“There was a way?” I asked.
“Oh yes, you stupid girl. Isn’t that what I said? It’s taken you six fucking lives to figure it out but look at you,” Olivia starts laughing cruelly. “You figured it out.” There was something wrong with her, something wrong with her voice. She didn’t sound right, she didn’t sound like her. “Now look at you. Did you get what you wanted in the air? Was it all worth it? Which did you like? Was living in the dark better, or did you like the short time you had in the light?”
My brows furrowed and I could feel my forehead wrinkled as her words registered. If what she said was true, no, I couldn’t let myself listen. I couldn’t let myself go there. I couldn’t wonder what her words meant.
“Come into the light,” I whispered.
I saw her leg first as she stepped out of the darkness and the rest of her body followed into the light. She wore a black silk dress. The face I looked at belonged to Olivia. She looked the same but the way she was looking at me wasn’t right. Her hair was long and fell down her back.
“What’s going on? How is this possible?” I ask.
“You broke the curse, silly,” she said. Her head swayed left and right as her left hand held her elbow, and she touched her face with her right hand. I didn’t want to hear this. I didn’t want to hear that. I didn’t want to think about what it meant. I didn’t want to think about what it could have meant.
“Why do you sound like that?” I asked.
“How do I sound?” She asked.
“You… don’t sound like Liv. You sound… evil.”
“Mmm… I wasn’t always evil. I just didn’t care about pathetic mortal lives and yet, I was caught in a wolf’s trap. Forced to work for him,” she muttered. “You made the same choice every time. It was so boring but look at you now. You’ve switched things up, or have you?” She cackled.
I was speechless. My jaw hung open as I stared at the girl I knew. No, this wasn’t the girl I knew, the girl who was my best friend’s mate and was considered a good friend. The Olivia I knew was warm and sweet, she would have run up to me. She would have thrown her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.
“Who are you? You aren’t Liv,” I stuttered.
“You still haven’t figured it out? My, you’re slow this time around. I’m not the Olivia you know, no, I’m the original. The Olivia you knew here was not me. Maybe it was a version of me that didn’t have memories of the past. Maybe it could have continued to be me had you and your “mate” hadn’t sentenced me to death by execution. That didn’t happen though, did it? No, I know who I am. I may not have had any magic here in this life but the curse was still in effect. It would have continued to be if you hadn’t broken it. Now I won’t be able to come back here like this like we always do.”
“Tell me, how do you know about the curse? How do you remember any of this? Who are you? Or… who were you?” I asked.
Her smile spread across her face and my eyes glued to the corners of her lips. Any more and it looked like it would move off of her face. I couldn’t believe it. She was creeping. me out. Her gray eyes flashed violet and I gasped. I stumbled backward and almost fell.
“No,” I gasped.
“Yes, oh yes,” Olivia said happily as I started to piece it together. How could that be? This, that, no. I had to be wrong but she was confirming my suspicions, my fears. It’s not possible.
“No.”
“Yes,” she cackled.
“What happened to you? You-you weren’t like this before. When have you always been here?” I asked.
“I’ve always been her. Even without the memories, I was her, I just didn’t know it. Say it.” I shook my head. “Tell me who I am.”
“You’re… the witch.”
“Yes,” she sighs. “I am. I may be the one who cursed you but was it really my doing? Am I really the bad guy? Does that warrant being forced to live by your side? It wasn’t my idea to curse you and yet, karma came to me instead of him. It was his idea, it was your dear Alpha. The one you chose in this life.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Liv.” Even as I said the words it all made sense. There was always something different about her. “What about Gabe?” I whispered.
“I was born a wolf in this life. The Goddess must have thought it was funny to tie someone to me but I don’t want to talk about him. I have good news, Adea. Don’t you want to hear it?”
“He didn’t deserve that.”
She ignores me and when she doesn’t say anything for a minute, I realize she’s waiting for me to answer her. Do I? Do I want to hear it? Do I want to know what this good news is? I nod my head. I do. Her smile deepens and she flashes me some teeth.
“You broke the curse.”
Damn it. I heard her earlier. I was hoping I didn’t have to hear this. I didn’t believe her but now, now it only made sense. She would know. My heart stops beating.
“You broke the curse.”
“I’ll bite. How? When?”
I tried to wrack my brain for the conversation we had when I first woke up in this cool dark underwater world. I try to remember what she said. What had she said? I couldn’t recall what she said.
“You broke the curse when you chose Shane. Not once in all six lives have you chosen Shane. Not once did you actually care for him and love him? Adea, I didn’t know you had it in me,” she gave me a sly smile.