FORTY-FOUR
WILLOW
When we’re drawn to the present, sharp gasps erupt in waves.
I blink as the past of Vakeeli fades, dripping away like paint from a canvas and returning us to the familiar gray kitchen in Blackwater Manor.
My first instinct is to look at Hassha, whose eyes are focused on Caz. Caz is staring right back at her, his jaw clenched and his cheeks flushed. Everyone else has released hands, but he still clings to mine with a tight grip.
“You’re telling me that I’m like one of you?” Caz asks, his brows dipping. “How? It—it doesn’t make any sense. Why would he choose me ?” He finally releases my hand to push out of his chair.
Hassha rises with him, watching as he walks toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows to peer out. She appears next to him, and I notice their reflections on the windowpanes.
Hassha looks her normal self, but Caz’s reflection is someone else. I gasp seeing this person’s dark skin, coarse white braids, and bold eyes that shimmer like embers of a fire.
Caz stares at it, the blood draining from his face.
Yuri.
“He lives inside you, Caspian,” Hassha takes a step closer to him. “We’ve waited millenniums for this moment—for the man who would be worthy enough to carry Yuri’s power and fulfill his prophecy. He chose you .”
“But he said the person had to be good in heart,” Caz says. “That isn’t me.”
“You don’t believe you are good in heart?” she asks, and he cuts his eyes to hers.
“I’m not an innocent person.”
“No one asked you to be innocent,” she retorts. “Innocence is frail. What Yuri wanted was someone willing to fight . Someone with no fear who is willing to honor and protect what belongs to him, just as we are willing to protect what belongs to us.
“We have all done bad things. I know your past weighs heavily on you. You let it trick you into thinking you’re wicked, depraved, unworthy of life and love. Those are simply the darker parts of you that Selah instilled when she planted that seed. But I see what’s really in your heart.
“We tried postponing this moment for so long to better prepare ourselves. We took Willow out of this world entirely, simply so you wouldn’t mate too soon. Mating was the trigger. But that was bound to happen eventually. And next was the use of your blood to awaken Selah. As much as we didn’t want it to be, that was meant to happen too.”
“So why did Korah try to stop me?” Caz asks.
“Because you weren’t ready take Selah on yet…and because we weren’t quite ready to let go of the lives we’ve built.”
Hassha caps Caz’s shoulder. He tenses. “But no matter what we feel, it is time. Now, my dear Caspian, you must use what has lain dormant within you to protect your mate, your family, your territory, and our world . If you don’t kill Selah, she will kill you, but not before killing everyone and everything you love first. She will make you watch as she destroys it all, and she will not stop until you’re dead because you’re the only one who can eradicate her. You could have had more time to prepare for this but The Council forced your fate.”
Caz says nothing. Instead, he stares at the floor.
“But if Caz kills her…won’t that kill him too?” I ask. “You’re all bonded. You said if one of you dies, all of you die, right?”
“Yuri was created separately, so he’s not tied to me and my sisters the same way,” Hassha answers. “Caspian will not die. As for me and Korah…yes, we will likely die when Selah does. But we’ve prepared ourselves for this fate. This is why Selah wants Caspian so badly. If she harnesses Yuri’s energy, she will be strong enough to separate herself from me and Korah. She’ll be able to kill us while she lives on. But we will not let that happen.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I didn’t realize.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for.” Hassha raises her chin, a smile gracing her lips. “Everyone’s life must come to an end one day, even those deemed immortal.”
“I don’t stand a chance against her.” Caz finally speaks again, looking into Hassha’s eyes. “She has powers unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
“But you have more. You are filled with the blood of every single Regal, Caspian. You are so much more than you know. Just like a weapon, you must learn how to use it.” She presses a hand to his chest. “Yuri knows your needs. He knows your strengths. He will not fail you. You just have to trust him to take over.”
“How am I supposed to learn any of this?” my mate asks, raising his hands and staring at his palms. “I’ve tried controlling it, but I can’t. It only works when I feel like my life is in danger or the life of someone I love.”
“Then that is exactly what you use to draw it out. Everyone you love is in danger. Practice is all it requires, and soon enough, it’ll become second nature. Trust in your abilities. Korah and I will be here to assist you as much as we can.”
Caz nods, though I sense wariness. I don’t have to read his mind to know he’s not confident in these new abilities. There’s now more pressure on his shoulders. He’s the key to saving Vakeeli, and if he fails, we’re all as good as dead.
That is so fucked up.
“Is there anything else you and Korah are keeping a secret from us?” Caz locks his gaze on Hassha as he stands next to me.
Hassha puts on a boastful smile. “In fact, there is.”
“What is it?” he asks.
“We plan on training Willow too. We need her to be able to defend herself during the times you can’t be there.”
“What?” I gasp.
“No fucking way!” Caz shouts at the same time.
The rest of the clan retort just as loudly with deep frowns on their faces.
“I am not letting Willow get in the middle of this,” Caz declares. “My mate will go nowhere near the mess Selah creates.”
“He’s right, Hassha,” I add as I push out of my chair. “I’m not a fighter. I’m not saying I’m useless, but from where I come from, there aren’t just magical fights and brawls breaking out on my streets. It was generally safe. I’m not sure it’s wise to add me to this, plus it’d be a waste of your time.”
“Korah will guide you.” Hassha provides a gentle smile. “Many women on my island didn’t believe they could protect themselves, but they surprised themselves. It’s inside you. Don’t doubt it.” Her eyes soften while maintaining urgency. “I will also bring your brother’s ashes to Blackwater for you to do as you wish with them.”
My throat closes in on itself at the mention of Warren. With all this talk of the unknown Regal Yuri, the past of Vakeeli, and Caz being the chosen one, I allowed his death to momentarily slip my mind.
I swallow to block the emotion, but my throat is still thick. Caz shifts closer to me, the back of his hand brushing against my forearm.
It’s all right , I hear him say.
As if she senses the buildup of emotion too, Hassha walks around the table to take my hands in hers. “You must believe me when I say if there were any other way, Willow, I’d have spared Warren. I promise you. The last thing I wanted was for him to die. Things with Selah were never supposed to escalate this soon. We thought we had more time.”
“It still wasn’t right. You should’ve let me see him one last time, at least,” I tell her, voice cracking.
“It wasn’t safe.” She pauses, like she’s searching for the proper words. “The closer you were to him, the easier you would’ve been to taint. Your mind would’ve become just as corrupt as his did. That’s what Selah does. Those whispers she plants into your head, the nightmares, the lies—it morphs into something that cannot be tamed or controlled. Warren was lost long before we made our decision. We just held out and hoped things would change the harder we tried. They never did.”
I sigh. Though she’s being kind, I’m still pissed about what she and Korah did without even telling us. They could’ve at least let me make the decision to put him down, but they didn’t.
At the end of the day, they murdered him, and I’ll never get to see or speak to him again. He was the only blood relative I had left—the only one I relied on. We were siblings who shared a womb. A bond like that doesn’t just go away.
“I understand your anger.” Hassha steps back to press her lips. “But we still need you. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, tell me and I will do it. Whatever it is, it will be a debt I am willing to pay.”
I hold her multi-colored gaze for a split second before dropping mine and nodding. “If I think of something, I will.”
“Good.” She turns her attention to Maeve and Juniper. “I’m glad you two are already fighters,” she says, causing them to shift in their chairs. Caz’s clan has been rather speechless since the memory of Vakeeli’s past.
I mean, there are simply no words for what we saw. It felt like a fever dream. We could see everything so vividly, feel the weight of every single emotion, their heartache, hear the wail of the children. Everything.
“Maeve, I don’t expect you to partake in this fight, but Juniper has proven herself to be quite useful.” Hassha smiles at Juniper as she perks up in her seat. “It’s that feminine rage inside you, that demand for respect that this world needs. You’ll let nothing stand in your way.”
Juniper twists her lips to fight a smile. “I can’t guarantee anything, but you’re right. I am pretty badass.”
“I don’t want the women of my clan involved in this, Hassha,” Caz counters.
“That’s not for you to decide.” She studies each of us again, eyes flashing as she scans for something. “They’ve all made their decision anyway. You’ll have to take it up with them.” Hassha walks past him but not before saying, “I will return within a few hours with Korah at my side. Prepare your best swords, and if you don’t have any, have them made. As far as your treasured guns, I suggest you make as many bullets as you can so that I and Korah can grace them with our energy and use Caz’s blood to increase their power.”
With one last look at everyone, she vanishes, and Caz huffs as Juniper and Maeve murmur to each other. Killian and Rowan lumber toward us.
“So, I don’t know if it was just me,” Rowan says, scratching his head, “but what I gathered most from those memories is that she was fucking her brother and then had his babies.” He plants both hands on his hips, looking at all of us.
“Oh, Row, come on! Shut up,” Juniper yells.
“I mean, are we really just going to ignore the incest part?” Rowan breaks out in a laugh, and I can’t help smiling.
“To be fair, all the gods of Earth used to fuck each other too,” I say, shrugging. “Can’t say this surprises me. It’s different for immortal people, I guess.”
“You’re kidding,” Rowan chortles. “Fuck me, that’s nasty. I need a drink.”
“Get an order on the weapons, then you can have your drink,” Caz says. “We need to start on this sooner rather than later.”