Page 143 of Hidden
My heart raced at the accusation in his tone and feeling seeping back into me. An anger swelled in my chest—annoyance flaring toward the entity which threatened my peace. “Leave me alone.”
“You’re stagnating,” Mu said, causing another shiver to rush through me. “This is not what we were born to become.”
“Mind your own business.” I was arguing with myself. Or was I?
We weren’t the same, and I wasn’t him. Damen had said so earlier. Even if we were reincarnations, I was stillme. And I wasn’t strong enough to—
“Yes, you areyou,” Mu said. Somehow, I could almost visualize him. He probably looked like aLord of the Ringself—all regal and beautiful. Possibly all-knowing and wise.
What a pretentious jerk.
“But you were born with the knowledge, hopes, and dreams of every Wood Xing that has ever existed.” If he knew my thoughts, he ignored them. “You’re you, and you’re also all of us.”
“That’s stupid…” I muttered. “And extremely confusing.”
“Focus,” he demanded, and the space shifted.
I blinked, studying the ground that had risen up under my feet.
Yes, this was definitely Mu’s doing. The stupid man seemed to have a propensity for dramatic, fairy-land forests. The mossier the better. He stood in front of me, the sight familiar and startling.
Was he wearing a crown? And those billowing clothes. They were green, of course, and with what appeared to be golden, leaf-patterned trim along the hems. But even more important was the ridiculous length of his hair. I had thought Kiania’s seemed hard to manage.
“You’ve come to claim your birthright,” he said.
So, he was a drama queen. I was so not surprised.
I glanced down at myself—I’d been cloaked in the same ridiculous outfit, except it was swimming on me. But that was far from a concern at the moment.
“I don’t think so.” I frowned. After sampling a taste of his power before, I was no longer interested. I was more than happy to just stay with the boys, hiding in obscurity.
I would stay married to Bryce forever.
“You really don’t have a choice,” Mu said, dropping his hand back to his side. “One of the hardest things is to watch everyone else make a mess of things. The others need you.”
Darn it. My shoulders dropped as the argument fell from me.
“They are pretty clueless,” I grumbled, remembering Damen’s terrible plans. Then there was Bryce, who just needed so much guidance. And Miles. Poor Miles who needed someone to push him to be his best self.
Yet doubt filled me, causing my chest to ache.
“I can’t help anyone.” I looked at Mu. “I’m notyou, I’m damaged. I’m not brave enough. I can’t go back.” But why couldn’t I go back? I couldn’t remember. What happened?
But if Muwasin my head, if he had been my whole life, it meant something else too.
I couldn’t trust him.
“Why didn’t you stop it?” I asked.
So much had been packed into that question I was afraid he’d not understand.
But I didn’t need to explain further. From the slight downturn of his lips and the lowering of his head, he knew.
“Why didn’t you just take over, or whatever it was that you did when I was fighting Daniel Cole?” I accused. “You could have saved me, and now I’m all messed up. This is allyourfault.”
“You areyou,” he repeated in that sage-like way that made me want to punch him in the face. “No matter which life, we’re limited in how much we can assist. Because you’reus.”
“But—” That made absolutely zero sense.
