“Congratulations, Megan,” Adira said.
“I don’t understand. I thought there was a whole process to ensure I was ready. Questions that the Council needed to ask me.”
“The process is different for each candidate. You proved your control last night. We saw no reason to delay giving you the mark. We do ask that you leave Uttira as soon as possible.”
That got my attention.
“What? Are you serious? First you’re hell-bent on keeping me here, and now you’re kicking me out?”
“Yes,” Adira said. “That’s the condition of your mark. Having a mature fury inside Uttira is dangerous to the young still trying to learn the rules of our world. We want to ensure they have a chance to learn to do what’s right before being punished for any mistakes made in ignorance. Oanen, you’re welcome back any time, of course.”
My temper flared, and the orange glow from my eyes reflected on Adira’s skin.
“No,” I said firmly. Everyone watched me, waiting. I could feel their fear. Of me.
“I will go, but I will return as I choose. And, I will punish the wicked as I see fit. If you truly want to protect your young, set better examples and start teaching them the rules from the moment they are born. Stop with the ridiculous classes in the Academy. Start teaching them their history and why they need to toe the line. And let them know, when they break the rules, there are bigger consequences than banishment from Uttira. I’ll drag them to hell.”
Raiden dipped his head.
“Yes, Fury.”
All the rest followed suit and said the same.
Oanen took my hand again, reclaiming my attention.
“Want to hang around for a while, or are you ready to go to New York?”
“I’m ready,” I said.
I was finally, truly free.
“It’s not fair,” Eliana said as she put another item from the fridge into the cooler. “I mean, it’s fair you have your mark; it’s not fair that they’re making you leave town.”
“They’re making your mom stay away,” I pointed out.
She gave a dry laugh.
“Mom is staying away because I asked her to. She doesn’t care what they say. You have your mark; you can come and go as you please. Just stay.”
I smiled at her. I would have never survived my time in Uttira without Eliana. I wasn’t about to abandon my friend permanently.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
“Then why are we packing everything up?”
“Because I won’t be back soon. It’s going to take some time to find my mom.”
“What am I supposed to do while you’re gone? You are my only friend.”
“Not true. You have Ashlyn, now. And Kelsey, Zoe, and Eugene.”
She snorted.
“They’re afraid of me. They know I’m something but just haven’t figured out what yet. When they do, they’ll start avoiding me like everyone else.”
“Fine. What about Fenris? He knows what you are, and he doesn’t ignore you.”
She turned and rolled her eyes at me.
“Fenris is the last person I’d want to hang out with.”
“I think that would hurt his feelings if he heard you say that,” I said. “He’s nice.”
“He’s way too into women. Look at all the trouble he caused because he wouldn’t leave you alone.”
I stopped trying to stick up for him. He’d need to figure out how to win over Eliana on his own.
“You’ll be fine. And if you get bored, you can call me. Or better yet, get your mark so you can come hang out with me in the real world.”
She groaned and continued loading things from the fridge to the cooler. My phone buzzed, and I read the text from Oanen.
Hope you’re ready. I’ll be there in twenty.
“If you got this covered, I’m going to go check over the rest of the house one more time. Oanen will be here in twenty minutes.”
“Go for it,” she called, her head buried in the fridge.
I walked upstairs and peeked into both rooms. I was leaving the place better than how I’d found it. Well, I was leaving it cleaner anyway. It was just as sad and empty as before, though. How many generations of furies had been dumped here?
“I got everything from the fridge,” Eliana called from downstairs. “I’m going to take the cooler out to the car.”
I returned to the first floor just as the porch door slammed shut. I checked the bathroom to ensure I had all my toiletries packed then turned around. The dismantled door chime caught my eye and made me smile. It hadn’t been easy living here, but it had been an adventure. Several of them, in fact.
Turning, I started toward the kitchen then paused to open the library door. I didn’t want the room to get musty if it took a while for me to return. Opening the door somehow knocked over one of the few books on the shelf.
Stepping into the room, I righted the thin tome. My fingers slid over the spine as I read the cover.
The Book of Fury.
Disbelief coursed through me as I plucked the book off the shelf and started to read. It was all there. Everything I needed to know. How to identify the signs of emerging power. How to embrace the anger to control the power. When it was time to leave my child behind so our powers didn’t feed off of one another.
I paged through to the end where it talked about the final phase of a fury’s growth and found a loose sheet of paper.
I know this probably isn’t nearly enough information to answer all the questions you have right now. I’m sorry for that. Here’s your great grandmother’s address. She’ll be waiting for you. Good luck. Call me when it’s done.
Love Mom
She’d even written her phone number. I skimmed the letter again. Call when what was done? I looked at the last page of the book and read the words that made a ball form in my stomach.
By the laws of the gods there can be only three furies. Each new generation must tear the oldest generation from her position in order to fully embrace her power.
“Oh, hell no,” I said, sitting heavily in the chair.
“Megan?” Eliana said from the doorway. “What’s wrong?”
I looked up from the sheet of paper and met my best friend’s eyes.
“I think I’m supposed to kill my great grandma.”
Thank you for reading Fury Focused! The series concludes with Fury Freed, now available for pre-order on select retailers.
Author’s Note
If you’ve enjoyed Fury Focused, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://melissahaag.com/subscribe to find out more about upcoming releases. Want to learn more about Fury Freed, book 3 in Megan’s journey? Feel free to check out my Book list section.
Leaving a review is one of the best ways to support an author. Your review might just be the one that persuades more readers to pick up a book you’ve loved (or hated). And, reviews increase a book’s visibility on retailer sites. Please consider leaving a review to help keep my books visible!
Thank you for reading!
Melissa