She sighed. “I will admit, the anger seeps in where it does not belong. That is why I garden.”
“You garden?”
“It is the only way I stay sane. Would you like to see? Of course you would.” Before I could answer, she rang a bell, and servants poured into the room. “A coat for my guest, and for Louis the sixteenth.”
I followed Queen Mavia down a long hall as servants rushed about, bundling me up with a fur coat, mittens, and a round fuzzy hat. I could technically keep myself warm with Spark’s magic, but I wasn’t about to step on the queen’s hospitality.
They bundled Louis up so thickly, I wasn’t sure his legs could move. One of the servants carried him as we strode along the hall. An attendant swung a side door open, and we stepped into the bitter air.
My breath caught. Not from the cold, but from the gorgeous sight ahead. A vast garden of ice sculptures stretched before us, glinting in prismatic colors beneath the sun. “It’s beautiful.”
“I think so. I spend every day in my garden, creating new pieces. It clears my mind.”
We descended a flight of shoveled steps and walked along a salted path that wound through the garden.
Rocks were covered with spiky bits of icy snow, like tufts of grass, or porcupines. The ice sculptures were organic, almost plant like.
“They are truly wonderous,” I whispered.
“I’ve had centuries of practice, but then again, I have a natural eye for art.”
Louis’s legs apparently still worked despite his heavy coat. He bounded through the garden, popping up and down like a ping pong ball.
Mavia gestured to the beautiful sculptures. “If you survive past the next few days, remember this—do something for yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
She called a gentle breeze and began shaping fresh snow into a new sculpture. “The ability to grant wishes is our curse. Everyone will know what you can do—that you could make them rich beyond their wildest dreams, or that you could make their problems go away with a flick of the wrist.”
She snapped her fingers, and the sculpture exploded into burst of snow. “You will never be free of it. The incessant begging, the simpering, the judging, the needing. You will never know who your true friends are, and who is playing the game. That is why I live here. Alone. Except for Louis and his long line of ancestors.”
She looked longingly at the cross-eyed dog rolling in the snow. “He has no idea what I can do. All he wants is love. And treats. But I’m stingy with those, otherwise he’ll get fat. Fatter.”
It was impossible to be sad in the face of Louis’s snow-mad exuberance, but my heart ached for Mavia. So alone.
“You live alone here? What happened to my great-great-great grandfather?”
She fixed me with icy eyes. “I got rid of him. As I told you, everything will change. Your friends, your family, your lovers. They will drain you dry, drop by drop. Every time you grant a wish, you give away a little of your soul. It may not seem like much, or even be noticeable at first. But if you live long enough, you’ll start to feel something missing, and you’ll always wonder what exactly you gave up.”
14
Neve
Mavia didn’t talk much the rest of our walk, as if our conversation had drained her completely. Had I taken a little of her soul with all my questions?
How long had it been since she’d simply talked to anyone? She’d probably spoken more openly with me than anyone in a century. Or more.
She was beautiful and cold, a reflection of the ice palace she’d built around herself. That she’d built to keep others out.
Was this my fate, whittled away by the needs of others until all that was left were anger and isolation?
We exited the ice garden, and I shivered, though not from the cold. “Your Majesty, I was wondering if I might ask a favor.”
A flock of servants met us at the stairs. One scooped up Louis, while a pair opened the doors.
Mavia turned with an exaggerated sigh. “You’re pushing your luck, new djinn. What is it that you need now?”
“I’m returning to Magic Side, but I have a target on my back. Would it be possible for my parents to stay here for a few days until we get rid of the demon and his army? We’ve been apart for so long. I don’t want to put them in harm’s way. I have no doubt Matthias would use them to leverage me. They would be safe here…”
Her stare was as cold as ice, and I didn’t dare breathe in the intervening silence.
She finally melted, slightly. “Fine. But they’re not sharing meals with me. Or conversations.”
I smiled. “I think they’ll be amenable to that.”
The queen nodded, and her servants opened a door into the warmly lit great hall. Mother, father, and Rhiannon sat around a hearth, while Damian leaned against the wall.
I stepped through, but Mavia didn’t follow. “This is where I leave you. I wish you the best of luck changing the world. Just don’t change it too much.”
Not really knowing how I should respond, I bowed. “Thank you so much for your guidance, Your Majesty. I will try to pay you back.”
She started to leave but paused. “I can tell you have a warm heart and fierce sense of loyalty, but the world has changed for you, and it will never go back. Trust no one. Your power is the prize in a game that everyone is playing. Friends. Lovers. Enemies. They all want a thin slice of your soul.” She looked pointedly at Damian. “Or all of it. Be warned.”
Mavia’s attendants shut the door soundly.
Damian was at my side in an instant, deep concern blazing in his eyes. “You were gone a while. Did you get what you needed?”
His signature rolled over me, taking me back to that spot along the shore between the forest and the sea. It was all I wanted.
“Yes, I got a little clarity.” I measured the man, tracing the lines of his face and body. So strong. So beautiful. So perfect. Would he drain me drop by drop as Mavia had said?
I knew the danger of getting close. Hell, I’d been repeating it over and over in my head since I’d found out he was a FireSoul. He’d hurt me with his lies, yet who was I to call the kettle black? I’d done the same to keep my nature secret.
Damian had always stood by my side and protected me when no one else could, and the truth was, the threat that Damian posed to me no longer seemed so dire. That was becoming more evident the more time we spent together.
Something had changed between us.
My chest constricted at that sudden revelation, and I turned away, awkwardly shuffling to my parents across the room.
My mother hugged me as if I’d been gone for weeks or years, and I buried my face in her hair, trying to focus on anything but the growing unease in my stomach. “You survived. I was so worried she’d turn you into an ice sculpture and plant you in that horrid garden of hers.”
I brushed my mother’s hair out of my face and gave her a squeeze. “She’s not so bad, once you get to know her.”
My mother snorted.
“Where to next?” my father asked.
I grimaced and looked at my mother. “You’re not going to like this, but Rhia, Damian, and I are headed back to Magic Side, and I’ve arranged for the two of you to stay here until we can get rid of Matthias.”
Anger streaked my mother’s face, and she crossed her arms. “Absolutely not! I haven’t survived fifteen years in the Realm of Earth to be entombed in an ice palace! We’re coming with you. I’ve been daydreaming about the different spells I’m going to sling at the man who’s causing my daughter so many problems!”
“No. I’m sorry, but it’s just too risky. If Matthias hurt you, or found a way to use you against me, I would never forgive myself. Now that I have you back, I’d do anything to protect you. Even spend a thousand years in a genie bottle if that’s what it took.”
My mother paled but didn’t back down. Our argument spiraled around and around like a whirlwind, until we were both exhausted. Luckily, my father dealt the final blow. “
I hate it, but Neve’s right, dear. In this battle, we’re a liability. We need to let her go.”
All the fight drained out of my mother as she burst into tears. She held me close as we said our goodbyes.
She dried her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re leaving us with that woman. You owe me decades of lost-daughter time. Mother and daughter margaritas in Cancun, as soon as you’re back.”
“I have every faith in you. I always knew you would be someone great.” My father hugged me tight. “Just remember, we choose our own paths.”
Rhiannon pulled us apart, doing the essential best friend duty. “Time to go.”
I nodded and watched my parents. My father had chosen a different path than Mavia, and he and my mother were happy. Sure, he wasn’t a full djinn like me, but the fact that he’d chosen not to live a life of loneliness and fear had to mean something.
I joined Rhiannon and Damian and took their hands. “Time to go kick Matthias’s ass. Where to?”
Damian watched me closely with an expression that was unreadable. “Magic Side. My house. We’ll gear up and make a plan.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on Damian’s kitchen, where Rhia and I had kicked back a bottle of wine just a few days ago. It felt like months.
“Goodbye. I love you,” I said to my parents, my voice breaking.
The ice palace dissolved as the ether whirled around us, and we shot through the cosmos like a shooting star.
15
Neve
My grandmother’s words replayed in my head as the ether deposited us in Damian’s study: You’ll never know who your true friends are, and who is playing the game.
I recalled how I’d led my life since I’d lost my parents—alone and afraid of trusting anyone, apart from Rhia.
But my father hadn’t chosen that fate, and his voice resounded in my mind: We choose our own paths.
Rhia’s phone launched into a vibrating fit as text messages flooded in. Where was my phone? I’d given it to her before the wish. I searched the study and found it on Damian’s desk, nearly out of battery. I had two missed calls from Zara and several texts.
Where the hells are you? Call me ASAP.
Without bothering to listen to the voicemails, I dialed Zara and put her on speaker phone. Rhia and Damian huddled around to listen.
“It’s about time, Scully. Where have you been?” Zara’s voice was tinged with irritation and anxiety.
“Sorry, I was uh…” Damian cast me a sharp look, and I cleared my throat. “Busy, meeting some old acquaintances.”
Zara had helped us before, but she was Matthias’s daughter. Fates knew she wasn’t trustworthy. Even if my grandmother was a badass djinn queen, I wouldn’t risk Matthias using my parents as leverage.
“Whatever, that’s great.” Zara said sharply. “Things have escalated after your gig in Apollonia. Matthias is pissed!”
I grinned. Of course he was. We cut the power source he was using to stabilize his new realm.
“Anyways,” Zara continued. “I thought you should know that he’s made a pact with the underworld lords to draw magic from the hells. Not sure what exactly that entails, but it has to do with powering his new place or something. They’ve opened some kind of gateway that allows magic and demons to flow through, but he had to weaken the veil to the underworld to do it. Does this make any sense to you?”
My stomach clenched. A pact with the underworld lords and a gateway to the hells. That sounded unbelievably bad. And we’d driven him to it by cutting off his power source at Apollonia.
One step forward, three leaps back.
I tried to calm my voice. “Yeah, that makes some sense. Thanks, Zara, I appreciate the heads up. Anything else?”
“Yup, he’s hunting two genies. One is a dao in some catacombs in one of the realms. And the other is, well, you. Like I said, he’s fucking pissed, and he wants your head, so you better watch out. That’s all I’ve got. Just don’t forget our blood oath, Neve.” Zara hung up before I could respond.
Rhiannon looked up from her phone. “Blood oath? What did you do?”
“I vowed to not kill Matthias. To bring him in alive.”
She sucked wind through her teeth. “Yikes. That might get difficult. What happens if you break the blood oath, and oh, accidently rip the asshole to pieces?”
Damian’s jaw clenched, and rage crept into his gravelly voice. “She’ll suffer from blood poisoning. Her blood will burn her veins for the rest of her life.”
He turned his gaze to me. “No matter the cost, I will not let that happen.”
Fates. The way he was looking at me made the blood burn in my veins. I paced the study, keeping my gaze anywhere but on Damian. The tension in him was palpable, and it stoked a fire inside me. I tried to get control of my body, which inexplicably wanted to rage against him and rip off his clothes. Now was not the time.
Grimacing, I rubbed my temples, forcing that image out of my mind before a real-life reenactment followed. “This sounds bad. But does it change our plan?”
“It changes everything about it. If Matthias has made a pact with one of the Lords of Hell, he’ll have near infinite resources. An unlimited army. Worse, if he’s weakened the veil between the worlds, demons will start slipping through into Magic Side. If it breaks, hell’s creatures would have free rein over our world.”
Silence filled the room. Rhiannon looked like she was about to throw up, and I didn’t blame her. We were paddling upstream of Niagara Falls in a sinking canoe without paddles.
My heartbeat thudded in my ears, and part of me wanted to pack up and planes-walk us all as far away from this shitstorm as possible.
Of course, we couldn’t. Magic Side was my home, and Matthias needed to be stopped. I’d lived most of my life terrified of people like him and what he was trying to do to me.
No more living in fear.
I straightened my spine. “This doesn’t change our plans. We’ll need to strike a soon as possible, infiltrate the citadel, and take Matthias out. I don’t think your team of assassins is going to be enough. I’ll call the Order.”
“No,” Damian growled. Flames burst down his arms, eliciting a flurry of conflicting emotions in my belly. “Matthias has opened a gate to hell. This is no longer a war for mortals. We need the help of the Watchers. They’re the only ones with the power and numbers to take down Matthias’s forces. Reaching an understanding with them is our only viable path forward.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
The Watchers were an almost mythical Order of Angels—dispassionate sentinels that seldom intervened in the world. They were above the laws of the Great Peace that separated humans and Magica, and the only ones with the right to directly intervene in human affairs. They were also known to be ruthless and would do just about anything to restore balance and order, even if that meant unleashing a wave of destruction to accomplish it.
I didn’t know the details of Damian’s fall from heaven, but afterward, he’d aligned himself with Matthias and fought against them. The Watchers were his sworn enemies and not known for their willingness to forgive.
“Are you certain?” I asked.
Damian looked murderous, and his signature flared, despite his best efforts to contain it. “If the veil between the underworld and earth comes down, the Watchers will get involved, one way or the other. But we need to do it before Magic Side is overrun.”
Dread rose in my throat. Going to the angels would be perilous for him. But even with the archmages, the Order didn’t have the resources to battle the unlimited forces of hell.
I took a deep breath. “How do we contact them?”
Damian crossed to the desk in the corner and knelt to open the bottom drawer. “I have a contact in Armenia. I’ll go tonight.”
“Aren’t they your sworn enemies?”
“Yes.” Damian closed the drawer and stood, slipping a small black box into his pocket.
“And what will they do when you show up on their doorstep?
”
Damian set his jaw.
I shook my head. “Send me. I’ll negotiate.”
“They won’t listen to a mortal, no matter how powerful. They consider you sheep. Shepherds guard sheep but don’t negotiate with them.”
My anger flared, and a slight wind picked up around me. “Fine, but I am coming with.”
“Sorry, Neve, but—”
I grabbed his lapel and pulled him close. “I am coming with. I’m in danger here. You’re in danger there. We go together. This is not a negotiation, but a statement of the way this is going to happen.”
Damian’s body tensed. Finally, his lips twitched up at my words. “Fine. Together.”
His eyes were deep forests. We were so close that I could feel his heart pounding against my palm. His scent and that ferocious gaze lit an inferno of desire deep in my belly. I lowered my gaze to his lips, and—
“Great! So, we have a plan,” Rhia chirped.
I jumped back, heat flooding my face.
She grinned. “You two go make nice with the angels. I’ll warn Gretchen about what’s going on. If the hells really are about to break open, we’d better beef up security around Magic Side in preparation.”
She stood, wrapped her arms around me, and whispered. “You sure you’ll be all right without me?”
I squeezed her back. “I’ll be fine.”
Much to my surprise, I meant it. My stomach churned. Not from fear, but excitement. Whatever darkness Damian had inside him, I was no longer afraid.
Rhia scooped up her jacket and winked at me. “I expect a full report.”
Of course she did. I smirked and waved as she left.
Damian watched me closely. “You need food and rest, and I’ll need to put a few things in order before we leave.”
I shook my head. “We should get going now.”
“Absolutely not. After what you’ve been through in the last day, you need sleep to get your strength back. If you keep pushing past your limits, you’re going to become a liability.”
Truth.
Broken Skies: Dragon’s Gift: The Storm Book 4 Page 10