The Usurper's Throne

12

I wore a turtleneck. In my attempt to get the red mark to fade, I kept touching it, increasing the redness. You would have thought that I knew that by now. The turtleneck, besides being wonderfully outdated, also had long sleeves to cover the scars on my arms. Win-win.

I had to admit, Damien freaked me out. All too well, I knew the downward slope of physical abuse. I couldn't let myself get back to where I was. I was so tired of being weak and helpless.

I was really hoping that Roger might help me with that.

I found the library easily. I scanned the area, hoping I remembered what Roger looked like. Thankfully, he was the only on there.

"Naomi," he greeted politely. "It is nice to see you this morning."

"You, too," I returned.

"Now, you were hoping to get some training to control your magic, yes?" I nodded. "Well, let me ask you a question, then. Why?"

I blinked. It was such an abrupt question. "Um. Why do I want to control my...magic?"

He nodded. Well. That was a great question. I didn't know if I had a great answer.

I wasn't lying when I said that I didn't want to hurt anyone. But, I wasn't afraid that a little fizzing on my fingers would hurt anyone. I wanted to find a book on magic to see if Damien was lying. I needed more information to know if I could trust him. The problem was if I could even trust Roger.

"I—" I finally said.

"Wait," Roger said, interrupting me. "Before you speak, please know that I will be able to tell if you are lying. Lies are only truths in the dark. One of my perks."

"If I am, then I am lying to myself. And I'd appreciate that insight. I want to be able to protect the ones I care about. I...don't know who or what to trust. I never anticipated being thrown into this world, whatever this world is. If I can do something to protect the people I may be putting in harm's way, I want to do it."

Roger nodded. "May I ask who it is you are protecting?"

"Berry," I said immediately. "And by proxy, Eric. Their baby. Damien. Not, Damien, their baby. But their baby and Damien. As two separate people." I stopped, suddenly unsure of my list. Surely Damien could protect himself? Did I want to protect Damien?

"Interesting," Roger mused.

"I know this is weird. Damien is...trying to usurp the throne. Honestly, I don't know if that's good or bad. I just know that he's my mate."

"Well, that is a lie."

"What is? You think I know if it's good or bad?" I asked quizzically.

"No. That was truthful. But you are not mates with Alpha Damien. You are his marked. That is all." I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued. "There was a curious answer left off your list of those to protect."

I ran through the admittedly short list. "I don't have any parents. Everyone who raised me has cut me off. I care about the Redwood pack. And Joshua. And I supposed Cedar now, too. I just don't know if any of them need my protection."

"That was not what I was referencing," he said. He had another ghost emotion behind his emotionless face. "You were not on the list. Have you no concern to protect yourself?"

"Oh," I realized. "I guess that may be assumed."

He shrugged and turned to his left. "What do you say?

Suddenly, Elijah appeared from thin air.