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“I don’t think it matters now,” I said. “The Bastuli are not returning. The Seers can have their reign and terrorize the world. I don’t care.”
“I know you do not mean that, Ansin. If Jeni joins them, she will slaughter any Seers who defy her. There will be no good, no balance, no reason left among them.”
“I am not going to kill her,” I said.
“If you do not, she will kill you first, and she will not stop there. She will come after us. The barrier between the world of the living and ours will not stop a Seer as powerful as her.”
My mother meant that Jeni would come after the Bastuli, too. Didn’t matter if they were physically dead; they still had power. Jeni would want it. Why? Because that was just what evil people did. I should know. Well, fuck.
“Prepare yourself, son, because she is near.”
The doorbell rang.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
My eyes snapped open, and I went to the intercom. Jeni was standing there staring directly into the camera with a hateful look in her eyes.
Here we go. I buzzed her in and went to greet her.
“What are you doing here?” I said as I opened the heavy front door.
She sailed past me with a big purse slung over her shoulder.
I shut the door behind her.
“Ansin, why did you give me this book?” She slid it from her bag and held it out.
“You came all the way to ask that?” Because I’d already told her.
“Answer the question.”
“I hoped you might find something in it to help you control your gifts.” I had been wrong. Thank you, King. You asshole. Though I doubted he knew the repercussions of his actions. He wasn’t a Seer, nor was he Bastuli. He had been your typical ancient king who enjoyed the act of revenge.
“Don’t call it that,” she warned. “It’s a curse. Not a gift.”
“Nevertheless, I hoped it might help. A longshot, I know.” But had she read it? Did she know the truth?
If not, then I stood a chance of changing things.
If yes, then she was here to kill me.
She shook the book at me menacingly. “Hagne wrote this! She says I’ll find out the truth about everything if I read it. I’ll know how to use my powers. I’ll find out who I really am. I’ll see absolutely everything.”
So she hadn’t read it. I prepared to move my hand to my dagger, which was strapped to my belt. I had to kill her before she realized the truth and gained full access to her gifts. By then, it would be too late.
My hand buzzed with heat. Do it, Ansin. Kill her, I told myself. But something held me back. I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Did I really love her more than I loved my people? Because if my mother was right, Jeni would come for them, too.
My heart thumped inside my chest.
“Then why are you here?” I asked. “Why haven’t you read it yet?”
“Because I realized what I really want isn’t the truth from a book. I want it from you.”
I swallowed hard. “You have the truth.”
“Stop.” She pointed a finger in my face. “Do not lie to me. Not again. Not ever. Tell me now, Ansin, and I just might forgive you.”
I did not see the point. No matter how much I wanted a future with her, there wasn’t one. I had to kill her, or she would become something far more dangerous than she was now.
I opened my mouth to repeat all the lies I’d already told her, but something stopped me. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t end things like this. If she was going to kill me, she’d do it knowing the truth from my own lips.
“Ten seconds. Start talking, Ansin. But once I open this book, that’s it. There’s no going back for us. I’ll have full control of my powers, but I’ll never speak to you again.”
Oh, she will do much worse than that.
I drew a breath. Fear had never been a part of my life. Why start now? “As you wish, Jeni. Take a seat. Just know what I am about to tell you is breaking every oath, every promise I have made to you. So no matter what, you will not forgive me.”
“Chance I’m willing to take.”
“All right, but I am not going to tell you the truth. I am going to show you instead. And, Jeni, I am doing it because I love you. I think I always will.”
Jeni
Instead of telling me what I wanted to know, Ansin sat me down, looked me in the eyes, and commanded me to remember.
“You will recall the truth, Jeni. All of it. You will remember every false memory and every lie I told you, as well. My words no longer hold power over you.”
