Chapter 160

Three months had passed, and I still hadn’t manifested any powers. I knew Ronan was growing impatient, that Alyx and Jeremy were supposed to do anything they could to get me to show some form of power, but nothing had happened. It didn’t matter how many times they beat me up, or got me to shift into my wolf, I was still just ordinary.

Maybe they got it wrong, I thought. Maybe I’m nothing special.

That didn’t bode well for me. I didn’t know what they’d do to me if I never showed signs of the powers my mother had, but I didn’t think it would be good. It was clear, considering how much time had passed, that no one was coming to save me. My only hope was to escape on my own. Easier said than done, though.

Alyx shoved me from behind, and I stumbled into the training ring. I glared at him over my shoulder, but he just shrugged.

“You were taking too long,” he said.

Jeremy was already waiting for us, his breath drifting out in front of him in a cloud. Frost clung to the equipment, and an icy breeze tore through my jacket. A shiver raced down my spine and I started jogging in place.

“Run a few laps,” Alyx muttered. “Don’t just jump around like an idiot.”

I managed to bite my tongue and began jogging a circle around the ring. Alyx joined his brother. They conversed in low voices, then started running, too. We all needed to be warm before we fought. It would make it easier and prevent injury.

Not that either of them cared if I got injured or not.

Eventually, Alyx called to me, and I joined the two of them in the center of the ring.

“Call on your powers,” Alyx said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“What powers?”

He scowled. “Your powers. The powers of the Maiden.”

I laughed, and his brow furrowed further. Jeremy was stretching his arms and legs in the background, gearing up for a fight.

“Oh, sure. The powers of the Maiden. No problem. Why haven’t I thought of that before now?”

“Jesus, you’ve gotten more insufferable the longer you’ve been here,” Alyx snapped. “I thought you were annoying at school, but this is another level. How Matt wanted to spend so much time with you, I’ll never know. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.”

“Don’t say his name,” I spat.

Alyx’s eyes lit up, flashing gold before returning to their regular brown. He smiled, and I didn’t like it one bit. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold, and he had a small chip in his tooth. I didn’t understand how I ever found him attractive. Whenever I looked at him now, I just felt repulsed.

“Matty boy, a sore subject?” he asked.

“Just leave it alone.”

“How can I when things are finally getting interesting?” He circled me, and I kept my eyes on him. I made sure to watch Jeremy, too. They were known to attack at the same time. If I was too focused on one, the other would rush in for a hit. I never knew when I was fighting one-on-one, or I was fighting both of them.

“He’s nothing to me,” I said. “He left me.”

Alyx cocked his head. “Hmm. Could that be true?”

I scowled at him.

“Poor Matt. He works so hard to have you as his girlfriend. He gives up his best friend, he risks his life to search for you, and yet, you’ve come to hate him.”

“I don’t see him here rescuing me.”

“It’s not so easy to get in here,” he replied. I had to resist the urge to smile. He was giving me exactly what I wanted.

“No? I think if he wanted to, he could easily. He was always impressive that way. Good at everything. I used to admire it, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous, too.”

Alyx rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Matt the golden boy.” He spat after he said it, his gob of spit sinking into the dirt. “He couldn’t get in here with an army. There’s only one way in or out and we have it manned at all hours. The walls are inlaid with silver. There’s no climbing in, no tunneling under.”

“I see,” I said. “You must really want to keep me locked up tight.”

Alyx gave me a mean smile. “If it were up to me, you’d be two feet under right now. The bugs would be gnawing at your bones.”

I barely had time to react before he lunged for me. It seemed Jeremy was staying out of this one.

I side-stepped and planted my elbow in his side. He drew in a harsh breath and whirled around, knocking me in the side of the head. I stumbled to the side and growled low in my throat. His eyes flashed gold, but he didn’t shift. Neither of us did. I’d learned how to stay in control. I’d learned that hard way that if I shifted, the fight would go a lot worse for me.

I had a slight chance of winning as a human. I had no chance as a wolf.

He punched me hard in the side and I went down on my knee, pain racing up my ribs.

I spat in the sand and dragged myself up. “Is that it?” I asked, grinning at him. “Is that it?”

He rushed for me, and I dodged him. I slid my foot around his, tripping him. He hit the ground hard, and a growl tore up his throat.

I kicked him hard in the side, and his bones cracked under my boot.

“Fuck you!” he growled through his canines. He turned a pair of gold eyes on me, and hair sprouted along his back. It was the first time I’d gotten him on the ground, and he was pissed. My vindication quickly turned into unease as the shift came over him.

My wolf rose to the forefront of my mind, and I gave in to it. The bones in my back cracked, and I fell to my knees. A moment later, after the pain faded, I stared at Alyx through the eyes of the wolf. Jeremy still hovered off to the side, but I didn’t pay him any attention. He wasn’t a threat at the moment.

Alyx growled and ran for me, his jaws open. He lunged for me, knocking me to the side. I clawed at his belly, leaving sharp wounds along his front. He darted away, and blood dripped onto the dirt.

I lunged for him, but he was too fast. He darted to the side and closed his jaws around my neck. He bit down and I whined. He usually let go after he made his point, but he wasn’t doing that now. His grip tightened and panic set in.

“Alyx,” Jeremy said, stepping forward. For the first time, he sounded worried. “We need her.”

Alyx didn’t let me go, and the panic deepened. What if he really killed me?

I let my instincts take over. Something tugged at my chest, and I followed the tight feeling as it traveled down to my paws. Suddenly, I could feel it. All of it. The earth beneath my feet, the trees in the forest, the birds streaking through the sky. I was connected to it all, and it was connected to me.

I started pulling from the ground, not knowing what I was doing, but knowing I had to do something.

The ground cracked open beneath us, and Alyx yelped in surprise. He let me go as the dirt rose, separating us. He rolled one way, and I rolled the other, panting.

“Holy shit,” Jeremy said.

The power and connection faded, and the earth stopped moving. I heard bones reforming, and then Alyx was standing on the other side of the misshapen dirt. He was completely naked, but he didn’t care. He was staring at me with wide eyes.

“She did it,” Jeremy said, a bit of awe in his voice. “She pulled from the earth.”

I forced the change to come over me, and I lay panting for a moment. Jeremy looked down at me, his eyebrows raised.

“What were you saying about having no powers?”

I didn’t know how to respond. It was silent before, but not anymore. I could feel that connection humming through me, even in my human form. I was a part of the earth, like all of us, but I could also call on it.

It seemed I had my mother’s powers, after all.