Chapter 25

  Unravelling

  “Where the hell were you?” Matthias snapped, his voice brimming with barely contained anger.

  Maia walked towards where the Dame was parked in front of Selinas’ workshop. Her father had clearly been pacing around in front of the truck. She’d been gone a few hours, at it was now dark. The streets lit by neon algae streetlights. She shouldn’t have been surprised he’d have long since finished up by the time she got back.

  “Walking,” she said, brushing past him toward the truck.

  “I told you to wait in the Dame.”

  “Funny,” she shot back, her voice clipped. “I didn’t see you worrying about me when you kicked me out of Selinas’ shop.”

  Matthias opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was about to say died on his lips. His jaw tightened, and he dragged a hand through his hair, visibly restraining himself. “I kicked you out because you’re not ready to know some things.”

  “And you’re the one who gets to decide that?” Her voice rose, the frustration bubbling over. “You treat me like a kid! Like I can’t handle anything! I fought that Chimera and those scuttlers in the gorge without dying. I think I can handle your secrets.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Then explain it to me!” Maia snapped, taking a step closer. “What is it you’re so scared of? What don’t you want me to know?”

  Matthias sighed heavily and turned his gaze away from her, staring out at the now quiet street. “It’s my job to protect you.”

  “Your job,” she spat. “That’s the problem isn’t it?! You don’t even care about me, you only care about your Fatebond! Your precious fucking Fatebond!”

  His eyes narrowed, “what are you talking about?”

  “Stop lying to me!” she was shouting now. “I know what your Fatebond is.” His began looking around the street to see if anyone was around to hear them but she didn’t care, barrelling on. “It’s the whole reason you’ve been watching over me, isn’t it? It’s not because you care about me! It’s because of some divine mandate or whatever the Archons decided to saddle you with.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it matters!” Matthias snapped, taking a step toward her., his voice rising. “You’ve been talking to someone. Who? Who told you?”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Why does that matter?” Maia shot back. “Why is it such a big deal that I know?”

  “Because you don’t understand what you’re talking about!” His voice rose, the frustration in his tone matching hers now. “It’s—”

  “Then make me understand!” Maia cut him off, her voice shaking with anger. “You keep saying I don’t know anything, that I don’t understand, but you won’t tell me a damn thing! You keep me in the dark, you lie to me, you use me.”

  “Use you?!”

  She could see them. She could see them from the moment she approached him. Kallira had been right. The threads connecting from him to her. She couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing, they were so subtle. But the pulsed with a steady light. And she could guess. He was draining something from her. This whole time.

  “Explain the threads,” Maia’s voice dropped, laced with icy disdain.

  His expression faltered for a split second, the flicker of guilt in his eyes unmistakable. “The… threads?”

  “Yes, the threads.” She stepped closer, her anger burning hot now. “The ones connecting me to you. The ones that are draining me. You can deny it all you want, but I’ve seen them.”

  Matthias’ face paled, his lips parting as if to speak, but no words came out.

  “I…” he faltered, “I need you to trust me.”

  “I have trusted you,” Maia whispered, her voice breaking. “And you’ve been holding me back this whole time. Why? To make yourself stronger? To keep me weak so you can ‘protect’ me better? Or is it something worse?”

  “It’s not like that,” Matthias said, his voice almost pleading.

  She’d heard enough. Her heart was pounding.

  “Maia—”

  “No.” She shook her head, her voice trembling. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m done.”

  Before Matthias could respond, Maia spun on her heel and bolted out of the truck, her heart pounding as her feet hit the cobblestones.

  “Maia!” Matthias shouted, scrambling to follow her.

  She darted into an alley, her mind racing as she tried to block out the sound of her father’s voice calling after her.

  “Maia, stop!” His voice was closer now, but she didn’t look back.

  She vaulted over a low wall, her breath coming in sharp gasps. The faint buzz of her Phase Evade ability hummed beneath her skin, and without thinking, she let it guide her. The world blurred for a heartbeat as she slipped through the narrow space between two crumbling buildings, emerging into another winding street.

  “Maia!” Matthias’ voice carried through the night, but it was further now, distant.

  She kept running. She ran until her legs burned and her lungs felt like they might burst, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. She needed space.

  The streets grew quieter as she ran, the sounds of the city fading into the background. She ducked into another alley, pressing herself against the cold stone wall, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

  For a moment, all she could hear was the pounding of her heart and the faint hum of distant life energy, flickering like fireflies in her Arcanum overlays. She glanced back the way she came, half expecting to see her father’s silhouette charging around the corner. But the alley was empty.

  Once she caught her breath, she began weaving through the maze-like streets. She didn’t know this area very well. But she new roughly the direction she wanted go. She wasn’t moving in the direction of the old Archon Temple. She still wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to go with Kallira. And there was still someone she wanted to see.

  Her anger simmered beneath the surface, mixing with guilt and confusion, but she wouldn’t go back to her father.