Page 28

“Yes,” I answered honestly. “And if I’m being truthful—even you have this strange aura around you. It pulses. Like a vibration rolling off your body into the air. I can feel it.”

The shadow around her seemed to deepen at the mention, thickening as if pleased by the attention. Her ears twitched slightly. “There could be a reason for that,” she said. “Not many beings can sense that kind of force.” Her gaze sharpened. “Interesting that a bastard king can.”

She paused only briefly. “I’m a strong demon.”

As we continued through the forest, the path gradually shifted. It became structured—intentional. The trees along its edges were no longer wild but cut back into deliberate stubs, oil lamps mounted at measured intervals. Snow still dusted the ground, but the way forward was leveled and clear.

Soon, a dark cottage emerged between the trees.

The air changed as we approached. Heavier. Charged.

A faint shimmer hovered overhead, like a dome shielding the home.

“Turn around,” Arianna commanded.

I raised my hands in surrender, half-smirking. “Sure.” If she wanted her secrets, I’d let her keep them. I was the uninvited guest. Though I couldn’t see behind me, I felt the energy shift—heat pressing against my back like a living thing. Curiosity burned at the base of my skull, but I resisted the urge to look.

A moment later, Val spun me back around. Sapphire light shimmered ahead—an opening in the barrier just wide enough for us to pass through.

“Quickly,” Arianna ordered.

The cottage’s front was wrapped in climbing vines, blooms pushing stubbornly through the snow. Wildflowers defied the frost as if they didn’t recognize it.The stone path beneath our feet was smooth and cold, leading straight to the door.

TAINTED| CHAPTER 7

Trance

Arianna shared more of her history once we were inside. She was the last in her bloodline. When every member of that lineage passes on, the remaining one inherits all their power. She had taken it upon herself to claim it. The only way to transfer it on would be through children. Her offspring would inherit the gift that suited them best. I didn’t know exactly how much she had, but the way she made the room pulsate energy, she had acquired a lot.

Just the thought of using my hands to take another life had my gut seared with guilt and disgust. Could I imagine myself doing it? Watching the light inside someone’s eyes go out and never flicker again. I knew it would make me feel carved out bare to the bone. To imagine doing that to someone I loved was treason to the body. It was one thing if it were a stranger, someone distant, someone unconnected to me. I don’t know how she could do it.

That power running through her gave off a presence of its own, like a second being hovering just behind her skin. When she commented that weaker beings couldn’t feel it, it had made me pause. Not because I could sense her, but because of the implications it had for me. Did that mean there was something of equal or greater force just beneath the surface of my skin?

Flexing my fist at my hips, I tried testing the theory. Maybe it was true, I could have something lying dormant within me. Or maybe I was going too far into the fantastical theories. Valentina said anything could be possible, so I leaned into that more. I clenched my left hand once more. The veins beneath my translucent brown skin glowed bright blue. Just beneath it, I thought I could see a surge of movement, as my pulse grew in my ears.

Nothing happened; the veins just continued their surge, but there was no grand reveal. I curled up near the foot of the hearth, turning my attention towards the fire, trying to stay warm. The open flame danced, barely touching the chill in the room. Even under the protection of Arianna’s glimmer, the dome trapped freezing air inside. The heat brewing from the fire didn’t sink into the building—it settled near the flicker of amber light, almost like it was beckoning you closer.

Scooting across the floor, I cleared the small distance between me and the flame. Rubbing my hands together I let the little warmth that did penetrate the room envelope me. The wool warmed as waves of heat rolled off the logs. The toasted fabric thawed my frozen limbs, from my fingers to the tip of my toes.

Once I noticed the embers dying, I snagged the blanket off the seat Arianna had laid it on before she left. My limbs shook violently under the thick fur. Valentina and Arianna had been gone for nearly an hour. Val insisted we needed more firewood and food. She thought I’d like something more than just blood tonight. I would’ve gone with them, but they didn’t want wandering eyes, or questions.

That had my mind racing, not from danger but from the thought of other people possibly being here. It made the world feel more alive if I imagined the markets and sprawling crowds. Would their cities be the ones I was used to—or more suited to Arianna’s cottage aesthetic? Or were they something else entirely? I had so many questions, and so many new wants. With all those questions and wants something darker was seeded into it. Were any of these people to be trusted? My gut was telling me it was possible. My brain was telling me to stay aware of everything because we just never know.

Alone, I felt safe. Arianna had said it herself, being under the dome was the best place for me. No one could enter unless she allowed it. I could have used her about two days ago, maybe I’d have had a chance to lock Valentina out. I couldn’t imagine being that powerful and not protecting my home. If I had any idea such talents existed she would have been on speed dial. I was just lucky to be on her good side... for now.

I chuckled to myself needing a laugh. From the brief moment I’d known that woman, I didn’t think anyone could be on her good side. She was a demon. If demon meant what I thought it did she was straight from hell itself. I’d have to ask her about it one day. Arianna seemed more complex than that though. That shadow that lapped around her wasn’t all just cruelty and pain. There had been something behind it almost pure. I always tried seeing the best in people so I might have been giving her more credit than deserved. Or maybe I just wanted to see the fallen angel behind the demon.

Lying here, I’d finally had time to process everything. Things were changing too fast. Mentally, it felt like my mind was expanding. I was becoming more aware by the hour. Clearer. Sharper. Physically, aside from the borderline hypothermia. I felt stronger. More than stronger. It was like something was waking up in me. The blood pumping through my veins felt like it was reacting to this place, like it was humming from within me.

With that new space in my head, Mark kept creeping into my thoughts. He was the last person I wanted to think about because I kept replaying those last few days before he died. It was all so fuzzy and sudden because the month before, he was fine. No cancer. Then all of a sudden, he came home telling my mom and me he had stage four lung cancer.

I should have known then that it was a lie. He never even smoked. His lungs should have been healthy.

In that same month, he went from going to work every day to missing it and staying home. He said he was going to “appointments.” I’m just sick of how it wasn’t true because that day felt so real. I had found him in his bed, coming home from school. It was a Friday. I was excited to go to my friend Devon’s party, but before I went, I checked on my dad. He was lying in his room in his and my mom’s king bed. He had looked so peaceful, I thought he was sleeping. When I went up to wake him, tell him I’ll see him later, his body was so cold. So wrong.

Except… he didn’t die. Not really. I’m still trying to figure out what it was all for. Was it noble—him not wanting to lose me? Or was it selfish? Greedy? I still couldn’t pin down how I felt about it.

My stomach sank as another wave of memories flashed behind my eyes. My mother and I woke up early that Sunday morning because it was time to bury him. It was a blur from the time I got dressed to helping usher his casket. Me and five other pallbearers guided him to his journey home. His face was what I remembered the most from that day. His skin was ghastly pale, like the sun betrayed him. His hair was exactly how he liked it, the sides and back cut low with a full top of brown at the top. He liked looking clean, and I thought it was the last thing I was going to do for him. Give him his last cut styled to his perfection. He wore his favorite black suit. I made sure to put him in it. My mom couldn’t bear it. He looked like he was resting peacefully. I thought he was.