Page 18 of A Taste of Torment
Liz thrived on the attention. She had a group of girlfriends that followed her around like puppies, and boys treated her like royalty. We had our share of enemies, but I stood by my sister and protected her. Over and over.
And yeah, I may have brewed a potion or two in the middle of the night to enforce our reputation. It didn’t take long for people to fear us.
During summers, we’d spend time with our parents abroad, instead of going home where we might be at risk. One summer, we went to Kenya, and last year, Indonesia. This summer we were supposed to go to Canada, but that never happened.
Neither of us had spent more than a week at our home since we left Myre Island.
Until this summer. I stayed longer in Detroit for an internship, and Liz went home three weeks sooner. In those weeks, I’ve learned from her journal, Liz met someone new.
A powerful supernatural that made her feel like she was“on fire with passion.” Someone who could change the game for her.
Someone she never named.
Not to me, our parents, or in her journal.
Liz disappeared the day after I came home, and we didn’t find her body until two weeks later—in the forest two miles from this campus.
Just like Liz, I feel like I’m on fire—except instead of passion, I’m burning with rage.
Clenching my jaw tight, I flip to her final journal entry. Because clearly, I’m a masochist.
June 4th
I’ve always believedwhat Candice told me—we’ll never really belong in the supernatural world. Those creatures will never treat us like equals.
We will always be at their mercy.
But I don’t believe those things anymore.
I feel strong for the first time in my life. I feel in control.
He makes me feel that way. He lights me up from the inside and tells me tales of what we could be together. I love the sound of his voice and the vision he has for our future. Together, we can be powerful. His mark would lend me his strength and make me like him. We just have to wait for the right time, and then I’ll be able to achieve all the things I was too afraid to wish for.
It won’t be easy, I know. And my sister is only one obstacle, but I can’t give this up. I won’t.
He is my future.
He knows how to make me one of the most powerful creatures in this world. Able to make others bow down at my feet. I can feel it, stirring in my blood already. The truth.
I cannot wait to ascend.
xo Liz
I clench my jaw.
I cannot wait to ascend.
Those words grate against me. The anger is so palpable I feel like I could grow claws like a shifter and rip apart the world. My sister met a high-level supernatural who at least told her heintendedto bond to her.
A marking, on a human, isn’t usually permanent. It’s a temporary showing of belonging. It’s one-part animalistic ownership and one-part protection. It gives them just a taste of magic and connects the two creatures while the mark remains.
Most humans, male or female, would love to be marked.
But that’s not what my sister was talking about.
No, whoever she was dating—fortwo weeks—was promising to bond to her. Basically, the supernatural version of marriage, except worse. Bonds cannot be broken. It’s a permanent combining of two souls. There are only three or four known species capable of such a bond with a human.
Nightshades, which are extremely rare, and none of them are within five hundred miles of us.
