Page 101 of The Immortal’s Mark

I dodge left and scream. “I CAN’T!”

She fires another orb.

This one brushes my thigh before I can move out of the way. My skin burns, and I yelp. “Stop it!”

“I will stop when you stop holding back,” she shouts back.

I grit my teeth so hard I fear I’ll crack my teeth. “I’m trying.”

“I don’t think you are.” She fires two more attacks without blinking. “I think you are afraid.”

“Of you hitting me?” I snap. “Of course I am.”

“Of your bloodline.” She scowls. “Of your power. You fear the path the Creator has laid in front of you.”

I skid my knee on a jagged seashell when I dodge her next attack.

“I just want to be normal!” I scream.

Her eyes flash violet. “You will never be normal, Darcie Abernathy. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can embrace your fate.”

“I don’t want to embrace my fate,” I seethe.

“Then you will never succeed!”

“That’s enough.” Gregory’s roar echoes over the beach.

Seagulls scatter into the air. The barrier shatters with an ear-splitting crash, and then Gregory is at my side, yanking me to my feet and positioning me behind him.

He snarls at the witch. “You go too far, Lola.”

“She is a ticking time bomb in possession of a well of power that is unprecedented,” Lola counters. “I can feel it. She must master them before they master her.”

My gut drops to the sand.

“Attacking her isn’t how to do it,” he snaps back.

“From the alliance’s reports, that’s the only time she utilized her powers.” She throws her arms up in the air. “Her power protected her from being killed by Adir in that dungeon!”

I flinch.

How does she know about that?

“I don’t care.” Gregory stands his ground. “Figure out a different way to train her, or you won’t be coming near her again.”

Lola’s eyes flick over the vampire’s face. She shakes her head. “You’re doing her a disservice with this interference. As a vampire, you should know the value of honing one’s strength before a challenge comes.”

His back bristles. “Darcie is not a vampire. She is a⁠—”

“Witch,” she snaps. “And she is under my instruction. Now, if you please⁠—”

“That is enough,” a soft voice travels through the salty sea air.

My mind latches onto the sound, and a dozen childhood memories fly through my mind, memories I’d long forgotten, as I turn to meet my mother’s gaze.

She stands on the grassy hill several feet away, but her voice carries easily. “You will try again tomorrow.”

I bristle.