World on Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [4]

N I N E T E E N

"You're too late. Speech time's over." Hope counts at least two heartbeats coming towards her as she packs up her weapons. She had sent Faith to the car to wait, something weighing heavily in her chest. Choosing to ignore it, Hope just tries to stay focused, but people just have to try her.

"I'm not here to give a speech," Finch says from behind. "I don't actually know you that well, which means I'm seeing things a little clearer." As Hope turns, she sees the scalpel in Finch's grasp.

"What are you gonna do? Dissect me?"

Finch levels her breathing. "You know, it's because of your cousin and Josie that I stayed here. I'm gonna do something neither would."

Hope smirks. "Clever, but, you know, if you're trying to distract me from your partner that's sneaking up on me, you should know I have, like, really good hearing." She turns around, lifting Ethan off the ground by the throat. "Especially because you're a mouth breather."

The needle falls from his grasp as she tosses him back. Stepping on it, she says, "You know, if you wanted to put me to sleep, you could've just talked." Finch growls and lunges forward, but Hope knees her chest back, watching her sprawl next to Ethan. "Now, which one of you wants to die first?"

"Neither of them." The smooth voice almost catches Hope off guard. She turns as the doors to the gym fly open, Josie walking in dressed in all black with the veins on her face pulsing. A silver streak runs through her hair, her eyes glistening. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size? You—do your little blink-y thing and get Finch out of here. The big kids need to chat."

Hope does not need to watch as Ethan and Finch disappear. Josie closes the doors behind them as Hope asks, "What took you so long? Performance anxiety?"

"Well, I needed the proper motivation. So I went to the hospital, and who do I find watching my girlfriend other than some compelled idiot with a knife?"

Hope scoffs. "Oh, don't tell me it was my insurance policy that brought you out. You've gone soft."

"It's actually exactly what Josie needed to let me loose." Hope swears that the girl's heartbeat jumps for just a moment. "I'm here to put you down, minus the boxing ring and Nyx, of course. You up for a rematch?"

"Absolutely," Hope grins. "Finally, someone around here gets it. I mean, you being here proves my point. When it's time to fight, Josie has to rely on her strong half, the half that's like me."

Josie shrugs. "Oh, I won't be the one fighting you, even though I was asked to. Do you know what Stella said to me before her mind practically shut off? She said, 'Next time you see Hope, kill her.' I wish I could."

Hope scoffs. "Stella would never say that."

Her grin drops as the words, "But I did," echo through the room. She spins around to see Stella standing behind her, a strand of silver in her jet black hair, her arms crossed and a dangerous smirk on her face contrasting the rage in her eye.

Something in Hope's chest throbs, but she pushes it down. It fights against her, straining against her claws as if it were living and breathing. In the end, it means nothing as she wins like always when she thinks of her cousin, imagining her lying in a hospital bed half-dead. "So," Hope bites out. "You're not dead."

Stella blinks slowly before she inhales deeply. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Or maybe you wouldn't. Because you know what I think I just saw? You don't want me here, and maybe, just maybe, you're scared."

"I'm not scared of you."

Stella sighs as she begins to circle Hope, coming close enough that shivers run down. "Maybe not. But, contrary to what you want, I'm not going to fight you. All I have to do is snap my fingers."