Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 28 - Destroying the Necklace

AS SOON AS THE TWO GIRLS crossed the door into Maglania's ever-dark, stuffy room, Vivienne turned and lit up an entire wall with blue fire. Allison stared in awe once again. Vivienne did it without even meaning to. Allison was pretty sure Vivienne only meant to set fire to the doorway, but her flames spread over an entire wall and threatened to engulf the room. She did all this without even quickening her breath.

Vivienne wasn't some cowering wallflower anymore. She was a lethal weapon to any creature with any connection to Black Waters.  Despite her immense power, she was still naïve, gullible, and ever-trusting Vivienne Weisse. Allison could hardly believe it when Vivienne turned her back to Maglania's bed to focus on maintaining the flame blockade.

Wasn't Vivienne the least bit curious what the woman lying in the canopy bed looked like? Allison had always struggled not to stare at the silhouette beneath the layers of crimson chiffon curtains. Then again, had Vivienne ever asked, even a single time, what her precious boyfriend looked like without his vampiric body?

Allison saw a desiccated, mummy-like hand with that cameo necklace wrapped around its wrist. She couldn't bring herself to look further. Maglania had loved her more than the other Handmaidens because Allison reminded her of herself when she was young.

Maglania's illness had started not long after she fell in love with Odelia. Jaduerial's curse affected those close to Odelia. Surely, Blake must have put that much together. Or could he never have imagined, in all his wildest dreams, that Maglania and his mother, Odelia, were in love?

It didn't matter anymore.

His mother could explain it to him in Mearnox, the Land of the Dead, where the two will soon be reunited.

Allison ripped the cameo necklace from Maglania's wrist and held it up to the candlelight. She didn't even need to illuminate fully to see that it remained a glittery strand of gold. Blake wasn't dead. Not yet. If he had died, the strand would turn dull. Allison grabbed all the rest of the chains from the wooden box on the bedside table.

Allison picked up one of the shovels from the fireplace and approached Vivienne. For a second, she wondered how she would explain the shovel if Vivienne were to turn around suddenly. Vivienne was always blind when it came to Allison. Like that one time, during Josephine's sixteenth birthday party, Vivienne was so oblivious. Allison had kissed Daniel in the movie theater bathroom when Daniel was supposed to have been Vivienne's date to the party.

They were best friends, but Allison was always the better friend. She had to be the best. Vivienne could be happy, but only if Allison were slightly happier.

As Allison raised the shovel over her head, she had a moment of clarity. Blake could have promised her an apartment beyond her wildest dreams, a job that would have been the envy of every man and woman in Manna City, and Allison would never have been happy. Not as long as Vivienne lived on the top floor. Not as long as Vivienne was her boss's wife.

Their friendship was never meant to change in that way. Vivienne could never become the girl Allison looked up to.

I'm going to save your life, Vivienne. Even though I know you would choose to die.

Allison brought the shovel down on the back of Vivienne's head. Vivienne crumpled to her knees and slumped over on the floor. Her long black hair formed a halo around her body. She went down much faster than her boyfriend had. It was even now that Vivienne was trying not to take up space or cause any trouble to anyone.

Allison took her handful of gold chains and threw them all into the Blue Fire. The fire that turned demons into ash would also destroy all these chains that bound Maglania's Princes to her.