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Transgressions
Verve’s insides went hot and cold all at once. She stared at the lined, weathered face that had once been the closest thing to a parent in her memory. Yes, Danya had doled out more than her share of blows, but she’d been generous in other ways — and not just in coin. There’d been birthday celebrations, festival days piled high with sweets, new clothes and trinkets after a job well done. Danya had taught her to read and write, abilities that few could claim.
Perhaps sensing Verve’s weakness, Danya squeezed her shoulder again. “I’m sorry for losing my temper, before. I didn’t mean those things I said.”
Lies. So why did Verve still ache to believe them?
Danya continued. “Your pleas have not fallen on deaf ears. You and I can start anew, Vervaine. You clearly want more freedom; I can give it to you. Anything you want can be yours. We can forget the past and forge a new future — together.”
A grunt of effort made her glance over to see Alem kneeling over Ellory. But even though he wasn’t looking at Verve, his spirit calmed her, anchored her in her own resolve, in her own certainty.
Jolted back to her senses, Verve glared up at Danya. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done—what I’ve done—and nor should I. But you’re right about a new future. You just won’t be in it.”
She risked a glance at Alem and the others. They all still breathed, thank the One, although Hadiya bore a nasty gash on their arm and Klaret had a bruise already forming on her jawline. There was blood on Kyon’s hooves and horns, but he seemed unharmed. Alem still knelt over Ellory, face drawn in concentration.
The Chosen circled everyone, an impenetrable wall of blank faces and shuttered hearts, peppered with spikes of fear and fury. Perhaps Danya was a lost cause. But the other Chosen—the lost children of Aredia—needed someone to fight for them — not the other way around.
Within Verve’s spirit, Space-Between-Stars whispered, Agreed, Verve-the-Protector.
“She doesn’t own you,” Verve called, trying to inject reassurance into her words even as the Chosen closed in. Where she wavered, the Fae soul joined with hers bolstered her resolve, adding more strength to her words as she spoke them.
“Danya doesn’t really know your fates or control your destiny. Her grip on you is an illusion she’s created, but you must believe in it for it to work. She depends on you, although she claims that you’re nothing without her. But the truth is the other way around.”
Flickers of doubt sparked through the Chosen. A few of them cast glances at one another and back at Danya, who stood alone in the charred circle. “How frightened Vervaine must be,” Danya called, “to speak to her kindred like children.”
“They are children, you insufferable twat,” Hadiya hissed.
Usko shouldered through the group to stand before Verve. “You’re lying,” he said. “You left us, and now you regret it. You’ll say anything to save your own sorry skin.” He held up a pair of daggers and tossed one her way. The weapon landed at Verve’s feet, sunlight dancing on the hematite and steel edge. Usko leveled his remaining dagger at her. “I will not let Serla Danya suffer your rebellion any longer. Face me now, or die a coward.”
Verve stared at the dagger, then looked back at Usko. His jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed, but his hands trembled. And her meridian senses showed her the full spectrum of his fear, and his grief at facing one of his kindred.
The door of his mind hung open, but she did not step across the threshold. One of Atal’s Chosen he may have been, but he’d never had another choice.
Time to change that.
“Usko,” she said, softly. “Do you truly want to fight me?”
“Shut up, coward,” he cried. “Fight, or die.”
Verve shook her head. “It’s a simple question. What do you want, Usko?”
The dagger in his grip trembled harder and his words came out choked. “What I want doesn’t matter.”
Verve managed a smile. “That’s a lie, Usko. Probably the worst lie she’s ever made you believe was real. What do you want?”
His lips quivered, his eyes brightened with unshed tears.
“Do you really want to kill me?” Verve asked him, then glanced around at the other Chosen, who all stood frozen as they stared at the scene unfolding before them. “Same to all of you. Is this the life you want? Or is it all you think you deserve? I did, once.”
She looked at Alem, who spared a glance from his attempts to heal Ellory. When he met Verve’s gaze, he flushed and smiled. Despite everything he had to grieve, joy radiated from him at their shared glance, giving Verve the strength to do what she should have done from the start.
At the edge of Verve’s vision, Danya tried to slip away, only to find a wall of her Chosen. None moved to let her pass.
Verve seized the opportunity. She gathered up her old grief and new joy, and sent both out to the Chosen. Soft gasps sounded from the younger ones, the ones Danya had not yet battered into stoicism. But when the older ones relaxed the grips on their weapons, a new feeling sparked among them, like little candles brought to life, and Verve truly believed she could do this. Yes, there was grief and anger and fear, but there was also joy, and hope. Verve grasped the feeling and Space-Between-Stars helped it to resonate in her own heart.
“I thought I deserved nothing better than what Danya offered,” Verve said to them. “But I see now that lies are all she gave me. So I’m done with Danya, with the life she’s created for me. You can be, too. There’s another life waiting for each of you, if you want it.
“You are not bound by destiny or fate — only by the choices you make. And you can choose to change.”
