Chapter Twenty - Three Jalisa
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jalisa
We had stormed the proverbial castle. Actually, it was a run-down mansion, but it was close enough.
It was a mix of broken windows and floorboards, walls with peeling paint, cobwebs, and dust. No one had lived there in ages, and it was secluded with not a neighbor around for miles.
It was the perfect homebase for the dissenters.
This was the level of the group that I had never been privy to because the place was totally unfamiliar to me.
Whoever came here in the dissenters’ group, they were the real trouble.
I was a pawn, low in the rankings. I barely even recognized any of the ten to fifteen fae who were there. And we were outnumbered.
Not only did my father come, but he called in two associates, who looked more like soldiers, to help us. I called Aaron, and he contacted Yosef, who brought his pack, including Lila. That made eight of us. We were a small but mighty team.
After connecting with Ivan and learning about Jacob and Jullian, it made total sense that this place would have plenty of fae already there. Jullian would always be prepared because he knew he had too much to lose. I would make sure he lost it all this time.
I bobbed and weaved through attacks as I made my way to Ivan.
I wouldn’t be the face he’d want to see, he wouldn’t know me from any other fae, but I needed to see him.
I had no idea what door lead to the basement, so I had to pause at every door to open and check.
This opened me up to attacks, but my father was right at my back, knocking out rebellion followers as if they were merely gnats.
I was strong, but I knew better than to not have back up because I was a tad out of practice.
He might be older, but my father was still an alpha and in great physical shape.
Suddenly, a rumbling shook the building and knocked us off balance. I stumbled forward, almost falling, but my father grabbed my arm, keeping me upright. “What the hell was that?”
“No, idea,” my father stated, looking around. “I think it came from below.”
I tightened my grip on my sword. “That’s where Ivan is.”
We quickened our pace to the next door, but I stopped when I heard my father yell.
I turned to see a dissenter jump on his back, tackling him to the ground.
Before I could help him, a force grabbed the back of my head and bashed me against the wall.
Sharp pain racketed my shoulder, and I felt the cold touch of blood drip down the side of my head.
My vision dimmed for the briefest of seconds, but I shook my head to remain alert.
A glint of light caught my eye, and I swung my sword out meeting a clang of metal.
Excruciating ache gripped at my injured shoulder as I lifted it to move my sword.
However, I had to ignore it for now. To give in would mean death.
Biting back a cry of pain, I pushed from the wall and twirled around, swinging my sword with me.
I raised my brows in shock as I came face to face with my assailant.
Nepa Coldpath. Ivan’s cousin. She bared her teeth at me, holding tightly to her sword, turquoise eyes wild in rage. “Why couldn’t you stay away?” she shouted. She swung her sword, and I met it with mine.
The woman was a giant, tall and muscular.
Not to mention she was a soldier. None of my experience would match hers, but I did have my omega magic and my bond with Ivan.
I suspected that was the only reason my sword was still keeping me from being cut down.
Although, as she pushed into me and my arms shook against her force, I wondered how long I could hold up against her.
I gritted my teeth as I strained to push her back, my injured shoulder on fire and threatening to give out. “Ivan is here.”
“I know that. I was coming to get him.”
“Then why are you fighting me?”
“I was coming to make sure he stays away from you!” She pushed at me again, and this time, I lost the battle, stumbling back and falling on my ass.
She came down with her sword again. It wasn’t like I was in doubt before from the first attack, but it still shocked me to see that she was really trying to kill me. I knew Ivan’s family disliked me, but this still felt insane. The hate ran deep.
I rolled out of the way before she could slice into me and kicked my leg out into her shin with every bit of strength I possessed. I heard the sickening crack of bone as she cried out and dropped to her knees.
“Alright, you crazy bitch, I realize our family doesn’t have a good history, but I’m not them.
Neither is my father.” I quickly glanced to him as he was struggling to his feet.
He looked a little bloodied and bruised, but he’d successfully taken down his assailant.
I was impressed. I thought my father had lost his fight sitting at a desk and being catered to most of his adult life.
Clearly, I was wrong. “We are not the enemy.”
Nepa snorted, her face tight with pain that I caused her.
“One, you can’t possibly think you can break your deal with the dissenters and be free.
Whether I care for their cause or not, I am smart enough to know they have too much to lose to let you walk away, no matter how much the court likes you.
How you have survived all of the attacks we’ve thrown at you is beyond me, but this will be your end.
And second, you are most definitely our enemy.
Your family killed my father and so many others.
You are fortunate I wasn’t born a full dragon, or you would have been dead long ago. ”
“Your family killed my brother. I think you got your revenge.” Even saying the words made me sick. Neither death was right. Neither death was atonement.
Nepa glanced at my father with pure hatred, unmoved by my words.
“It will never be enough to cover all the damage your family has done to my kind. You all deserve to suffer ten times over for what you’ve done for generations.
One death is hardly enough. I can’t believe Ivan was stupid enough to fall for you. ”
“He never knew.”
She raised her brows in surprise. “Is that what he told you?” She shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. “Gods, what an idiot. He might not have known everything, but he knew how awful your kind was to us, and he ignored it.”
Was that true? He’d never said that he knew anything.
Although it was possible he knew inklings of the truth, he’d alluded to as much when we used to argue about our families.
However, he never admitted to more, not even when Pierce spoke to us.
Had he actually known how awful we were?
And if that was the case, why did he fight so hard for us to stay together?
Had his love for me run that deep? The sudden realization made me almost dizzy with grief.
Grief that he no longer knew that love. That I would no longer feel that love from him.
“He’s a traitor and no family of mine,” Nepa continued, interrupting my thoughts. “And I will make sure that he not only never remembers you but never sees you again.”
She ran at me, apparently recovered from her injury.
I crouched low and swung my sword, conjuring a shield just as her sword came down on top of it.
At the same time, my sword bit into her thigh.
She screamed but didn’t slow down as she repeatedly beat against my shield in such rapid movements I could no longer see her arms. Shit, she was scary.
It was as if my hit didn’t even land. My father teleported behind her, but she blew him away with her magic, pushing one hand behind her without even turning or stopping her strikes against me.
And then my shield cracked. Before she could land another hit, I disappeared and teleported behind her, swinging, but she teleported as well before I could get to her.
She then reappeared behind my father who turned around, his sword ready, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Her sword met his left side, and I screamed in shaken fury as he stumbled to the side and fell.
She lifted her sword again, but I pushed out my fist, my magic sending her flying backward, closer to the fighting in the front of the mansion. I ran to my father who sat against a wall, clutching his side. I crouched down and began to pour healing magic into him. There was no time to waste.
He coughed, blood trickling from his lips. “Don’t worry about me. Save your strength. You can’t turn your back on her.”
He didn’t look good. He was bleeding heavily and already pretty beat up before Nepa had struck him.
I had a complicated history with my father, but I still loved him.
Seeing him bleed to death was not on my agenda.
I would not lose another member of my family.
However, he was right, we couldn’t stay here.
I touched his shoulder and teleported us to the back of the house, just in time to see Nepa charging at us.
Did she not see the blood dripping down her thigh from the wound I gave her?
Was she even able to feel pain? She really was quite imposing.
Alright, the bitch was terrifying. I was lucky she couldn’t shift.
I stood up in front of my father and drew an imaginary line with my sword in front of us, whispering warding words as I did so.
Nepa slammed into the ward just as she got to us.
Her face twisted in disgust. “Coward. Come beyond that ward and fight me.” She tossed a handout to the side.
“Just give in, and this will all be over. If you really love Ivan, like you claim to, then don’t you want him happy?
Be the first in your family to be selfless. ”
She really had a narrow understanding of the truth. This wasn’t so black and white. “My father has turned our businesses around. So much so that I didn’t even know what was going on before I was born.”