Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
~ Princess Blake ~
D ad growls, shaking his horned head as the black mark that’s on his neck climbs up over his cheek. It almost reaches his eye before it stops. Sweat beads on the king’s brow, and he breathes heavily as he leans forward, bracing his hands on his knees.
I take a step toward him. “Dad.” The word slips from my lips, but he forces himself to stand straight, pain etched into his features.
“I’m fine,” he croaks. “Follow me.” He heads toward the corridor, and we move with him.
At the end of each corridor, the king presses his hand to a panel on his right, and a reinforced steel door slides out from the side of the wall, sealing shut.
“It won’t keep them out forever,” Dad mumbles, his eyes drawn down like he’s struggling to keep them open.
He takes a step forward and stumbles. I’m there in an instant, draping one of his arms over my shoulder, and I’m surprised when Alaric takes Dad’s other arm.
The assassin meets my gaze as I gape at him.
“We take care of…family,” Alaric says, his voice low, and my heart aches.
Not too long ago, the assassin had been focused on his plan to make the king suffer, and now… My eyes get blurry with tears, but I simply nod and blink them away.
We help Dad along the corridor until we reach a tall black gargoyle made from black marble. Reaching forward, I touch the left clawed pinkie toe of the sculpture, and a secret door opens behind the statue.
Alaric moves behind me as we enter the narrow dark space, and I walk with Dad down a flight of steps, my mates on our heels. The air cools, growing damp as we follow the curving stairs.
When we reach the landing, Dad is quick to open the first vault door. Striding inside, we move past the first rows of demon horns that are secured in glass cases along the wall.
“Now, that’s a trophy room,” Nate muses as his brows rise. “Looks like we had you all wrong, gorgeous. It’s not heads or fingers that you wanted, it was horns.”
I shoot an unimpressed look his way. “Don’t get any ideas. These aren’t trophies, they’re…” My words trail off as I realize why I felt unsettled the moment we entered the vault.
“They’re what, my mate?” Mason prompts.
Alaric has Dad’s other arm again, and I let go of the king, my wings snapping out as I launch into the air, looking at one case with horns and then another. I press my hands to the glass, cursing.
“What’s wrong?” Prince Callan asks, flying up beside me before following me to the floor.
Dad’s gaze meets mine, and it’s obvious he’s picked up on the same thing I have.
“A demon’s power is stored in their horns.” I gesture to my hornless head. “Except me, I guess. In any case, after the witches started robbing our graves and killing our kind to get the power from our horns all those years ago, a new law was made. When a demon died a true death, their horns were to be brought to the castle and stored here to decrease the chances that a witch or any other being could easily gain access to that power.”
Nate’s brow furrows. “Makes sense.”
“Yes,” I say, peering around at the glass cases that stretch high into the air. “Except normally even when they’re encased, the horns usually give off a buzzing energy. Now there’s…”
“Nothing,” King Dalton finishes for me.
“You think the witches have found a way to take the power already?” Alaric says, his gray eyes hard.
“Or something else has,” I reply grimly. My gaze goes to the black door on the other end of the room, and I pull out my sword. Following my lead, my mates do the same.
Dad stares at the black door, his eyes distant and haunted. No, not just haunted. He looks…scared. For my entire life, Dad has been a consistent pillar of strength, and to see that look in his eyes sends a chill skittering down my spine. Never show weakness. It’s the first rule Dad ever taught me. A mantra I’ve told myself countless times. A saying that became my whole personality. My whole damn life, really. And now…everything feels as though it’s unraveling.
“We need to know what’s in there,” I tell him softly, my hand resting on Dad’s broad shoulder. “Otherwise, we’ll be going in blind.”
The king’s chest falls as he exhales a long, resigned breath. He mirrors my gesture, placing his hand on my other shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
The room grows deathly silent, though my mates watch us carefully.
Dad turns his attention back to the door. “I always knew this moment would come, daughter, but I had hoped it would be under different circumstances. Even when the witches attacked, I had hoped we could defeat them before we faced this together. But it seems they’re stronger than I anticipated, and this will all play out differently.”
He moves from me and Alaric, and steps toward the black door. The moment he’s within reach, a red laser light scans his face, and he whispers something under his breath. Two beeps sound, and a bland feminine voice comes from the panel beside the door. “Access granted.” There’s a popping sound, and a rush of stale air reaches us as the door unlocks and slides open.
My mates and I follow Dad as he walks into the room, and I assess the simple dome space we’re standing in. An empty cushioned royal bed is positioned in the center of the room, and golden runes have been painted everywhere. The symbols repeat over and over, on the walls and on the floor, and some of the runes are smeared with blood.
“Witch runes,” Alaric growls under his breath.
The temperature is a few degrees colder than in the main vault area, and I feel the tension emanating from my mates.
“Serafine? You’re awake?” Dad lets out a surprised, choked whisper, and I snap my head up as the sound of that name crackles through me, familiarity making my head spin. Serafine. Serafine. I struggle to place it.
And then I see her. I inhale sharply.
Across the room, a female stands preternaturally still as she faces the wall. A long gossamer white gown hangs from her thin form, and her black hair is so long it trails to the floor. It wasn’t some beast or another kind of sentient being.
At the sound of Dad’s voice, she turns to face us, and my heart catches in my throat. Sera. Serafine. Dad rarely used her name, always calling her ‘his love,’ but a faint memory from when I was five surfaces to the forefront of my mind.
“Mom?” The whispered word is a foreign, strangled, surprised noise as it leaves my mouth. The female’s black eyes flick to me, and I take in the curves of her face. A face that looks so similar to my own. Black runes cover her body, like tattoos carved into her skin, matching the symbols on the walls.
“How?” Dad says, and his voice cracks, sadness embedded into the word.
The female jerks her head to the side, the movement unnatural, and her gaze remains locked on me. “She woke us,” the female says, and when she speaks, it’s as if a thousand voices are talking at once. “She called to us.”
I take a small step back. “What?”
“When you were with the deceiver,” those voices answer, the word ‘deceiver’ echoing back at me.
“What deceiver?”
The female’s head jerks again, and this time her attention goes to Dante.
My heart crashes against my ribcage. “Kai?” I rasp.
Dante’s tail flicks, and he tightens his hold on his sword.
“Your magic called to us. It pulled us from that unwelcome slumber, and we felt him close to you—the demon in disguise. Serafine has never agreed with our plans, but she didn’t protest when we suggested we protect you from him.”
I struggle to breathe, thinking of when I’d been with the demon I’d thought was Kai. Only, it was really Dante in disguise thanks to Luna’s illusion power. It was the first time my golden tattoos had appeared, and I’d thought I’d killed Kai.
“I didn’t call for you. And h-he’s not a deceiver,” I stammer.
“The demon was lying to you,” the voices reply matter-of-factly. “Just like that crow of yours. You are young and foolish. That bird is no more a crow than you are an angel. The only thing that has saved her, is the fact that we sensed no ill intent from your crow. Whatever she is, the curse placed on her is complex, and most of her memories have been locked away.”
“What?” I feel sick, like my whole world is imploding. Like the world is burning around me, and I’m stuck somewhere unable to get out. “You mean, Shade? What curse?”
“Who placed it on her, we cannot say,” the voices reply.
“What do you mean Blake isn’t an angel?” Prince Callan says, his voice ice cold as he questions another part of what she’s just revealed.
“Oh, you have kept it all from her, haven’t you, our mate?” The voices say, the female peering at where Dad has braced himself against the empty bed. More black marks cover his face.
“I’m not your mate,” Dad growls, his voice laced with pain.
The female smiles. “Still in denial, are you demon king? Serafine belongs to us now, and by being bonded to her, so do you.”
“Who are you?” I whisper, my heart feeling like it’s being shredded. “What do you mean you have my mother?”
“Stay away from her,” Dad rumbles. “You won’t be able to trust a word from its mouth.”
“Oh, we are your mother now. Daughter. Or sister. Whatever you wish to name us.”
My stomach churns. “Sister?”
The female’s lips curve. “Oh yes, you have no angel blood my darling. Only witch and demon blood in those pretty little veins of yours.”
“What? Dad?” I turn my gaze to King Dalton, but the moment I see the look in his eyes, I know it’s true. I stumble back a step, but Prince Callan is there, holding me.
A witch. I’m a witch? My head pounds, pain striking up within me. “No.”
There’s a flicker in the female’s black eyes. A flash of gold before it’s gone again. “Yes, child,” the thousand voices reply at once. “Your entire existence has been a lie. Your father made you believe you were something you simply were not.”
“But—” I struggle to breathe. “But why?”
Dad’s gaze is pained. “Because your parents failed to accept what had already come to pass.”
“What are you?” Alaric growls at the female.
“You may call us Reselle,” the voices reply.
“The war with the witches had waged for centuries, and one day your mother, Serafine, came to Seral disguised as an angel,” Dad blurts, speaking before Reselle can. “She intended to spy on me. To find out my secrets and report to her sisters.”
My brows lower. “Her…sisters?”
“Yes. Your mother was… is a witch. But while she was here, she discovered we were fated mates,” Dad goes on. “Eventually, she told me the truth about her, and we worked together to devise a way to try and stop the war and bring about peace. She explained about a winged race, whose leader had taken one of their anchors and stolen their power. About how another anchor had died since then and there was only one anchor left. That the witches were desperate, and their land was dying.”
“Serafine betrayed the witches,” Reselle snarls, her voice lashing out from across the room.
“She never betrayed them,” King Dalton growls. “The witches betrayed themselves.”
I stare at Dad sadly. “But your plan didn’t work?”
The king’s expression falls. “No. When she returned to her kind. To get them to see reason, they turned on her, calling her a traitor. We were bonded by then, and instead of taking her word, they believed the bond between us was fabricated by the demons. That I had corrupted her with my power, but that they could use it against us. The last anchor lay injured from the war, and they used her.” Dad’s eyes darken. “They used my Serafine. Conducted experiments on her, and manipulated the power of our bond to turn her into an artificial anchor, the first of her kind. But whatever they had done, she became not only an anchor able to access the magic of ancient past witches, but she also connected with a dark entity that had incredible power.”
He glowers at Reselle. “By the time I fought my way to her, it was too late. Reselle was already fighting to take control of her mind.”
My eyes burn, pain a searing lump in my throat. “Mom,” I whisper, imagining the horrors she had endured.
“That dark entity was an unknown force. A creature from the far reaches of the shadow realm. A creature even the queen of the shadow realm herself would never dare touch. And through Serafine, it would have given the witches unimaginable dark magic,” Dad continues.
“When that last big battle started, I thought it was over,” Dad says solemnly. “But the witches hadn’t realized one thing—she was pregnant with you.”
My heart stutters, and I can’t stop the tears that fall from my eyes. Prince Callan’s hand squeezes my shoulder.
“She says you spoke to her. And just when I thought the witches would win the war, Serafine managed to fight back against the power within her. Using unbelievable strength, she cut off the witches’ magic entirely, rendering them almost helpless. And with the allied realms fighting with us, it was enough for the demons to overwhelm the sisters and seize control.”
Reselle sneers at us from across the room.
“She…” Dad’s voice cracks. “She held onto that control for as long as she could, even after the war. Until you were born. And the moment you were in my arms, she begged me to lock her away. With the magic of the runes, we could keep Reselle contained in this room.” His hand slips to his belt, and he pulls out a familiar-looking dagger. The one from the shadow realm. The one he’d had me steal from the shadow queen, Queen Krosia, some time ago. His hand trembles as he holds the enchanted blade, tears blurring his eyes. I think of how I’d had to use it to save my mates during our last test in the Perstalian ruins. Dad has always been testing me, always preparing me. And now I know why… I can’t imagine what he must have done to get the blade back. If the creature, Reselle, is from the shadow realm, it stands to reason that this blade might also work on her.
Reselle smiles cruelly as she lets Dad finish his story.
“Why not kill her?” Alaric asks, and though his words make me flinch, it’s the same question I’ve been wondering.
His gaze slides to me. “Serafine was pregnant with Blake when they turned her into an anchor. The pair are tied, and when Serafine dies, it’s likely that Blake will turn into the new witch anchor. We also worried that if we tried to kill Serafine, Reselle might be strong enough to jump through that connection into Blake, especially if she was still a child. But now…we have another option.” He glances subtly at the blade when he says the last part.
Reselle’s smile never leaves her face. “All thoughts Serafine still believes are true. But you both remain so na?ve. You still don’t even have a way to kill me, and now here I am. Your plan to keep us sleeping was admirable, but your daughter saw to it that we rose.”
Dad’s gaze flicks to the blade before meeting mine, and he subtly shakes his head. At first, I don’t understand what he’s trying to tell me, but then realization sets in. “Reselle doesn’t know about the power of the shadow blade Dad has,” I tell my mates. “She doesn’t realize it’s able to kill her.” I think of the marks over Dad’s skin, wondering if it’s all because she’s connected to Serafine and in turn, Reselle. When the witches experimented on Mom, had Dad felt it through the bond? Has he been sharing her pain all these years?
I swallow hard, my throat dry. “Mom never left us,” I say to Dad, more tears slipping down my face.
A tear drops down Dad’s cheek. “All she wanted was to see you live, daughter. Your mother still had her disguise when you were conceived, and when you were born with wings we decided to pretend you were an angel. But now that you’re ready. Now that you know the truth, I have to do my part.” His grip tightens on the enchanted blade, and he darts forward, moving so fast it’s a blur.
“No!” I start toward Dad, but I’m too slow.
Reselle lashes out with her power, a thick black coil streaming from her fingers, and she sends Dad flying back against the wall. His bones crack, and he falls hard to the floor. Gold flashes in Reselle’s eyes but it’s gone again in an instant.
Reselle’s lips stretch wide, and laughter spills from her. The sound is a dark cackle that fills the small space, thousands of voices making the walls vibrate. “Even now we can feel Serafine’s hope. Even as she claws her way through the darkness in her mind, trying to get to you.”
“Let her go!” I snarl, anger searing me from the inside out.
“It’s too late for that little half-breed,” Reselle replies, still cackling, and the floor starts to rumble. “I’ll be sure to send your mother your regards, but now, it’s time to finish what the witches started. I’m nothing if not loyal to my subjects.”
She sends a blast of power toward me, but Prince Callan grabs me and spins, and the black power flies past us, tearing a hole in the wall.
“The runes must have been created to keep Reselle in, but with the door open, the seal was broken,” Alaric growls. “And with that hole, there’s no trapping her.”
I’m not sure how, but I start hearing the chanting in my head then. Even without seeing outside, I know what’s happening.
“The witches are creating an enchantment,” I say to the others. “They must know she’s free and they’re helping to bring the building down.”
Nate curses. “The witches wanted us to come here.”
The walls start to crumble around us, and Reselle smiles. “Goodbye, mate,” she says to King Dalton.
A rock from the ceiling falls toward where Dad lays crumpled, but I’m there before it hits him, and I toss it to the side.
Still cackling the remaining walls start to fall, and Reselle sends an immense burst of power above her head. Her black magic rips a hole through the layers of dirt above us, tearing through the floors of the castle until we can see the sky high above us.
With a hideous shriek, Reselle smiles and shoots into the air, flying through the pathway she’s created.
“We need to go!” Mason shouts, shifting form in an instant. Alaric and Dante climb onto his back, and Prince Callan flares out his wings grabbing hold of Nate. I tuck the enchanted blade into my belt and lift Dad, stretching out my wings. As everything starts crashing down around us, I launch from the ground, bursting up past the layers of dirt and through the castle. My mates are close behind me, and as debris rains around us, we dodge and swerve, avoiding the crumbling stone until we burst from the top of the castle and exit out into open air.
Reselle hovers in the sky high above us, tendrils of her black magic reaching into the clouds above and stretching in all directions. The clouds darken, turning the color of black smoke, and the ground trembles, houses falling around Seral city. We land on the roof of the castle, the building shaking beneath our feet.