AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They should be.
I turn back to Jamus who has no clue. He watches me with a smugness he hasn’t earned. Leaned against the door, he hasn’t even gotten dressed yet.
“I didn’t come back for you.” I put my hands in my pockets and look out over the Valley. “I came to tell you to get out.”
He snorts as if it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the one in control now, Jamus.” When I look at him, his eyes widen, just enough that I know he sees the Power. “And I’m feeling benevolent, so I’ll let you pack your things before you go.”
It will save me the trouble of throwing them out.
“You bitch. What did you do?”
“What I had to.” And I enjoyed every second of it.
The vase that flies across the room would have hit me in the head. But I hold up my hand, and it stops. It hovers in the space between us.
I don’t need to see his face to know the disbelief writ there as I pluck the thing from the air and set it on the table beside me.
“You’re no longer in charge of the Valley. You no longer have the right to this tower or any of the things that Ester has given you.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I am Ester’s daughter in law and I am the one who rules here now.”
“Bullshit.”
I shrug one shoulder. “You can sputter all you want, but the fact remains. I have the Power you so desperately wanted. And now, you’re out.”
“Out? You can’t kick me out! This is my valley.”
“Not anymore.” I know the guards shift nervously behind me. I almost tell them to get out. But I need them to bear witness.
“Go to your great-great-grandmother, Jamus. See what sort of deal she’ll make you after all these years you’ve hid behind the Power she never actually gave you.”
Hands clenched, he stalks toward me. I see the intent in his eyes, know exactly what he’d do if he reached me.
But he doesn’t.
With a snap of my fingers, he doesn’t even break stride before he collides with the lift doors.
“See this man out.” I say, waiting to see if the guards really do understand what’s going on. “If he wishes to go to Ester, deliver him to her. If not… leave him on the street to fend for himself.”
“Where am I gonna go, Lily?” Jamus asks as I turn to face the windows and the sprawl of my new domain. “Who in the Valley will take me in once they find out?”
“That’s not my problem.”
The guards take him by the arms and drag him into the lift when it opens and I listen to the sound of the car descending.
Alone—finally—with a peace and quiet I’ve never had within these walls, I walk out onto the wide balcony that looks out over the Valley and across to the spire that disappears into the clouds.
I might be free… but I’ll never lie to myself. I belong to an old god.
The only question is when I’ll go back to him.
