Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Izzy
I’m screaming, trying to get back to Reid and Van, but Aiden’s arms are tight around me, and I’m too shocked to think clearly.
Wilder is suddenly at my side, and we’re rushing up the stairs.
I sob as we reach the top, and then the castle melts away around us as we teleport, and suddenly we’re beside Mr. Time’s car.
He and Brenda are leaning against the side, and when they spot us, their eyes widen.
“What happened?” Mr. Time asks. “Where are Van and Reid?”
I try to tell him, but another sob explodes from my throat. They captured Reid in that box. They aged Van. Is he even alive? They could be lost to us forever.
“Reid is the box,” Aiden says, and his voice catches.
“Connor apparently was more powerful than we thought,” Wilder continues. “He aged Van. We don’t even know if…if…”
“Thea betrayed us,” I say, tears rolling down my face. “It was a trap. And we couldn’t teleport out. We couldn’t save them.”
“Damn it!” Mr. Time says, and the words are filled with helpless anger.
He opens his car door and pulls out something. I realize it’s a dagger. “Viggo is using his powers to keep you guys from teleporting. If we’re going to get to them in time to have a chance at saving their lives, we’re going to need to kill him first.”
I wipe the tears from my eyes and something cold rolls through my veins. I reach out and grab the dagger. “I’ll do it.”
Mr. Time shakes his head. “You don’t understand.
He’s powerful and tricky, and right now I happen to know he’s alone on the rocky shore.
One person will need to kill him, and the others will need to distract Thea’s gang.
Otherwise, they might go to his rescue. We can’t let that happen.
We need to kill him and be done with this. ”
“I can do it,” I say, curling my hand around the hilt of the dagger.
“You’re strong and amazing,” Aiden tells me, “but you’re not a killer.”
I look back at him. “I wasn’t a killer before, when I had everyone I loved around me. Now, nothing can stop me from getting Reid and Van back.”
“You’re sure?” Aiden asks, and his gaze holds mine.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“Then we’re going to teleport out onto the lawn, and draw the attention of the others. Don’t underestimate him, Izzy.”
“I won’t,” I say, and rub more tears away. “I won’t ever do that again.”
I had thought my sister and Oliver could be trusted. I thought they would realize how much better things could be if only they stayed with us. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for them. Nothing was. The others were right, there’s something rotten inside of my sister, something I can’t fix.
“Tell me where to go,” I tell Mr. Time.
He explains exactly where Viggo is on the shore beneath the castle, and I turn back to my men. “Ready?”
They nod.
“Don’t worry,” Brenda says. “They won’t be doing this alone.”
I nod, grateful for that at least. Then, I pull the golden blade free from its sheath and clench it tightly. Today I’m going to kill someone. And there must be something wrong with me, because I don’t even care. All I care about is saving the lives of my men.
“Three, two, one…” I teleport after the last number and shimmer into existence on the rocky shore, a man’s back to me.
Gritting my teeth, I leap out toward him and plant the knife firmly into his back, then I yank it out as his scream tears from his lips. He whirls around, stumbling and falling onto the rocks. Viggo’s eyes are wide as they stare up at me.
I leap down on top of him and drive the dagger toward his heart.
His hands close around mine, pushing it back. It hovers between us.
“Stop this, Izzy,” he pants.
I grit my teeth and push harder. “You’re going to die for what you’ve done.”
The dagger waves, inching closer to his chest.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand everything I need to!” I shout, forcing all my weight into the dagger. It shifts lower, piercing the fabric of his shirt.
“But, Izzy, I’m…I’m your father.”
I hate that I hesitate, but I do. “What?”
“I’m your dad. Do you really want to be responsible for killing me?”
I release some of the pressure on the dagger, and it pulls back a little, and his grip loosens too. “That can’t be true.”
“It is. And you don’t how long I spent searching for you after that bitch…”
And everything hits me at once. “You were the person my mom was running from.”
He gives a laugh that’s half hysterical.
“You and your sister were born into this world to carry the gods within you. You were to rule the world, with me at your side, but your mother never understood. She never saw the opportunity to serve the gods the way I did. When she found I had marked you to make it so the gods could return within you, she disappeared with you.”
“You…chose this for us? You marked us on purpose?”
His eyes are bright. “I made you into gods. But Thea was too weak. I found the wrong daughter. And now, we can all be together again. We can be a family, and we can rule the world. Think about that. Think about what we could have.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I can picture it perfectly.”
His smile is manic.
And in that moment, I drive the blade into his heart.
His eyes widen, and his mouth opens. I expect blood to pour from his lips, but instead a golden light emerges, swirling around us, then dives into the blade.
When I pull it back and stand, there’s no blood on his chest either. He touches himself.
“What did you do? Give me back my magic!” he spits at me.
“I pictured the world you’d create with our magic, and I’ll never let that happen.”
I turn to go, and he leaps at me, knocking me over. Rolling over the rocks, I look back to face him as he barrels toward me. Fire explodes from my fingertips and slams into him. He screams, a terrible wailing sound, and races toward the ocean, diving in.
But even from where I stand, the fire doesn’t seem to be going out. It burns and burns as I watch him as he wails and disappears below the surface.
Clutching the dagger in my hand, I realize I’m shaking. Viggo was my father all along? That monster was related to me? The thoughts threaten to pull me under, so I push them aside. I’d have time to deal with that later. For now, I need to get back and save Reid and Van.
I’m about to teleport when a disturbance in the water draws my eye.
Out of waves, my sister emerges. She lifts a finger, and my father comes free too, not moving. She flings her hand, and he goes sailing above the cliff, right back toward the castle.
“Thea!” I shout.
She smiles. “Finally, it’s just us.”