Chapter 16 Carla
CARLA
The next Day
The pieces click together, creating what looks like an intricate puzzle box with glowing circuits running through its frame.
I’m supposed to go to limbo now, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Something about this tells me I’m not coming back if I leave, and it’s going to break me to never see Amari again. My stomach twists into knots, my hands trembling with anxiety.
Last night. God, last night. The way he took me from behind, the way his fingers played with my ass while he pounded into me, his other hand gripping my hip so hard I know there are bruises. The memory makes heat pool between my thighs. I want him to do it again. Soon.
I catch myself smoothing my hand over my dress in embarrassment when Bobby clears his throat.
I look up. Amari’s giving me a seductive look, licking his lips slowly, then biting his bottom lip.
He knows exactly what I’m thinking about.
He furrows his brow and gives me a playful grin, his golden eyes glinting with hunger. “You need me, baby?”
My legs quiver a little. “Nope.” It’s a lie, and I know Amari can see right through me. Or should I say smell? The scent of my arousal betrays me every time.
He pats Bobby on the shoulder. Bobby continues to focus on putting the contraption together, his hands steady and sure as Amari approaches me. Each step he takes makes my heart pound harder.
“I wanted to see you one more time before I have to leave.”
He pulls me into his arms, and I melt against him. “I was going to go looking for you.”
I wrap my arms around him and pull him into a deep, passionate kiss.
My lips part for him and his tongue slides against mine.
I feel Amari pour his heart into it, his hands gripping my hips possessively, fingers digging into my flesh through the fabric of my dress.
When he pulls back, we’re both breathing hard.
He grabs my hand and pulls it to his lips, gently kissing the back of it. I have to force myself to pull away. “Hurry up and go before I lose my nerve.”
Tofi suddenly appears with Noki by her side, approaching Amari. Their legs click softly against the floor.
“What are you two doing here?” Amari asks them, crouching down.
Tofi sends him images of protecting Daddy, fierce and clear, and they skitter away to take up positions near the doorway.
“Look at them bonding.”
He stands, smiling. “One problem down. Now one more to go.”
My hands shimmer with pink magic, the familiar tingle spreading through my fingers. I open the portal to limbo, the familiar void appearing before me like a tear in reality. The darkness beyond is absolute, swallowing light.
“Hurry back to me.” His voice is rough with emotion.
I look back at him. “I’ll try to make it quick.”
I step through into the void of limbo, looking back at him when he calls out, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I close the portal, severing our connection. The emptiness of limbo presses against me immediately. Of course, Aya’s standing right in front of me the moment I turn around. Her ghostly form flickers, that damn cloak billowing around her even though there’s no wind here.
“I hope you’re all rejuvenated now that you’ve gotten your insides dug out by your man.”
I glare at her. “You’re fucking gross.”
“You’re the savior of limbo. I have a job to do and you have a job to do.” She steps closer, her form solidifying slightly. “Enough of this bickering bullshit. Your children are running on fumes. It’s time to put this to rest. Call them off. Send them back to the living.”
“What?”
“Do you want to lose one?” Her voice is sharp, cutting.
I take in a sharp breath. The thought of losing any of my children makes panic spike through me. My magic pulses, pink hues forming an elegant web around me that spirals outward like gossamer threads. “Children, go home. Mommy’s got it from here.”
At my words, Aya smirks. My children suddenly appear from the darkness, hundreds of them emerging from the void, their legs clicking in unison as they run toward me.
Some are small, no bigger than my hand. Others are massive, their bodies sleek and powerful.
I open a portal to the forest of Medina Shadow and they run through it, chittering happily at the break from limbo.
I smile as many of them pass. They’ve grown so much. They’ve been feeding well.
Moria and Kemnebi approach me but don’t go through the portal. They send images to me, clear and insistent. No, Mommy. Stay. Protect.
“I have Verto. I need you to do this for me. I need you to protect Amari. Do it for Mommy.”
I smile at their visible frustration, their legs tapping an agitated rhythm against the void’s floor, but they do as I ask.
They scuttle through the portal reluctantly, looking back at me one last time before disappearing.
I close the portal with a wave of my hand.
Then I see Verto, who has to stay permanently in limbo due to his massive size.
“It’s just you and me, Verto, my big baby.”
The first tightened version. The detail about feeling the chitin and magic is much more interesting and specific than “graceful movements.” Also, you already said “massive” twice in close proximity—cutting the first sentence shorter helps with that too.
“I don’t understand why you’re so repulsed by him. He’s made of my children and your magic.”
“This isn’t what I stood for.”
I turn to her, anger flaring. “Oh really? You ordered the deaths of many supernaturals and their fated mates because you wanted their children.”
“Yeah, that. But this...” She gestures to Verto, who is completely ignoring her, his many eyes focused solely on me. “Not my idea at all.”
“Whatever.” I step away from him and walk around Aya, my feet making no sound in the void. I look around the darkness, searching for any sign of movement. “What now?”
“We wait. Nathaniel’s been waiting for this moment. To have you alone with him.”
I glare at Aya. “How do I know you’re not setting me up?”
“You don’t. But you have faith in Fate.”
I start to respond, but suddenly, a door appears in the void. It’s ornate, carved with symbols that pulse with blue light. The kind of door that belongs in a castle, not floating in nothingness.
I look at Aya. “I don’t even know how to fight him.”
“But I do. Just listen to me and I’ll get you through it.” Her voice is serious for once, no trace of her usual sarcasm.
The door swings open. I take a step back as Nathaniel confidently steps through, shutting it behind him with a boom that dies instantly in the emptiness. Verto immediately goes into defense mode, his body tensing, legs spreading wide, but I hold up my hand, stopping him.
Nathaniel is tall and imposing, easily over six feet, with deep mahogany skin and features sharper than Henry’s—high cheekbones, strong jaw, eyes full of malice.
“The mighty Carla Blackwood, the Spider Queen. Finally have time for a chat.”
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you aren’t getting away with this.” I square my shoulders, refusing to show fear even though my heart is pounding.
Nathaniel laughs, the sound dark and rich. “I’m the biggest threat to Wintermoon. Not Aya, the traitorous bitch.”
Aya smirks at that. “When I was under dark magic, you served your purpose.”
“When I finally possess the body of your nephew, I’m going to deal with you first.” His eyes flash with blue light.
“Ummm, don’t threaten me with a good time.”
“What the fuck do you want?” I spit out, my hands already glowing with pink magic.
“Exactly what Brookstone and Blackburn wants. Power.” He steps closer.
“You Blackwoods have no idea the power you hold and I’m sick of watching you waste away again and again.
It’s pissing me off.” His voice rises with each word.
“You’re wasting away all this power for love.
How pathetic. Having Tabatha here was more fun.
At least I got the entertainment of a good brawl here and there. ”
“And now I’m about to end you.” I tell him.
Nathaniel grins, and the expression is predatory. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, but you’re about to find out.”
He moves first. Blue magic streaked with black erupts from his hands, a massive bolt that crackles through the air like lightning.
I barely throw up a shield in time, pink webbing bursting to life in front of me, forming an intricate lattice pattern.
The impact is devastating. The force sends me stumbling back several feet, my arms shaking from the effort of holding the shield.
He’s stronger. Much stronger. Solomon’s magic pulses through him, amplifying his power beyond what it should be.
“Shield up!” Aya barks from somewhere behind me. “Counter with a web spell, aim for his chest!”
I drop my shield and immediately cast, pink webbing flying from my fingertips in thick ropes. It spirals through the air toward him. He dodges with inhuman speed, his form blurring, and my webs hit the void behind him, disappearing into nothing.
“Too slow!” Nathaniel taunts. “Is this really the best the Queen of Limbo has to offer?”
He sends another blast. I roll to the side, the magic scorching past me so close I can feel the heat. I come up casting, sending multiple web spells at once. They spread out like a net, trying to box him in. He leaps impossibly high, twisting in midair, and lands behind me.
Before I can turn, Verto suddenly intervenes. His massive legs slam down, shaking the void itself. He catches Nathaniel with one enormous leg, sending him crashing to the ground.”Good boy, Verto!” I shout.
But then the mob of spirits finally appears. They pour out of the darkness like a plague, hundreds of them, maybe thousands, their forms translucent and writhing. They swarm toward us, their wails echoing through the void in overlapping waves.
“Oh shit,” Aya and I say at the same time.