Void(43)

Of course, Mother had to ruin the moment. “Devicka, you shouldn’t joke like that,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Mother was wearing an all-black, conservative ensemble that covered her from elbows to ankles. The satin material looked thick and bulky, and her blonde hair was swept up in a tight bun. It was so effortlessly her that I had to smile. She looked elegant but modest.

“Banner Selik has been very helpful at helping me control my powers. I’ve made a lot of progress,” I bragged, and for some reason, it caught me off guard. Even now, after everything, I still found myself craving my mother’s approval, and it made me sick. Maybe that’s why Quade was always quick to brag about his accomplishments. He and I suffered the same desire to please our overbearing, unimpressed parents.

“Is that so?” Mr. Sandwood asked, running his large hand down his suit coat. His eyes were dark and wrinkled at the corners as he looked to his son for confirmation.

“I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her in action, but the reports have been good in our paragon meetings. She was able to stop feeding and even control the Void without her necklace,” Quade replied in a cool voice. I wasn’t sure what bothered me more, the fact that he was bragging about me, or the fact that the paragons were having meetings to discuss my progress.

“And how soon do you think before you’re able to reverse the powers of the shifter and vamp from the trial?” my mother jumped in to ask, her prim voice bleeding with hope and optimism, making my shoulders slump even more. I knew what she was really asking: How long before I could give her powers?

“I’m not sure. It’s still new. I have a lot to learn,” I replied with a frown, shame filling me at disappointing her once more. Just once, I wanted to feel her pride in me. Just once, I wanted to be a daughter she wasn’t ashamed of.

“Well, hopefully you’ll figure it out soon then, hmm?” she said. I knew that if we didn’t have an audience of council officials, she would’ve kept talking about it. Quade’s father had taken over her position after I’d stolen her powers. It was a sore subject, and she always treaded carefully around him now, straddling the line of forced respect and bitter envy. If we’d been alone, she would’ve demanded that I work myself to the bone and figure out how to put powers back into her. I was surprised she hadn’t checked up on me sooner, to be honest.

“That’s the goal,” I replied.

Quade subtly moved out of my grip, and it was then that I realized I’d still been holding onto his arm. Looking down, I realized that my amulet was flashing in warning at me.

“I better get her back to her cabin,” Quade offered before leaning forward to kiss his mother on the cheek. When he pulled away, I noticed caked-on makeup was stuck to his lips. Extending his arm, he shook his father’s hand before giving my mother a polite nod and guiding me away. I didn’t bother to say goodbye to Mother. We all knew there was no need for that level of forced pleasantry between us.

Once we were out of earshot, I turned to face him. “I knew your mom didn’t like me anymore, but it was weird seeing the woman who taught me how to make brownies practically snarl at me,” I said in a soft voice before looking over my shoulder at her once more. Sure enough, she was still sneering in my direction, whispering to her husband.

“Can you blame them?” Quade asked. He didn’t look me in the eye when he said it, but pain still radiated through me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, turning to face him. We stood chest-to-chest, my amulet burning with anger and need. His dark eyes flicked down to where it hung, suspended over my cleavage.

He let out a sigh. “Look, we were close as kids. Hell, you were my best friend. But things changed when you got the Void. You changed. You stole your mother’s powers, for gods’ sake,” he said, as if I needed the fucking reminder. “I’ve been groomed to help my people my entire life, but your nature is to ruin them. It just...wasn’t meant to be, Devicka.”

Something told me he was talking about something much more than friendship, and it made me twist up inside.

“You’re wrong,” I whispered as he turned and started walking again. His shoulder brushed against mine, and he paused at the contact before glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I could smell the juniper on his skin, feel the corded muscles beneath the sleeve of his suit jacket. Warmth washed around me in waves, and I tried not to sink into the sensation. “I’m still me at the core of it all. You just never gave me the chance to prove it.”

Quade stared for a moment longer before dropping the last bomb on our friendship. “I didn’t care enough to give you that chance.”

You’d think that, as a Void, I’d be used to the yawning emptiness inside of me by now. And yet, I’d never felt emptier than I did in that moment.





Chapter 11





A loud banging sound woke me up. Again.

I pulled myself out of bed and stumbled forward. I answered the door, noticing too late that I was in a tank top and underwear. I immediately sighed when I saw who was on the other side. I really needed to learn to sleep in more clothes, especially since people kept bothering me in the feral cabin any chance they got. What was the point in living secluded from everyone else if the paragons kept dropping by unannounced?