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LEON’S BODY SLUMPS ONTO THE GROUND IN A CRUMPLEDHEAP.My eyes widen as I realize what just happened.
I scramble over to him. He isn’t moving.
“Leon?” I ask, unsure if he’s hurt.
Leon’s eyes snap open at my voice. They’re back to shining the same electric blue, and he’s looking at me with a completely new emotion.
Suspicion.
“What the fuck was that, Vivian?”
I try to help him up, but Leon slaps my hand away. Recoiling at the quick snap of pain, I sputter, “Leon, I’m so sorry. I have no idea what just happened. I just got angry and…”
His eyes remain narrowed at me, utterly unmoved by my apology. A new kind of tension fillsthe air between us as Leon straightens himself completely. He takes a step towards me, and instinctively, I take a step back.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me, Vivian. I can fucking feel it. I’ve fucking seen it. The night the forsaken appeared. The storm. Your suddenly exceptional luck at escaping a garage full of those murderous beasts. What the fuck aren’t you telling me?” He’s yelling at the top of his lungs, and the building quakes.
I shake my head at his words, denial quick and ready to make an appearance.
With my wordless answer, Leon’s face contorts into rage. He moves for me again, looking like he might throttle me. I keep backing up until, once again, I’m pressed against the table.
He gives me no avenue for escape, planting a hand on either side of my body.
Trapping me.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” He growls. “Keepers are not meant to hold any kind of power. Mortals!” He yells again. “Mortals are not supposed to hold power. You are a magic-less race – at our mercy. And yet you...”
He pauses to caress my cheek. I flinch, and he grabs my chin hard to hold me still. “My precious, innocent little human. An enigma of magic follows you around like a fucking stench of corruption. What. The. Fuck. Are. You?”
The vein in his temple is throbbing. I think my pulse is racing at the same speed. My instincts scream at me to run. He’s scaring me, and I have nowhere to go, no one to turn to but myself.
I’m alone, not even in my own world. “Leon, I swear I don’t know,” I reply, my tears threatening to spill free.
Leon stares down at me like he’s trying to tell whether he can believe a word I say. He nods slowly, but the air of danger around him remains. His arms still hold me hostage against the table. “What other powers do you have? I know you caused the storm, and I know you just threw me using energy alone.”
“I – I don’t think I caused the storm, Leon. I think that was you.” I start, hoping to avoid the question he’s asking. I might not be able to think too hard about it, but every time I think of Need and the council learning anything about me, my anxiety skyrockets. There’s something going on, and I know they can’t be trusted.
Leon’s eye twitches. “I am perfectlycapable,” the twitch comes again as he emphasizes the word. “Of knowing when I am usingmypower, Vivian. Now I am going to ask you again, and you will tell me the truth. All of it. What other powers do you have?”
My heart races and my mind frantically tries to figure out the best way to answer him. I can’t tell him about everything. His words confirmed what I’d been suspecting for days.
Being a Keeper isn’t the reason I have magic.
The same puzzles that have plagued me for the last four years still lay before me, unsolved. I still have no idea why I can see ghosts and why I can release the spirits of broken souls. Need’s conversation with Rydon plays again through my mind, and I’m certain they were talking about me. But why? The fog starts to creep in as my thoughts teeter in the direction of treason. I reignthem in, instead focusing on the very angry Destroyer that holds me captive.
“I – I don’t know.” My voice is flat, and I keep my eyes downcast.
“LIAR!” Leon roars.
In a frenzy, he flips the table I’m pressed against, and it crashes to the ground, splintering it into dozens of broken pieces. At the sudden loss of the tabletop that was supporting my weight, I fall back with it. A piece of wood embeds itself into my arm, and I scream.
Leon grabs my arm and wrenches me back up, oblivious to the pain he’s causing. I can feel my body starting to become paralyzed with fear. I have nowhere to run and no way to fight this large man who is clearly out of control. “Leon, please.” I plead in a small voice, tears streaming down my face.
A cruel grin spreads across his face, and he tightens his grip on me as he takes in my vulnerable state. “Did you know, Vivian?” His voice is low again, threatening. “That every fucking time you lie to me, I know it. I can feel it coming right through our bond. As clear as a fucking beacon, it lights up, and I fucking know.”
I try not to show any outward reaction to his statement. My arm is burning where the wood still impales me. Despite Leon’s calm tone, I don’t believe he’s in control, not for a second. I can’t imagine what would happen if he lost control without his collar. The devastation he could rain down before gaining his senses again.
No matter which way this conversation turns or what he does to me, I will not uncollar this man. He can break my body and poison my thoughts, but I will not free him.
