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Malys turned to strike me again, but my grandmother Pepper lashed out at her with a whip of red-violet light that struck the panther across the face. Malys growled and tried to attack her, but I charged at her and grabbed hold of one of her back legs with my jaws, forcing her down to the ground. She tried to kick me with her other leg, and succeeded in digging her claws into my face, but I refused to let go.
Instead, I shook my head, rending and tearing at her flesh with my jaws. Malys roared, thunder rumbled overhead. She tried to get up again, but I wouldn’t let her go. Instead, I dragged her across the ground, pulling her toward the edge of the rooftop.
“You’ll never see your mother and father again if you kill me!” she roared.
“Don’t listen to her, Amara,” yelled Helen. “She’s lying!”
“Kill me and find out.”
Nothing I can do today will bring my parents back,I thought to myself, as my mouth was too full for me to reply.But killing you won’t make things any worse than they already are. Not for anyone else, anyway.
Malys tried once more to free herself, but my grip was vice-like. Though she struck at me so quickly, and so viciously, that I lost sight in one eye—I was sure that it was gone—nothing she did could shake me. As the battle raged around me, I dragged Malys kicking and roaring toward the closest ledge I could find. When I reached it, I dug my paws into the ground, then vaulted Malys up and over the edge.
Only she didn’t quite go over; she struck it instead, and managed to keep from going arse over tits over it.
She was bleeding, her leg was mangled, and she was surrounded. I had lost an eye, but Malys wasn’t going anywhere because as my grandmothers converged, even she could see that she was cornered. She scanned my grandmothers, then me, her eyes low and dangerous, her lips curling to reveal those powerful panther teeth.
“What now then, witches?” asked Malys. “Will you kill me? Is this where the Crowe legacy becomes one of cold-blooded murder?”
Grandmother Helen approached the wounded panther. “We are not murderers,” she said, “Though you have plainly displayed that affinity for all to see. The worst part is, even now, all I have for you is pity and sadness.”
“I spit at your pity. I reject your sadness.”
“Do with them what you will. They are yours nonetheless.” Helen shook her head, then she lowered her voice. “Lydia… what happened to you? I had such respect for you, for your institution… I never thought you would do something like this.”
“People change, Helen. Circumstances change, and they force a person to adopt new ideologies in order to survive.”
“This was about more than just survival. This was about ego, about greed, about vengeance. You didn’t just want to reclaim what you thought you’d lost… you wanted to wound my family like they had wounded you,” she paused. “If only you had paid for the dress my granddaughter made for you.”
Malys’ eyes softened then, even if only for an instant. It was as if in that moment, she had realized what she had done was stupid, and reckless, and selfish. As she looked at me, I saw myself in her. The way I had been, all I had done, I had done it to suit my own needs and desires, and so had she.
We were more alike than I cared to admit. But Malys… well, she had adopted that name for herself for a reason, and when her eyes hardened again, I knew what was about to happen.
“There’s nothing left for me,” she hissed.
“That’s not true,” said Pepper. “You have a life in London… let all of this go back to the way it was, and we can help you deal with Fate.”
“No one escape’s Fate’s hand. Least of all those who have tried to force it.” She lowered her head, arched her back, and stared at my grandmother. “I’ll see you in hell,Crowe.”
“Lydia,don’t!” Helen yelled, but it was too late. Malys had pounced, leaping through the air like a boulder about to slam into my grandmother.
I surged into action, throwing myself into Malys with all the strength my legs could’ve possibly given me. I caught her in mid-air, burying my shoulder into her midsection and diverting her away from my grandmother. When Malys hit the ground, Evie was there to send an arc of purple lightning directly into her back.
Malys roared, but with her mangled leg, it took her a moment too long to get up. By that time, I was already there, charging headlong into her from the side, my jaws opened wide, and aimed directly at her neck. I clamped down on it hard, Malys screamed, rolled, and tried to kick me off her by digging her hind paws into my stomach. I felt my own flesh tear and my own blood spill out of the wound, but I didn’t let go of her neck.
I tore, and pulled, and sawed against her neck until I felt her own flesh come apart beneath the force of my jaws. The fight fell out of us both quickly, but it left her first. I felt her heart, beat for the last time… and as Malys died, I followed.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
I’ve just had the weirdest dream.
I woke up that day feeling like it was the first time I had ever roused from sleep. My bones ached, my muscles were sore, and my mind was foggy. I could’ve sworn I had been dreaming, but I couldn’t remember the dream, the people in it, or even what it was about. Bizarre.
Sitting upright, I realized I was in my bed…mybed.
Wait.
I hadn’t been in my own room at the palace for a long time, but I hadn’t forgotten what it looked like. I hadn’t forgotten the size of my bed, the feel of my sheets, or the scent in the air. A soft, pale morning light broke beyond the windows, outside I could hear birds chirping, and frantic footsteps marching down the hallway… toward my bedroom.
