“Listen to me, girl,” Vivaxia snarled. “You will follow my command andheel.”
My back bowed as a bolt of pure, unadulterated power hit me right in the chest, lighting a fire within me that had me gasping and seeing white all around me.
White buildings.
Perfect sidewalks.
A glittering fountain.
White wings tipped in gold.
I frowned at that last part, Vivaxia’s form having taken on a renewed appearance. A false one.
Melek, I thought dizzily.Those are Melek’s wings.
Another crack of energy left me wheezing, my mind flickering in and out of reality.Gray and white. Polluted and pristine. Fiery feathers and golden tips.
I blinked, then shook my head, trying to clear it.
But a beautiful face, so feminine and angelic and kind filled my view.
No, not kind,a smart part of me whispered.Those gray eyes are cruel. Wicked. Exuding evil.
However, the being smiled, like she was pleased with me. And that had my lips curling in kind, liking her affection. Heracceptance.
“Much better,” she cooed, tucking a feather back into her wings.
White tipped in gold,I repeated to myself.Melek…
“Now where were we?” the woman asked, her name escaping me.
I knew her. Recognized her. But my memory of her was blurred.
“I realize you have some of your father in you and that might be making you somewhat sympathetic to the Hellbeasts, but you have to understand the hierarchy, darling. Virtuous Fae made all this possible. We are the gods of this world. The creators. Our way of life is the superior existence to everyone else’s.”
Her words rolled through me, making me want to bow my head in acceptance.
But the small voice inside me that recognized her feathers disagreed with every word.It’s a façade. A lie. Don’t listen to her.
I followed that strand of thought, my instincts firing.
Melek,my mind whispered.
Who?I wondered. Then blinked.Yes, Melek.
Virtuous Fae.
MyVirtuous Fae.
I returned to the barrier between us, pulling away the pieces while Vivaxia prattled on about the glory of her—our—kind.
“That said, our superiority gives us a certain amount of responsibility, too. We have to protect those who are weaker than us. Unfortunately, though, living for eternity can morph certain morals and perspectives. And, sadly, that’s what happened to Typhos Lucifer.”
I faked confusion because I suspected she was the reason my mind kept blanking and the world around us shifted between white and gray.
Vivaxia clearly wanted me to believe something.
I wouldn’t, but I would feign interest if it meant she’d stop hitting me with her brain-numbing enchantments. Because the world around us was still white, suggesting my mind was close to falling completely under her spell.
