Page 78 of Violet Legacy

“The perfect accessory.”

“Sarcasm does not suit you, little one.”

Rieka refused to move. “How did you find me?”

“You.” He nodded to the bracelet. “The bracelet links you to her memories. To the Anki and the O’hurani. Can you hear them? They can hear you.”

Their voices were continuing to grow until it was all-consuming, but that was not the worst of it. She could feel their hunger, their drive, and the eternal ambition to remake the world in their image. It was becoming harder to distinguish their desires and needs from her own. Their thirst for power was addictive. It would be so easy to lose herself within it.

“Think of it as a hive mind. The Anki are all connected. All their emotions and thoughts—the O’hurani can harness them. It made him untouchable.” Lucien glided toward her, his movements silent and graceful. The walk of a predator playing with his prey. He was surrounded by an invisible current of power; subtle ripples vibrated through the air. It reminded her of Dante—but with Dante, the thought he would use it against her had never crossed her mind. The fool she was.

The bracelet began to pulse erratically, sending small jolts of electrical currents through her, stronger than before. Lucien watched her silently. Rieka was beginning to have serious doubts about her chance of survival. First Idris and now Lucien.

“The O’hurani gave it to Vandana so they could be inexorably linked for all of eternity. Her mind and body forever his—to control and shape as he chose.”

It sounded worse than death.

“Why do you want to find the tomb?”

“The chance for a son to say farewell to his late mother.”

Rieka snorted. Tiny pale green lights flickered in her periphery. Was there something else in the room with them?

Lucien moved like lightning. He gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. His pale blue eyes swirled unnaturally, his irises turning like twisters, until there was no white left. His fingers dug into her flesh.

Rieka couldn’t move; the pain kept her focused, but everything around her was darkening. Rieka swallowed, the lump in her throat making it hard to breathe. Lucien was doing something to her. She was trapped within her body.

“If you give me what I want, it will stop,” Lucien whispered, his mouth next to her cheek.

She wasn’t sure if he said those words aloud or if they were whispered in her mind. It was as if someone was twisting her apart, piece by piece. Pain exploded everywhere as she felt liquid streak down her face. “What?”

“The O’hurani.”

The grip on her chin released. Whatever hold Lucian had on her disappeared. The voices unexpectedly stilled in her mind. All that was left was an empty silence and a loneliness she couldn’t chase away. The quietness lasted a second before her mind splintered. She should have known it wouldn’t last…Lucien wasn’t on her side. Seconds seemed to last hours as she lost control of herself. Memories were grabbed, twisted, and discarded. She didn’t know what belonged to her or to Vandana. A bystander, watching all her precious memories being stripped apart at the mercy of the monster in front of her. And that was what Lucien was: a monster just like Idris.

The outside world ceased to exist, and she was transported somewhere else. Somewhere separate from her body. Black liquid engulfed Rieka in an icy embrace.

She blinked, her eyes unfocused as she tried to work out where she was. The darkness seemed unending. She couldn’t decide what was up or down as she frantically turned, her limbs twisting of their own accord. Breathing was near impossible. She covered her ears, trying to stop the ringing as her entire body thrummed with excruciating pain. Each agonizing pulse brought her closer to the darkness.

“Only one of Vandana’s bloodline can wear the bracelet.” Ancient, the voice vibrated through her, silencing the others. “Firstborn—mine.”

It didn’t belong to Lucien or anyone she knew.

Kicking, she tried to surge upward.

It’s my mind.

Hands grabbed at her, touching every part of her, their talons digging into her flesh.

She opened her mouth to scream; liquid rushed in, the taste metallic and salty. Choking, she twisted and turned, trying to stop the hands, but every movement was getting more exaggerated and slower.

Images bombarded her, thousands of flashes, all merging into one.

Past. Future. Present.

Blood. Bodies strewn against a city backdrop. The sky was aglow with oranges and pinks in an apocalyptic sunset. Her mind threatened to shatter under the onslaught. Everything was unnaturally distorted and elongated. It was a waking nightmare. The voices were growing louder and louder until all she wanted was the silence to return and for the pain to stop.

Swim. Upward.

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