"What?"
I opened my eyes at Sunniva's confused question.
Everyone left from the Assembly was focused on me with the exception of Uriel. It seemed not much time had passed. Taika's ghost was still on the ground and the scattered groups of the Clans still lingered around me. Sunniva was an arm's length away, looking at me with worry as she repeatedly glanced over her shoulder to check on Uriel. I could care less, taking a large step away from her. I didn't care about how heartbroken Uriel was, or how horrified Echo looked as he stared at me. I didn't even care about the loathing on Ulfa's face or how Rodolf appeared saddened about whatever fate they've now decided for me. I knew that killing Taika would reverse whatever fucked up decision had been made for my Guild during this Assembly. That I've painted an even larger target on my back than before. If I died, I died. If I lived, I lived. I couldn't give a flying fuck about this world anymore. There was nothing left here for me anyway.
"Thana," Sunniva called out to me, her hand reaching for my arm as I retreated.
I glared at her, making her flinch and retract her hand slowly.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, her expression crestfallen.
I turned away from her, striding back to my remaining Members when Pandora's voice made me halt in my tracks. For the love of the gods, can this fucking shit end already?
"Thana Lillith Kage, in violation of Clan Law A13, for murdering a Clan Leader without reasonable evidence to do so, I sentence you and your Clan to death." Pandora said coldly.
I spun on my heel to face Pandora, my expression blank and my eyes portraying how dead I feel inside. I wasn't threatened by her sentencing. It was all irrelevant to me.
"If you so much as harm a hair on my Guild Members' heads, you will be in violation of Clan Law B3 due to no evidence of any personal wrongdoing on their part. My subsequent sentence on that would be I will just kill you quicker than I already planned." I replied tonelessly.
Gasps of shock rang across the clearing and Pandora's features hardened, her eyes blazing with fury. Choke on that, you fucking bloodsucking bitch.
"Have you declared war Thana Kage? Here? In this sacred space of peace?" She asked me in a sinister, silky soft voice.
I laughed darkly, shaking my head at all of this goddamn nonsense. I already missed Luna intensely. Only she would've been the one to mildly entertain me with bullshit to help me keep my head.
"How did you know? Did my face give it away?" I replied sarcastically.
Pandora straightened, tilting up her chin with a haughty gracefulness I despised.
"You will be signing your Clan's death warrants." She informed me.
"My actions bear no consequence to my Guild. Not really. You all seemed to have decided long ago that our warrants have been signed since the moment we were born." I said bitterly.
"With good reason." Ulfa growled, barging into the conversation.
Rodolf clamped a hand on her shoulder, his eyes full of warning. Ulfa shrugged him off, scowling hatefully at me. I tilted my head at her in question, daring her to say something else with the lift of my brow. Just because my dark magic is currently drained doesn't mean my wild magic is of no use. I didn't give a fuck about the dress, I'll rip Ulfa apart if she so much as twitches towards me.
"Your kind is a disease on this world that should be eradicated." Ulfa continued.
"So you've said. What's new?" I replied dryly.
Ulfa gritted her teeth, her cheeks reddening in anger.
"You spread death and destruction wherever you go. Without care or reason. We should've killed you the moment you were born!" She snarled.
"Yes, yes. Continue showing me your crazy. It's actually mildly entertaining considering how you seem to have no guilt on having thoughts to murder an innocent child. What a gem you are." I drawled condescendingly.
Ulfa growled, her arms beginning to shake which signaled to me how close she was to losing control. Rodolf looked at her, a perfect image of concern, but he wasn't holding her back. Nope, he just stood uselessly by his mate's side as she continued digging her grave.
"You are not innocent."
"I never said that I was." I replied coolly. "But neither are you."
"I did what had to be done for Nature." Ulfa said with conviction, a hint of pride flashing across her features. Now that had my rage brewing. This fucking sociopathic bitch was proud of what she did to my mother? My fucking family?
"All you fucking did was harm Nature." I snarled, my wild magic making my fingers tremor as I continued talking. I wanted to tear this bitch limb from limb and chuck those fucking limbs at Rodolf's empty head.
"I don't know how much your few brain cells can comprehend in that skull of yours, but newsflash. This world is built off of and sustained by balance. Life and Death being that ultimate balance. You motherfuckers are Life, my people are Death. Together we constantly maintain that balance as Nature fucking created us to do. Idiotically killing off all the Necromancers both destroys the balance and insults Nature herself. So get off your fucking pathetic high horse and actually think about what you are doing before I tear that useless head of yours off your shoulders."
Ulfa was shaking like a leaf now, her wild magic audibly buzzing in the air as she struggled to maintain her human form.
"You little filthy-mouthed abomination. How dare you imply to know Nature's intentions for us! Your powers alone prove how wrong you are to remain in this world!"
"My powers are the only thing keeping this fucking world standing!" I roared back at her. Whelp, the cat was out of the bag now.
"Explain." Pandora demanded, the coldness in her features practically glacial.
I casted her a swift glare. "I don't have to explain shit to you."
"If you want to live, it would be wise to do so." Pandora stated simply.
"Who ever said I wanted to live?"
Sunniva gasped at my statement. Her eyes the size of saucers behind those fragile glasses of hers.
"Thana, how can you say that?" She asked me, her tone filled with disapproval as if we were old friends and she was butthurt by my basically suicidal choice of words. Why the fuck did she care?
I looked at her emotionlessly, keeping my voice dead and my eyes flat.
"Because it's the truth and there's nothing left for me here." I told her honestly.
Sunniva flinched, unconsciously glancing at Echo, Uriel, and I assume the twins. I laughed briefly at that, and she looked back at me startled.
"That ship sailed a long time ago. Don't act as if I actually matter to them anymore." I said dismissively.
Sunniva's face became soft with sadness, her silver eyes filled with a sympathy that grated on my nerves.
"Thana, you do still matter to them and...you matter to me too." She murmured. I didn't buy it.
"We knew each other for what? A couple of days? Don't fucking sell me that bullshit. I have no time for that. And the quad? Yeah fucking right. I left them all behind and just killed Uriel's mom. For good fucking reason but she was still his mother. You really believe that any of them will care about me after that? Wake the fuck up." I said harshly, unable to hide the bitterness that tainted my mind.
"Then what about your Guild?" Sunniva pointed out with a desperation I couldn't fathom. "Didn't you come here to rebuild it and take back all of your lives? What about them? What will they do if you die?"
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"They're survivors. Every last one of them. They'll manage."
"No, Thana Kage. We will not."
I whirled around to face Yasmina, irritation permeating my soul at the fact that she was still here when I ordered her not to be. The rest of my Members were gone, but here stood this old hag who had a stubborn set to her jaw.
"Why the hell are you still here?" I spat.
Yasmina harrumphed, placing her hands on her hips with a chiding expression.
"I will not just walk away and allow you to abandon your duties just because you are blinded by your broken heart." She said.
I growled at her savagely.
"They don't deserve me holding back the floodgates anymore. None of them do."
Yasmina lifted a brow at me. Damn her for using my own move against me. It was fucking annoying.
"So the Guild deserves that as well?" She asked.
I deflated slightly, toning down my anger towards her a smidge.
"I placed a ward on the mansion. None of the Darkness should be able to get through." I told her.
"And how long will that last with you gone? How long will we be able to survive with the rest of the world being razed to the ground? How can we defend ourselves when we finally have to leave the grounds in search of food or water?" Yasmina questioned rapidly.
I couldn't answer her. In truth, they most likely wouldn't survive past the year's worth of canned rations I supplied in the cellars. When I didn't say anything for a minute, Yasmina's expression grew stern.
"You are wise beyond your years but also very young, child. It was my personal mistake to forget that and solely rely on you to carry all the hardship. Your lover may be gone but that doesn't mean a part of him doesn't live on still. Never destroy the possibilities of the future just because of your own personal pain. There is no coming back from that."
"There is no future for me without him." I murmured a bit brokenly.
"Oh child. I wouldn't say that." Yasmina replied cryptically in a hushed voice.
I frowned at her, unable to question it before Yasmina addressed the Clans.
"The Necromancer's Guild will stand by its Master until the end. If she calls for war, we will rally. If we need to defend, we will do so. Your threats are meaningless here vampire. You are only seeking more reasons to go to battle than trying to find a way to cease it."
Pandora's glare could've moved icebergs, her mouth tight with displeasure at Yasmina's verbal jab. Ulfa bristled when Yasmina swiveled her blind stare in her direction, disgust and barely concealed hatred brimming from Yasmina as her wrinkled features creased into a scowl.
"Foul Necromancer." Ulfa spat at her before Yasmina could get a word out.
"You must be blinder than me if you can't tell the difference between a Seer and a Necromancer, puppy." Yasmina retorted in a snippy tone.
Ulfa's cheeks colored in outrage at Yasmina's insult, and I shifted my body to prepare to shield Yasmina if Ulfa decided to lunge. A thought clearly stamped across her features as she snarled.
"Seers died out over a century ago." Ulfa stated.
Yasmina snorted derisively.
"Only because of idiots like you who fail to see us when we are right in front of you just because of what god or goddess we inherited our powers from." Yasmina retorted. "But I can assure you, we did not die out."
"Seers were once an honor to have in any Clan," Pandora interjected, tilting her head to regard Yasmina with cold curiosity. "To think that someone so revered by the community would pledge her allegiance to a Necromancer...It makes me wonder if you are truly a Seer."
Yasmina stiffened at Pandora's blatant challenge. Her own pride taking over as her milky gaze speared Pandora on the spot. Pandora's eyes tightened fractionally, the strain giving away her wariness as Yasmina's milky white irises began to swirl. Eons traveled across Yasmina's face as she stared silently at Pandora, and the longer the silence reigned the more tense Pandora became. The tension became nearly suffocating before Yasmina finally opened her mouth. When she did, I really fucking wished she had kept it shut.
"Betrayal shall be met with justice, while the Dark shall be pierced with Light. As Night and Day become one, the Wall between Life and Death shall falter. Chaos shall reign and Peace will shatter. Only a child of the Dark can conquer the Darkness as their mates soothe it with Light. One shall call the Air, willing it to give them the power to understand. One shall call the Fire, their passion making the flames grow bright and powerful enough to burn away all those who seek to harm their mate. One shall call the Water, to heal and calm the heart of their mate. And last, one shall call the Earth. To shelter and protect their beloved ones. Their mate, the true vessel of Death, shall bind them all together with their Spirit...Heed my words, young vampire. The Chaos has already begun. The Darkness is spreading and the Light is dwindling. Any more betrayal towards Death's child shall not be tolerated. If you continue to do so...you shall be met with Justice." Yasmina's words poured out in a flat monotone voice that had chills racing over my skin and a shiver slither down my spine.
I wasn't the only one perturbed by Yasmina's prophetic rant. Pandora was visibly frowning now, ruining her perfect visage as conflict and fearful confusion warred across her face. Ulfa and Rodolf appeared dumb-founded. Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, the idiotic duo gaped at Yasmina in a mixture of awe and disbelief. Though Ulfa still seemed angry enough to rip the old woman's face off. Sunniva seemed lost now, wringing her hands as she kept glancing repeatedly from Uriel to me.
Uriel has at last calmed down some, absently stroking his mother's cheek while staring blankly off into the forest. Well, at least he wasn't crying anymore. It was kind of awkward having an intense as fuck verbal showdown with heartbroken sobs playing in the background. Plus...if I was being honest with myself, I really didn't like hearing those cries. Deep down in a teeny tiny part in my chest, I will always hold the quad dear to me. Seeing any one of them hurt made that tiny part of me ache for them. It was fucking annoying.
It was the glint of knowing I caught in Sunniva's eye that finally sent me over the edge when she glanced between Uriel and I for the zillionth time. I glared in a silent warning for her to keep whatever stupid notion that popped in that head of hers quiet as I rudely clamped a hand on Yasmina's shoulder, not giving a flying rat's ass about elderly respect as I literally shook her out of her vision. Yasmina gasped nearly inaudibly, blinking rapidly while I ignored the slight twinge of remorse within me while I stared Pandora down. I morphed my blank mask into my 'don't-fuck-with-me' one. My eyes burning with determination and the bitterness I felt inside as I struggled to keep my tone neutral.
"On that enlightening note, we will be leaving now. Busy day tomorrow. Got spells to prepare, bags to pack, all that fun stuff. You know how it is." I babbled nonchalantly while inching away from the clearing and dragging Yasmina with me.
"You're relocating?" Pandora questioned.
I casted her a wry look.
"I'm coming home." I announced resolutely.
I didn't linger long enough to watch how they handled that bomb I just dropped. Ushering Yasmina through the forest as quick as I could to head back to the cars. However, every step I took felt heavy and suffocating. Like a nail was being pounded into my proverbial coffin called reality with every stride.
I had come here with Lucian and Luna by my side, and now...I was leaving without them.
The thought raked across my mind. Tearing through my flesh and inflicting enough pain to bring automatic tears to my eyes. I swiped at them angrily, turning my face away from Yasmina when we finally hit the SUV. I guided her to the passenger door before quickly leaping into the driver's seat, starting the car with shaking hands as everything that happened crashed down on me. Somehow sensing my distress, Yasmina turned towards me.
"Child." She murmured and I gritted my teeth at the pity I heard in her raspy voice.
"Please wait till we get home to attempt any therapy session on me." I said, my tone giving no room for argument.
Yasmina nodded her head in silent understanding, closing her mouth firmly.
It was a long, painful silence all the way home.