From Slave To Queen (Athena and Michael) novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

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I square my shoulders, close my eyes, and imagine threads extending from my fingers–like a puppeteer. In the few days I’ve been exploring my powers with Atarothz, I’ve learned that my core gift is, as I suspected, the ability to eradicate souls. A power too vast and terrifying, because if a soul ceases to exist, there is nothing after death. What could be more devastating than that? My gift makes me a nightmare for any living being. What’s more, my blood is incredibly powerful. The red liquid running through my veins makes me practically immune to any gift turned against me–just as it would for anyone who consumes it. I also have all the abilities of a vampire: speed, enhanced senses, and… immortality. Atarothz says that the moment I broke the threads that hid me as a mortal, I froze in time. This is the face I’ll have forever.

I don’t know if that comforts me or terrifieitho

1. me.

“Do you see all the threads?” he asks. “Follow the one th

leads to the soul.”

The thing is, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Fro

each thread, others sprout–some shining more brightly in an attempt to distract me. The one leading to the soul protects itself as much as it can, planting little traps and distractions to mislead me. Until now, my survival instinct has done what it could—but it wasn’t right. I wasn’t extracting those souls properly–I was absorbing them into myself, attaching them to my own. Now, with the knowledge I’ve gained, I’ll destroy them without needing to absorb them.

Unless I choose to.

“When you find the right thread, your hands will burn. Do you

feel it?”

Oh, I feel it. The tingling turns into intense heat that gradually reaches painful levels. I clench my visualization of those threads.

“The closer you are to the soul, the more heat you’ll feel.”

eth, my eyes, never letting go of the

(13) K.

The hardest part is holding on until the end. A hiss escapes between my teeth as I burn more and more–or at least that’s what it feels like. When I open my eyes, my hands will be intact, but the sensation is no less real because of that.

“What do you see?”

It takes me a moment to respond–I’m still pulling on that thread, getting closer to the source of the heat–until I see it. A luminous, silvery orb that blinds me.

“Light,” I say.

I visualize my hands cradling that light, feel a more pleasant warmth against my palms. Now all I’d have to do is snuff that light out- bring my hands as close as possible until they touch and extinguish the soul.

Which I can’t do–because the soul in my hands is mine.

I sigh, open my eyes, and the heat fades. I blink several times to adjust to the brightness in the room.

“It would be more productive if we went to the woods and found an animal to practice with.”

“I don’t want to do that to an animal,” I reply.

Again.

“If you want to practice the final step, it’s necessary.”

A bitter taste settles in the back of my throat just thinking about eradicating the soul of an innocent animal.

“Do you know anything about Lilith?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

I catch the surprise on his face. My father–damn, it’s harder than it seems to think of him as a paternal figure–despite being a man with a stoic face and restrained emotions, can’t fully control them when it comes to my mother. I won’t mention again how strange it is to think of that biblical, cursed figure as my mother. The fists of his strong, long–fingered hands clench as he tightens his jaw, making the muscle pulse.

“She’s in the Pits, burning, most likely.”

Though his voice is neutral, his face is more than enough to reflect his emotions. Rage is consuming him.

“Burning?”

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4:42

Chapter 157

“Most likely fallen Lucifer is punishing her. He does every time she manages to escape.”

“When did she escape?”

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