Essence of the Angels (The Starlight Chronicles #2)

Chapter Eighteen

Valarie's POV

I choked on the liquid, trying not to swallow it, and spluttered helplessly. When the last of it was gone, I gasped for air, coughing and doubling over, the guards finally letting go of me. A chuckle of delight filled the air.

"That tonic will speed up the process of your memories returning. Soon, you will have no choice but to live with that pain and guilt forever."

My eyes widened with fear. This couldn't be happening. It would destroy me. It would be unbearable to face. "What have you done?" I groaned weakly, my gaze meeting hers; suddenly a surge of energy came over me. I pushed up as hard as I could from the floor and lunged for her, but the guards' dug their fingers into my arms, jerking me back.

"Don't touch me!"

The words echoed through me like a ringing bell at the same time that I said them, and the memory hit me hard, blocking out all vision of Cosmia before me. The shadowy wall that had kept my memories at bay splintered and exploded in an instant, as debris shattered through my mind. A blur of color and voices and words slammed into me, drowning me, dragging me down into the overwhelming pain and guilt and darkness I'd desperately tried to avoid.

"What's in the bag, pretty girl?" one of the grubby men asked, drawing a knife from the waistband of his pants. My breath caught in my throat and I edged my hand backwards, wrapping my fingers tightly around my coin purse. If I lost it and disappointed my mother again, she would kill me. I could suddenly understand Julian's frustration yesterday at the prospect of losing any coin—and my chest constricted.

My mother cared more about me being better, doing better than my wellbeing. Losing coin would be such as disgrace and burden her for months.

"Cat got your tongue?" another asked slyly, with a hint of amusement evident in his voice. I narrowed my eyes.

And then I felt it—a familiar rush, a pulse of energy flooding through my veins to my fingertips. I knew suddenly that I was going to be just fine.

"Leave me be," I said simply.

They didn't know yet, but I had the advantage. The men ignored me, seeing me only as foolish prey. But they were foolish, to risk their lives with against a stranger and to judge an innocent, hard working girl. They were fools to assume that I was unarmed.

"Does the coin you carry have more value than your life, girl?" another man threatened.

"I said, leave me be, you thieving scum," I snapped. Their eyes darkened and their fists clenched. I got to my feet, standing my ground. They closed in, ready to strike as one lifted a knife.

I smirked at their ignorance.

Lifting my own hand, I created a scorching, orange flame with nothing more than the oxygen in the air. They watched me, jaws dropping, as I hurtled a fireball at them. It caught one of them square in the chest, lighting up his shirt. He shrieked, ripping the shirt off to stamp the fire out. It sizzled into a charred mess on the ground, but the burns it inflicted were still visible, red and swollen on his skin. The other two watched in confusion and fear, frozen and unable to process what they were witnessing. The man continued to wail in pain, but his screams seemed to fall on deaf ears.

I snapped out of it, but the screams were still echoing in my ears, drowning out everything else. My hands moved to my ears. I think I was screaming, but I couldn't tell. More memories slammed into me, each one more horrifying than the last.