LRAB Chapter 296: For You
Chapter 296: For You
Chapter 296: For You
If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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3rd March 2013, Sayre Manor
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I needed to talk to her, to confront her. I needed to know the truth. This wasn't even about Rose anymore. Her loss from my life, while regrettable, can be dealt with. But Selene betraying me is simply unacceptable.
My thoughts were interrupted by noise from outside the door, and I realized that I had stayed staring at this husk of a body for hours without moving. Immediately, I wave my hand, and everything returned to the way it was, and I teleport home.
My mind was reeling with possibilities and justifications, but there was nothing concrete. I knew that there was something, that I was close. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I was just drawing a blank.
I made my way to our bedroom. Selene was sitting on our balcony, sipping her tea. I steeled myself and entered the balcony for our inevitable confrontation. I just hope that I wouldn't lose her by the end of it as well. The moment I entered; Selene looked at me.
She must have seen that something was wrong because she looked worried suddenly, "my love, what's wrong?"
I gave her a serious look, "We need to talk."
If she was perturbed by my statement or tone, she didn't show it. Instead, she gave me sad smile and spoke up, "It seems like we do"
I sat in the seat in front of her, looking straight into her eyes, "It was you, wasn't it? You destroyed the Court of Shadows. You killed all those people."
Selene didn't even bat an eyelash when she said, "I didn't expect you to find out this quickly. I have to say even after so much time together, you still manage to impress me."
I gave her an incredulous look, "You used your signature ability. Literally, no one else on the planet can suck the life force so completely out of someone. You knew that I would investigate their deaths since they're supposed to be Rose's conquest. You knew that I would find out it was you without any problems. The only question is why did you do all of this?"
"You really don't know, do you? You haven't figured it out when it's right in front of you. I knew that you would find out that it would be me, but by the time you do, it would be too late. It is too late for you to take it back. The ink is dry, and the past is set. I have won."
"Yes, she was. But what does that have to do with anything?"
My wife gave me a gleeful smile, "Everything. I wasn't even involved in the mess with the British branch of the Court of Shadows. But I saw a plan forming. The girl was ready to snap while blaming you for everything that went bad. All she needed was one last push for her to fully despise you. I didn't even mean for her parents to die; it was just a lucky coincidence. I only needed her to think that you were a monster who killed the Court members. And don't kid yourself you've done far worse things than that."
I did do a lot worse things in my time as the Avatar of Death, but those days were behind me now. But what was disturbing was the fact that Selene didn't care about Rose, she just wanted me to feel her betrayal.
I looked her straight in the eye and spoke in an even tone, "Your plan was for her to betray me, to denounce me as her sister?"
She nodded, "Yes, it was."
"Why?"
Selene chuckled at that, "Why indeed. The funny thing is that the fact was staring at you right in the face. I wanted you to feel betrayed by your own kin. You're such an emotional being, even if you try to hide it, you feel so deeply. With that betrayal, you would let go of your control, of your powers, especially of the cosmic core that you barely know how to control."
It did make sense. I did feel my powers rage and boil from my emotions back then. But my wife wasn't done, she continued, "I wanted you to feel a deep grief, and finally let go. More specifically I wanted you to lose control over your Death powers."
I could see where this was going now, and muttered to myself "No, you wouldn't."
The Black witch cackled, "I would, I definitely would. You spent hours looking at her unconscious body with your Death perception and with it, you were slowly losing your humanity. You're no longer shackled now. You realize it don't you, that you were so clinical and logical ever since yesterday, ever since you set Rose aside and denounced her as your sister. You've been more calm and more collected. Even now, in the past you would have been screaming at me, cursing me for the horrors I committed. You would have been horrified by the people I killed, the people I drained. Hell, you would have even been horrified that I started draining people again. I didn't even do it because I needed the life force, I didn't need this much of it. No, I did it because I liked the feeling and missed it. Talk about hitting three birds with one stone, I got rid of that whiny little mortal girl, I destroyed the organization that could have complicated things for us, and I finally got you to grow up and accept the fact that you're not human anymore."
She was right. Looking back, I was overly clinical when I tracked down the Potters' killers. Hogwarts must have realized it during my visit. I scanned the energy left in me by Erebus. There was still a good chunk left, but most of it was gone now. My Celestial side was showing, and I didn't know what was happening.
I will admit that I am not human anymore. I cannot even pretend to be one now even if I wanted to. I was something else, something more, on a fundamental level. But even with the muted emotions I could still feel the sting of the betrayal that my wife had committed, "Why would you do this to me?"
"To you," she exclaimed, "I did it FOR you. You can't even judge me for it. After all, you're just like me now."
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If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.