Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Every lie has roots. Every truth grows teeth.
Peace settled over Summer Grove House, the potent scent of expelled magic clinging to the air where we’d broken the bonds of blood.
I had a niggling feeling we were missing something fundamental.
I folded my arms and leaned against my open lab door.
The nightlife was waking as the sun sank behind the trees. It was time.
I retreated to my office, checked the door was locked, and stepped through the tear in reality and onto the grassy hill conjured by Lucifer. I was done pretending everything was fine.
I raised a brow. “Look at that. The gang is all here, almost like you were having a meeting before the meeting.”
Lucifer lounged like a smug prince of darkness in his chair.
Aira sat upright, regal in her navy dress.
Dave scowled at the sky as if daring it to fight him.
Harry hovered an inch above his chair, trying to look grounded and failing.
Great-Aunt Sophia had moved on to crocheting something in powder blue.
If only the world’s problems could be solved with a triple stitch.
I ignored the empty chair and dropped a book onto the center of the table with a thud that echoed through the fabricated realm. The tree on the front hadn’t stopped smoldering since I’d taken it from the vault, but I had done some basic research, and I had questions. So many, many questions.
I flipped it open and pointed at the name surrounded by wings.
“Interesting name, κ?ρη, don’t you think?
” The Serpents shifted in their seats. Okay, we were doing this the hard way.
“Also a name for Persephone, the Greek goddess who famously got trapped in the underworld for half the year by her jealous lover, Hades.”
Lucifer shrugged. “The real story is more complex. The history books have a miraculous habit of both over-simplifying and missing the point entirely. It’s due to the fact that they were written by small-minded humans with no belief in that which they cannot see or feel.”
“Huh. So what would a Greek goddess be doing in my family tree?”
Sophia scowled. “That’s not a Roberts tree.”
Seriously, Aunt?
“I agree, but despite our dismissal of the weaker sex, I do have a whole other side based on the male chromosome.”
“Your father has no family to speak of, other than yourself,” Lucifer edged.
Look at them trying to deflect. Pity that I’d worked out enough to keep them on their toes.
“Not my father. My grandfather.” The breeze stopped whispering through the trees, as if Lucifer had forgotten to keep up the pretense of the illusion.
“What’s even more interesting is the alternative name for κ?ρη. ”
Harry floated away as if he were trying to distance himself from what was about to be revealed.
“It’s ancient Greek,” Aira said. “People assign meanings all the time. It’s human nature to look for patterns and understandings in everything.”
“So you don’t think it’s a coincidence that it also means Cora.”
Aira opened her mouth, and I shot her a look. “If you dare try to gaslight me, I will never step foot inside this realm again.”
Her mouth snapped closed. That’s what I thought.
“I know in my heart who I am and who I am not—genetics be damned. The more pertinent question is, why on earth would you all know and hide it from me?”
Sophia pursed her lips. Dave leaned back and folded his arms.
I slammed the book closed and flipped it over. A red-foiled snake shimmered. They all stared at it, and then, one by one, looked away.
Lucifer cleared his throat. “How did you find this?”
“Stop deflecting, Uncle. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Not deflecting when an outside force is interfering.”
I sucked in a breath. “God visited me.”
“The God, or a god?” Dave asked.
What difference did it make? “The.” I drummed my fingers on the serpent signal.
“Interesting that of everyone who could represent the factions across the world, we are the chosen ones. All circling around White Castle, or more importantly, me.” I strolled around the table, my hand landing on Sophia’s shoulder.
“What are the odds that my aunt is here for the elementals?” I shrug as I move to Dave and tilt my head.
“And the shifter, who engineered situations to touch base with me, is the one I’ve known the longest.”
“I did not engineer the deaths,” Dave snapped.
“No, but you didn’t need me, not really. Not until my grandmother started her mission to take over the world.” I moved to Lucifer and bopped him on the nose. “And at the head of this team is a fallen angel who has stuck his nose into my business again and again.”
“Eloise was utilizing demons. My involvement stemmed from that, not any half-baked plans about soul collection.”
I smiled and shook my head as I moved to Aira. “The silent queen of the vampires, the one who goes unnoticed to the benefit of the information she collects.”
“You are friends with my son. It’s not unreasonable I have gotten to know you.”
“True, but what is interesting is that you sent your very capable son to study medicine at the same place and time as myself. The coincidences keep mounting, and mathematically, we are reaching impossibility.”
Harry held his hand up. “I must state for the record that I came to the Serpents rather late in the day.”
He didn’t deny he knew, though.
“I agree. You are a curveball. But I don’t doubt that you know the true meaning of the Serpents.” I planted both hands on the table and leaned forward to stare the devil in the eyes. “How many more lies am I expected to endure? From my family, my friends, even my mate?”
“We did that to protect you,” Dave said.
“Not the point. Every part of my life is tainted with deceit, and you all play with the facts to ensure I dance to your tune.” I shook my head. “It’s time to come clean, or I’m out of the Serpents.”
“Then you’ll never find out,” Aira said.
“But at least I won’t be sitting at the table, pretending to be an equal.”
“Who do you think you are?” Lucifer asked.
Oh, goodie, we were playing the guessing game. “With that family tree, I’m clearly a descendant or even the reincarnation of a goddess.”
Silence stretched and then they all laughed, the sound loud and mocking.
“How on earth did you reach that conclusion?” Aira said as they calmed down.
I narrowed my eyes. “I have a god of the underworld circling me. It would make sense that he believes me to be Persephone. If you are going to continue to lie and ignore me, then I’m done. I’m out.”
I spun on my heel, fully prepared to leave behind this group of people who thought they could play me like a puppet.
“Wait,” Lucifer drawled. I froze but kept my back to them. Nothing less than the facts would have me turning back to them. “It’s time.”
My jaw clenched, and I dragged in a breath before turning back and coming to the table. I still refused to sit. They could only secure me by exposing the entire truth. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
“Are you sure?” Dave asked.
“She’s right,” Lucifer answered. “She’s fighting a war with only half the facts. We already agreed it’s likely the reason Donn is circling her. Who do you think you are?”
I nodded at the book. “Greek? God related?”
Lucifer snorted. “You think you are Persephone?”
“No, I think I am a descendant and that enough bread crumbs were dropped so that when the time came, I could reclaim the birthright.”
Lucifer reached across the table and reopened the book I’d slammed shut.
The smoldering tree unfurled across the pages again, its branches twisting and glowing faintly in gold, silver, red, and black ink.
He placed one finger on the center of the tree.
The air thickened, the ground hummed, and my skin burned as magic coiled around us.
“Let’s begin before you decide you’re an ancient Greek goddess. ”
I crossed my arms. “It was a reasonable conclusion.”
“It was a ridiculous conclusion,” Dave retorted.
Lucifer drew a slow breath and tapped a symbol shaped like a feathered wing at the top of the page.
“The First Seal.” The symbol flared bright white. “The Angel Line. The seal of creation, life, and divine authority.” He looked up, eyes steady. “Your father’s blood.”
I frowned. “And yours. Go on, I’m following.”
His finger trailed across the top of the tree to a leafy branch curled around a flame. “The Second Seal.” Gold light spilled across the page. “The Elemental Line. The seal of earthbound magic, of will, of natural order.”
I glanced at Sophia, whose lips were pressed in a tight line.
I swallowed hard. “Seals to what?”
“We’ll get to that,” Lucifer said as he tapped a sigil shaped like two fangs. “The Third Seal.” Silver fire flared. “The Vampire Line. The seal of immortality, hunger, and the balance between life and death.”
That accounts for Aira.
He touched the last symbol, a claw mark across a moon. “The Fourth Seal.” Deep amber light pulsed. “The Shifter Line. The seal of instinct, chaos, and war.”
My breath caught as I stared at Dave. His stoic expression didn’t falter.
“Then why am I here?” I wondered as my butt dropped into the chair. “And what about Harry? Also, the seals to what?” A thousand thoughts clashed in my mind.
Lucifer sat back. “Let’s start with why you are here.”
“Okay.”
“The final mark at the bottom of the tree represents you.”
“At least I got that part right.”
Dave snorted. “True, but you couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“Spill it, then.”
Lucifer dragged in a breath. “You are the product of an elemental and an archangel. You have the blood of the first two seals in your veins.”
“Right.”
Aira shook her head. “Then you ingested Sebastian’s blood.”
I stiffened. “He saved my life—”
“He wasn’t meant to. Not that way,” Aira murmured.
Lucifer didn’t soften the blow. “You were not supposed to carry the Third Seal.”
My pulse hammered, and a dizzy, sickening feeling hit my stomach. Gravity shifted, and my world tipped sideways as I willed them not to confirm what I already knew.
Dave closed his eyes. “He was never supposed to meet you. The bond was… unintended.”
Lucifer turned the page. In the center, a sigil glowed a soft gold, a stunning combination of the other four. He placed his palm over it. “This,” he whispered, “is the Fifth Seal.”
The page trembled. The ink writhed. The symbol flared a violent, aching red, and the energy hit me like a punch to the chest. I gasped, clutching the table as fire ripped through my ribcage. Indigo surged against my skin, pacing, snarling, clawing for release. “What the hell is that?”
Lucifer’s voice dropped into something terrifying and ancient. “Cora, you are the Fifth Seal.”