Page 94 of The Forsaken Heir
“I’m not prepared for any of this.”
“Good,” he said. As fast as a snake striking out, he touched my forehead.
His touch was like a moth landing on my skin, but I flew backward as if I’d been blasted by a cannonball. On either side of me, the world blurred by like I was flying down a massivehallway, Jolon growing smaller and smaller until he was nothing but a speck. And then he was gone altogether.
When I finally stopped, I found myself in a dark room. A single, flickering candle cast pale orange tongues on the walls around me.
“Hello?” My voice echoed back to me, like I was in a massive cave rather than a small room.
“Why are you here?” a voice hissed from the darkness behind me.
Yelping in surprise, I spun around, but found no one there. The voice was familiar. Feminine. My mother.
“I said, why are you here,” she said again, this time on the other side of the room.
Turning again, I cried out. “Mom? Come out, so I can see you.”
Instead of my mother, a gray wolf stepped forward. Its paw entered the light first, followed by its mouth. Saliva dripped down its bared teeth as it snarled at me.
Instinctually, I backed away. Instead of bumping into the wall, I stepped on the soft paw of a second wolf. Jerking away, I turned to find my father’s brown and black colored wolf approaching, also growling at me, menace flashing in his eyes.
From the other side of the room, Bastien’s wolf stepped forward, but he spoke with his human voice.
“Liar. Fake. Imposter,” he said, his words hissing through my mind as if spoken by a snake.
Why were they saying this, if we were inmymind?
“Fraud,” my father said.
“Cheat,” my mother growled.
“I’m not,” I screamed. “I am Brielle.”
“There is only one way,” Jolon said, stepping forth from the final side of the room. “Once all has been stripped away, the truth, and the truth alone, will remain.”
“How do I strip it away?” I asked as the wolves drew nearer.
He pointed at the creatures closing in on me. “These are not your family. Remember, this is a construct of your mind. Your soul’s pathway. A road carved by magic into the deepest part of yourself. These,” he waved once more to the wolves, “are you?”
When I looked at the beasts, I couldn’t see anything in their eyes that reminded me of myself. All I saw was hatred and loathing. Anger at…
For the first time in years, I understood. This was how I saw myself. A fraud. Not a wolf but still a shifter, not a human but still in that world. I fit in nowhere, and deep down I chastised myself for it. None of this was my fault, and no matter how much I tried to tell myself I’d come to terms with it, I still hated myself for being half of something and never whole.
“What do I do, Jolon? Tell me!” I cried out.
“Let go,” he said. “To fly, one must first let go.”
I understood at once, but it was terrifying. Still, it had to be done.
Turning to the wolves, I snarled back at them. “Come on, then! If you’re going to do it, then fucking do it!”
The three beasts launched themselves at me, tackling me and dragging me to the floor, their teeth latching onto my arms, my legs, and throat, tearing and ripping. There was no pain. In fact, all I felt was a cool and gentle breeze. My body was torn to pieces, yet I still remained. I hadn’t been torn apart. Instead, the old wounds and pain had been ripped away. And all that remained was me. The trueme.
Opening my eyes, I found the wolves were gone. Raising my hands, I found no blood or wounds. When I scrambled to my feet, Jolon stood watching me. I felt prouder of myself than ever before, for pushing through whatever the hell this was.
“Now,” he said, “Tell me who you are. You will not be able to lie, even if you should try. Your soul has been cleansed. Tell me, girl. Who are you?”
I cleared my throat. “Brielle Marie Laurent.”
