Page 145 of Remnants: Disruption
The girl looks over and sees Ivan. He stumbles forward, hands bound and mouth gagged. His eyes flash with fear and pain, glancing between her and Darkrend.
The monster pushes the younger man to his knees and, glancing over at the girl, crushes the man’s head between his hands.
She screams. Blood curdling panic in every decibel.
Darkrend reaches down and grabs her by the throat. Her screams gurgle into wet, choking breaths as red light traces down Darkrend’s arm and into his hand.
The girl struggles and strains until the screen dims, then it goes blank.
Before I can even look back at Cass, the video returns. The same girl, I assume, stares at what had been a village. It now looks like ash, wood, and rubble.
She then looks down at her small, teenage hands and they glow a soft red. The perspective tilts further down to her feet. Ared lightning mark streaks from her bare ankle and disappears beneath the torn cloth and linen.
The Affliction goop mutates back into a circular orb and Cass’ eyes flick open.
“Darkrend decimated my village. He killed my people. He killed my family,” she sounds broken. Detached. Like this had happened to someone else. “When he Inflicted me, I believe it went wrong. Or, rather, wrong for him. Instead of making me a thrall or a weaker Remnant, he gave me what he already had.”
“So—” I whisper, remembering the way she’d said 'our power'all those weeks ago. That the anklet would protect me from 'ourpower.'
“I can do almost everything Darkrend can do. And more, at times,” she whispers, finally looking up to meet my eyes. "We are one and the same."
She expects judgement—maybe fear.
I nearly tackle her as I pull her into my arms. Even though she’s at least two inches taller than me, she curls into me. Her head tucks beneath my chin and we fall backwards onto the bed.
She doesn’t cry as I rub her soft, bared skin.
"You are not the same," I say, holding her tightly. "You are exceptional, brave, and strong—but you arenotlike him.
I press a kiss to the top of her head, and she nestles further into my neck.
“We will protect our people, Cassandra,” I whisper, pressing another kiss into her hair. “I promise you Darkrend will never take them from us.
Chapter 53
Prophetic
November 15th, 1030 A.D., Afternoon
Seers and their prophecies, whatever shall we do?
Unknown
Cass shifts against me, her body still tense. My fingers idly trace the red lightning as it runs down her back and into her joggers.
“So, what can you do?” I ask after what feels like hours in the heavy silence.
“Allegedly, the possibilities are endless. I have not had anyone to discuss them with since associating myself with thatmonsterwould only lead to mistrust.”
Her voice sounds hushed and tired. Like she might just want to fall asleep against my chest. Even with the extra few inches she has, she fits so nicely. As though my chest and ribs were built to accommodate her.
And with the last few weeks of regular meals and exercise, I no longer look skeletal in the wrong lighting.
“Would you like to find out?” I ask, and she sits up a little, bracing her torso under a bare arm.
Gorgeous and fearsome, this woman is a legend. If it weren’t for her literally showing up in my life and demanding that I give her attention, I would still believe she didn’t exist. That she was just a boogeyman made up to frighten wayward Remnants.
And yet, here she is. Dark hair falling over her pale, perfect face. Her orange eyes blazing with something like affection—and maybe apprehension, still. Her pale neck traces into bare shoulders and a black bra that covers breasts that look very soft.
