42. Sin

42

Sin

by the hands of a Fury has a certain ring

The curse shreds me from the inside out, smashing bone and constricting veins, refusing any oxygen into my lungs.

It’s worse than I’ve ever felt it.

It wants me dead. Well and truly.

I can’t hold it off any longer.

Agony pulses through my body in excruciating waves, each one more devastating than the last. I collapse to my knees on the cold floor, clutching at my chest as if I can somehow rip the curse out with my bare hands. A scream is trapped in my throat, and I clench my teeth to keep Nat from ever hearing it.

I don’t want her seeing me like this. But there’s no hiding it.

I’m at the end of my leash.

If Theia isn’t a phoenix, then I haven’t been searching for Kadmos’s killer and the curse wants the wasted time back.

It’s willing to accept payment in the form of my agony.

That’s not why it wrings so viciously, crueler than ever before.

The searing sting intensifies, as if a thousand blades are carving intricate patterns into my flesh. Desperate to maintain a semblance of control, I bite down on my lip until the coppery sweet taste of my blood floods my mouth. But it’s a losing battle.

The curse is unyielding, determined to extract its pound of flesh for my failure.

It’s because I knew. Didn’t I?

I pay attention. Always. But with Nat, I let it slip, I ignored the cracks to spend more time with her.

But I knew.

She lied in the first five minutes we met. Badly. Obviously.

This isn’t brandy.

Her little challenge to entice me to drink poison at Oberlin’s.

If I had not been so entranced, impressed and so immediately captivated, I’d have put it together. Furies can lie.

In and out I breathe. Forcing my lungs to work against cracked ribs.

The curse knows I’ve been deceiving myself, and it’s making me pay for every second of willful ignorance. It won’t be satisfied until I’m a broken shell, a cautionary tale for those who dare to defy their fate.

Menace pours from my tattoos.

Natasa lied, yes.

But she also told the truth. I’m going to die.

She’s going to kill me.

And I wouldn’t have done it any other way.