Draken murmurs to me as he spins his finger in a circle motion around his temple.
“Fuck,” he suddenly shouts. “You almost had me there, Willow. Bravo. Bra-fucking-vo. Really and truly. You had me believing the bitch creator you love so damn much was about to smite me. The way you made everything shake, that was a very nice touch. Dumb bitch.”
He blows out deep, relieved breaths, then starts his chuckling back up.
The five of us arch our brows.
After a really awkward moment of silence, Tillman and Willow snort and glance at one another. Then they die laughing.
Draken throws his hands up at them, while Corentin and I shrug our shoulders.
Willow grips the back of her chair and drags it over to the wall, shaking her head and laughing the whole time. “You really are a stupid fuck, Donald. Elementra gave her blessing of your death. She was never going to killyou or smite you as you said. My men are going to do that for me.Dumb bitch.”
She’s still smiling as she sits in the seat and crosses her legs. It takes me a moment to catch up, but when I do, I turn back to him.
He’s no longer smiling. Instead, his eyes rapidly bounce between the four of us like the sacrificial lamb he is.
“Wait, he thought…” Draken starts, but his laugh trips up his words. “Oh, this will be fun.”
