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Dazed, Lynx mumbled, “The one raising my sister.”
There are certain times in your life when you are kicked in the gut so hard, you sense you will never be the same.
This was one of those moments.
With little strength, Lynx lifted his hand. In it was a piece of paper.
It read,
Now I have what’s yours, like you have what’s mine.
Lorenzo
Two weeks later
It was in the middle of the night when I snuck out of Lynx’s room and down the hallway. Every Stallion was exhausted from their endless searching, but the teenage girl was still missing.
The only man awake was her father.
He was in the hallway, barely able to stand, but also unable to give up. How did he know I would be leaving? Legend had always been an excellent judge of character.
His voice was raw from roaring his rage, and from his endless tears. “All the horror stories you told me about him, I can’t stop hearing my baby scream for me.”
Chances were high she had, indeed, and was still crying for her legendary father to save her. I knew the sick man who held her captive. I knew he wouldn’t let such a ‘sample’ pass him by without a taste.
Legend croaked, “I can’t let you do this.”
As sad as I was when Mammy died, I stood there, dead inside. “You once told me that life can be any flavor I want.” I shrugged, my shoulders feeling as pathetic as my heart. “This isn’t the flavor I want. An innocent, suffering… because of me.”
Legend appeared half-dead. “This will kill my son.”
“No.” I exhaled, letting my heart go cold. “He has you to keep him alive. He has her to fight for.”
“Precious—”
“Don’t call me that. I’m a curse and you know it.”
He ran a shaky hand down his rapidly aging face. “You warned me.”
It wasn’t time for blame. It was time to exchange myself for Everleigh Bryant.
“Let’s hope some beauty comes out of these ashes we are creating.” I started walking again, but stopped in front of the President that Lorenzo was killing, from the inside out. I didn’t face him, but whispered, “Thank you for giving me such a gift as freedom. I’m sorry it cost you so dearly.”
As I walked away, he cried, “You are precious. Only precious beings are so selfless.”
He didn’t stop. I heard his agonized cries as I walked… out the door.
Chapter twenty-seven
Fearing Damnation
Lynx
Standing under Mom’s tree, I was a little boy again. In the dark, alone, rain was dripping, making my shivers severe. Everything was so cold, and my back burned as if I had been savagely beaten with a leather belt. The rain… stung my wounds. I hissed at the pain on my back until a woman in a silky blue robe appeared next to me.
Shaking in the cold, hurt and confused, I peered up to see her, then didn’t believe my eyes… “M-Mom?”
As she faced me, peering down at first, her eyes lifted to follow my growth—all the years I thought she had missed.
