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Chapter Fifty Four

"Are you insane?!" Aristi shouted suddenly, glaring down at me. Leaning forward, she pulled on my arm, spitting out, "Answer me, Meredith!"

I roughly pulled away from her, clenching my jaw tightly. "I said that if you won't send me back, I'll do it myself."

"And how do you plan on making that happen?!" Before I could answer, Aristi cut me off and continued, "You haven't even surpassed your mother's level yet, and you believe that by using your own attributes, you can just send yourself back to the mortal world so easily?!"

"Don't talk about my powers like you know how they work!" I snapped harshly at her. Aristi stepped back, biting her lip to keep from attacking me. My eyes hardened at her, and I exclaimed, "Like I said— if you won't help me, then I don't have any other choice!"

I turned around, storming down the steps bitterly.

"You could just wait for my energy to come back!" She insisted from behind me.

Whipping around quickly, my eyes glowed furiously at her, colors spazzing around me. "Just wait?!" I repeated. "Wait while my mom just got a chance to live but her body might not make it because I waited?!" I inhaled sharply when I remembered Papa crying in front of me, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "W-Wait, while my dad is probably breaking down all over again?!"

"You're being selfish," Aristi hissed through a clenched jaw, either out of spite or out of anger— I couldn't tell. Her hands were in fists now, and she glowered over me, expecting me to feel belittled. "You're not strong enough to get back to your world."

"If being selfish is what it takes to protect the dynasty you won't— 'under all circumstances' as you said— then so be it," I said in a tautly manner. Her shadow covered mine, and I let out a shaky breath. My eyes dimmed at her as I spat lowly, "Just fucking watch me."

Swiveling on my heels, I walked away from her, letting her eyes settle on me. That moment flooded me with intrusive thoughts. Am I really being selfish? What if she's right? And where am I going? Before long, I stopped myself and took a quick glance behind me. I was only a couple of yards away from the Greek temple, and Aristi hadn't moved from her spot at the very top of the steps. The expression on her face was indescribable, and yet, I could understand that she felt I wasn't fit to be of her blood.

Perfect.

I can start the spell.

I got down on my knees, kneeling on the white surface as my hands clasped together, almost like I was praying. She's not wrong about the fact that it's impractical to think I should be able to get to my world. Inhaling softly, I set my hands flat on the ground, trembling just the tiniest bit. But no one knows that for sure unless I give it my all. My eyes closed, and slowly but surely, I pinpointed the exact location I wanted to open a portal to.

Locked on.

You've got this, Meredith.

My hands suddenly blasted out a wave of yellow light, which circled and danced around me as it stamped itself onto the ground. Other lines flowed out of my arms and made a pattern in the circle, designing runes that symbolized the creation of a powerful portal— hopefully one that could take me home. I felt my hands surging with the attribute's power that flooded my veins. The completed magic circle shined one more time before the light disappeared, replaced by an ominous black smoke. The smoke suddenly became heavy, and I opened my eyes a little, feeling panic ensue.

Black smoke..?

It's too early for that to appear in this spell.

Particles of the smoke filled the empty spaces between the lines, becoming nothing but piles of ash. For a second, I thought that maybe I was just forgetting the actual spell. Maybe I was just being paranoid about the most powerful spell in Dream Factory history.

It wasn't until a fire abruptly flared where my hands stood on the ground. I let out a shrill scream, feeling my hands burn suddenly, but I didn't dare pull away. The flames started to engulf my arms, and I felt my hands becoming scorched as the fire became hotter. My palms shriveled, and blood began to ooze out as the skin burned off. Because of the pain, I felt the tears in my eyes stream down my face. My jaw clenched tightly to keep me from screaming, and I closed my eyes, starting to feel my limbs give way.

The spell is almost done.

I can handle the fire until then.

Sweat gathered on me as I wheezed, breathing too heavily and too fast to comprehend what was happening. My eyes widened suddenly when a thought interrupted me.

"She loved your father so much that she wanted to die for him, and I wonder, will you do the same?!"

William Kei's voice echoed in my head, and I felt my breathing start to quicken even more as adrenaline pumped my heart.

Yes...

Yes!

I love my parents so much that I'm willing to die for them!

A blood-curdling scream escaped from my mouth when the fire rose up my arms, following the tattoos on my skin that the attribute had printed.

Before my body could become nothing but ash, a blue sphere surrounded me and the runes on the floor. The fire extinguished immediately, and the lines of the magic runes began to disappear. I attempted to peer over my shoulder, only to fall to the ground and writhe in pain as my hands felt like crumbling away to dust. The sphere closed slowly, wrapping around my body and becoming a sea green color. Aristi stood a few feet away from me, crying just as hard as I was while her hands were held out in front of her, keeping the healing spell focused on my arms.

Her attributes.. are Healing and Nullify.

She used Nullify to stop the spell.

Just how powerful is it?

I heard her shuffle over slowly, soon finding my head resting on her lap as her hands held mine, trying her best to heal them. She was crying beyond the fear that must've hit her, and I couldn't understand why. As I tiredly looked up at her, her tears dropped onto my face, and I so badly wanted to wipe them off her cheeks like my parents did whenever I cried.

"You aren't.. strong enough yet, Meredith..." Aristi whispered hoarsely, her voice cracking at my name. I tried to speak, but she shook her head, her blonde curls flying as she refused to here me retort. "Please, just bare to wait until I can send you home..."

As the Blood Assassin's origin continued crying over my weakened body, I slowly nodded at her words, watching as her healing magic got rid of the pain.