Page 52 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)

Chapter

Thirty-Three

LUCILLE

“ W ait a minute now. I did not volunteer for this!” Oliver exclaimed.

Alexei shrugged. “Ronen and I both agreed this would be the safest and fastest way to solve Lucille’s issue. Plus, she trusts you the most. You have a chance to ease her suffering. Don’t you want to help with that?”

“Through more suffering?” Oliver ran his hands through his moppy hair.

“She either suffers now with all of us in a controlled area or she suffers later and hurts herself or others,” Ronen asserted. “We never said this would be easy.”

“Lucy,” Oliver pleaded.

I worried my lip. I didn’t want to force Oliver into something he didn’t want to do, nor did I want to relive my fears. But what other choice did we have? He’d been so close to using it on Ni, and I knew this scenario was different. But we could get through this together.

I walked up to him and grabbed his shaking hands. I was sure his were as clammy as mine beneath the leather. “I’ll be brave for you, if you can be brave for me.”

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re sure about this?”

“Just think of it as a sneak peek into my mental diary,” I teased, forcing a smile. But I could see my fear reflected in his eyes. I wasn’t sure about this. He knew it. My hands shook as badly as his. This would be extremely hard on both of us.

He touched my cheek and nodded solemnly. “I’ll be brave for you, if you can be brave for me.”

A lump formed in my throat. He truly was my best friend. Blinking away the tears in my eyes, I twisted toward Ronen and Alexei. “So, how do we do this?”

Ronen stepped up beside me, his shadows circling his palms. Alexei moved to position himself next to Oliver, and Rune placed herself on the other side.

“Focus on your Glory. Thoughts, feelings, memories. I don’t care, just concentrate on that. Then, Oliver, you’ll touch her with your power. Hit her with a hard punch of it. Better get the worst one done first,” Alexei instructed.

Oliver dropped his head back to the gray, dull sky, clutching his head. “Sounds like a blast.”

“Ronen will be on standby with his powers in case your flames get out of control while you’re reliving your fears,” Alexei said to me. “ And I’ll be extra protection for Oliver—plus your amazing cheerleader.”

“You’ll make sure we’re safe?” I asked, needing Ronen’s confirmation.

“Always, Hellion. Face your scars and focus on your Glory.”

“This is going to be taxing on both of you. We’re going to be at this all day.” Alexei gestured to a wicker basket left near the edge of the black trees and snowy clearing. “Rune brought us some of Dorus’s food when you want to take a break.”

“Not sure I’ll have the stomach for it,” Oliver mumbled.

“Then we’ll force-feed you.” Alexei smirked.

Oliver didn’t even have a quip for that.

“Together?” I asked him.

His green eyes burst with flame. “Together.”

I nodded, and Oliver reached out with a shaky hand, touching my shoulder.

The lights on my ceiling blinked and sparkled from my rotating nightlight beside the bed, like the stars my mommy and I sometimes stared up at.

They switched from pink to purple to blue, then stopped.

A moment later, the lights turned off, and the room went dark.

I clutched Thumper and pulled the covers up to my chin.

Something pushed at my tummy. It was warm, and it felt funny.

Similar to the feeling that my mommy’s tea gave me.

But she didn’t give me any tea tonight .

A door slammed, and I jumped. The warm feeling shot from my fingers, and a white light hit my bunny’s head. I yelped, throwing him off my bed.

“What was that?” I peeked over the edge at Thumper. He seemed okay.

“Michael,” my mom whispered on the other side of my door. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I decided I wanted to spend the whole day with my daughter. Is that so bad?”

I tucked myself back into bed and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep.

“She won’t wake up for another couple of hours.”

I heard my doorknob twist. “That’s fine. I’ll just sit next to her and watch her sleep.”

No, no. I didn’t want Daddy to watch me sleep.

“Fine. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Daddy opened and closed my door. Then it sounded like he was scratching on the wood. I peeked open an eye. He was writing on my door with a giant white feather, and the letters glowed. Afterward, he turned around, and I quickly shut my eyes.

His boots were loud on the wood and quiet on the carpet by my bed.

“I know you’re awake, Lucille. I felt something come from your room.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and stayed still.

“You did this to your rabbit, didn’t you?” he asked.

I shook my head .

“You know not to lie to me. Now open your eyes.” He used his scary tone. So I did, scooting back.

He held Thumper in his hand, rubbing his thumb against the blackened fur on top of his head.

“Tell me the truth. Did you do this?”

“I—I think so. But I don’t know, Daddy.”

He tossed Thumber against the wall and grabbed my arm, ripping me from the covers.

“That hurts,” I cried, trying to pull free.

“What comes next will hurt even more. Lift your arms.”

I did what he said, my lip wobbling. “I didn’t mean to hurt Thumper.”

Daddy pulled off my shirt and took out a big black knife with a large, shiny red stone in the center.

“I promise,” I said, sniffling, wiping tears from my face.

Sometimes, if he didn’t see them on my cheeks, he wouldn’t hit me.

But it didn’t work.

Daddy hit me, and I held my face, crying more.

“Daddy, please.”

But he didn’t hug me like Mommy did when I cried. No matter what I said, Daddy was always mad at me. I tried to be good when he came home. I tried to make him love me with flowers and smiles. Mommy loved those. But he never did.

“You were never supposed to be born. So I will unmake you.”

He stuck the knife in my heart, and I screamed.

I screamed so loudly, I didn’t know why Mommy wasn’t coming to the door. “Stop!” I cried, feeling a warm and cold pull .

Daddy shook his head, his eyes wide like he was confused. He pushed on the knife, and I fell asleep for a second, then woke up to a funny sensation. A flash of bright light blasted him and the knife back.

I rubbed at my heart, crying, but there was no blood, and it no longer hurt. I was okay.

“Why’d you do that, Daddy?”

He stared at me from the floor, holding the knife, which now had a black stone instead of red. Sitting up, he put the scary knife away and reached for me. I moved back, hitting the wall.

He took out the big white feather and climbed into my bed, pressing the tip to my chest. “Daddy made a mistake. But we won’t tell Mommy about this, okay? Or Daddy might make more mistakes.”

I nodded.

“For now, we’ll hide it with my magical feather. Understand?”

I nodded again.

Before I could feel the pain of his rune, a comforting darkness overtook my mind, soothing me into a gentle sleep.

I woke up staring into concerned golden eyes, resting in Ronen’s lap on the warm ground.

“Are you okay?” He smoothed back the hair sticking to my forehead.

I sat up with his help, my bottom and hands hot. I looked down to find a large circle of scorched dirt and, farther out, mud and melting snow.

“What happened? Did I hurt anyone? ”

I searched for Oliver. He stood in a corner near the Shard Field, heaving his guts up beside Alexei. He patted Oliver’s back as he surveyed us, his dappled wings jutting into the gray sky. His feathers looked a little ruffled, but neither he nor Oliver appeared injured. I slumped back into Ronen.

“Lucille,” Ronen pressed. “Are you okay?”

Was I?

I touched my chest. Michael had tried to kill me at four, and my mother never knew about it. My four-year-old self had shoved the memory into the deepest, darkest corners of her mind—never to remember it again, never to bring it up.

My Glory must’ve protected me, but it was also the cause.

I bit my lip and touched the warm dirt.

“What happened?”

“Your Glory. I had barely enough time to put up a barrier between us and them.”

My heart lurched. I twisted around, scanning his body for burn marks.

He gently touched my face, pulling me from my hunt. “I’m fine. But are you? You were screaming.” Shadows flickered in his irises, swallowing the momentary worry creasing his face.

I shifted my focus before I drowned in his gaze.

But that almost made it worse. His skin pressed more firmly against my cheek, warming me, vibrating like his body constantly hummed with power.

I wanted to hate it. I didn’t want to be affected by him.

But Heavenly fucking Hell, I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t. The only hate I had was toward myself .

I pulled away. “Why do you care? You’re only supposed to be keeping me safe, not looking out for my emotional well-being.”

It was unfair to say after these last few days. But it had the desired effect.

His mask dropped back into place, and I almost sighed in relief.

So what if it was a step backward? I couldn’t handle my attraction to him, especially not when he acted like he cared.

Rune butted my hand, and I used her to help me stand, putting distance between me and Ronen.

Oliver and Alexei made their way back to my burn circle. Alexei went straight to Ronen, taking him aside for a hushed conversation. Oliver, pale-faced and glassy-eyed, came straight to me and pulled me into the biggest hug.

And that was what did it.

My lip trembled, and I pressed my face into his chest, hiding the tears. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” And I was so glad Alexei and Ronen couldn’t.

“Not another word out of that mouth of yours, Lucy. Not a fucking word,” Oliver said, his voice breaking. “I will make him live through his worst fears every day, puking my guts up for what he did—and has done—to you.”

I sniffled against his stiff leather, squeezing him tighter. “How about we just find and kill him?”

He gave a rough laugh, laying his chin on my head. “That works too.”

I stepped out of his hold, and we both wiped each other’s cheeks, smiling as we did. “Are you ready to see more?”

Because I wasn’t done .

I wouldn’t let that sick piece of shit control my Glory. I was taking back that part of me. I would train until it not only didn’t hurt, but I could use it ten times better than Michael. And when his time came, I’d show him what my disgusting, sinful powers could do to him.

We practiced late into the day, taking breaks when we needed, or when my Glory got out of control. Ronen was able to prevent it from causing any damage to anyone, but the same couldn’t be said for our surroundings.

Oliver hugged me after each session. Alexei, ever the cheerleader, reminded me that my powers were a beautiful gift and urged me to find the good in them.

Ronen… his jaw throbbed, and his body seemed to tense tighter with each passing hour, Rune pressing against his side as if she sensed he needed her.

By the time night fell, I thought he’d explode. But instead, he sighed like an unbearable weight had lifted off him.

“You did it. You didn’t scream.”

“I actually think she smiled,” Alexei said, coming up behind me and hugging me. Oliver joined in, and of course, Rune as well, jumping up on our group hug. Ronen just crossed his arms, but there was a lightness to his expression.

I laughed. “Does this mean it won’t hurt anymore?”

Alexei and Oliver pulled back.

“Try it and find out,” Ronen said.

“How?”

“You just spent the whole day with it. Close your eyes and feel it,” Alexei said, gesturing passionately.

I shut my eyes and thought about the first time. My Glory was a warm and energizing presence that zinged beneath my skin like a playful puppy. I accepted it. I loved it. And in turn, I could almost feel the love it had for me.

“Open your eyes, Luce.”

Small, white flames flickered playfully across my hand, and I didn’t feel a single piercing needle.

“We did it,” I said in awe, smiling at each of them.

“No, Hellion. You did.”