Chapter 31
I opened a portal in front of his, then blasted my power behind me to throw us both through.
I’d opened a portal to the dungeon. Carmine’s visits here were few and far between. He feared this place more than anything in the realm. It was my first and only idea.
He staggered, then turned on the spot to take in the damp stone and dungeons cells like he was in a horror movie.
He whipped to look at me, and the ice was gone. “Syera—”
I portaled to the hangar and sprinted like I’d never sprinted in my life. By our thread, I could tell he was still in the dungeon.
Athira revealed her floating head.
“It’s no longer safe for me to stay,” I said. “Nothing else has changed.”
She nodded and masked her presence again. She opened a portal, then closed it after, drawing in all magical and physical signs that she’d been here.
I dissolved Carmine’s barriers that he’d placed over each gate, then wrenched open the nearest coven gate.
Only then did I grab a wide-eyed Owu and Axel.
Carmine was still in the dungeon and that was both unbelievable and untrustworthy. I picked up both boys and ran. I slammed the gate shut after us, then erected my own barrier on the other side. One that would delay Carmine by about five seconds if he chose to pursue me.
Which he hadn’t.
And why the hell not?
I raced through thick fog, ignoring the high whine of Magus alarms in the ravine. I leaped out with the boys and blurred down through a forest and across a meadow.
Then stopped at the sight of an army.
Of Magus.
I set the boys down and raised both hands. “I mean no harm. I’m Tempest’s sister.”
Magus gathered their magic to attack, and I could only stare. What were they doing?
Axel tugged my cloak. “You’re speaking demon.”
Oh, shit. Of course.
I forced my thoughts away from the demon tongue. “I am not here to fight you. I’m Syera, Tempest’s sister. I have escaped the demon realm with Axel, son of the Deception Valley pack, and Owu, another demon. We seek refuge from the king.”
The Magus army parted, and my sister hurried through with Wild a few steps to her right and slightly behind—always ready to protect her.
Tempest ran to join me, her long white-gray hair flowing behind her. “Sister.”
She fell into my arms, and only then did this moment permeate my adrenaline rush. I was hugging my twin. My family.
I was touching her.
She was shorter than me now. We’d been a match for height at sixteen, though she’d always been willowy like Mother, and I’d always had a more athletic build.
I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around her. “I’ve missed you.”
Our powers hummed, and tears filled my eyes at the beautiful connection that demons simply didn’t share. I’d missed that feeling. One I’d taken for granted with a mother, grandmother, and twin around me.
Tempest drew back and wiped her wet face. “I’ve been so lost without you, Syera.”
And she’d still managed to become ruler of a coven. But she’d changed too. This close, I could see that one of her eyes was the blue I recalled, and the other was streaked with rust. She’d drained her power to the point of death somewhere along the line.
“Is he coming after you?” Tempest asked in a lower voice, glancing at the boys for the first time. Relief washed her face at the sight of Axel.
I glanced back.
Carmine was still in the realm, and that was all I could tell now. “He will. I don’t know if he’ll do so now or in days or weeks. But he will come. I know too much, and I’m too powerful to remain alive.”
“Will he sever the mating?”
I hadn’t considered that. “If he does, it will take him out and I’ll go down too. If that happens, then attack the fortress with everything you have. He can’t be allowed to recover.”
Tempest relayed that to Wild, who nodded tersely in my direction before peeling away to give orders to three other Magus males. Each of them split off to address a different part of the army.
Tempest took my hand. “Please come with me, sister. And Owu too. You will be safe here, and Axel, I’ll contact your pack soon. They will be so relieved to hear you’re back on Earth.”
Axel grabbed my other hand, and Owu glanced at me.
“You won’t need to hide here,” I told him. “Let’s go inside. It’s safe.”
For now. Best that Owu didn’t connect that while Carmine might come for me, he would absolutely come for Owu. He’d felt the young demon’s presence and power in the fortress. He knew that a demon existed who might challenge the throne.
I followed Tempest through the army, ignoring the surrounding Magus who parted for us. They already had a demon in their midst, and a part demon too. That my sister was their ruler would help ease tensions, but I was the mate of a king who’d killed their people.
That wasn’t easy to put aside.
Owu crept closer to me, but Axel’s confidence mounted with every step from the demon realm.
We entered a cave that opened into a spacious tunnel. Small rooms branched off each side as we descended, and eventually Tempest opened a door into larger quarters.
I inhaled the scents of Wild and Tempest. This was their space. And huge. Three levels.
The ground floor was a lounge area.
I released Axel’s hand, and faced my sister. “Tempest, I need to see Adeuto. Where is he?”
“I’ll get him,” she said. “Wait here.”
My son. Mother be, I wanted to curl into a ball. My son was within reach. I felt sick. I felt like racing after her. I felt like running away too. Because to hold him again was everything I wanted, and surely someone would take that away.
“Adeuto is here?” Owu whispered.
I dipped my head, my lips clamped together.
He smiled and Axel beamed at him, and together the boys explored the lounge while I tried to keep my shit together.
Each minute dragged into ten, and I’d nearly resolved to track Tempest and Adeuto down when the door cracked open.
My heart leaped into my mouth, and I dropped to one knee, unable to stand.
Adeuto peeked around the door, and the entire world fell away.
“Mama!” he shouted, throwing the door wide.
I opened my arms and caught him, squeezing him tight as I stood and turned us away from the onlookers—Tempest, Wild, and the three male Magus he’d spoken with earlier.
“Mama, you’re here!” Adeuto said into my shoulder.
I found my voice again. Barely. “I’m here, my love. I have missed you so much.”
He grabbed my face between both hands and kissed me, and I peppered kisses over his face.
“Miss you too,” he said. “Aunty Tempest said you would come.”
I was grateful that I’d fulfilled that promise on luck alone. The last interaction with Carmine could have ended very differently, and I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t pursued me. Perhaps between Owu and me, we might have held him off long enough to reach the Magus army.
Had the dungeon really affected him that much?
“Aunty Tempest was right.” My voice cracked, and I hugged him close again. “Owu is here to see you too. And a new friend named Axel.”
Adeuto pulled back and glanced around to where Owu was hovering.
He broke into a wide grin that cracked my heart in two, then wiggled to the ground. “Owu!”
The two demons hugged and broke into disjointed conversation.
I strode out of the door, and the Magus men there stepped back to let me through. I hurried to the nearest room, and burst in, shutting the door behind me.
A wail built in my throat until I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
I clutched my chest as the wails wracked my entire body. My tears were a few steps behind the grief and relief pouring out of me at seeing my son again.
I never thought I’d hold him again.
See him again.
Hear his voice or see his smile.
So many times, he could have ended up growing up without a mother.
I cried in the empty bedroom until my wail started to soften and fade. The door opened behind me, and Tempest rested her hand on my shoulder. Our magic hummed again, and I felt her sorrow for me.
“He is safe,” she said in a soft voice. “You are with him again.”
I nodded, wiping my face. “There were many times I believed that we wouldn’t be reunited. I will be happy and relieved soon. But for now, I can’t bring myself to trust in what I feel and hope.”
I stood and turned to hug her.
“We are going to figure all of this out,” she said, pulling back after a couple of minutes. “We are going to ensure Adeuto is safe.”
If anyone could do that, it was her. And me. There was an importance in the two of us standing together. Our power didn’t like to battle, and that had to originate from the deepest parts of our twin bond.
We returned to the room, and Wild and the other Magus glanced at me. I walked to Wild and extended a hand.
“I am happy to meet you,” I told him.
Axel sang out, “You’re speaking demon, Syera.”
Oops. I tried again. “I am happy to meet you. I must get used to speaking the human tongue again.”
I glanced at the next Magus, who wore glasses and was frantically scratching in a notebook. I cocked a brow as I saw the demon words I’d spoken jotted there. “Let me guess, you’re a grimoire.”
Gross.
Behind me, Tempest remarked, “Gross, right?”
The Magus snapped his head up. “You’re grimoire now too.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Don’t remind me. Sometimes I actually read books for enjoyment.”
“Syera,” I said, extending a hand to the bespeckled Magus.
He took my hand eagerly and spoke loudly. “Huxley. Magus.”
Wild snorted, and the other two men chuckled under their breath. Huxley seemed overeager to meet me.
I moved on when Huxley’s face colored.
“Corentin,” the next Magus said, dipping his head.
The last waved. “Sven.”
I glanced at the four Magus. “You are close. Chosen brothers.”
They exchanged glances.
Wild answered, “You could say that.”
“Chosen pains in the ass,” Tempest added. “Sister, are you hungry? Do you need to rest? I will have someone set you up in the same room as Adeuto, or a larger room if you prefer.”
“Any room will do.” I glanced at the boys and noted Owu’s tense shoulders. “If they could please set up a bed for Owu in the same room. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
The young demon relaxed. I had ground to make up with Owu. I’d left him with Athira, who’d ditched him, and then I hadn’t been nearly as present as I would have liked, considering that his mother couldn’t be with him. If Adeuto was treated that way, I would see red.
I asked, “Axel, are you hungry?”
He glanced back. “Starving.”
More than two hours had passed since he’d eaten an entire larder of food, so that was understandable.
Sven stood. “Let’s go get you some food. Owu, are you hungry?”
“I am!” Adeuto said.
Owu glanced at him, then repeated in a thickly accented human tongue. “I am.”
“Follow me,” called the large Magus. There was something boyish about him that balanced his threatening size. He also carried his body like a warrior, so I imagined the boyishness could switch off in seconds.
Tempest waited until they were out of the room before picking up the handset of a landline. They had hardly existed before I left Earth. I also couldn’t fail to notice that the landline wasn’t plugged into a source of electricity.
“Andie?” Tempest said. “Tempest here… Yes, going well. Listen, Syera just arrived here, and she brought a little Luther with her.” She paused.
“That’s right. He’s just eating, but I can open a portal in the pack lands for his mother, you, and Sascha to come through?
” Tempest nodded. “Great. Five minutes. Please let his mother know that Axel is absolutely fine.”
She listened again. “Yes, Syera believes that Carmine will come for her.”
“And Owu,” I interjected. “He will try to kill him.”
Huxley and Corentin stared.
“He poses a threat to Carmine’s reign. Unfortunately, Owu’s power didn’t go unnoticed during our escape. Carmine may come for me, but he will certainly come to eliminate Owu.”
Tempest dragged her focus from me. “There is another demon boy that Syera says the demon king will come for too. We must meet, agreed. My sister will want to spend the day reuniting with her son, and we can meet later this evening. I will alert Kyros and Basilia.”
She replaced the handset and sat next to Wild. “The alliance will meet tonight.” Her gaze lifted to mine. “Fair warning, the Vissimo aren’t your biggest fans right now.”
“Because I kicked Kyros’s ass?” I asked.
“No,” Wild replied. “Because of your comment to him in the letter. His power is immense, and difficult to control, so that rebuke hit him where it hurt.”
“The truth is uncomfortable,” I said. “And in discomfort, the greatest lessons are buried. If he risks my son’s life like that again, I’ll do worse to the Vissimo king.”
Corentin grinned. “Someone who isn’t afraid of Kyros. It’s about time.”
“He is intense,” Tempest said, then shot me a look. “Once he stops being butthurt, you’ll get on great. You have a similar outlook on… things.”
Like pain?
“So what happened?” Huxley asked when I sat.
My mind was wrung out from reeling so hard.
“Carmine fleeced the fortress after your attack. He found the pipeline. When he summoned me back from the stronghold, I sensed danger, and put things in place in case an escape was warranted. It was. I can’t believe we got out of there. We shouldn’t have.”
Wild murmured, “How did you?”
I shook my head. “A mystery. I took him to a place he feared, and perhaps that immobilized him. But I can’t believe that either. It was as if he chose to let us go.”
“So maybe he won’t come,” Wild said.
“He’ll come.” Of that I was sure.
Because Carmine was two demons, really, whether under a curse or cleaved in two by dungeon trauma, and I’d known that for a long time. If one version of him had allowed me to escape, then the other version wouldn’t rest until I was back in his power.
We had to be ready.