Page 36 of The Dark Rising
“The metal stops your wolf from coming out, and slows down your healing dramatically.” They all tense and look toward Darius, whose eyes haven’t left me.
“That can’t be right,” Damian mutters.
“What Rhea said is true. She wasn’t healing from her wounds from Wolvorn Castle, she was going to die if we didn’t get them off her. They were infused within the iron cuffs.”
“Sebastian,” I hiss at him as Darius’s whole body stiffens. They don’t need to know that.
He shrugs. “They need to fucking know. They need to know how close they were to killing you.”
“The Highers decided, Seb,” I correct, even though I don’t really believe that, but I also don’t think Darius knew that terbium was infused within the iron.
“No,” Taylor disagrees, his eyes hard. “Him.” He nods toward Darius, and I hesitantly look over at him, not sure what I’ll see.
There’s a storm behind his eyes, his fists clenching on top of the table as his nostrils flare. The other Elites look over at him warily as we look at each other, and something flashes in his eyes, something painful. Regret maybe? But I can’t see Darius feeling that sort of thing. It’s kind of too fucking late though, if that is what it was. But Taylor is right, the wounds inflicted by him whipping me, did nearly kill me.
I clear my throat and look away, he doesn’t deserve my attention. “Like I said, the metal slows healing and you’re unable to call your wolf. All you have is your strength, but when that goes, you have nothing.”
“But you managed to use your power in the hall at Wolvorn Castle.” Jerrod tilts his head, resting his elbows on the table.
“I had felt my Heir power since before I was seven, but I suppressed it. With everything that happened at the hall…” I blow out a small breath, refusing to show them any more of the emotions I’m feeling, even though they are right under the surface. Waiting to explode. My magic swirls at the thought and I try to settle it. “I let go of what held me back. That sudden rush of power, at its fullest was strong enough for me to wield it for a time.” I don’t tell them how it rapidly drained from me, or that I couldn’t control it, they don’t need to know that.
“What did you do to me?” Darius asks, his head tilting in question. My brows furrow. “At the castle.”
“I have no fucking idea, other than my power went into you and your wolf ate it.” I shrug as everyone around the table looks at us with wide eyes.
“Darius’s wolf ate your power? What the fuck?” Leo gasps out.
“I have no idea how she did it, but when my wolf inhaled her power, it was like everything was unlocked. That’s when things became clearer,” Darius murmurs, eyeing me closely.
“Wait.” I sit up straighter. “What do you mean clearer?”
“I couldn’t remember that I was an Heir.” What? “Your powers cleared my mind and I remembered everything. That I was an Heir to Cazier.”
If I did that… “Kade,” I whisper and look at my pack. “What if I can do the same to Kade?”
“Kade is with his family, he’s fine,” Darius tells me, and my head whips back to him.
“He’s notsafe,”I glare at him. “His memory is wrong. What he said, what he thinks, it’s wrong.”
“He’s with his family, where he should be.”
“I’m his family!” I shake my head, the tendrils of my hair falling in my face. “Those pieces of shit do not deserve him.”
“They’re your family also, something you didn’t tell me,” Darius fires back.
“Why would I have told you?” I spit.
“Because I am the authority, you were to undergo a trial and receive punishment.”
“I think I have given my pound of flesh for mypunishment,“ I growl, and his shoulders tense. I try to settle my anger. “Kade is confused. I think they messed with his memories. If I cleared yours, then maybe I can do the same to him.”
“I doubt that’s the case, and you’re in denial of the shit you have done, but back to the Elites,” Damian grunts and I scowl at him “There is no way the Elites have been created to hunt Heirs. The Elites are here to protect the lands of Vrohkaria.”
I growl at him. This back and forth conversation is getting us nowhere and they are not listening. “They go around the lands on power surges from the Highers witches when they scry. They are not looking for creatures, they are looking for power from the Heirs, waiting until they get a hit and then you guys are sent out. Every time the Highers are hoping it’s an Heir and not a creature. And you have all been trained to capture an Heir and to take them back to the Highers, have you not?”
“We used to be trained in what to do should we come across an Heir,” Zaide grunts, now cleaning a blade on the table. “But since none have been seen in many years, we haven’t had to worry about running into an Heir, and the Elites were only trained to subdue, not kill.”
“And take them back to the Highers?” I remind them. Their silence answers my question. “What will you do now?” I ask him then look at Darius. “Why hasn’t Charles killed you if Heirs are dangerous and unstable?”
