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He chuckles. “That’s your mother talking there, always the one to find peace even in the middle of a war.”
“She preferred to stop the wars.”
His brows pinch. “How else would there be a winner then?”
This is the difference between the two of us. He forgot that you can still win without losing. He was never taught that you don’t have to step on the faces of others to climb higher in this world.
“War doesn’t determine who wins, war determines who is left.” My voice is cool because I’m done. I need this to be over. I take a blade from my leather wrist cuff.
“I suppose you’re right, Little Warrior. Now, you’ll be the only one left.”
“Not the only one,” I say just as my family makes their way down to me. I get to my feet, dusting the ash off of me as I stand. Adrik gets up as they close in on us. Each one stays at my back, staring down the face of my nightmare as I embrace the finality of this moment.
I take in a deep breath. It is in no way refreshing with the amount of smoke in the air, but it still steadies my hand as my fingers fold around my blade.
“You were the villain in my story, Uncle. It’s time I ensure you will never be the villain to anyone else.”
Then, I let my blade fly straight and true.
We stand there and watch as it embeds itself into his throat, severing his carotid and puncturing his trachea. Cil couldn’t make it today, but he sent me a special blade made of obsidian, volcanic rock.
I felt like it was quite poetic for this moment. It’s also the sharpest substance known to man, which is why Damien got the special leather strap for it to sit in so I didn’t hurt myself.
The moment my uncle’s body falls, my husbands pick him up and toss him into the fire. Damien is sure to pull the blade free first and hand it back to me.
“Do you feel free, Little Shadow?”
I sigh contentedly as he wraps me into a hug that turns into all of us pulling each other close. My uncle’s body turns to ash in front of me, taking the fear his nightmares brought along with it. If this journey has taught me anything, it’s that there might be real evil in this world, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome if we stick together.
“I feel loved,” I say as they all nearly squish me to death. And it’s everything I could have ever imagined.
Epilogue
Three months later
To say things have gone smoothly in this transition would be stupid. Because this is the mafia and nothing ever goes according to plan. But with the help of Boris and a few other trusted members, we are figuring things out.
Lev buried his father next to his mother, and the cemetery was repaired from all of the damages caused by the attack. It took a while for him to work through it, but he’s coming around.
Damien’s constant giddiness and jokes have helped us all heal from that day, including the rift it created between Damien and me. While the outcome was what we hoped for, the trauma will last for a while. Thankfully, we have Dr. K for that.
Now that Rostya revealed my trigger word, which we didn't know until he used it on me, Dr. K has been helping desensitize me to it. There has been a lot of work and pain involved, but to know no one will ever control me like that again isahugerelief."
The Society was less than pleased about how much of the island was burned, but I’m not an idiot. We protected the buildings, and it only took a few rain storms before most of the ash was washed away.
The island will be thriving again soon, and the new class of students will attend in two years. We decided not to change much about how the school works.
We tweaked a few rules so we’ll all be teaching every so often, just to keep an eye on the staff, some of the students, and organizations that may need extra monitoring. After all, that’s what Boris did with Doc and Arrow and it worked out well for him.
Now that things are starting to settle, Alexi planned a special trip for Valentine's Day in a few weeks.
We have all tried to make more of an effort with each other, and the surprise trip was his idea. Today, I decided to have the letter Alexi wrote me on our wedding day framed, and I’m currently standing on the top of a chair, trying to hammer a nail into the wall to hold it.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing, Princess?”
The voice startles me, causing me to fall backwards, only to be caught by strong arms. I nearly hit Alexi in the face with my hammer, but I save his god-like features from peril just in time.
“Hey, Batman. Nice catch.”
