Page 19 of Gorgeous Nightmare

“When I would try to explain my concern to them, I was met with cold nights, alone. They would beat me until I could barely stand. Leaving me in puddles of my own blood and bruised bones.”

Her voice shakes, and her anger shows. Small cracks in her strength are breaking through.

“Yeah, great story. Why should I give a fuck?” I say back.

I don’t know who this lady is, but I can feel my bodyretracting, like she’s a poison I shouldn’t be messing with.

“Stupid girl!” She spits back at me, taking a step toward me. “You know nothing of the powers that hold your pathetic world together.” Her voice pulsing with power.

“It’s become consumed with nothing but evil and heartache. Not every happy beginning has a happy ending, sometimes its only purpose is to chew you up and spit you out. Leaving you gasping for breath once it’s consumed its fill of you.” Her voice is smooth and smoky, finding its way under my skin.

Is she seriously trying to use some devil powers on me or some shit?

I try to stand, but a heavy weight forces me back down before I make it a couple of inches.

“You are the outcome of their mistakes. I was forced to fill the world with my offspring. To create an army of servants that will do my bidding. However, someone has been removing them from this world one by one. But you are different, my precious little sin. You were created with a being of light, allowingyou to hide from this death bringer,” she chuckles mischievously.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, digesting each word slowly.

“Sooo… you’re saying I’m your daughter?” I let out a pompous laugh. “There’s absolutely no fucking way! You’re batshit crazy!” I screech back at her, straining against my invisible restraints.

She takes another step toward me, not backing down. “Ah, my darling disappointment. What a lovely mess you’re making of my legacy.”

“You need to kill that boy,” she states blandly, as if she’s telling me what she’s having for dinner that night.

“Yep. Absolutely fucking insane,” I affirm, more to myself than to her. “I’m notkillinganyone. Sorry, but that’s not really my thing. You got the wrong ‘little sin’ or whatever the fuck you tried to call me,” I fire back, completelyexhaustedby this conversation.

My brain snaps back into place almost immediately.Fucking sleep..duh.

Closing my eyes, I breathe in deeply, calming my nervous system. I release an exhale and can feel the air around me becoming cooler, a warmth growing on the top of my head.

My body suddenly feels as if it’s dropping through the chair, falling through dimensions. And then it all goes black.

CHAPTER 20

Lilith

It seems as if my half-shadow has unlocked her powers. Can’t have her figuring that out too quickly, now, can we?

Another flick of my wrist, and my magic surrounds me, tendrils of smoke wrapping around my body. Within seconds, my skin vessel is transported to another sector of the dream realm. I need to find that disgustinghuman.

“A?” I hear him call out into the void. He’s searching for her.How sweet.

“Ronan, is that you?” I respond in a perfect mockery of my daughter’s panicked voice.

Too easy.

“Stay right there, gorgeous. I got you.” The smell of his panic permeates the room like a delicious perfume.

A quick snap of my wrist and my magic masks my body, modifying my vessel to match that of my insolent offspring.

“I’m right here, baby.”

He moves into my peripheral vision. An image of beauty and distress rolled into one.

Dark hair falls messily in front of his concerned eyes. Warm, caramel skin covered in a black tee, showing off his muscles as he breathes in and out deeply, each movement bringing attention to his structured stomach. A godlike human. No wonder she’s enraptured by him.

I fall into him, sobbing, playing my part perfectly.

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