Page 131 of Claim Me

It’s a bizarre sensation that anchors me in the moment and provides me with the focus I need to thrust this abundance of power into Issy’s tombstone.

There’s yelling in the distance. Masculine voices.Chants. But I ignore them, my attention on Issy. On mymates. They’re doing something to protect me, my ties to them seeming to have dismantled my association with the patriarchs.

Is that how I fought back?I wonder.Did they help me sever some sort of tie I didn’t know existed?

I force more power into the stone, my eyes falling closed as ominous echoes circle around me.

The words are of the ancient tongue, the male tones reminiscent of the patriarchy.

They’re trying to stop me.

But they can’t.

This ismyplane now.

My power. My world.My right.

I scream as a burst of vitality rushes out of me, followed by a deafening crack.

It’s not enough, I tell myself.More. More. More.

I repeat the action, this one even more painful, but needed.So very needed.

Again.

Another sharp pulse leaves my spirit, followed by a thunderous rumble. The masculine chanting sounds urgent now. I ignore them and push everything I can into the gravestone.

My chest aches from the effort, my throat raw from my screams, my limbs weak from the power I’ve just expelled.

But I still do one more.

One more expulsion.

Then everything goes quiet. The chants. My breathing. The sound of grating rocks.

Nothing.

I sigh, my arms falling to my sides.

Issy?I whisper, my mental voice tired.Issy, are you there?

The silence that follows has my hands clenching into fists.

Issy.

I wait a beat.

Issy!

This felt too right to be wrong.If she’s not here, then where is she?I open my eyes, my focus on her fractured gravestone.

My efforts worked.

So why isn’t Issy answering me?

I swallow and slowly sit back, my body exhausted from everything I’ve just done. But the cold fog is already surrounding me once more, the chilly kiss of power a welcome embrace against my clammy skin.

Maybe I need to try again.My mental voice is as tired as I feel.Maybe I just needed a little…