Chapter 9 #2
“NO, FATHER!” she cried and tried to reach for me, but my magic was already pulling her into the orb. “Father, no—”
“I love you, Auryn,” I said through a hot lump of emotion in my throat. “Stay close to Savannah. She’s going to need you.”
Her eyes widened and filled with tears. She understood without me saying what might happen next. “FATHER, NO!”
And then she was gone.
I didn’t let myself linger or process my emotions. There would be no point, especially not as the ground began to tremble and the walls started to shake. It actually made me chuckle. Mother had finally learned my first dirty little secret, long, long before I ever knew Celina existed.
Mother’s shrieking voice rattled the entire castle.
But I knew better than to think she’d come in here looking for me.
That would’ve been too easy for her, and there was zero audience.
I knew the trap was set for me when I went through the main doorway in the demon-glass orb to Sweyn’s tower room.
I knew the plan was to let myself get trapped, that it was the only way to ensure my daughter escaped.
I knew I would never regret saving her, no matter the cost. I knew Tegan was more brilliant than anyone I’d ever met, and she thought her plan was going to work.
But I also knew it was dangerous to trust a hope.
I ran my thumb over the ring Frankie had given me after learning our truth, the one I wore on my pinky every single hour of every day until I pulled her from that frat house.
This ring was the only thing that kept my head above water on my darkest days these last eight centuries.
We were so close to being reunited. All my waiting . . . for now.
It was cruel to know I could miss it by so little time.
There would be no returning for me if I died.
No one reincarnated the son of Lilith. I was grateful to have been gifted an angel as my soulmate, so I wouldn’t expect more than that.
But knowing how badly it hurt every single day living without her only made the idea of her living the same existence that much more devastating.
A pain that would never go away.
I closed my eyes and pictured her face one last time, knowing if Mother got her hands on me, I’d have to protect her from being seen even in my thoughts.
Once I felt enough light and warmth in my heart, I gave in to my shadows, letting myself glide straight to the door, into the demon-glass orb, and out into Sweyn’s tower made of black marble.
Even through my own shadows I knew I’d guessed right, despite not being able to see any of them.
They were there. I felt them. I let myself take form, intentionally wearing a mask of confidence as if I didn’t know what was about to happen.
The tower room appeared empty. Mother underestimated even me.
I hoped that would one day be her downfall.
I made a show of glancing around like I didn’t feel their auras.
It always took me a few minutes to be able to shadow travel after leaving Mother’s realm, especially if I used any magic while there, so me having to leave this tower by foot wasn’t part of the show.
“I’m back in Avolire, Tegan,” I whispered telepathically to the High Priestess. “Please find Auryn and get to safety.”
“Don’t communicate with words again,” Tegan whispered back in a rush in my mind. “That way if the spell isn’t working and you’re being taken…just make any noise to let us know.”
“If the spell does not work, please tell Celina I left her something at home.”
I took a deep breath and a step forward and Mother’s magic coiled around my body.
Bright, glowing red magic wrapped around me over and over and over, pinning my arms to my sides.
Pressure tightened around my ankles and then my feet were yanked out from under me.
My knees slammed into the black marble, sharp pain shot up my shins to my knees and then into my thighs.
I clenched my teeth but showed no other reaction.
Not even when I was spun around to face the enemy I’d spent my life cozying up to.
Sweyn was as viciously beautiful as she always was.
It made my stomach turn. Sam stood in her shadow gnawing on her bottom lip.
Azazel leaned against a column on the other side of her with his sinful gaze looking her body up and down.
Asmodeus and Reuelle appeared to be more interested in each other than my indiscretions.
If I survived long enough, I would have to thank Sam for falling for his tricks.
The arrival of his soulmate had calmed the fallen angel down and gotten him off The Coven’s backs.
It wouldn’t last, but it was a relief in the meantime.
Soneillon and Astaroth just glared at me.
I almost smiled at the scar running across Soneillon’s face that my own soulmate had given her.
But the urge to smile vanished the instant Mother emerged from the shadows of the angels.
Her red eyes blazed with rage. Like a cheesy cartoon, there was literal smoke billowing from her nose and ears.
Her horns glistened in the moonlight streaming through the window.
She’d swapped her dramatic attire for her power suit, not that she was actually here at all.
She hadn’t recovered enough just yet, so while her essence could venture into Earth, her physical form could not.
This was the only reason Ruth’s spell had a chance.
I inclined my head. “Mother.”
“Offspring,” she snarled with narrowed red eyes as she strolled toward me, her arms crossed over her chest. “So he can be tricked after all.”
Sweyn whined. “How? I tried—”
“You failed,” Mother snapped without taking her eyes off of me. “You have to learn about your enemies to know how to break them.”
“I do know him—”
“Enough,” Mother growled. “I will deal with you later.”
Sweyn balled her hands into fists. Her upper lip snarled up to reveal a long fang.
I smirked. Mother finally sees how pathetic Sweyn is.
“So, offspring . . . it appears I have a granddaughter . . .” Mother shrugged. “Have to admit, I’m impressed you managed to keep her a secret.”
“What can I say…” I shrugged, which caused her magic to dig into my skin through my clothes. But I did not show the pain on my face. “I am my mother’s son, selfishly manipulating life around me for my own benefits.”
She gave me a wicked grin. “I am going to make you watch what I do to this precious little Earth of yours, and I will make sure your daughter, her son, and granddaughter will suffer the very worst.”
A chill slid down my spine.
She clicked her tongue. “Tell me, offspring, how old is your pretty little daughter?”
“She was born a few months after Sweyn.”
Sweyn’s eyes flashed. “What? That’s not possible. I’m older than you—”
“You’re a fool, Sweyn. A gullible, pathetic fool.”
Someone chuckled from the far corner of the room, which was when I realized the Unseelie Prince had joined us. Vosen. His name is Vosen. I was glad Sam had given the information to Tegan and not just me.
“I was nearly a hundred years old when you were born.” I arched one eyebrow. “Mother has played you a fool from the beginning.”
“YOU—”
“Enough, Sweyn,” Mother snapped, holding her hand up with magic coiling between her fingers. She turned those red eyes back at me. “So, you’ve had a whole family all these centuries perfectly hidden from me, yet you taught her nothing on how to keep me out of her head?”
I breathed through my nose. I couldn’t let her get to me. “She is nothing like you, that is what I taught her.”
She chuckled, actually chuckled. “Oh, my darling Everest. She pretended to be her father’s lover for the last decade, and you think she inherited nothing from me?”