“Thanks to you,” I said. Chaos might not have been the one to curse us, but he wasn’t exactly an innocent bystander either.
He brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes, no doubt wishing he could brush the rage out of them too. “Be angry with me all you want, Arya, but it doesn’t change the fact that my intentions have always been good.”
I couldn’t believe he was trying to sweep this under the rug. “I have no idea what your intentions are anymore.”
He leaned in and whispered, “Yes, you do. As much as you want to hate me for keeping this from you, you still want me more than anything. Your heart is racing just thinking about it. You ache for me more than you ever have. Be angry, Arya. Punch me in the face if it will make you feel better. But don’t lie to yourself about loving me.” His breath tickled my ear, sending tingles down my spine.
Loving him and trusting him were two very different things. “When we get out of here, you need to tell me everything. No more secrets.”
He traced my lips with his fingertips, soft and sensual. “I promise,” he whispered.
It was all I could do to not let his hands explore further. He had a way of making me forget about everything else—the clearing, the wind rushing in around us, even the entire world. As angry as I was, he was right. I wanted him, needed him like I needed air.
Seven cleared his throat, breaking the silent tension between us. “So, what now?”
Chaos motioned toward the clearing. “They will speak to Arya, and only Arya. She must go in alone.”
My stomach twisted in knots. The last time I went somewhere alone, I ended up with a dagger against my throat. “Can they hurt me?”
Chaos gazed at the shadows, curling his lips into a snarl at the mere thought of me being in danger. “They wouldn’t dare.”
“That’s not what she asked,” Seven said.
“Technically…yes, they can cause her harm. More psychological than physical. But they won’t. She’s too valuable.” He looked right at me as his words trailed off into a whisper.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry like sandpaper. “Let’s hope you’re right. Wish me luck.”
Chaos reached out and pulled me in close. A fiery heat radiated off of him, flushing his cheeks. “You are the daughter of Gaia, soon to be the Aether, and the only one who wants to free them… You don’t need luck, Arya. You need to believe in yourself. Don’t ever forget that.” His gaze lingered on my lips.
I pulled away and headed toward the clearing, careful of each step I took. As I neared the witches, they stopped circling each other, turning to face only me. Their eyes widened with horror and confusion. I wanted to run, turn back, but I froze in place.
The crowd parted, creating a path between them. Out of the shadows she emerged. My heart skipped a beat. “Mom?”
Tears spilled out as I sprinted toward her. Collapsing into her, I shivered as she held me in her arms, her flesh ice cold. Her face twisted in pain as she gazed down at me. She stroked the back of my head just like she had done when I was a baby.
“Arya, you shouldn’t be here,” she whispered. She glanced around at the others, who were moving in to get a better look at me.
I clasped her hands. “Mom, listen to me. I’m here to help. To free you. All of you. Tell me what to do.”
Her blue eyes glistened against her porcelain flesh. Skin as smooth and as white as bone. “Arya, what have you done? I sent you to Sanctum to protect you from all of this. This is my burden, not yours.”
I choked back a sob. “Not anymore. Everything is a mess. Chaos came to Sanctum to warn us, but it was too late. Echo sent the harpies to kill me. I—I know what I am now… Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Gaia hung her head down, tears streaming her face. “I wanted you to have a normal life. A life free from war. I’m sorry I failed you.”
“But you knew that I was cursed to end up here someday. What is normal about that?” My heart ached.
She cupped my face in her hands. “Oh, Arya, you were never going to end up here. This place wasn’t meant for you.”
I pulled back, confused. “I don’t understand.” I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand.
Shit bit down on her lip. “I made a deal with the gods. I promised I would never tell you, or anyone, who you really were. That you would be raised as a witch, not a demigod. You see, they didn’t want other gods following in my footsteps. We were created to observe and protect humans, not fall in love with them. I traded our lives for yours. And I would do it all over again if I had to.”
I took a step back, suddenly aware of the short distance between me and the undead witches. “You—you sacrificed everyone else to save me? That’s why Echo wants me dead. She knows. How am I supposed to live with this? Our ancestors are stuck down here because of me.”
She raised up her hands as they inched closer. A warning to not take another step. “No. They are here because of me. Because of my actions. You are innocent in all of this.”
My world was crumbling around me. Everything I thought I knew was a lie. “Seven was wrong. He thought the ancestors were banished because of the discord…but it was because I was born.” Something else gnawed at me. “Wait, does Chaos know about the deal you made?”
She smiled, knowing what I was getting at. “Only the higher court knew. The less involved the better, they say.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I don’t think I could have forgiven Chaos for keeping this from me too. “Mom, you need to help me end this. Tell me how to complete the ritual so I can become the Aether.”
She hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth. “You must go to the Hall of Secrets and collect the source of all four elements. Use them to brew the Aether potion. Only you will know if it’s right. The potion is the final step. Once you drink it, the elements will merge together and you will be an unstoppable force.”
“I understand. But then how do I free you?” There were still some pieces of this puzzle that I couldn’t quite grasp. How was this all connected? Even with the power of all four covens, I had no idea how to save them.
She raised her chin, an air of regality about her. “If you destroy Purgatory, the gods will have no choice but to let us back into Elysium.”
“But what if they send you to the Underworld instead?” My mind was racing faster than I could form the words.
She clicked her tongue in disgust, appalled at the mere mention of that scenario. “They can’t. We don’t belong there. It would upset the balance. Now, don’t worry about where we end up, Arya. You need to unite the covens and stop Echo. She will destroy your world if you don’t.”
The fate of the world, the ancestors, and even my own destiny, were all in my hands. What if I screwed it up? There was another factor that just sank in.
I tugged at a strand of my blue-streaked hair. “Um…I uh never passed my potion test at Sanctum.”
“It doesn’t matter. The Keeper will assist you.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing. “Echo has the Keeper.”
Her eyes widened. “Arya, you must free him. She cannot be allowed to brew the potion herself.”
I nodded, my hands trembling. “I’ll find a way.”
Gaia smiled, but a tinge of sadness crept into her eyes. “My sweet girl. I’m sorry this burden has been placed upon you, but I see your strength and your bravery. You are stronger than I ever was.”
I choked back tears. “Where—where’s dad?”
She lowered her head. “In Elysium…far away from me. But don’t worry, he’s safe.”
“I promise you, I will end this curse. You will be together again.” I couldn’t even begin to imagine the emptiness she felt from being away from my father. The memory of their love had always been the clearest.
“It’s time for you to go now, Arya. Remember that I love you. Always.”
I threw my arms around her neck and sobbed into her shoulder. “I don’t want to leave you here.”
She combed her fingers
through my hair. “I know darling, but you must. You have work to do. Stick with Chaos. He will not betray you.”
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I straightened and let my wings unfold from my back. “I love you. I promise I won’t let you down.”
She reached out and traced the black feathers with her bony fingers, mesmerized by every line and crevice. “I know you won’t. Until we meet again, my sweet. My beautiful, dark beast.”
Her last words made me shudder. A reminder that we were not like everyone else. Not human. Not mortal. More than a witch, less than a god. We couldn’t be killed but our freedom could be taken away at any second.
I had to force my feet to turn away, dragging them toward the edge of the clearing. Each step I took was torture as I walked back. But she was right. I had to be strong and brave. I was the only one who could release them from this prison. I lifted my chin, and wiped the tears from my eyes. My wings flapped fiercely behind me, and a surge of adrenaline coursed through veins.
Chaos rushed toward me, then stopped, his eyes wide. He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Are you okay?”
I drew in a sharp breath, my lips tingling from the icy air. “I know what I’m supposed to do now. I know how to save everyone.”
Nineteen
The journey back to New York was a quiet one. Seeing my mother in Purgatory was harder than I thought it would have been. She had been gone from my life for ten years. There were times I had been angry with her for dying. For leaving me alone in the world. But seeing her again, I felt nothing but love and admiration for her. I wanted to make her proud. To save our family and restore our name back to its rightful glory. My anger toward the gods surged, for doing this to us. I was grateful that Seven and Chaos left me to my thoughts. It was a lot to process. A lot to take in. What once felt like a burden was something I was now embracing as a badge of honor.
But before I could become the Aether, I needed to free the Keeper. He was the only one who knew how to brew the Elemental potion. Staring up at the old stone cathedral, the Sylph headquarters, an uneasiness passed through me. Was I ready to face Echo? A shrill cry from a murder of white crows rang out into the night, stripping my nerves raw with tension.
The cathedral doors creaked open by themselves, inviting us in. The lights in the entry parlor were dimmed, muted down, forcing me to have to squint into the house’s abyss. The last time we were here, this room had been full of masked witches, serving staff, and security. Now it sat empty, unsettled, haunting with its eerie stillness, like a ghost of what it had been. It looked abandoned, but it felt like a trap. Did Echo know we were here? Had she been expecting us? A chill ran up my back as I pushed away thoughts of all the creepy things that could be hiding in the shadows.
As if on cue, Chaos squeezed my shoulder. “Be ready for anything.”
My hand trembled as I wiped a huge glob of sweat off my brow. With Chaos and Seven at my heels, I tiptoed through the doors and froze. All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of steel scraping against iron. I spun around, arms out in front of me, as magic and adrenaline coursed through my veins. My heart raced at the sight of two shadows approaching the doorway.
I blinked fast, willing my eyes to adjust to the space between shadow and light. My palms moistened as I wrapped them around the daggers I had stashed at my waist. Chaos and Seven shuffled behind me as I crouched down and braced myself for a fight.
A stream of moonlight glinted off the steel sword in one of the shadow’s hands, casting a glow on their faces and I let out a sigh of relief.
Sapphire planted her feet wide, her sword extended out in front of her. “I couldn’t let you three have all the fun.”
“I knew you’d be back.” I practically leapt on her as I went in for a hug, nudging the tip of her sword away. She stumbled into me, releasing a half-whimper, half-giggle as we embraced.
“We would never abandon you, mi amica.” Diego’s eyes glowed in the dimly lit doorway, casting a faint sheen over his face.
Knowing my friends were at my side again renewed my confidence. No matter what happened now, we would face it together.
Seven scanned the room with his dhampir sight, his eyes shifting from brown to black.
Chaos signaled, and in unison we let our wings unfold out around us. To be safe, I also unsheathed my daggers. The weight of them in my hands comforted me.
“Let’s split up. Sapphire, Diego—you check the basement. Seven, come with me. We’ll check the upstairs.” This place was enormous. We needed to get in and out quick.
Chaos looked around, confused, the sweat on his brow glistening under the stream of moonlight that poured in through the open door. “And what would you like me to do?”
He wasn’t going to like this. “I want you stay here and guard the entrance. If I don’t make it back…I need you to destroy this place. Don’t let any of them out.” A soft breeze rustled in my ears, tickling my senses. The other Sylph witches were already trying to connect to me.
“Arya—”
I put my hands to his lips. “If we fail, you are our last line of defense. Burn this place to the ground.” I couldn’t let Echo escape with the Keeper.
“As you wish,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen today.”
I gave him one last lingering glance. There were so many things I wanted to say but didn’t have time to. So many unanswered questions. He looked at me with a longing sadness.
“Oh, and Chaos…watch out for harpies.”
The hallway at the top of the stairs was deserted, long, as it seemed to stretch on for as far as the eye could see. “It’s too quiet,” Seven whispered.
“What are they waiting for?” A cold chill ran down my spine. The brocade walls were decorated with old portraits of the ancestors whose painted eyes appeared to follow us as we passed.
“I can’t go any further.” Seven froze in place, his body rigid.
“Seriously? You’re the last person I thought would lose their nerve.”
“No, you don’t understand. I can’t…I can’t move.” His voice was hoarse, strained.
My cheeks tingled and I could feel the color draining from my face. Shoving him hard with all of my strength, I blew out a burst of air. It was no use. He wouldn’t budge. A cry of frustration rippled out of me as I banged my fists against the wall.
“What kind of magic is this?” My wind element was blowing right through him, ineffective, as if it had been dulled.
Seven strained to speak, his lips tight. “Dark magic. She must have a gravedigger. I can feel her sludge in my bones.”
My body began to shake as the memory of Basil’s gravedigger came flashing back. I pulled my wings in tight around me, wishing I could fly away. “How do I stop her?” I whispered.
He tried to shake his head, but could only muster a slight twitch. “You can’t. You need to get out of here, Arya. Now.”
“You and I both know they aren’t going to let me,” I murmured. “Not until they get what they want.”
His eyes darkened as the weight of our predicament set in. I lingered next to him, quiet with fear at the realization that we were both helpless to each other. “Be careful,” Seven whispered.
I gripped my daggers tight, thrusting them out in front of me as I walked further down the hall, careful of each step. I glanced nervously around me, waiting for something to jump out of the darkness and drag me into the shadows.
Mustering every ounce of courage I could find, I yelled out, “Aunt Echo, come out and face me.” It sounded more confident in my head. My legs trembled, but I willed them to keep moving, cursing under my breath. Why did I insist on Chaos staying downstairs?
Arya. I jumped, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. I shuffled forward, then back as the door beside me sprang open, revealing total darkness. Arya. The voice beckoned me. I dragged my feet toward it. Every cell in my body screamed for me to run, but I was fixated.
Choking back bile, I moved deeper into the dark roo
m, my head buzzing. The door slammed shut behind me, sealing me off from the rest of the house. I screamed and dropped to my knees, wrapping my wings around me like a protective shield.
Shrill laughter filled the room. “Welcome home, niece. I do hope you’ll stay a while.”
The lights flickered on and I let out a gasp. The carpet was wet and sticky underneath my palms—stained red with blood and covered in fresh soil. Gagging, I wiped my hands on my pants, my stomach lurching from the putrid stench of decaying flesh.
The Keeper crouched in a corner, bound and badly beaten. His once youthful face was now scarred and almost unrecognizable. The smell of urine and feces stung my nostrils, curdling the liquid in my stomach.
“What…what have you done to him?” I wanted to look away, but couldn’t. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
Echo clicked her tongue. “He’s been a bad Keeper. Refusing to share his secrets with me. It’s all very unfortunate. But now that you’re here, maybe he’ll start talking.”
“Never. I won’t let him. You will never get your hands on that potion,” I spat.
Echo giggled as she sauntered over to the Keeper’s shivering body. She hovered over him, amused, and then snapped her fingers. A hooded gravedigger stepped out of the shadows and yanked his head back, pressing a dagger to his throat. I shivered, remembering how the cold steel felt against my flesh. How empty those dark hollow eyes were when they glared down at me.
“No. Leave him alone!” I cried out.
“Get him to tell you the recipe for the potion, or he dies right now.” Echo pointed at the dagger.
My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe, on the verge of hyperventilating. “He’s not going to give it to me… He swore an oath.”
“Very well.” She nodded to the gravedigger. The dagger sank deeper into his flesh, spilling tiny droplets of blood down his chest.
“Stop! You can’t do this. I’ll—I’ll find another way. Just please, stop.” I was on my hands and knees now, begging.
Smoke and Ritual (Beautiful Dark Beasts Book 1) Page 17