His fingers tightened a grip around my wrist. "Still you don't realize you have a choice?" His tone turned softer, near-as-broken. "You don't. You are what you are, Emilia. No matter how much you struggle against it."
I was resolute. "I won't be controlled by you."
"You think I have to?" He let out a breathless laugh. "This isn't my doing. This is you. This power—it's already inside you. You're just too afraid to use it."
I clenched my teeth "You want me to think I'm like you. That I'm tainted but I'm not"
His face darkened and his fingers pressed deeper into my wrist shooting me a burst of black energy. I gasped and my knees shook.
It was smothering like an open storm churning within me and ready to pull me down.
And then—I heard something.
A whisper.
Not his.
Mine.
A voice from deep inside me, struggling up.
"Stop fighting."
I stood still, my breathing in jerky gasps.
"You know the truth."
The shadows enfolded me, caressing my skin with soft fingers. My heart pounded.
