Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Willa's face hardened, her hands sparking with energy. As the three creatures lunged towards us, she effortlessly sent them flying back with bursts of powerful magic. She held her hands high, her mouth moving with the words of her spell—just as I’d seen Cordelia do so many times.
Torin and Robert remained on high alert, and I hovered my hand over the golden bracelet. But we didn’t have to intervene.
Willa created a powerful vortex of wind, bright tiny lights sparkling in her palms.
As the dogs opened their mouths wide, orange flames emerging deep from their throats, Willa waved her hands, and the swirling wind picked up the creatures and thrust them into the trees behind them.
As the dogs’ bodies reached the trees, the bare, dry branches straightened like swords, piercing through them. Painful howls cut through the forest, causing goose bumps to prickle on my neck.
She’d left no room for mercy.
“It’s always difficult to take a life,”—she glanced at me—“but sometimes there’s no other way. These creatures wouldn’t have given up on attacking us.”
As Willa dropped her hands by her sides, the bodies fell off the trees with a loud thud. Silence surrounded us, and no one spoke.
My mother lowered her gaze to the ground as if avoiding looking at the dead bodies. Her brows furrowed with emotional intensity, and her mouth drew into a tight line.
She let out a sigh, lifted her gaze, and walked to the trees. Willa knelt beside the lifeless forms, her expression a mix of sadness and regret as she whispered something over them.
Standing, she moved her hands, casting a spell, and opened the earth beneath them. The earth engulfed them, burying them in the soil.
We pressed on through the dark forest, following Milo. After a moment, Willa’s breaths started coming in short gasps. The air was damp and musty, clinging to my skin.
"Wait," Torin said, and we all stopped in our tracks. "We need to rest."
I sent him a grateful smile, and he nodded.
Willa’s face looked pale and drawn from exhaustion. We sank down onto the rough ground, letting the shadows envelop us as we caught our breaths.
“Breanna,” Willa said, “when we go to the human realm, it’ll be best not to see your father.”
She searched my face for…what exactly? Signs of disapproval?
"I should be regretful for altering your father’s life…
but I’m not because he gave me you,” she said, casting her gaze to the ground.
“I knew Brendan would have done anything to protect me from the fairy King, but involving him would have risked everything, especially since he already had his own family. But the mate bond was so strong, and I needed something to help me want to live on while imprisoned.”
Willa shook her head.
"I know it’s selfish, and I’m sorry,” she said and took a deep breath. “But because Brendan had already fully mated and marked his Queen, he couldn't have found me in the dream realm. That's why I, as a witch, entered his dream realm. It may have been a mistake, but I don't regret it.”
She placed her small hand over my shoulder, and warmth bloomed behind my rib cage. “You are the best part of my life, Breanna. If you didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have hung on for long. Your existence gave me hope and the will to live."
As I gazed into my mother’s brown eyes, the same color as mine, sympathy and compassion stirred in my chest. I tried to smile, but my lips trembled. As I listened to her explanations, her words bridged the distance between us. The sting of tears pricked my cheeks.
But I didn’t cry for the years lost with her; I cried for our future. I hoped I could spend time with her to develop just as deep a relationship as I had with my werewolf-adopted mother.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my palm. "So initially, you sought out your fated mate because you needed his help to escape the fairy prison, but then, seeing that he was already mated with his chosen mate, you gave up on the idea?"
Willa nodded. "Once I found out he was mated to his Queen, I knew I couldn't ask him to free me. But I couldn't deny the connection between us, so I asked him to give me you. I suggested an arrangement and asked him to think about it.
"Brendan didn't immediately agree. He took time to think it through and talked to his chosen mate about it. We decided that I would bear his heir since they couldn't have children of their own."
As she spoke, Willa's tears spilled over, and she reached out to cradle my face, her touch tender.
“You may find our arrangement strange, but as you grew inside me, I treasured you.” Her voice choked with tears. “And you gave me the strength to go on, dear.”
She’d loved me even when imprisoned in another realm. The impulse to start calling Willa Mom or Mother washed over me, but it felt too soon. I wanted to make space in my heart for the two women who cherished me.
"But when my situation here worsened, I knew I had to contact you. By then, you were a grown-up. The fairy King was getting closer to finding you, and I didn’t fully trust Hayden’s protection."
Torin glanced at me and nodded slightly, indicating it was time to leave. Starting our journey again, we moved cautiously through the dark, enchanted forest, the twisted branches above us casting eerie shadows on the ground.
Willa sighed, her eyes reflecting the weight of her memories. "I had no choice but to return to my prison. I couldn't risk putting the werewolf kingdom and everyone there in danger."
A shudder went through me, imagining my mother's suffering. How strong she must have been to endure all that.
"Hayden is not so different from his father, it seems. I only met him a few times when he was much younger. But when I found out the King was searching for you, I had no choice but to ask Hayden to protect you."
Her eyes filled with concern. "As he stayed close to you, I grew worried that your life would be as miserable as mine. I doubted my decision. That's when I thought about the plan with the books in which Milo helped me."
"But I knew I had to go slow because you still had so much to learn about yourself and your powers," Willa added, her voice soft but determined. "And now we're here together."
I smiled at her. “I figured you sent two books—one that provided me with the witch weapon,” I said, patting the golden material. “The other told me the location of the fairy realm portal. But why send me The Book of Shadows and Memories?”
Willa wiped her cheeks and attempted a smile. “I needed you to see Hayden’s past to learn about him and his true motivations so you can decide on your own how much to trust him. After all, he is the son of that evil man.”
But my mother couldn’t have predicted that I would have chosen differently.
I let out a sigh, putting one foot in front of the other.
Shadows played tricks with my vision as Milo led the way, his small form fluttering just ahead. My mother's presence beside me was both comforting and surreal. I still struggled to believe that she was here with me, that we were walking side by side after all these years apart.
"You mentioned that the former King sought you out among the witches in the fairy realm. What did he want from you?"
Hayden said his father wanted Willa to find The Book of Thoradis, so I had to be sure.
Willa glanced at me, her eyes reflecting pain. "He wanted immortality," she replied softly. "He wasn't satisfied with the long life of a fairy. He knew that only a light witch could find the magic book that would grant him the gift of immortality and power."
As we continued deeper into the forest, unnerving noises echoed around us.
My mother continued talking. “Of course, I wasn’t going to lead him to it, although I felt the book’s magic somewhere around the werewolf kingdom.
When I stayed just outside of the kingdom’s territory, the book called to me, but I didn’t follow.
I was too focused on making sure I had a healthy baby. ”
All this time, the book Hayden wanted was close to us.
The forest was a menacing labyrinth of twisted trees and thorny vines, their outstretched branches eager to ensnare us.
"Why did you ask Hayden to protect me?"
"Because I was desperate, Breanna," she replied, her voice thick with emotion. "I needed someone who could stand against the old King's wrath, and despite everything, I believed Hayden could keep you safe."
I’d never allowed myself to fully cave to Hayden or give in to the bond. Something deep down in my soul always stopped me from fully embracing or trusting him.
Willa placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Just remember that the heart is capable of seeing what the eyes cannot," she said, as if she knew my thoughts.
When we’d walked until nightfall, we decided to take cover. Torin and Robert would take turns staying alert while my mother and I slept, gaining energy for the next day when we expected to arrive at Milo’s family.
But my eyes couldn’t close. There was so much I wanted to ask my mother.
I stood at the edge of the dark forest, where the foliage began to fade into darkness. The moon's soft glow illuminated the twisting branches, casting eerie shadows on the ground below.
"Breanna…" Willa's voice sounded gentle, as if she were afraid to break the fragile silence that had settled around us. The silence comforted me, though, and no demonic dogs lurked nearby. "You need to know something about The Book of Thoradis."