Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 41 - One Last Breath

"You'll be fine," said Zoe. The faintest hint of a glow flickered through her hair and softened something inside Athira. Zoe flashed her a weak grin. "And if not, I'll be more than happy to laser you back to your senses."

"When my runes break, you won't be able to laser me out of it, Zo," murmured Athira. The armband had to come off. That much she was certain of, but afterwards... "You remember what I told you about them. About the monster—what I did."

"We don't know that," said Zoe, squeezing Athira's hands. "I still think—"

Athira shook her head. "I can't risk that. I can't risk you." She shuddered as a wave of nausea ripped through her. Rathe growled from the depths of her rattled thoughts. "You're Spectrum, Zoe. You'll find the others and stop Rathe better than I ever could. You don't need me for that." She managed a smirk. "The only thing I can do now is make sure that me or the Wardens never threaten you again."

Zoe's gaze hardened. "You'd better not be saying what I think you're saying, Thira."

Athira didn't answer her straight away. She closed her eyes and steadied herself around the feel of Zoe's hands, willing her blood to cool, to ignore the feel of Rathe's claws in her mind. She had to stay focused, to hold herself together long enough after she broke the armband to give Zoe and Shift a chance to run.

"Thira?" said Zoe again.

Athira opened her eyes, looked at Zoe, then Shift, a smile soft on her mouth. "I'm glad I got to see you both one last time."

"What do you mean one last time?" said Zoe, the words rushing out. Her grip tightened. "Thira—"

"Just remember what I said about running," said Athira as she dropped Zoe's hands and engulfed the armband in Black.

The nausea bit into her the instant her Colour touched the armband. A hot, ancient rage spilled through her veins, igniting Rathe into a frenzy she'd tried to brace herself for, but there was no bracing herself for this. In seconds, it burned through every piece of calm she'd drawn from Zoe's presence, every sliver of resolve she'd found in Shift's, and left behind a simmering, ashen anger.

With a clench of her fist, the armband shattered inside the Black. She let its pieces fall, clattering to the ground, still dripping with the viscous, violet ooze that'd been inside it. She sneered, bringing her boot down on the largest piece as Black scattered along the ground and devoured the rest.

Worthless.

"Oh, you have no idea how much better that feels."

Athira's gaze flicked to the steadily growing glow in the corner of her eye where Zoe stood, wiping the violet ooze from her skin with her one remaining sleeve.

Snuff out the light.

The thought caught her off guard. The Black reached for Zoe and Athira struggled to rein it in. She grabbed her head, staggering, desperate to untangle herself from the rage that was sweeping her aside.

End them all.

"Thira? Are you—"

Athira slapped away the hand that reached for her. "What did I tell you two idiots about running?"

Zoe blinked, surprised. "Your runes didn't break though, you're still—"

"I don't need my runes to break to make what I did to Talia look tame," snapped Athira, struggling to hold back her anger. It burned hot against her insides, ready to lash out at anyone who got close enough, but she refused to let it have them. "Leave me alone and get out—before someone else pays for it."