"she was the type of person who'd explain how she was going to stab you in the front before she actually shoved the knife in... and you'd let her.
she'd probably even pass the knife to you so you can shove it in your own chest...and you would."
tom...
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d a y a f t e r day, Evelyn's words echoed in Tom's head like a curse. A threat. A desire. He could think of almost nothing else as he had prepared for this night.
Weeks of gathering the most trusted of his followers. Actually, worming his way into the upcoming affluent families of the school. Wrapping them all around his finger. What he had been doing for years all came down to this. He knew Evelyn meant to use him as a puppet forever, but these men and women would never trust her or respect her. Not with everything she lost and the explosive temper that had been publicly displayed more than once. She was sly, but not in the way he was. He knew exactly how to get people to like him. Exactly how to rule them. He would be who they were committing themselves to.
Evelyn would always be the one in control, though. She would always tell him what to do and reap all the benefits. She was always going to be the snake whispering in his ear.
Eventually, people would catch on. Others would start realizing he actually bowed down to her. That would be the problem. That is why Tom had to figure out how to end this game where he was the sole winner.
Nobody had figured it out yet, and so, he would continue to do what she had said. It was only a few weeks until graduation when they left this school and safe ground for good.
Tom, unfortunately, hadn't thought that far about where he was going to stay. He had already asked Dippet the day before if he could teach in the upcoming years. The Head Master had made it clear to Tom that, as much as he thought Tom teaching would be a good idea, he was just too young. It had infuriated him, but Dippet had said he could just come back in a few years and try again.
Now, however, he needed to figure out where to live. He barely had enough money on his own to afford an apartment of the lowest quality. He would never be able to live comfortably by his self.
"Tom, darling, are you a bit nervous?" Evelyn's tone was far from concerned as she dragged him out of his mental spiral. She watched him, clearly amused as her sharp eyes that missed nothing, roamed over him.
"Of course not," Tom said, annoyed for her to assume such a thing about him. "These people worship me."
Tom straightened his robe and looked back towards the treeline of the clearing that he and Evelyn stood in. They had scoped out the Forbidden Forest for the perfect spot to perform their branding ceremony.
Evelyn had rolled her eyes when he had explained how he wanted it done. She had mused that it was rather dramatic, but hadn't argued much more about it. She had taught him this spell until he could do it in his sleep, and now he was finally going to give the Dark Mark to his followers.
She had not been pleased with what he had coined, calling her tattoo. She had thought there were far better names, but he had liked it, and so he had refused to listen to her further.
