See How She Awakens (The Chronicles of Izzy #4)(50)
I hadn’t thought much about why things had started going south so quickly until now. The world had been spinning on, the balance maintained for a long time. But in the past few years, the darkness had wormed its way into Seers and Guardians, corrupting them. The heavens had been blind, thinking their creations to be infallible. Their arrogance had blinded them, and now the world suffered for it.
“You dare blame us for the mistakes humanity has made?” Uriel seemed to grow angrier.
“I blame you for not paying enough attention to notice. Now, I have some people I would like to see. So, if we are done here, I need to get going.” Every inch of me knew talking to him about this was useless. He saw what he wanted to see.
“The rules were put in place for a reason, do not forget.” Uriel’s warning echoed in my mind as I reached for the door.
“Izzy?” Mona asked, returned to her body.
“Everything is fine,” I muttered, not ready to look at her. It was strange, knowing my aunt wasn’t Uriel, but still seeing him in her all the same. Sometimes it was a bit hard to separate what Uriel said from what my aunt did.
Leaving the room, I found Aberto waiting impatiently outside. He seemed to be trying to wear a whole into the carpet as he paced furiously back and forth. As I stepped out, he stopped and looked me over, as if assessing me for damage.
“It’s fine. He just wanted to remind me there are rules for a reason. Although, in the end, I think we agreed to disagree.” Well, that’s how I was seeing it, at any rate.
“Where would you like to go next?” Aberto took my answer as he took everything I said, I knew there would be more of a discussion later on.
“I want to talk to Molly, alone.” I hadn’t really spoken to her since just before Kennan’s death.
“Wait here, and I will get her,” Mona said, leaving the room to walk down the hall. I needed to talk to my aunt as well, but I wasn’t ready for that talk just yet.
“Izzy, I feel I must ask you something.” Aberto stared down into my eyes, a war visibly raging behind his eyes.
“What is it?”
“I wish to remain by your side.” So, not really a question at all.
“It is just a few minutes, I need to see my friend. I promise nothing will happen while we catch up.”
Frustration played out on his face. He thrust his hand into his hair, holding it back for a moment as his jaw clenched and unclenched. Whatever he was asking, whatever this was, it wasn’t easy for him.
“That is not what I mean,” Aberto replied just as Molly appeared around the corner, heading in our direction.
“What is it then?” My stomach flipped, the anticipation of what he would say washing over me.
“We will resume this conversation later.” And with that, the evasive bastard turned on his heel and disappeared the way Molly had come.
“What was that about?” Molly asked, coming to stand beside me to watch the irritated Old One make his way down the hall.
“I have absolutely no clue,” I responded. Even if I had an inkling of what he’d been asking, I didn’t want to think about it now. “But I want to talk to you.”
“What’s up? You know, other than the whole you nominating me to be supreme leader of all leaders. Thanks for that, by the way.” Molly narrowed her eyes at me as we made our way into the office, our arms linked.
“I just need to talk to you, to make sure you are okay. To find out what is going on with you. To feel normal for a little while,” I admitted.
“Well, as you see, I’m fine. I woke up from stasis fully healed. Speaking of, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you sooner. I tried to get Aberto to let me out of stasis, but he went all I-know-better-than-you on me.” Molly sat down next to me on the couch as she went on. “Hmm, last time I saw you, Ian and I were still trying to figure our stuff out. I think you’ve noticed we’ve gotten that together, finally. I found out I’m an empath, so that’s fun. What else, oh yeah, I tried to find you.”
“Molly, I’m so sorry I didn’t know it was you, that I fought you. I didn’t know much of anything in there. I haven’t really known much of anything since Kennan died, to be honest. I’ve been pretty lost. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. He’s gone, and I’m left here. I can’t ever die and Kennan sacrificed his connection to me so I could be saved.” Tears filled my eyes as my fears came rushing back.
“What are you really afraid of, Izzy? What’s on your mind?” Molly reached a hand out to me. I knew she could feel everything pouring from me. The fear, the pain, the loss.
“Molly, I’m sorry. I’ll try to tone down the emo.” Lifting a hand to wipe away a tear, Molly let her hand linger on my cheek.
“You listen to me, Izzy! You are my best friend in this world, the first family I’ve had in a long time. Don’t for one second apologize to me for feeling anything. You’ve been through hell and had to be strong the entire time. So stop saying you’re sorry, and give it to me like it is. This is us, me and you, you don’t have to be “the Seer” here,” Molly chided, even going so far as to make air quotes while she spoke.
“You should’ve been a shrink, you know that?” We laughed as I struggled to get myself together. She was right, I could be me here. I didn’t have to be afraid of admitting what I couldn’t say to anyone else. “Molly, I’m scared. I don’t know what I am now. The darkness is as much a part of me as the light, and I’m not sure if that means I will flip switches again. I don’t ever want to be the person Sonneillon made me be again.”