Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Leviathan
Ever since Seraphina was taken from us, my thoughts were always halfway between worlds.
I flicked a tiny fireball between my palms, pretending to listen to the witch, Delphine, and her plans for us.
Delphine Bellinor was our only shot at getting to Seraphina.
Our perfect, feisty mate was alive. The bonds connecting us, while dim, still pulsed with life.
That sliver reassurance was the only thing keeping me, and the others, from going insane.
Phen explained how time worked differently there.
Several hours on Earth was a day on Stella Terra, which meant Seraphina had been at the mercy of my fucking father for a few days now.
The math of it was irrelevant to me. I didn’t care how much time had passed.
Even a single hour as their captive was one hour too many. And that fucking oath.
We were still furious at her for accepting Laszlo’s blood oath. I knew she did it to save her sister, and us, but she would be answering to each of us for that decision when we finally got her back.
“Now that the lovebirds are back.” Delphine’s voice echoed in the silence. “We can get started on the next part of our plan.”
“Which is what, exactly?” Andras snapped from his seat at the massive oak table.
The table was circular, so no one creature had a more important seat than another.
No one even got my King Arthur joke after a daemon conjured the thing with his earth power.
Phen insisted we watch the movies as soon as we had Seraphina back.
He started calling her Princess Gwyn, to which I said she was more like a knight than a damsel in distress.
So we called Dev Princess Gwyn instead. He loved it, on the inside at least.
Andras stood, placing his hands on the table and glaring at Delphine.
Gremory growled low, his bright-blue eyes glowing with power.
Grem was a new friend, and one I enjoyed.
He was nearly as sassy as me, but not as unhinged as Phen.
Grem was Delphine’s mate. And in a crazy plot twist, mated to Tabitha as well.
Tibby, Seraphina’s bestie, sat next to him and threaded her fingers with his, calming him. There were entirely too many alpha males at this table.
“We are going to send one of you to Stella Terra,” Delphine continued, unphased by Andras. Her curly hair was pinned up on top of her head, and she wore a fitted green dress that complimented her hazel eyes.
Even now, she radiated a power that was impossible not to feel.
Delpine was a member of some witch royalty in their world.
And what was even more insane, she was less powerful than Aurora Valdis, Seraphina’s mother.
I suppose that made sense, considering the power she must have possessed to seal off all travel between worlds with her death.
Lailah, Seraphina and Michaela’s older sister, had inherited Aurora’s power as a Seer, which would have been incredibly beneficial right now.
If only we could see into the future and know that our efforts would not be in vain.
“I’ll go.” Ty stood from his seat to the right of Andras. “I will find Seraphina and bring her back to us.”
Delphine rolled her eyes. “Simmer down, beefcake. It’s not just about finding her. This is a multi-step plan that will take a shit ton of power to get us all back to Stella Terra.” Her eyes slid to Michaela. “We are going to need your necklace.”
All eyes swerved to the youngest Valdis daughter. Her hand moved over the stone fastened to the gold chain. It was similar to the one Seraphina had, before she used the power within.
Daemons and lumens could make gifts of their souls, their power, placing it within a stone.
Luxenite for the lumens, and tenebrite for the daemons.
Seraphina’s tenebrite stone held the power of her birth father, Belfegor.
He sacrificed his place among the stars when he did this, and with his help, we escaped from our fathers and another of their rituals for power was ruined.
But not before Seraphina was forced to slit Joseph Bronwen’s throat, the man who raised her and Michaela’s birth father.
To say things had been difficult for us would be a severe understatement. And we were so close to being happy, whole, when they took her from us.
“You think my mother’s soul is in this necklace, and it can help us get Seraphina back?” Michaela asked, her voice hopeful.
Delphine’s face was inscrutable. “Perhaps it is your mother. But yes, it will help us get to Seraphina.”
Movement to my left caught my eye, and I raised a brow at Nuriela. She was new to me and my brothers, but not to the world of daemons and lumens. Nuriela Ramas was the mate of Lailah Valdis, and she spoke very little to anyone but Delphine and the tiny human she guarded, Lo.
Lo was the only other human at the table besides Tabitha.
Seraphina told us some of the story. The girl covered in burn scars marked over with tattoos was the daughter of a pedophile.
A pedophile Seraphina killed when she burned his gym to the ground with him inside.
Only Lo and her sister were there, too. Lo’s younger sister didn’t survive, but Nuriela was able to save Lo. They’d been together ever since.
The girl was around Michaela’s age, with long black hair and pale skin.
Her wide green eyes made her appear naive, but I could see a level of cunning hidden beneath her soft facade.
What part she was to play in all this, I wasn’t entirely sure.
Nuriela trained her to fight, but once we went into battle against creatures with magic, a solid suckerpunch wasn’t going to be very useful.
“Let’s get going, then,” Nuriela chimed in, her curly hair braided down her back swaying as she stood. She flipped a dagger into the air, catching it with ease. “I’m bored with this.”
“Feel free to leave then, lumen,” Phen purred, a glint in his silver eyes.
I smirked at my newest brother in arms. He didn’t have any issues with the female, but Phen was a perpetual shit-disturber. One of my favorite things about him.
Nuriela ignored him, circling the table and tossing her blade with casual grace. Andras flicked his eyes to the lumen, and my instincts told me something was amiss. Unfortunately, none of us would be fast enough to do anything about it.
The blade in her hand slashed across Devon’s throat before anyone could move. Rage bled through my veins, and the fireball I’d been toying with grew twice in size as I aimed for the female.
Ty roared, and even Phen shouted curses as he rushed to Dev’s side. He was the closest, catching Dev as he fell to the floor, light fading from his brilliant green eyes. The bond between us dimmed, and the pain of it was excruciating.
Before I could kill the lumen who murdered my brother, Morax wrapped his muscular arms around my own, pulling me back. “Stop,” he shouted over the panic. “Listen.”
We quieted enough to hear chanting and turned to Delphine. She was murmuring words swiftly, magic thickening in the air. A ball of pure energy lifted from Dev’s body, and he went limp in Phen’s arms. The ball of light grew, shimmering before us.
Delphine stopped chanting. “Phenex. Go. He’s your anchor. We’ll see you soon.”
Phen placed Dev’s body gently on the floor, and in the next moment, leapt into the air at the ball of light. Nuri launched the dagger in Phen’s direction. A crack like lightning cut through the air, and I shielded my eyes. When I could see again, the light, the dagger, and Phenex were gone.
Anguish squeezed my heart as the reality of the situation sank in. Dev was gone. My fucking brother was gone.
“Did you just fucking murder him?” Ty snarled. He might be as big as a tree, but Ty was lethal when he wanted to be. He had Nuriela on the floor, his hands around her throat before she could blink.
Nuriela stared up at him, unphased. “I thought he was the one who betrayed you all, so I figured you’d enjoy seeing him get his throat slit.”
Fury boiled through me, and in that moment, I wouldn’t feel an ounce of regret if he killed her.