The Angel of Death (18+)

Chapter 39: Back to Aquaintances

Sitting in the War Room listening to Rhys talk about our next steps, strategies and who and when will go where. I keep my focus directly on Feyre and Rhys as they explain, never letting my gaze wander to Lorcan who sits in the chair in the corner of the room.

Of course and utterly natural for Lorcan, it is the darkest corner of the room.

"Mara, can you please tell everyone else what you told me earlier?" Lorcan looks directly into my soul as I was asked that question, I think by Rhys. I didn't even know when I started to stare at Lorcan.

I turn away, embarrassment rushing into my cheeks as I look to Rhsy and answer, "What?" Everyone looks to me waiting for me to tell them what I told Rhys earlier. I ransack my brain for the details I told him, and clear my throat before beginning, "At first when I was in the middle of bathing, something struck me from behind. I'm still not even sure what it was, but it was invisible until I hit it with my power. Then when it finally lost its invisibility, it was...hell it was fucking weird."

Feyre and the others take in everything I say, still keeping myself as far away from Lorcan as possible I continue on, "The thing told me that I belong to him. I'm assuming it meant the Commander for whatever reason, but I don't. I was in the middle of killing it when...when...."

"It's okay, you can tell us Mara." Feyre reassures me, but that's the thing.

I don't remember.

"No, I...I don't remember." I frantically search through my mind for what had happened, but it's not there. I know it happened, so what the hell is happening? I quickly get out of my seat and run my hands through my hair as I try and calm the oncoming panic attack down.

Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel look to each other trying to figure out what was happening, confusion and worry clouding their features. I assume that Rhys is telling them something, mind-to-mind when Rhys looks back to me, "It's okay, just calm down. It'll be okay."

I close my eyes and take deep breaths to slow my thoughts down, breathe in...breathe out. Again and again, trying desperately not to break down in front of everyone, I sit back down. It feels so cold in the room that I remember to keep myself in check, still unsure of what I was able to do.

"Let's all take a break for a bit and relax. We'll meet back here in the night." Feyre tells everyone as they all exit out of the room, leaving only me and Lorcan. I'm too worried about what was happening in my mind to notice that it was just the two of us. Why is it always me and him?

I look down to my hands and notice that they're shaking, not noticeable to anyone quickly glancing over them, only to those who pay close attention to details. I keep my breathing exercises steady and rhythmically even as I close my eyes again and just breathe.

I think that maybe Lorcan had left quietly, maybe he finally took the hint that I didn't want anything to do with him.

It was a complete lie. I wanted everything to do with him.

"Are-are you okay?" The stubborn voices cuts through the silence, shattering and putting my rampant mind to a halt as I look up at Lorcan.

His tone tells me that he was reluctantly asking if I was okay. He would never do anything for anyone if it didn't somehow benefit him.

I look away and back down to stare at my hands as I put on my familiar mask of disinterest, "If it bothers you so to ask, then go away. Leave."

A heavy sigh and a slight darkening of the room are all that I can see before a sudden blast breaks the wall across from us apart and throws me back against the wall as my head slams against the wall and the world goes black.

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"Mara, Mara get up!" A shouting in my right ear brings me to concionuess as I slowly open my eyes. Blurry edges and rubble are all around me, the ringing in my ears from the blast or from my head hitting the wall I am not sure. I squint my eyes to clear the hazy images that distort in front of me as the person shouting at me finally begins to sharpen into focus.

"Are you okay?" Lorcan's tone is so much different from when he asked me not even more than...hell I'm not even sure when it was.

It couldn't of been more than three minutes as I see no one running us through getting ready to end our lives.

Was this a invasion? A takeover? An assignation?

"Are you okay?!" My attention finally snaps into place as I nod, immediately regretting it as the pain in my head intensifies.

"Good, I don't know where the others are, but they can't be far behind." Lorcan hurriedly tells me as he helps me up by the elbow so that we're both standing. I quickly do a once-over the room and see only rubble.

"Do you know who it is?" I ask him, I already knew the answer. I just wanted to be wrong.

"Well it's me of course, my love." A voice coming from the opening in the newly decimated wall.

Lorcan and I both look to the source of the voice and find him.

Scarslayer's grin could've told the entire world he'd just won a kingdom, but he was wrong. He just won his death.

Everything inside of me settles into that familiar sensation of a killing calm. I clear my head the best I can, straighten my back and notch my chin up higher. I look Scarslayer directly in his molded by death eyes and he looks right back.

He smiles, but so do I.

I take one step forward, ready to end this once and for all, but a strong hand stops me. I look at Lorcan, my eyes glaring daggers as he whispers to me, "We need to find the others first or wait until they get here. Mara, please think this through."

I have thought it through, millions of times, I've dreamt about this moment for a long time now. Even when I did not know who it was that killed my parents, a face to put to the monster that took them away from me, I still fantasied it.

It was time fantasy became reality.

I shrugged his hand off of me and gave him a look that told him he'd be dumb to try and stop me. Lorcan's grip only tightened on me.

"Let her go, I can feel how bad she wants this." Scarslayer shouts from across the distance between us.

I look at Scarslayer and study him, he's wearing fighting armor and I'm not able to see any weapons visible on him. However I know he doesn't need any blades or steel to kill someone, he didn't use any when he killed me the first time.

I break my eye contact with Scarslayer and bring it to Lorcan's now, I know what I have to do. I just don't want to do it.

I bring my hand up to cup Lorcan's cheek, confusion and something a little like remembrance crosses his face, but it's quickly replaced with disappointment and betrayal as he begins to tense and fall to his knees.

"What...are you doing?" Lorcan asks me through gritted teeth as I continue to let my power flow through me into him, only paralyzing him long enough to allow me to do what I need to.

A whisper of words escape my lips, "Ending this," I let everything unsaid convey in my eyes and quickly turn away and look back at the true monster here, "lets end this."

The Commander only smiles at me, "My love, we're just getting started."

I step forward, and let everything go.