She starts laughing hysterically. Alright, I guess that's all my speech does to her... I knew this wouldn't be easy. I look down at my hand. Nora's white glow is still there. I'm still there.
“Oh, Mara, Mara…” she sighs. “You don't even realize. Liam doesn't love the broken you. He loves you because he doesn't know the wreck you are inside.”
I freeze, and glare at her. The way she's walking in circles around me, like a predator playing with its prey, annoys me. Why is she doing that?
“You're so broken, Mara, you don't want to know who you are.”
“I already know plenty.”
“No, you don't. Because you're just ignoring the real answer, the one you had from the start... The witch inside of you, Mara.”
“Oh, so now I'm not witch enough? That's new…”
She chuckles.
“Oh, no, Mara, that's not it... You're a witch. You just haven't realized you're a Dark Witch.”
I feel my blood suddenly go colder.
“Shut up with this nonsense.”
“This isn't nonsense, it's the truth. You were born by feeding on two other lives... You were born with a curse already engraved inside you. Don't you even see? You were born a Dark Witch, Mara. You were born powerful. Yet, you're constantly trying to tame your power, to tone it down. You're so scared Mara, all the time. You're scared your mate will realize how dangerous you are. You're scared you'll hurt someone... Aren't you?”
I'm about to answer, but something appears. A vision.
It's my fight from earlier, with Ayesha. I see us fighting, as if I were someone else watching. The fireballs exchanged at an incredible speed. I'm... I'm quite amazed by myself. I look so confident, standing there, sending back each blow. And then, this attack... I grimace, witnessing that scene again. My most powerful fire, thrown right into Ayesha's circle. Her smile, just as it enters... and then, unleashed over Silver City. I feel a knot in my throat.
“See what you can do, Mara. You could erase that city off the map anytime if you wanted. You could kill all those witches who roam around your territory... Aren't they so annoying?”
“Enough of this,” I growl. “I'm not like you. It's true I'm cursed, it's true I was born out of Dark Magic, but it's no use. You won't possess me.”
Then again, she smiles and suddenly stops walking around to come up to me.
“Do you know why you can't chase me?” she chuckles. “You can't, because I am you. I belong here, just like she does. We are both you.”
I follow her finger, pointing at my wolf. My wolf stares, but she doesn't dare to growl again. The other Mara smiles and, to my surprise, she grabs the wrist of my hand covered with the white glow. She raises it to my eye level, and I feel the glow disappearing, without me able to do anything about it.
“This Light Magic? It won't be of any use to a Dark Witch like you, Mara. She is pure and you're cursed. You will never be able to wield this Light Magic. In the end, your fate is to be consumed by the curse. By me. By us.”
“You don't make any sense... I was able to defeat you once already!”
She laughs.
“No, Mara. You merely shut the door. I'll destroy the wall if you do that again. Just watch, Mara. Unless you finally accept who we are, you won't be able to beat me. You're too weak, and you're too scared.”
She takes a couple of steps back, going back into the darkness.
“Don't worry, Mara. It isn't so dark once you stop focusing on the light…”
Chapter 32
I slowly open my eyes. There's this strange sensation of heaviness, both in my head and my heart, but I don't fight it. I just take my time to slowly come back to my senses. Nora's cool hand on mine is my guide. Her touch is so soft on my skin, she's even gently rubbing it with her thumb as if to comfort me. I take deep breaths and slowly sit back up.
"Are you alright?" she asks.
"I think so... I didn't manage to beat her, though," I sigh.
"Did you have an actual... fight?"
