by G. K. DeRosa
“Which is exactly why he should be the one to undo it,” continued Celeste.
“We can’t trust him,” said Nico. “Not after what you said about him knowing about the ring’s effect on you and what Mom just said about him plotting something big with the dark Negrusurori blood running through him.”
Celeste pushed on regardless. “Maybe we don’t have to trust him to get his help. If there’s one thing we know, he does love her. I bet he’d do whatever he could to save her, even if that meant working together with us.”
Lilliana’s pale figure suddenly appeared in the kitchen doorway silencing the conversation. Nico and Roman ran to either side of her sliding their arms around her back for support. “What are you doing on your feet, Mom? You should be resting,” said Nico as he looked into her haggard face.
She shook her head adamantly. “There is too much to be done.” She glanced over at Stellan’s guilty face and saw matching worried expressions on her sons’ faces. She knew right away that her secret was out.
“Stellan—” she began but he cut her off before she could continue.
“I’m not going to apologize this time, Lilliana. The boys needed to know the truth.”
“You shouldn’t have tried to keep this from us,” said Roman with a scowl. “Now that we know, we can all work together to figure this out.”
Lilliana reached out her hand and cupped his cheek. “My darling son, there is nothing to figure out. I was fortunate enough to have a second chance at life and though fleeting, I do not wish to waste a moment of it.”
Roman looked at her with tear-filled eyes. “I won’t let anyone take you away from us again. We’ll go to Marja, to the Albusurori, even to Alek. I’ll go to the ends of the earth to find a cure for you.”
She gave him a sad smile and threw her shoulders back trying to stand as tall as possible. “First things first. We must find out what Alek is plotting and with whom. Then we must be sure to assemble the supernaturals to put an end to the Queen’s daughter’s misdoings.”
“Are you out of your mind?” asked Roman. “You can’t handle any of that.”
She turned to her son and jabbed her finger into his chest. “I may be sick and possibly dying, but I am still your mother and I say what I will and will not do. I refuse to live out my last few days in bed like an invalid.”
Roman stepped back when he saw the determined look in his mother’s eyes, noting that it reminded him of the look Celeste frequently got.
“We need to assemble the gathering as soon as possible,” said Lilliana. “I don’t know how much longer my magic will be strong enough to display your vision to the others.”
“Are you sure?” asked Celeste, taking a step toward Lilliana. She knew how much power it would take to achieve such a feat, and from the looks of her, Lilliana didn’t seem to have power to spare.
“I promised you I would do it and I do not intend to go back on my word. My family has been protecting guardians for centuries, and I certainly do not intend to stop now.”
“Before you arrived,” said Marco cautiously, “we were getting ready to split up and contact the heads of the supernatural communities.”
“Very well then, don’t let me stop you. I will have Marja come here and enlist her help with the other covens.” Roman and Nico looked at her stubbornly, refusing to leave her side. “That means you too. Don’t you each have somewhere you need to be?”
“We were supposed to be in charge of getting you back from Alek,” said Nico, “so really our part is done.”
“Fine, since I know how much you two love your older brother, you can be in charge of discovering what exactly he is planning. It’s essential we find out so that we can stop him before he does something truly unforgivable.”
Roman’s eyes lit up as a smile began to form at the edge of his lips. “Now that we can do.”
Chapter 22
“Mother!” bellowed Alek, his voice echoing through the deserted villa as he searched frantically around the space. With every step he took, the anger grew inside of him as his worst suspicions were confirmed. Swinging open the door to the rooftop terrazzo and finding it empty as well, he let out a frustrated howl. “How could you leave me again, Mother?” he shouted into the wind. This was all his brothers’ and Stellan’s doing. Alek was convinced that they had poisoned his mother against him. There was no time to waste—he had to seek retribution immediately.
Alek snapped his fingers and his cell phone appeared in the palm of his hand. He began frantically composing a message to Dante. The timeline would have to be moved up. He had tried to protect his mother from the inevitable but she had clearly chosen her side and now she would have to deal with the ramifications of her erroneous decision. He pressed send and whirled back toward the terrace door, eager to put an end to his brothers once and for all.
“Alek,” came a delicate voice from behind him.
He spun back around and saw Dalla standing before him holding a lilac parasol over her head to shield herself from the mid-morning heat. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright sun then took a few steps toward him.
“What are you thinking coming to my house unannounced?” reprimanded Alek.
She narrowed her eyes at him in response to the frosty welcome. She had come here to warn him after all. “I know that Lilliana is not here.”
“And how do you know that?” he asked.
“I just left a very interesting Council meeting with none other than Celeste Wilder.”
“And? What of it?”
Alek’s caustic attitude was not making it any easier on Dalla, but she clenched her teeth and continued regardless of his insolent behavior. “I’ve come to warn you. I hadn’t had a chance to get away, but when Lilliana met with the Council a few days ago, she promised to alert them of any suspicious behavior on your part. And now I understand that Lilliana is back in Oak Bluffs after you had guaranteed she would be out of the way.”
“Yes, well, my mother has proven to be a little more difficult to manage than I had originally thought.”
“And what has driven her to run to Stellan and her sons this time?” questioned Dalla.
“I don’t know,” replied Alek, his voice laced with bitterness.
“Is it possible that she knows something of our plans?”
“No,” he said shaking his head adamantly, “I have been extremely careful.”
Dalla wrinkled her dainty brows. “I don’t like having her in Oak Bluffs, Alek. If she finds out that we are allies, everything I’ve worked so hard for will be lost. I’ll be banished from the Albusurori and thrown out of the Council. I’ll end up in a cell just like that stupid werewolf Brazen.”
“No one will find out what we have planned. Once my brothers are dead, everyone will assume I was solely responsible. You will have the Albsurori ring back and will become the next head of the coven, and Gianpaolo will get the marriage he so desires for his son.”
“And you will have your Mother back? Do you think she will so easily forgive you for killing her sons?”
“She will in time,” he said with a sigh.
Dalla gave him a skeptical glance. “If you say so.”
“Is that all?” he asked dismissively, turning away from her. “I have much to do today.”
“No, it’s not actually. I thought you’d like to know that Celeste is planning an assembly of all the heads of the supernatural population in Oak Bluffs.”
Alek’s eyes widened, his interest piqued as he rotated back toward her. “What for?”
“Because of what you told her about her father.”
A wide grin twisted the corners of his mouth. “Ah, so our little Guardian has done some research.”
“She’s done more than that. She knows that Astrid was there the night that her father was killed. She had a vision of it.”
“My, her powers have gotten stronger,” he said with a note of admiration.
“I know you have a close relationship with the Queen of
the Fae and thought perhaps you’d be interested,” continued Dalla.
Alek nodded as the gears rotated in his mind. “Does she know about the Queen’s involvement?”
“No, not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Lilliana will be helping her and with the addition of her magic, they will surely unlock the truth.”
“Hmm,” murmured Alek. This was quite a quandary. Elsbetta had raised him as a child and he had always considered her an ally, but involving himself further in this cover-up could prove too risky. He must concentrate on the elimination of his brothers. On the other hand, if he warned the Queen of their intentions he might gain another powerful partner in his fight against the Constantins, Stellan and the bothersome guardian.
“What are you going to do?” asked Dalla when Alek had been silent for a few minutes.
“I’m not sure yet,” he responded. “I have already spoken to Gianpaolo and have told him that we will be moving up the schedule. I can feel the strength of the Negrusurori blood coursing through me. After the final trial tonight, I will be ready.”
“Fine. I will return at midnight and once it has been complete, my involvement with you will be over.”
“Of course my dear, at least until it is time to collect your great ring, that is?”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile and disappeared, her pretty lilac parasol vanishing into thin air.
Alek hurried back down the steps to his study. Dalla had given him a lot to think about. He didn’t want to believe that his mother would turn him into the Council even if she had overheard his plotting. Regardless of what she had done, he was not going to risk any harm coming to her. Surely, if he protected her now, she would one day be able to forgive him for what he was about to do. Then there was the Queen: did he want to involve himself in such a tricky matter? He already had enough enemies and siding with Elsbetta and her errant daughter would do nothing to improve his reputation. It would certainly worsen his chances to ever receive absolution from Lilliana.
As all of these thoughts swam around in his mind, a loud knocking at the front door startled him. He waved his hand in front of his face and an image appeared before him as if he were staring directly through the peephole. “Stellan?” he murmured in surprise.
Hurrying down the stairs, Alek wondered what in the world Stellan could be doing at his home. A slight feeling of apprehension gripped his cold heart. He took the stairs two at a time as the foreboding intensified.
Opening the door just a crack, Alek peered through the narrow slit. “What are you doing here, sorcerer? Is it not enough that you have turned my mother against me and reneged on your promise?” He put on a false bravado, but in truth, the look on Stellan’s face only confirmed his qualms that something was wrong.
Stellan didn’t waste any time with pleasantries or threats. “I’ve come for your help to save your mother’s life.”
Alek’s face blanched as he held onto the doorknob for support. “What are you talking about?” he thundered, willing his voice to remain steady.
“Are you going to let me in or do you want to discuss this urgent matter through the door?”
Alek got a hold of himself and swung the door open. Stellan marched in and went straight to the sitting room where they had all had breakfast not too long ago. Alek followed behind him still struggling to process what he had said. “What have you done to her?” he asked as the two sat down across from each other.
Stellan stared at him coldly. “It’s nothing that I have done. In fact you are most likely the reason that she is dying.”
“You are out of your mind,” he spat back.
“Did you even bother to look into the spell you used to resurrect her?”
Alek looked away, his gaze dropping to the floor. “I did exactly as Fabian would have.” Doubt began creeping into his mind as he went over the spell in his head. He had always feared he wasn’t powerful enough to pull it off.
“Well, perhaps his dark magic would have been stronger than yours because it is not holding. You’ve been living with her for months. How could you miss that something was wrong?” Stellan asked accusatorily.
Alek had the decency to look abashed as bits and pieces about his mother’s recent strange behavior began coming together. “Why wouldn’t she have told me herself?”
“Because unlike you, she is a kind and caring person and didn’t want to cause you pain.”
Alek shot up from his seat. “I’ll fix it. I will not allow her to die again.”
“That’s why I am here. I was hoping that between the two of us we could find a solution.”
Alek looked at him incredulously. “You want us to work together?”
“It’s our best chance to help her. Believe me, it is not what I would prefer to be doing right now.” He snapped his fingers and a pile of books appeared on the coffee table. Alek sat back down and picked up the one on top and began skimming through it.
“This is all I could find on resurrection spells and cases that turned out less than optimally. Perhaps with our combined resources, we can find something to reverse what you’ve done.”
“There is no reversing a resurrection spell,” said Alek. “She would die immediately.” He furrowed his brows as a frown crossed his face.
Stellan let out a sigh and rubbed the sides of his head. “That was what I had found as well. I was hoping that you could use an alternate method.”
“Are you suggesting I use dark magic?” asked Alek with an evil twinkle in his eye.
Stellan slammed his fist down on the coffee table causing a few of the heavy books to clatter to the ground. “I’m suggesting you do whatever rests in your power to save Lilliana!”
Celeste scurried around Stellan’s kitchen opening cabinets, rifling through drawers and raiding the bare pantry. She let out a frustrated sigh when she couldn’t find anything she was searching for.
“What are you doing?” asked Roman, appearing beside her.
“How are we supposed to have a supernatural assembly without any drinks, snacks, plastic cups, plates or utensils?”
Roman couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. “Celeste, this isn’t a party. No one’s going to expect food and beverages to be provided.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I’ve never held one of these gatherings before and I just want to make sure everything goes perfectly.”
“Believe me, eating and drinking will be the last thing on most people’s minds,” he assured her.
She began tugging anxiously at a curl as she looked up at Roman. “I’m just so nervous. There’s so much riding on what happens today.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. The Werewolf Alliance has agreed to attend, Marja and the other three heads of the covens will be here and Dante and the Council will stand behind you no matter what happens.”
“What if the Queen doesn’t show up?” asked Celeste.
Roman put his strong hands on her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “She will. If nothing else, I’m sure Balthazar’s summon has piqued her interest.”
“I hope she believes that this really has something to do with her official complaint against Marco and me.”
“I’m sure she will,” interjected Lilliana, who had appeared in the doorway. She was looking a bit better than yesterday. The bags under her eyes weren’t quite as pronounced and the spark of light had returned to her clear blue eyes.
Roman hurried over to her and led her to a chair at the kitchen table. “Sit down, Mother, and I’ll make you some breakfast.”
She gave him an appreciative smile. “You boys are spoiling me. Between you and Nico, I haven’t done a thing for myself since I arrived.”
“You need to conserve your energy for the assembly tonight,” said Roman, trying to keep his voice level. Celeste knew he disapproved of what his mom was doing. Using so much magic when she was this weak was extremely dangerous. If anything happened to Lilliana it would be Celeste’s fault, and she doubted Roman would ever be
able to forgive her for that.
Celeste brought a glass of orange juice to Lilliana and sat down beside her. “It’s not too late to call this off,” she said.
Lilliana shook her head determinedly as she took a sip. “Everything has already been set in motion. We cannot back down now.”
Roman’s jaw tensed as he watched his mom. Celeste could feel the anxiety radiating off of him. “Mother, you must promise me that if you feel unable to handle the spell, you will stop. I will not allow this to be the cause of your demise.”
She reached out and took her son’s hand. “I will be fine, Roman. I have done this sort of thing many times before. I assure you, there is nothing to worry about.”
“Is there anything I can do to make it easier?” asked Celeste.
“Typically I would like to practice beforehand so that I could access the vision more quickly, but seeing that my sons are quite certain I will drop dead at any moment, I will wait until everyone has gathered.” She threw an accusatory glance at Roman then continued. “You must simply open up your mind to me and concentrate on the vision.”
Celeste nodded in an attempt to appear confident. The truth was the idea of someone rooting around in the dark recesses of her mind made her very nervous. What if Lilliana found something terrible? She wondered if she would be able to sense the evil that had taken hold of her. She looked down at the cloaked Albsurori ring still encircling her finger and again Celeste felt the contradictory feelings about continuing to wear it. “I should probably take this off before everyone gets here,” she said finally.
“No, don’t,” said Lilliana. “Its presence will help me channel your thoughts. Coupled with my Albsurori magic, it should provide a direct link.”
Celeste gulped audibly. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she wished it were six o’clock already.
Nico suddenly burst into the kitchen, his dark eyes twinkling with excitement. “I think we figured out what Alek is up to,” he exclaimed. Roman and Celeste hurried after him as he darted up the stairs to the library and Lilliana slowly followed a few steps behind. There they found Marco, Marie and Brian hunched over a stack of books on the long wooden table.