84-Power is Power

I was told that some of the choices I made with this book were bad and that I ruined it. Well guess what? It's just going to get worse from here.

-AP

———

My eyes flutter open on their own and there's a cold metal arm around my waist. He's pressed against my back, legs tangled up in mine. A part of me wants to feel guilty, but why should I? There's no reason for me to feel guilty. At least you waited until you weren't married. Oh, I didn't feel truly guilty. Last night was needed and it felt nice to have some fun. That's why there's a smile on my face and a delightful soreness all over my body.

I leave Bucky like I've left so many others. I slip on my clothes from earlier in the night and fly off towards the mansion upstate, the moon still high in the sky. It might take awhile, but I eventually land outside of it. I continue to walk towards the clearing and once I reach it, I strip myself of my clothes, kicking off of my heels. I take off my diamond choker, carefully putting it and the other jewelry I'm wearing on top of the dress on the forest floor. I move to kneel on the dirt and as I did, a breeze ran through my hair, my nose filling with the scent of roses and sulfur. My heart is beating fast in my chest and my stomach is in knots. You need to do this.

"You're ready, aren't you?" My mother says softly, smoothing out my hair. I nod, looking forward. Behind me is the mansion that I wanted to raise my children in, my home. My first real home. Hopefully, I get to raise them in that home. Give them the life they deserve.

"Yes, I am." I respond, holding my hand up. She presses a knife into my palm, the golden bowl appearing before me. I slice into my hand, squeezing the blood into the bowl. Elda guides my hand, tracing the needed symbols over my body, covering myself in my blood. I tried to calm myself down, reminding myself that everything was going to be okay. This is your birthright. This was meant for you.

"You know what can happen, right?" Elda asks as I stand, covered head to toe in symbols. I nod once more. If this goes wrong, I'm torn to bits by hellhounds, Lilith wins anyway.

"Yes, but it has to be done." I respond. Elda nods curtly and words fill my head. I let the words flow out of my mouth, saying what I need to say as I float upwards, tilting back so I'm laying on the air. The flame is scalding my skin, burning me from the outside in. My skin is sizzling and I don't really think I've ever been in this much pain. I let out a scream and as soon my mouth is open, the fire shoots down my throat, consuming me. My world quickly goes dark.

-

My eyes open and laying on the forest floor. I carefully got up, noticing that I was now dressed in a maroon colored silk slip. It was no longer bright and early in the morning, no it seemed like the night had utterly consumed my surroundings. I felt the need to walk, so I did, weaving between the trees. Leaves and branches were crushed under my feet. I continued to move, my feet guiding me. They lead to me to another clearing, one that I had never seen before. Other women walked in from all sides of the clearing, appearing out of the trees.

I somehow knew all of their names.

There was Emmeline, standing a little taller above the rest. Her hair was long and blonde and loose and the dress she wore was far older. Next to her was her daughter, Rosalind, then her daughter Sarah. Then it was Ismay. There was maybe two dozen and some more women, all of them related to me. Standing right next to me was Elda, dressed in her slip.

"You've surely made a name for yourself, daughter. We've been waiting to meet you." Emmeline practically purrs in an French accented voice. I meet her eyes, moving to stand in the middle of the clearing.

"I didn't know exactly know what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn't on the list." I respond, to which the women chuckle softly. It almost creates a melody under the full moon.

"Daughters, Peyton wants to murder her sister. She's already murdered her other idiotic siblings, but it seems as if Lilith is trying to be the chosen one. Somehow, she's managed to get her hands of half of her fallen siblings's powers." Emmeline explains to others, walking forward, towards me. I stand up straight, maintaining eye contact.

"Do you think you can handle the power, daughter? So far you haven't faltered with taking care of the seven sins, which is further than others have gotten. You think you can kill her?" The oldest amongst all of us asks me, her icy blue eyes focusing on me intently. I nod.

"She needs to die. She's threatened me, my family, my title. The others didn't get to survive, so why should she? Lilith needs to pay for what she has done." I retort and Emmeline smirks.

"Well she is more like us than you are, but then again, Lucifer favors you. He wants you to have these powers. So, why don't we have some fun?" Emmeline announces to the women surrounding us and me. I nod and she snaps her fingers. It's like the floor around me disappears completely and I fall, everything going black.

When my eyes open again, the world was a little lighter, as if there was a navy tint over everything. I carefully sit up, noticing that I was now dressed in my wedding dress. I got up, my feet sinking into the undergrowth that covered the forest floor. Something inside of me urged me to walk forward, so I did. I ducked under branches and stepped over rocks, holding my dress in my hands. I walked until who I was seemingly searching for. My feet immediately stop when my eyes land on him. He turns around, a sad smile on his face.

"You don't have to go down this path, doll." Steve tells me, standing amongst the trees. My heart is hurting in my chest. He's wearing his formal army uniform, the one we buried him in. I can't move, not an inch. I don't think I can even breathe.

"I don't have a choice, Steve. You know that." I respond, forcing that lump of emotions in my throat back down to wherever it came from. Steve gives me a sad smile. A hand touches the middle of my back.

"You have always had a choice, Pey." Tony tells me, dressed in a black suit as he pulls me back to "reality". If I thought I was in pain when I saw Steve, that was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. I haven't seen my brother since he died. A tear rolls down my cheek as I turn my body towards Tony, hugging him tightly. There's not a single scar on his body. He looks perfectly normal.

"Tones, I miss you so much." I practically sob out, which makes him give me a watery smile. He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. Leaves crunch behind me.

"What about me? You miss me, sestra?" Natasha questions teasingly and my head turns to look at her. She's wearing a simple black dress, heels on her feet. I throw my arms, holding her tightly.

"Of course I do. Every fucking day." I murmur as she hugs me back, squeezing my tightly.

"You know what's going to happen if you do this, right? If you continue?" My friend asks as she pulls away. I look at her as Steve and Tony walk closer.

"You will die, Peyton. " Steve announces, his hand moving to rest on my shoulder. I look at the three of them, three missing members of my family.

"I'll die if I do, I'll die if I don't. And I don't, so many more people will die. Why am I not allowed to sacrifice myself, but Nat and Tony are allowed to? Why do you get to leave but I have to stay, huh?" I question and Tony sighs.

"You have two kids, Pey. They need you." My brother says, causing me to look at him. I give him a watery smile.

"They needed Steve too, but he got to leave. And I want to make sure they live to carry own our name and our legacy. If I don't do this, they might not. I need to make sure our family, our large family stays alive." I respond, a tear rolling down my face as I look at the three of them. Steve smiles at me, reaching out to wipe away my tears. His body changes for a second, blood dripping out of his mouth, throat slit. Blood covering his uniform. I blink and he's back to normal. A shiver runs down my spine.

"You don't have to do this, darling." An all too familiar voice speaks up and I turn my head, heart beating fast. Two people are standing there, a man and woman. The two people I've known the least in life.

"Mommy?" I ask, my voice breaking as Maria and Howard-Mom and Dad, walk towards me.

"Don't do this. Go back to those two beautiful boys and die old. Please." Mom begs, her hands reaching out to grab mine. Tears continue to roll down my cheeks.

"Please kiddo. Someone needs to live to old age and you need to make sure those kids have a parent." Howard pleads, smiling at me sadly. All five of them move to surround me and I wipe my tears away. Mom and Dad are covered in blood, their necks at unnatural angles. Tony is badly burnt, flesh still smoking. Blood is dripping out of Natasha's nose and mouth, her head spilt open. Steve's dress uniform is soaked in blood.

"I need to do this-I'm sorry, I really am. I need to take care of things. I am doing this to take care of my beautiful boys. I don't want them to get hurt." I solidify my choice and I hear a dark, deep laugh. My sister's laugh. I look down, seeing bright red liquid soaking into my white wedding gown.

"I'm coming for you."

-

I gasp, eyes shooting open. I greedily take in air, the scent of burnt wood and scorched earth filling my nose. The sun is bright and high in the sky. I look around, seeing nothing but ash floating in the air and the burnt dirt and grass underneath me. There's a different type of power surging though me and I can feel a crown of flames on top of my head. I look down at my hand, the flames seemingly right under my skin. The laugh and what she said-I felt an immense need to go back to my children. Something was very wrong, I could just feel it. Within seconds, I'm running through the forest, weaving through the burnt trees. I run to the mansion, slipping inside and I immediately start digging through the duffel bag I had placed in the kitchen yesterday morning. As soon as it's in my hands, I'm calling Sam.

"Jesus Christ-Pey, what's wrong? It's really early." Sam asks, his voice thick with sleep. My free hand is yanking the bright red suit of the bag. Brand new, good for you.

"Get everyone together and make sure my babies are with Strange. I need you guys to get ready. Battle stations. She's coming." I tell him before hanging up. I quickly slip on my suit, yanking on my boots. I'm pulling my hair back as I leave the mansion and the mess I made in the forest around it. Once my suit is fully zipped up, I'm up in the air.

When I land, it's quiet. That's good, that means Rhodey managed to get a lot of the area evacuated. As soon as my feet hit the ground, my team is filing out of my home, all of them suited up. Bucky immediately catches my eye, but I'm not going to open up that can of worms. I hold my hand out, my sword flying through my house in order to reach my palm. As soon as my skin meets the handle, my power erupts all over my body, fire consuming my suit and my crown appearing on my head. I could feel every living being surrounding me. I felt the need to hurt, to destroy, fill me. I tightly wrapping my hand around the grip. Rhodey lands beside me, his face plate sliding up.

"The kids are safe and we got as much of the area evacuated as we could given how much time we had." He informs me and I nod. That's all you can hope for now. That Neddy and Benny stay safe. My team walks up to stand next to me.

"So what do we do now?" Peter asks, his mask already over his face. I stand up straight, shoulders pushed back.

"We wait."