Destined for Vengeance ✔️

Chapter 58

"You need to go," Jade said. It was the only solution, and yet it was a foolish idea to think it would be that simple. Ryleigh looked a mess. Thin as ever. Large, black eyes in sunken sockets. A hood drawn over her head to complete her look as a creature of darkness. If anyone had ever embodied the shadow in 'Shadow Walker', it was her.

"Go where? The afterlife? I'm already headed there." She nodded to the stairs. On her belt, a knife shimmered in the light of a torch not far away. Soon guards would walk into that very hallway, going about their rounds. Ryleigh alone might not have drawn attention, but two people were sure to get caught.

"Come." Jade grabbed Ryleigh's wrist and dragged her around a corner. She opened a door and pushed her inside. It was a supply closet with absolutely no light. Even with her werewolf vision, Jade had trouble seeing Ryleigh. She reached out and pushed Ryleigh's hood back. Her skin was so pale it shone like a candle in the night. She was a ghost. A living one, for now.

Ryleigh glanced around her. "Cosy."

"What are you doing here?" Jade asked, her voice a hiss. She kept her hand firmly on Ryleigh's chest, as though she could physically stop her from going down the road she had chosen. Ryleigh – thin and weak as she was – was stronger than Jade. Always had been. The only way Jade could ever attempt to stop Ryleigh was either by talking to her, or by using mind-control. Talking idiotic plans out of Ryleigh's head was an impossible task. She'd tried many times before. Using mind-control was tricky. Not only had she vowed never to use her powers on Ryleigh, she also didn't think she was strong enough to break Ryleigh's block. Her breath hitched in her throat when a stunning realisation dawned on her. She was strong enough. With all the practicing she'd had, she finally saw it. What Ryleigh had been telling her for years, was true. She was stronger than her. She'd just never seen it before.

"What do you think?" Ryleigh's teeth shimmered – her grin the only thing visible.

"This is not the answer." Jade's hand gripped tighter, her fingers digging into the material of Ryleigh's cloak. "I know you're hurting, but this is going to get you killed. You need to go."

She wished Ryleigh would listen. If the Goddess was ever, in her entire life, going to grant a single wish of hers, she prayed it would be this one. For Ryleigh to go back the way she had come and never return. Jade was no heretic, but she was starting to understand the Goddess never came when you needed her.

"Why would I go now I've come so far?" Ryleigh's hand landed on top of Jade's, fingers bending around hers. She pulled loose. "Make your choice."

This was Jade's worst nightmare. Choosing.

The closet in which they were standing was so small they were standing face to face. Well. Face to chest, really, with Jade's height. Still. There was nowhere else to look but at Ryleigh's face. At the black void that was her gaze. When had that light gone out? That mischievous sparkle. Even the shimmer of hatred – that long-burning fire that had kept her going for over a decade. Anything was better than these vast holes of nothingness. If eyes were reflections of the soul – as people liked saying – Ryleigh's soul was empty. Goosebumps rose on Jade's skin.

"Choose," Ryleigh said. "Either have me arrested, or let me finish my business." She paused, jabbing a finger in Jade's chest. "Our business. Or have you forgotten where you came from?"

"Of course not."

"No? Should I start calling you 'Your Majesty' yet? If there was but room, I'd curtsy."

"Ryleigh, you cannot do this." She slapped a hand over Ryleigh's mouth. The guards were passing. Ryleigh's eyes flew open further and she licked Jade's hand. Jade glared at her, but didn't pull back yet. Only when the guards had turned the corner did she withdraw.