Deception. Betrayal. Mistrust.
It seems the closer Rayne gets to the truth, the more she finds herself wanting to run away from it. It's complex and terrifying-more than she ever fathomed.
New family members, good and bad, pop out at her like a br...
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𝗟illiana had no idea what she thought she was doing.
All she knew was that the moment her eyes spotted her mother's darting figure, her feet moved out from underneath her. All she knew was that she had to keep running—running and running and running after Evelyn—running for the ending they both deserved.
The flames that had devoured the building were alight against her skin as she dove into the depleted door and entered the control room. The interior trembled under the weight of the jagged merry-go-round piece as she noted the control panels and wirings that covered the entirety of the lower floor. This was a place to avoid, she knew, because of the rapid electrical increase from the damaged outside wires and the rain.
Lilliana ran up two flights of stairs to the second floor and halted.
She breathed heavily, feeling her anxiety catch up to her speed.
She had no idea what she was doing.
She had promised—she had promised—her brother that they would make it out alive together, and she had made him promise not to leave her when it was always her leaving him. She told herself that she wouldn't do this again, not to him, not to herself—that she owed it to the kid sister she used to be so long ago. And yet, at the first chance, she turned her back on him, on Rayne, on all of the people who had given their lives to try and save hers.
The guilt was her fuel.
Lilliana hissed loudly as a wall of rogue flames singed her arm.
Smoke clogged her lungs and the air as she started to move away from the wall and across the space. She carefully watched her steps, making sure not to stand anywhere that was weakened by the flames. The house creaked under her weight, but she chose to listen to it rather than the sound of Rayne's screams leaking in from the broken windows.
She kept her eyes from looking out at them.
Because no matter what she did, people were bound to get hurt. No matter how altruistic she tried to be, it was her presence that ruined everything.
They were better without her curse—her stain on the world.
Running inside this building had been a generosity for her relatives, at the same time, it was a way for her to earn her stripes without dragging them down with her. This moment was hers, and no one was going to take that from her. No one was going to take down her evil bastard of a mother other than her. She proved that when she attacked Rueben for trying to shoot her.
If only she had been smart enough to check her body after she'd fallen—
Lilliana let out a sound between a yelp and a groan as someone collided with her, taking her to the ground. Fire rimmed the outside of her perspective as she collected herself and noticed her mother straddling her hips. She tried to fight back, but her mother grabbed her wrists and pinned her down.
