Never ownED myself

ON

"You need to happen to life. Don't be the person that life happens to. Don't let life happen to you; YOU HAPPEN TO LIFE," by C. JoyBell C
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The ground shook beneath Annie's feet. Thunder cracked the sky, and the trees groaned, their branches flailing toward the enemy like living weapons. She saw men and women thrown into the air, caught by the bending branches, their spells interrupted mid-cast. Elemental witches tried to contain the chaos, but each successful strike cost them dearly, leaving them trembling and gasping. Wolves tore through the melee, teeth sinking, claws raking, protecting their allies and preventing enchantments from forming.

Annie's stomach churned. Screams, shouted commands, the scent of blood and burnt foliage pressed in from all sides. Limbs were severed, wolves lay wounded with their guts splayed beneath them, and still, no one seemed to die. Every injured fighter was healing, or being healed. Still, the sheer carnage made her stomach lurch. Her legs trembled beneath her as she scanned the chaos.

Then realization cut through the fog. These fighters knew each other. They weren't Davon's pawns from the wolf realm. they were Council operatives, old comrades for many of them. The crossfire had no winners because with each one that fell a little of their humanity evaporated with it. All but her mother... her mother was nearby. Watching. Waiting. Or worse, hunting.

Her mother's face appeared unbidden in her mind, chanting, commanding, a shadow over Annie's soul. She remembered the water, the spell, the attempt to sever her bond with Leah. The cold dread of the water swallowing her, the helpless thrashing, Leah's screams come back like an echo from the past. It was fragile, desperate, fighting stubbornly to remain alive. "Die, you monster, die!" Her mother's words, stabbed her like they had done to Leah in the past.

Her mother could never find her. She had to be stopped.

Annie's gaze flicked to the younger fighters waving at her through the smoke and chaos. Their bravery shook something loose inside her, igniting a fierce determination.

No one could have else should live the way she had. They were all strong enough now working hand in hand regardless of their origins.

She inhaled sharply, feeling the heat of battle, the raw surge of life and magic surrounding her. Her heart pounded with fear, but also with a certainty she hadn't felt in years. She was not her mother's tool. She was Leah's twin in soul. She would protect those who could not protect themselves, fight against the darkness, and reclaim the life that had been denied to them both.

Her eyes turned white, her head tilted back. Magic surged through her, raw and unrelenting, consuming her fury, her grief, her fear, twisting them into something that had to escape. For once, it didn't turn against her. It obeyed. The air around her cracked and hummed with power.

A thunderbolt tore the sky apart, striking the ground near them. The shockwave flung allies and enemies apart. Bodies flew across the field. Annie's chest heaved. She could feel the anger and the loss pooling inside her, bitter and sharp.

No more.
With another blast of energy, the opponents convulsed on the ground.

No one had asked her then what she wanted. No one had cared. She had been betrayed and used. They all had. But it was over. The ground below her groaned and split, a living wound of the earth no one would cross. She had made a choice.

Then Tom's hand found hers, solid, warm, grounding. His fingers gripped hers like an anchor, and the world seemed to pause for just a heartbeat. The ground stilled, the storm stilled, and the chaos became distant noise. For the first time in weeks, Annie could breathe without the weight of the world crushing her chest.