Page 46 of Destruction’s Desire (Broken Souls Trilogy #2)

Rule forty-six: Never give in.

I ’m too overtaken with dread to feel any pleasure at being back in my old home. The cool Atlantic breeze whips at the tendrils of hair that have snaked loose from my braid, and my fighting leathers aren’t nearly warm enough to stop the frigid air. Or maybe that’s just me. I haven’t stopped having cold chills since Morgana sent away Sin.

Arianna and I wait on the beach, just below the surf shack. I tried to convince Arianna to return to the Shadow Realm after we arrived, and she plunged the beach into darkness in response.

It feels like a lifetime since I was here, tentatively hoping I wouldn’t fail miserably at surfing. I can barely recognize that girl, even though I know it’s only been a few weeks. I guess learning magic is real, being controlled by a corrupt magical government, and regaining all your memories from a past life will do that for you.

Or maybe the years of guided meditations finally kicked in, and this is me finding enlightenment.

Who knows?

We wait silently, each of us lost in our thoughts and listening for any possible sound. My hands rest on the hilts of my daggers, ready to spring at any sign of danger.

Need said she wants only me, but I’m not putting it past her to try something else.

We’re on edge.

We wait for a painstaking ten minutes before they come. Need, Leon and Rydon apparate before us. Need has Sarah bound before her, and Rydon drops an unconscious Conner while holding Isaac at knifepoint.

The bond flares to life and a sharp burst of heat spears through me. I gasp but stay standing. Arianna notices and links her arm with mine.

“What did you do to him?” I accuse, trying to see if Conner is okay.

Rydon rolls his eyes. “That one speaks too much. We knocked him out to shut him up.”

Sarah screams at seeing me, “Oh my god! Vivian! I’m so happy you’re okay!”

“Christ, Vivian. We’ve been terrified for you,” Isaac adds.

My heart swells. My friends have literally been kidnapped, and they’ve probably just learned magic is real, all because of me. But instead of being angry, they’re concerned .

Rydon slaps Isaac over the head, ordering him to shut up and Need places a hand on Sarah’s head before ordering her to sleep. Sarah collapses to the ground in a heap.

I swallow, knowing they’re ready to make the exchange. Small tendrils of fog lick at the corners of my mind. I don’t have long.

“Vivian, it’s time to end this charade. You are my fated. We have loved each other for millennia. You’re fighting an impossible battle. You can’t fight fate. You are mine,” Leon orders, not moving from beside Need.

It feels like the air is crackling from the tension until I realize it’s the energy from the mate bond buzzing against me. If there was any way to tell that Sin realized I’ve left, I’m guessing this is it.

We need to hurry.

“Leon, I remember everything. You loved a lie. Cassandra was never who you thought she was. I’m sorry she deceived you, but this love you are clinging to – it isn’t real. It never was.”

Leon’s eyes narrow, and he looks murderous as he steps forward. His tattoos start to glow a faint blue.

He did not like hearing that.

Leon’s words are less controlled now, and he’s back to being the bitter, controlling person who left me back in a world of pain at his castle. “You’re lying! Still lying all the time!” he yells out. But then he pauses, his expression darkening as he continues in a more sinister tone, “But don’t worry, I’ll cleanse you of those habits very soon, even if I need to control every facet of your soul to make it happen. ”

A bolt of heat sears through the bond again, and I go lightheaded at the pain. More fog trickles into my brain, making it more difficult to think. Arianna’s arm circles me fully, helping to hold me steady.

Leon takes another step for me, exploding in anger, “Get your fucking filthy hands off her! She is not yours to touch!”

More pain pulses through the corrupted bond, and my knees feel weak. Still, I manage to choke out a whisper, “I’m not yours.”

My words redirect Leon’s anger back to me, and he pauses. His glare bites into me, and he looks deadly. “What the fuck did you just say?”

I smile through the pain, feeling amazing to finally be able to say it, even if the bond feels like a hot poker is being lodged into my soul.

“I said,” I start, standing up of my own accord to face him. “I’m. Not. Yours.”

More electricity dances across my skin, the humming growing stronger, and my skin heats.

Leon steps forward again, reaching to grab me, but just as he moves, the ground below him starts to shake. Arianna’s eyes have gone onyx, completely opaque in their darkness, and she pulls every thread of darkness around us, wrapping them around Leon, Need and Rydon.

“I will not hesitate to pull the very air from your lungs,” she threatens, her tone low and ferocious.

Need answers, sounding annoyed but not afraid, “That’s enough. Vivian, unless you want mortals around your realm to be slaughtered, you will obey, and your dark one will retract her powers immediately.”

Arianna pulls back her power just a fraction, only to find Rydon eying her hungrily as he digs the tip of his dagger into Isaac’s neck, making him yell in pain.

“Okay! Okay. We’re listening,” I answer quickly, and Arianna completely dissipates the darkness.

Need looks on smugly, already aware she holds all the cards. “Release Leon from his collar. We’re taking you back to the Council’s castle. So long as you go willingly and no one from the Shadow Realm tries to stop us, the mortals will remain unharmed. We want peace, Vivian. Don’t force our hand.”

My stomach sours, and I glare at Leon as I step towards him. The bond starts to hum at our closeness, but I fight against it, using the pain to fuel my rage and push back the fog. The hum of electricity on my skin grows louder, to the point where I think the others may hear it, too.

I can feel it now, a pull deep within me.

Sin is coming for me.

Leon’s gaze reflects my fury as he watches me raise my left hand to his neck. The blue key appears in my hand as the energetic collar imbued into Leon materializes. I don’t let myself breathe as I click the key into place.

The collar dissipates, and I move to step away, but Leon is faster. His hand darts out, and he grabs my hair, spinning me so my back is pressed against him.

That’s when I see him.

Sin apparates onto the beach, a few feet in front of me. I gasp, and Leon’s grip tightens as he pulls me tighter against him, yanking back at my hair with enough force to make tears come to my eyes.

Sin’s tattoos glow brightly, his rage simmering just beneath his skin.

Leon’s other hand comes to my cheek, stroking it, and the bond sends a bolt of pleasure through me at the contact.

I want to gag.

A tear rolls down my cheek as I take in Sin for what may be the last time. He stands rigid, his chest heaving as he watches. His hands are fisted, and I notice the small paper he clutches in one hand.

My note.

He gives me the barest shake of his head, silently begging me not to do this, and I feel my heart shatter. More tears come, and I mouth, ‘I’m sorry.’ But our silent exchange is quickly interrupted.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, touching what doesn’t belong to you,” Leon growls, and I realize he can clearly see the marks Sin left on my skin. “She was promised to me by Destiny itself. SHE IS MINE!” He pulls on my hair some more, punctuating each word.

I grit my teeth, refusing to go under the force of the bond. Not in front of Sin. I won’t do that to him.

“I AM NOT!” I yell, willing him to understand the simple words.

Leon responds to my claim by once again running his fingers down my cheeks and brushing away my tears in a tender motion. He kisses me just above my ear before he whispers, “Stupid girl – I own you for eternity. ”

With those words, he wrenches my neck hard to the left.

I distantly hear Sin scream ‘Vivian,’ but the sound is garbled at the sharp sting in my neck and the warmth that blossoms out from it.

And then, all sounds fade as my mortal life is ended.