Gracie Abrams is eking out a solitary existence, fighting day-in, day-out against the drain of working customer service and nursing two newborn kittens in her off time. Out on her own ever since her sister moved in with her boyfriend, the burden of...
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I repeated, "I don't believe you can take over the city." I shook my head. "Not you."
Patty smacked her lips, pleasantly smiling as she grabbed at her chin with long, decorative nails. "How dare you?" The smile never wavered, showing deep dimples at the corners of her mouth. "How fucking dare you? Who are you to talk to me that way?"
I ticked off on my fingers. "You're not looking out for your coven. For your young witches. You're just trying to get more power...for yourself. You look at those who fall under your leadership as tools to be used. Natural resources to be abused until they're gone. You're not building them a future where they can stand proud. You're building a future where you sit at the top, surrounded by mindless drones who don't dare take one step out of place."
Patty's smile slowly disappeared, but I wasn't done.
"You showed this by your treatment of Talia and your daughter. Grooming one to be your endless source of power, then throwing them out like a criminal when she stood up to you. And Sam? Sure, you bought her an apartment, but you've not put one single step forward to help her. To get to know her. You expect her to play as your marionette and become like you." My voice ended harshly, and an echoing silence prevailed. I took in a fuming, huffing breath, cheeks hot, and ended with, "Not everybody is meant to be like you. Actually, nobody is. There's only one you. So the only way you can get what you want is to control them. Make them fear you. It's no different from what you've done to Kakashi and Kirishima."
Without skipping a beat, Patty shrugged. "That's an interesting theory. Perplexing in parts—imaginative in others." She tapped her fingers along an arm, crossing them and shoving one leg forward in a slouch. The leg fell between a slit in her dress, skin shining beneath the colors radiating in from outside. "It may be hard for a kit like yourself to comprehend, but sometimes, 'follow the leader' is the only way to change life for the better. If I receive resentment for it, what does that have to do with me? Who cares? I'll know the truth. I'll know that I'm the one who secured this coven's future. I'm the one who plucks off the rotten buds," she glanced at Talia, "and who snaps the thorns from the stems," this time, a piercing glare to her daughter, who cowered against another one of those giant white blocks. "Understand this, you vile, unappreciative hamster of a girl," Patty stepped forward, but I wasn't certain who she was speaking to with that low, warning tone.
Her hat tipped forward, shadowing all but the crook of her slender neck, like a graceful swan floating along the water. "You hold none of the cards because I already had them all in my hands before you even thought to start looking. I'm going to explain to you how this is going to go. Pay attention, kits, because I'm not going to repeat myself again."
In surprise and shock, I watched the High Priestess. It wasn't so much what she said, but how she said it. There were implications buried beneath each word. As they traveled to the air, they weaponized, slapping at my cheeks and nailing my feet to the ground. Just how long had this woman been allowed to parade through life treating people like they were no more than pebbles laid into a patio floor?
