by Kristie Cook
Shit. I hadn’t meant that.
“But I have you now,” she said, assuaging my guilt with that brilliant smile of hers. “And I’m not scared. Your powers are bound. Everyone just needs to realize that and relax. You can stay here with me until then.”
If only it’d be so easy. Our powers weren’t completely bound, though. When the Daemoni warlock blasted the curse that put Brie and me in a coma two years ago, the spell had only suppressed some of the magic within us, diminishing its strength. We still had enough sorcery, fae, and angelic magic, and it was growing stronger every day. Mom and Dad had been training us relentlessly the past couple of years in how to use that magic and control it. To the point that I knew they were scared. Of us, their children. I had a feeling they were about to tell us why the other day, but then the Daemoni attacked, their first outright attempt at trying to capture Brie and me.
If only everyone would understand that Brielle and I didn’t want anything to do with our real powers. We really did not want to destroy the world.
Demons, though—that was a different story. I’d gladly destroy them all.
We walked in silence past the next booth, where artificial limbs hung from hooks on the plywood walls. The shopkeeper watched us with one pale blue eye, the other covered with a patch, scratching his head with a prosthetic hand.
“I bet it will be sooner than later, too,” Dani continued with her unending optimism. “You’ll be out there fighting on your mom’s demon assassin squad before you know it. I do think it’s funny you despise them so much, considering you wouldn’t exist without them.”
I frowned at this. Nobody had ever put it that way. “They’re demons. They destroyed our world. Do I need more reason?”
She shrugged. “I suppose not. And I see why they would want to kill you—you’re a threat to them. A regular demon-killing machine from what I’ve heard. But—”
“You technically can’t kill demons,” Brielle interrupted. “You can only send them back to Hell.”
“Nobody can?” Dani asked.
“Nobody,” I confirmed.
“Well, still. I understand why the demons fear you. But why the fae? I thought they don’t like this world.”
I shrugged. “That’s a good question . . .”
I lost all train of thought when a three-sided tent stopped me in my tracks, making my breath catch, and I couldn’t stop myself from ducking inside. I’d never seen clothes so pretty. I didn’t know fabrics in such vibrant colors and rich textures even existed.
“Someone’s restored these beautifully,” Mom breathed from my side, startling me. She stared at a bright lavender dress with awe. She looked to be my and Brielle’s age, so we could be mistaken as sisters, but her hair was a dark coppery color, which ours used to be, until the curse forever changed it to a black so deep it was almost blue. I’d only ever seen our mother in leather corsets with black leather pants or in T-shirts and leggings. A bit of a shock rippled through me at the thought of her donning these colorful, feminine clothes, but I realized now she probably wore these in the Before time.
My own gaze caught on a blouse made of a red shimmery material that I couldn’t help but stroke. I nearly groaned out loud at its softness.
“That’s real silk,” Mom said. “It’s beautiful.”
My fingers traced over the yellow and orange embroidery along the bottom of the blouse that looked like flames. I sighed, knowing I’d look amazing in it.
“What do you have to trade?” asked the curly-haired woman who apparently owned the shop. She looked about Dani’s age, a couple of years older than me.
I glanced over at Mom, who shook her head. In an unusual move—I normally blocked her telepathy so she wouldn’t snoop on my thoughts—I opened my mind to her, and we silently debated.
“We have nothing to trade,” she finally said. “Everything on us is highly valuable.”
“Thread? Fabric?” the woman asked, her traveling down my front. “That corset would do.”
My hand flew between my breasts, pressing against the leather corset, and I laughed. “This is no ordinary leather. I don’t think your entire inventory is worth this.”
She scowled, and Mom quickly grabbed my shoulders and practically shoved me out of the tent.
“What?” I asked. “You just said so yourself. I’m pretty sure none of her beautiful clothes are enchanted like our leathers.”
“You’re right, honey. Just maybe next time say it a little nicer, okay? It’s called tact. We don’t want to tick off the locals our first day here.”
I shrugged. “I was just being honest.”
Aunt Vanessa, who’d been standing guard outside, snickered as she joined us, her white-blond hair almost silver in the bright sun. “For some people, that’s a problem. But don’t let it stop you.”
We caught up with Dad, Brielle, and Uncle Owen, at the next tent. They’d been enthralled with a sprawling table of old electronic gadgets that didn’t work anymore, considering all electrical components were fried by black magic.
“Look, there’s Papa,” Dani said, lifting her chin as her gaze focused across the street to a three-story brick building left over from the Before time. “That’s his new home, on the first floor. It was once the front half of a boutique.” I didn’t know what a boutique was but didn’t ask when she took my hand and tugged me that way. “Come on. I know he’ll be happy to see you.”
Brielle told our parents where we were going before following us over.
“Owen’s taking medical supplies back to the Loft,” Aunt Sheree said, joining us with Uncle Aidan right behind her. “Vanessa and Jax are guarding your parents while they meet with the mayor. You’re stuck with us.” She grinned, knowing we wouldn’t have a problem with that. Aunt Sheree, a tiger shifter, was the cool aunt we could go to with anything, and her mate Uncle Aidan, a Scottish gargoyle, always kept us laughing.
Papa Miguel greeted us all in his broken English, then spoke to Dani in Brazilian Portuguese.
“He asked if we can help him make dinner,” Dani said, translating. “We’re making feijoada, a stew from our home.”
The rest of the afternoon passed mostly in a blur, with certain moments seeming to freeze as they implanted themselves in my memory: Dani’s infectious laugh as she teased her papa; Brielle and Aunt Sheree dancing in the courtyard as they set out tables and chairs; Uncle Aidan kicking a ball with a couple of neighbor kids; Mom and Dad returning with Uncle Jax and Aunt Vanessa to enjoy the feast. I didn’t know life could be so . . . vibrant. If Charleigh and her mom, Aunt Blossom, were here, it would have been perfect. I could tell Uncle Jax, Charleigh’s dad, thought the same thing as he sat quietly by himself, watching everyone.
“I have something to show you,” Dani said after we’d finished eating. Night had fallen, and she tugged me into the small apartment. We dropped side-by-side onto an oversized chair, where her bag sat on the floor. She opened it, tilting it toward me to reveal red silk.
“Dani,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “How? When?”
She grinned. “I didn’t. I was going to, but your dad beat me to it. He and your mom wanted me to give it to you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn’t believe they’d all done that for me.
“I don’t deserve this,” I whispered.
“Of course you do. You should have something beautiful, Elliana Knight. You never know when you’ll get another chance.”
A feeling I’d never experienced before made my heart swell. Our gazes locked, and I felt the pull to lean in and kiss her, but Mom, Dad, Brielle, and Miguel came in just then, taking seats on the sofa and the only other chair. Sasha jumped between us and curled up on my lap. So instead, Dani and I shared a knowing smile, my stomach fluttering with anticipation for a moment I hoped we’d be able to steal later.
That moment never came.
Everything was fine one minute. Brielle had just come over from sitting with Mom while Dad and Miguel exchanged stories in P
ortuguese. Then the next minute, Mom and Dad were grabbing us and ordering us to flash away. Except we couldn’t. The magic that should have taken us out of there in a blink of an eye was blocked.
By the deepest, darkest energy I’d ever felt.
My beast sprang to her feet, pushing against the restraints on her. Brielle looked at me with fear filling her brown eyes. She felt it, too—from within just as much as without.
“Girls, stay here!” Mom shouted as she and Dad flew out the door, Sasha right on their heels.
I jumped to my feet to follow.
“Elli!” Brielle snapped. “Mom said to stay here.”
“Like hell I am.”
By the time I reached the doorway, Sasha was gone, and Mom, Dad, and Aunt Vanessa were already across the road, running toward Market Square, where Mayor Camila stood in the middle of the street. Except she was no longer Mayor Camila. Rather, she was transforming and growing into a monstrous, towering beast of purple and black mottled skin with two horns curling outward from her black hair.
The mayor was a fucking major demon.
“You should not have rejected my offer, Alexis,” she said to my mother, her voice deep and raspy as she continued to grow.
Mom’s wings exploded from her back, her swords appearing in her hands. “Did you really think I didn’t know, Shamara? You cannot have my daughters!”
Dad’s wings appeared, too, and I knew all hell was about to break loose. Before I could move to join them, a dark purplish fog poured down the streets and pathways, filling the space between the buildings until it obliterated my parents and Aunt Vanessa, trapping them with the demon.
Screams pierced the air from down the street. Then more from other places. The air froze in my lungs when the realization set in: Demons. They were everywhere. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds in human flesh, possessing the norms and wearing their bodies like suits, the only tell their pitch-black eyes. No whites. No irises. Just all deep blackness. So fucking many. How had we not known? The major demon—only she would have been powerful enough to hide them from us.
Chaos erupted.
Just down the street, the man with the prosthetic hand had lost his eyepatch, both eyes filled with that flat black as he lunged for the curly-haired woman who’d wanted my corset as she tried to run away. The dirty-blonde stumbled past me, still clutching her toddler against her chest, as another woman launched at her, tackling her to the asphalt, the screaming child smashed beneath them. Possessed norms attacked their loved ones and neighbors everywhere I looked.
Clashing energy careened and collided within me as my beast tried to push herself free while at the same time my angel powers felt like they were about to explode out of me. I could feel Mom pulling on my Amadis power, and I fed it to her to boost her own as she fought the major demon.
I was about to snap my own wings out and reveal my weapons when something on the roof of the building next to us caught my attention, drawing my gaze upward. Nothing more than a swirling and twisting shadow, but somehow, I just knew it was something . . . more.
All of the noise, the chaos faded away as a whispery voice filled my mind. “Remember me, little shade? We had a deal.”
I blinked in confusion, and the ruckus returned at full blast. A scream came from behind me, from inside the apartment, and I spun. Horror filled me at the sight.
Papa Miguel’s hands reaching for Dani, and his eyes . . .
“No!” I screamed, tugging on the chains holding my beast, trying to break her free.
Everything went black. Deadly silent. As I fell into a sea of nothingness.
Then a white light flashed beyond my eyelids, a blinding brightness.
My hearing returned first, screams coming from every direction. My vision began to clear, only to see bodies dropping to the ground. Dozens of them. Hundreds. What the fuck?
All the sobs, the screams, the wails filled with immense pain . . . confusion and chaos continued everywhere.
The loudest of all came from Dani, as she sank to the ground with her papa in her arms, lifeless.
I reached out for her, but someone grabbed me from me behind.
“Get them out of here!” Dad bellowed from somewhere in the distance.
“No!” I cried, trying to lunge for Dani again, but Aunt Vanessa’s hold tightened on me. I threw my head back and heard the crunch as I smashed the vampire’s nose. I didn’t care about my aunt’s renowned temper. I’d like her to see mine right now.
But then Uncle Owen appeared, and he locked me down with his warlock magic. “There’s more coming!”
Everything else happened in a blur as I seethed in anger, cussing at everyone in sight and screaming for Dani. But I couldn’t fight. Not just because of Uncle Owen’s hold—I had a feeling my powers could easily break through it—but because somewhere within, I knew the precarious position we were in. Norms shot at us. Passages were blocked. We took lots of twists and turns as fat raindrops fell, somehow managing to escape Misery’s Edge.
As soon as we passed through its gates, I fully felt the dark presence surrounding us. Demons. Daemoni. Dark fae. All of them closing in.
“Brie, what happened?” I asked as Mom and her council debated what to do next. “I . . . I blacked out or something.”
Brielle sidled up next to me, grasping my hand. “Probably from Mom’s pull on our power. She destroyed the demons. As in killed them for good.”
“Impossible.” Not even Mom could do that.
“She did it nonetheless. All of them except Shamara, anyway. She flew away. But the people of the Edge only saw hundreds of human bodies dropping dead.”
“Fuck.”
“Yes.”
I tried to make sense of it, including what happened to me, but my mind filled with only one vision: Dani’s eyes as they pulled me away from her. Scared. Grieving. Accusing.
We began to move again, going through one of Uncle Owen’s portals and appearing on a beach of black sand, an icy wind cutting at my bare arms. I realized for the first time that my brother was with us, talking to my mom and the others. Another portal swirled about twenty yards away.
“It’s a gate like yours,” Dad said. “Dorian opened it, but it goes somewhere else. The world beyond is another Earth. A version like ours in an alternate universe, but it’s also very different. It’s a good place. You’ll see.”
Brielle said something. Dad and Mom both replied. My mind still struggled to focus on the here and now.
“Wait,” I finally said, looking up at them in horror as their words sunk in. “You can’t be serious! We’re not going there, are we? To another world?” My head shook. This could not be happening. I had to get back to Dani.
Dad leveled his hazel gaze on me, his jaw muscle popping and his nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. “In case you didn’t notice, Elliana,” he said with a measured calmness, “war is imminent, and your and Brielle’s lives are at the center of it all. Hundreds of souls were just obliterated to protect you. Do not make their deaths in vain. Do not make Miguel’s death pointless.”
His words, his tone silenced me, my chest tightening and the backs of my eyes burning.
Brielle took my hand again and tugged me forward, only to release it when Sasha dropped in out of nowhere. Dorian said something to the lykora, who shrunk to her toy-dog size. Brielle scooped her up into her arms. But all I could focus on was the black demon blood staining her snout.
As we passed through the gate, from the beach of black sand at night to a snow-covered mountain in the blinding light of day, my stomach knotted with guilt. The first girl I’d ever cared about was in her biggest moment of need, and I had abandoned her, leaving her utterly alone in the world.
Chapter 2
“Elli.” The soft voice came like a sweet song from a distance. Then it came as a near shout: “Elliana Knight!”
“Gah!” I yelped. “What?”
“Where’d you go?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face, finding electric blue e
yes staring at me with concern. Not the dark, accusing eyes of memories I could never shake, nor the red eyes that had replaced them more recently in visions that felt entirely too real. Not memories, those ones. More like a premonition.
“You were there again, weren’t you?” Sadie Algrec stood directly in front of me, deep in the woods on the side of a mountain in a world that was foreign to both of us yet we’d called home for over a year.
“Sorry. I can’t help it. The prospect of going back, of seeing for myself . . .” My voice trailed off, my breath stuttering on the exhale. It’d been over a year since we’d first come to this world, since the curse on our powers broke, since we’d seen our parents . . . since that awful night in Misery’s Edge. The night I’d left a girl whom I thought I could love right when she needed me most.
And here I was again, leaving a girl when her own life was falling apart. A different girl, one I most definitely loved but had never been able to bring myself to say it. Because we’d known from the beginning that this day would come. She was an elven princess from Faery. I was from an Earth in a completely different dimension. We both had roles to play in our very different home worlds, and we both needed to return to them now. Sadie because her father, the elf king, had summoned her home. Me because of the visions with the red eyes.
“You’ll be home soon enough.” Sadie sighed as she brushed a finger between my brows to loosen their tight pinch. “We both will be, I guess.”
My heart cracked for the hundredth time in the last week, since the day she told me her people were in trouble and she had to go home. The same day Charleigh and Brielle finally agreed with me that it was time for us to go, too.
I leaned my forehead against hers, our hair cascading together in a curtain around us, black and white, dark and light, just like us. “I hate this.”
She clasped her hands around mine, holding them at our sides. “Me, too. I give one star to being royalty. Do not recommend.”
She managed to elicit the smile she’d been trying for.
“Excellent service, but the price is entirely too high,” I agreed.