Chapter 76
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Seraph doesn’t look like an elder. I think I look older than she does. A couple of other women come out from where I’m guessing she came from. They look a lot like her. They could be sisters. The three of them are tall and beautiful.
“Sophia, this Raena Banner. She is our water affinity practitioner. This is the girl I told you about, Rae,” Seraph
says.
The woman comes closer. Ragnar steps away from me as she moves around me. I lean away from her when she leans in and sniffs me. When she stops in front of me, her eyes are glowing, similar to the way mine do when I get upset. I don’t know why or how, but something in me responds to her, and I feel the same peace I did earlier wash over me.
“I will see her,” I hear her voice clearly, but her mouth never moves.
“So be it. Come, young King. We have much to discuss,” Seraph waves Ragnar to her. I reach out to him. instinctively. He looks down at our hands and smiles before he addresses me.
“It’s all right. Call out if you need me, but you’re safe here,” he says reassuringly.
I let go of him and nod. He follows behind Seraph and glances back at me before he disappears from where the women had come from. I take a deep breath and turn to look at the very big woman behind me. She bears many similarities to Seraph, except her hair is very short, and her robes are the same shade of blue as her
eyes.
“You’re quite powerful for a hybrid,” she says. This time, her mouth moves. “It is your heritage as a Helvig.”
“My grandmother says that,” I nod.
“Your grandmother,” she huffs. I laugh because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone other than and me get annoyed when her name is mentioned.
my mother
“You don’t like her?” I ask. She turns away to walk towards the entrance. I follow close behind her.
“It’s not a matter of like. If she weren’t so close to the former King, Zaraphine would never have been allowed back into the Kingdom. She turned her back on our kind for your grandfather. Killed her own kin for it. It is forbidden to procreate outside of our species.”
“I thought that law change before she was mated.”
“Forgive my bluntness, my Lady. But the laws should never have changed. Wolves are meant to serve. It’s all they know. All they will ever be good for. Their obsession with power is a disrespect to the Moon Goddess they worship.
“Merlin would be disappointed with what her gift to humanity has become. You turning your back on her is proof of how far they are willing to go to maintain their false position in our world.”
“Merlin? As in King Arthur?” I ask.
“Correct. It was she who bestowed the wolf spirits on humanity. Do you not know your own history?”
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Chapter 76
“Not that one,” I admit. “I don’t think anyone knows that one.”
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We stop right at the edge of the temple, where the peak overlooks the ocean. The sound of the waves soothes my restless mind, and for a moment, there’s just me and the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffside. When I open my eyes, Raena is watching me with a smile on her face.
“You give into water with ease,” she reaches out and places her hand on my head. “I did too when I was your age. I was restless. The war in my soul beckoned danger all around me, and it was never enough.”
“What am I?” I ask her. Her pretty smile turns into a grin.
“You are a Lycan, Darling. One of the most interesting ranks you can be as one of us. You can take the world, and no one would bat an eye, for you are a mother of our race. Your affinity is a gift from our gods. I believe it is a gift granted because you rejected your werewolf side. Do you remember it?”
“Do I remember what?”
“When you let go of all that held you to a lowly wolf status,” she sits at the edge and pats the stone beside her. “Tell me. A secret between you, me, and the ocean.”
I take a seat, not wanting to look back at that night. The guilt I’ve carried since has slowly been eating away at my soul. The warmth I once felt for those who pretended to be my people has been chipped away piece by piece as I was welcomed here, even when no one knew I would shift.
“I’m ashamed of it,” I admit.
She takes my hand. It’s so small in hers. It triggers a memory of my mother when I was a little girl. My hand in hers while she cleaned the scrapes on the palm of my hand after Ragnar and Gavin accidentally bumped me off my skateboard. I can hear her voice humming in my ears as if she were here with us. Tears swell in my eyes, but are dried away with the cold, salty wind.
“Letting go of the past can sometimes feel shameful. Breaking ties is the hardest thing anyone can endure. You have suffered enough at the hands of a false belief, Sophia. You’ve given too much to a false King.
“You should never feel ashamed of giving back a fraction of what was taken. Rage is the foundation of my devotion as well. I, too, was mated to a wolf. He called me a monster. He said I’d never be able to be his Luna. That a beast like me deserves to be alone,” she lets out a heavy sigh.
“What did you do?” I ask. Her distant look turns into a smirk.
“I waited until he had everything he wanted, and I burned it all down. Left him for last so he could see that I was more than a subservient woman, pushing out pups for his useless pack of dogs. He begged as all good dogs do,” she holds out her hand. The water comes up to its shoulders. It splashes against us. She reaches out to scoop some into her hand, and she freezes it, turning it into a ball of ice. “The cold burns fiercer than fire.
“It doesn’t turn what’s meant to be seen into ashes. It turns what is meant to be a lesson into a work of art. A memory that can inspire history and generations of peace. It’s a lesson that these dogs need to be taught every so often. So they never forget.”
“Can you teach me that?” I ask.
“Our affinities are similar, but not the same. There’s a chance you may not be able to freeze the water. Just
18:22 Thu, Jan 29 M…
Chapter 76
manipulate it.”
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“No,” I smile. “Can you teach me to look him in the eye again before I take everything he denied me? I want him to see me for who I am. Not for who he wanted me to be. I want to laugh at him the same way he’s laughed at me from the very beginning. At all of them. I fear I’m too weak to go through with the rage burning inside of me.”
“You are everything, but weak, Darling. You were chosen to lead us for a reason. We are harbingers of war. We pretend to be civilized because war has become an economic commodity. But we are creatures of the old world. A world that thrived by tooth and claw,” she links our fingers together and takes a deep breath. “I can feel it in you.
“You are one of us. Body and soul. You will do great things, Lady Sophia. There is a lesson to be taught to show these dogs that we are peaceful by choice. You chose to be who he wanted you to be. You accepted what he had to offer because you wanted his soul in return for your own. Do you know you must teach?”
“If I can’t have it, no one can,” I nod. She smiles, giving my hand a squeeze.
“There you are, Darling,” she lets out a sigh of relief. “You will show your true King who you are, and he will show you who he is. In the meantime, I will show you how to connect with your affinity. You have an immense power growing inside of you. Are you ready?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready before in my life,” I nod.
“Good. Because I need you to trust me,” she stands up and walks to the very edge. “Follow me, and you will become anew.”
“Raena!” I shout as she jumps off the edge of the cliff. My heart races as I look down to see that the waves are violently licking up the side of the rocks. I remove my jacket and toss my phone on top of it. I can hear her in my head. She’s calling me. I take my shoes off and look around. This is insane, but I don’t feel scared. “Okay, I clear my throat and step back. “F**k it.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
