Shadows of Blood and Deceit (book two)

15

Avaryn

Death was not a pure act of revenge. Death was nothing. Death was a gift. The revenge sake of death brings no revenge and only satisfaction for the person doing the killing, but the person who is being killed doesn't truly suffer from death.

True vengeance takes time. It was taking down a person one by one. Brick by brick. It was taking away everything they loved and cherished and destroying those things into pieces.

I often thought about revenge. I thought of death too. And have come to the realization that they were two separate things.

We'd been walking for two days, taking breaks, eating as little as we possibly could, pacing ourselves. Ever occasionally would make us play silly games like eye spy or sing stupid songs. He had the attention span of a goldfish but I never minded.

Now we were in a snow-covered field to "train." This had been a part of one of Bash's ridiculous plans. He loved the words what if.

What if when we got there guards are waiting for us? What if we're surrounded? What if we have to fight our way out?

So now we were training. Apparently, the Devaras are a bit rusty. Maybe we all were.

"Hey," a soft voice said from my side. Maras smile was gentle, her cheeks were rosy from the cold, she leaned against a tree, her big hair sprawled around her.

"Hey," I replied, leaning against a tree of my own, feeling the coldness of snow seep through my clothing.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," she said.

An automatic panic started in my stomach. That was never a good thing to hear from somebody. It was the perfect words to spike the right amount of anxiety in my stomach. I told myself to calm down. "Sure, what?"

"When we get to the Vad," she said. "What are you going to do with it?"

I frowned. "Kill the shadow king." She knew this already.

Mara shifted, pulling at the fabric of her sweater. She wasn't someone who would be nervous. She looked at her feet, avoiding my eyes. "Is that all you plan on doing with it?"

I was speechlessly confused for only a moment. And then I felt a little bit angry. "Of course, what else would I do with it?"

"It's just ... power can be a very dangerous thing Ryn."

"I'm well aware."

"I don't want it to get to your head, that's all."

"It won't," I snapped.

She sighed. "I don't mean to anger you, truly, I just don't want anything to happen to you because of power."

"What would you know about power?" I found myself asking because apparently, I was a grade A bitch now.

Mara only smiled. "I realize I am not as gifted as those around me, but I know what it's like to lose somebody I care about to power. And I will not be doing it again." She said it in the way that a parent would say, do you understand?