Several pieces of the Jade pendant were arranged together on the coffee table. The stone seemed to have lost its vibrancy when it shattered. The smooth surface broken up by rough edges. I spun the Mikaelson ring on my finger in boredom, staring at the broken pendant like it might lend me answers.
"Don't think so hard, you might hurt yourself." I looked up at the voice, my eyes landing on Aleksandr. He sat on a couch across from me, an ankle hooked over his knee. I blinked, once and then twice. Was this another hallucination? Or was this one of the soul fragments, messing with my head?
He looked real, he even wore his Clan Hela clothing. Material that hugged his forearms and was loose around his waist. It crawled up on his neck and was a rather long shirt, a typical style for Viking warlocks and witches. His Raven feather earrings hung from his lobes and his eyes were boldened by kohl. His long hair fell to one side of his face like a curtain, exposing one shaved side of his head.
"Sulking over your failure?"
"I didn't fail anything." I snapped, straightening up on the couch. He grinned at me.
"You didn't expect that someone would try to break out the brotherhood? You're slipping."
"I'm the most powerful woman in the world. I'm not slipping." I snarled. His arrogance got under my skin. He knew exactly what to say to push my buttons.
"Most powerful? No, I don't think so. This jade is proof of that. You needed it because your body cannot contain the magic you siphoned from those hunters." Aleksandr paused excruciatingly. "You know who does have the magical capacity for it? Your sister."
"You're not actually here." I deduced this was a hallucination.
"Why? Because I know what you're thinking? The soul bond allows me to hear your fucked up thoughts, emotions, dreams-"
"It's a two way street. You don't have thoughts I can feel. Therefore, you aren't actually Aleksandr." I cut him off. He tilted his head at me and shrugged, holding up his hands in an innocent You got me expression.
"It doesn't matter whether I'm a vision, or if I'm real. I speak the truth." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. His blue hazel eyes peered at me from beneath his eyelashes.
"Can you feel it? The magic inside of you, making your skin clammy and your muscles tense? How long do you think you can leash this magic?" Aleksandr purred at me. "It's a matter of time before it surges or dissipates. Do you know what that feels like? When your glass gets too full and the tension is so high that you'd rather claw your own face off than withstand it?"
I clenched my fingers into a fist, and my jaw tightened. I glared down at the broken pendant. Go away, Go away, go away! My heart started to pound with anger as he spoke.
"You're already feeling the bloodlust. Even the sweet, sweet orgasms Castor elicits from you can't ease this pressure." Aleksandr went on. He's not here. He's not here. He's not here. When I looked back up, the warlock smirked at me, smug with my irritation.
"You've underestimated your enemy, Alice. For the first time in, well, ever- you face a real threat. They already have stakes that can put down a hybrid. How long will it be before they can put you down?" He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and his face lit up like he just had the best thought. "Here's an idea. Let them find a way to kill a tribrid. Then, use that method against Hope."
"You'll watch your mouth." My lip curled back as I spoke.
"I'm you. Which means that some part of you has thought about what your life would look like if you didn't have a sister to compare yourself to." Aleksandr's words sent a shot of rage through me. I stood up and hissed at him, my eyes darkening. The lights in the room flickered, and my magic pulsed from my body. I closed my eyes for a moment, reeling the magic back in like a fishing line.
