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“Olivia,” he said slowly, changing the subject, “I want you to help me bring down the people who did this to you and your mom and friend, and bring Nightshade to its knees.”
There it was. Thewhyof why I was saved. I’d gotten it wrong. He didn’t want my magic for himself. He wanted me to enact some revenge fantasy. “You hate them.”
“Yes.” He didn’t bother trying to hide it.
“Why?”
“I don’t agree with the way they handle business.” His forehead creased, and the corner of his lip twitched. It wasn’t just about how they ran the order; this was personal.
“Did they hurt you?”
His jaw clenched. “They’ve hurt many people.”
I looked over to the forest, ink blotted out into the distance. “I don’t know what makes you think I can help.”
“You’re a sorceress,” he said nonchalantly.
“I already told you, I’m useless with my powers. Even with the energy from a god in my veins, I still can’t do much. Look.” I closed my eyes to focus on my other senses and cleared my mind, willing the magic to do something. It did feel more potent than before, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do anything with it.
“You lack confidence. That’s all. It’s why I’ve brought you here, so Laveniuess’s energy can recharge your powers. This lake won’t make you all-powerful, but it will strengthen what’s already there. With practice, you can become powerful enough so we can destroy them. You can get your revenge on your ex too.”
I thought about Astor and the girl he was with. “Gwen,” I spat. “Did she change him?”
“I don’t know, but one of them would have.”
“Because he asked them to be changed.”
He nodded again. I already knew the answers, but saying them aloud sparked the building rage. “They used him to get to my mom and me,” I stated.
“They did.”
He looked out at the scenery, and there was a peace in his expression I hadn’t seen before now, one which the lake and trees gave him. We were the only people around for miles, trapped in this bowl of silver poured between mountains. I wasn’t afraid anymore. If Sebastian wanted to, he would’ve hurt me by now. At least he kept his gaze away from my neck for the most part, and in this corner of hell was a paradise where I only had to contend being around one vampire.
I’d always enjoyed being around water and out in nature but didn’t get much of it back home. When my mom had taken me hiking on a rare occasion, I wished I could bottle the feeling and keep it for when I was depressed. “I’ll do anything to get them back.”
He shoved his hands into his deep pockets. “Good, then take this time to revitalize. Until you’re strong enough to fend for yourself, there’s not much we can do. To get to your mom, we’ll need to go to the royal castle, and you need to be ready.”
“I thought we were bringing down the order first?” I asked, almost laughing at how ridiculous us bringing down an organization of ancient, evil vampires sounded.
“Long game,” he said as if it were some explanation. “Your mom is safe for now. Trust me, they won’t harm her. She’s too useful, but the same can’t be said for your friend. So Erianna will continue to search for him.”
“Astor’s responsible for this,” I said with half a breath as I thought about Draven, lost, tortured, and potentially dead. “I want him to pay for this.”
The corner of his lip tugged upward. “There I was thinking you didn’t have a vengeful bone in your body.”
My eyebrow arched. “You’d be surprised.”
“Heartbreak does amazing things to our morals.”
My chest tightened. Yes, it does.
ELEVEN
Sebastian flew us back to the house after I’d spent an hour at the lakeside, playing with the water and absorbing the energy that flowed through it. I felt stronger than ever, but I still had to practice harnessing it and making something happen, which was still difficult.
To see if my magic had come to life yet, I tried to send a shock wave through Sebastian’s hand when I touched him before he flew us back. But, of course, he didn’t know I did that, and fortunately for him, it didn’t work anyway.
“It’s a confidence thing.”That’s what he’d said, but a lack of confidence couldn’t be enough to block something as natural as magic, surely?
