Embrace The Shadows (Shadows Ascending Trilogy Book 3)

by Jenn D. Young

  I’d been forced to forget. Vincent buried the memory of her death so far in my mind that it hadn’t resurfaced until my abilities manifested and I was fully immersed in the supernatural world. But now, I couldn’t forget. It would haunt me until the day I died.

  The corners of her lips tugged up into a faint smile. “Iah,” she whispered tentatively. She sensed my hesitation. An overwhelming feeling of disbelief shot through me. My mother was standing before me as if that day had never happened. As if I hadn’t believed she had been dead for the past nine years.

  Her familiar nickname for me made a chill run down my spine. She had always called me her Iah. Her moon. I can’t even remember the number of times she told me I was her moon and stars. Her everything. But she hadn’t even given me an inkling of the fact that she was still alive.

  Kaniul rose to his feet, laying a hand on his sister’s back, and turned those deep amber eyes on me. “Lorelei,” he began, but I cut him off.

  “Did you know?” I said, my voice utterly devoid of emotion. My mind was working on overdrive trying to process this latest revelation. I had to bury down everything I was feeling just to get the words out.

  Was I dreaming?

  He shook his head. “I had no idea.”

  “Lorelei,” my mother said, enabling her no nonsense voice. “No one in this room or even on this plane had any idea what happened to me. It was between your father and me.”

  “My father?” I gasped. Vincent draped an arm over my shoulders and drew me into the shelter of his body. My mate, always trying to protect me and shield me from the tough things. Like this shit storm that was forming.

  She breathed out a heavy sigh. “You should sit. This is going to be a long drawn out tale and when I’m done explaining things, we can go so you can meet him.”

  Vincent reacted first, leading me to the round table and pulling out a chair for me to sit in. I was in such a daze; I followed his lead, relying on his strength. He sat down, moving his chair close to mine and crowded my body, knowing I needed the comfort. I did little more than blink at my mother. The woman who I thought dead, was very much alive. Here she stood, telling me that there was a long and involved story to explain where she had been.

  Oh, and that she was going to take me to meet my father afterwards.

  My father, who just so happened to be the most powerful of all the Archangels.

  Akakaios, the man whom I had only met twice. Briefly. I barely even knew him but felt the depth of my connection to him. We were blood, of course we were connected. Yet now, with my mother back from the dead and telling me that she would take me to meet my father? I couldn’t breathe.

  “This is all too much,” I muttered and ran my fingers through my hair. My head fell forward and I covered my face with my palms. Vincent pulled me from the chair and drew me onto his lap. I curled into him, seeking his warmth and stability.

  “Iah,” my mother pleaded with me. “Please listen. There are things that none of you know. That I need to tell you before this all makes sense.”

  “There’s something different about you, Morgana,” Vincent said as he ran his hand up and down my back in a soothing motion.

  I looked at her with a critical eye. Comparing her to what my thirteen-year-old self remembered her to be didn’t amount to much. My mother was a beautiful woman. She radiated with her inner and exterior beauty. Her sharp green eyes, auburn hair, and perfectly tanned skin— courtesy of her Egyptian mother, were the perfect combination for a uniquely beautiful woman. She had never spoken to me about her father. I was curious about him. My grandfather.

  Fuck. There were too many random thoughts running through my head right now. I couldn’t keep my train of thought straight. It bounced all over the place as I tried to process what I was really feeling.

  “You’re right; I am different now.” She heaved out a deep sigh and sank into a chair. Her eyes fluttered shut as her fingers massaged into the skin at her temples. “I need to tell my story, but I can’t stay long. Being on this plane is draining to my current state of being.”

  “Does this new state of being have to do with Akakaios?” Kaniul asked. He remained standing; his expression guarded as he stared down at his sister.

  “Brother, will you sit down so I can tell the story in peace or are you going to interrupt me and ask me redundant questions?”

  Kaniul cleared his throat, looking thoroughly chastised as he rubbed the back of his neck. Nicolae coughed to disguise his snicker while Damius locked eyes with Vincent. There was an exchange of words between my mate and the vampire, but I was too distracted by my mother to pay much attention.

  “Morgana, we’ve thought you were dead for almost nine years. Then you waltz back in here looking perfectly well. In fact, your powers are far superior than they used to be.” Damius leaned against a marble column and spoke boldly.

  “I’m trying to explain, but everyone doesn’t want to get over the fact that I’m really here.” She huffed out a breath and blew the hair that had fallen into her eyes out of her vision. “Now, will everyone just sit down and be quiet so I can speak?”

  Damius huffed out a bark of laughter but moved across the room to pull out a chair to Vincent’s right. “By all means,” he said, laying it on thick while waiving his hand in a gesture for her to continue.

  “Lorelei,” my mother began and stopped to close her eyes and hang her head. “I never wanted it to be this way. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to be reborn, just to have to stay away from you, but it was something that had to be done to protect you and the entire world.”

  “You were reborn? As what?” Vincent asked harshly, his agitation rising with her words.

  “Akakaios brought me back. Not quite as an Archangel, but as close as I can be without being born one. I don’t know how he did it.” She shook her head, clearing the memories from her mind. “I met Akakaios centuries ago, but I didn’t know who he was. We maintained an on again, off again friendship and would see each other every few years.” A wistful smile broke across her face, her green irises sparkling with memories of her distant past.

  “How did you not know who he was?” Kaniul asked with an arched brow. His arms were over his chest. The position was guarded. He had closed himself off to his sister. He didn’t trust this situation. As a matter of fact, neither did I.

  “He can hide himself and his abilities. A cloaking power. I just thought he was like any other Nephilim that I encountered on the streets.” She let out an ironic laugh. “Back when there actually were Nephilim around. There was an attraction, sure, but not that instinctual pull like there would be if we were fated mates. So, we became good friends.”

  “When did you meet him?” Damius asked. “And when did you find out who he truly was?”

  “When did you become the impatient one, Damius?” She retorted, leaning back in her chair before sighing wearily. “We met sometime in the sixteenth century; I think. I didn’t know who he was or see his true form until about a year before Lorelei was born.”

  The words hung heavy in the air, snapping me into focus. I rose to my feet and slammed my hands on the table, startling everyone.

  I couldn’t take this anymore. I couldn’t handle the torrent of emotions that were swirling through me. Anger. Rage. Betrayal. Hurt. I went through the entire spectrum of feelings as the dam burst within my mind.

  “What happened then mom? He revealed himself and you two went at it like rabbits until you conceived me? Then what? Poof! He disappeared and left you to raise me. Left us to be on the run from The Syndicate. Moving from place to place, never settling down. Until you fucking died. In my arms. I watched you bleed out and die, Mom!”

  “Lorelei, that’s enough,” Kaniul spoke softly. “You have no idea what sacrifices were made to keep you alive.”

  He was defending her? No. Absolutely not.

  “No, Kaniul.” The full force of my anger rose from deep within my belly. It was always the same. They kept me in the dark. Told me
that so many sacrifices had been made for me, but I was tired of it. My mother had been alive for the past nine years. She probably watched me suffer through every trial that I’d endured but had done nothing to help me.

  “That’s not true, Lorelei.” A deep booming voice echoed in the room. My eyes widened as realization came over me just as the figure appeared and wrapped an arm around my mother. His enormous black tipped wings brushed the ground and fluttered in agitation around his large frame. Those glowing, colorless eyes scanned around the room, locking eyes with every individual before settling back on me. “Morgana has always been my one true mate, but circumstances being what they were, I could never reveal myself to her. Not until the time was right.”

  “Akakaios,” Damius growled. “How are you even able to be in this form in our realm?” The words were clipped and harsh. What was it that Damius had against my father? There was a serious history there. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

  Vincent tightened his arms around me. “It’s not a pleasant subject, Theera. One that is best not even to ask about. I don’t even know the whole truth behind their feud.”

  I nodded slightly. Damius rose to his feet and stood right before Akakaios. Fire blazed in his red eyes. “You shouldn’t be here,” Damius demanded as his hands clenched into fists at his side.

  Akakaios gritted his teeth before taking in a deep breath. His arm never left its place from around my mother’s shoulders. As if he were lending her all his strength and support. Protecting her. It reminded me of the same posture Vincent adapted with me, especially when he felt I was threatened or hurting. The way that he curled his body around mine, making sure that he was able to jump in at a moment’s notice while still lending me emotional support.

  “There are things that Morgana and I need to tell all of you.”

  “We’re finally privileged enough to be clued into your grand master plan now?” I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest, closing myself off to my emotions. “Spare me, Father. I’m little more than a pawn on your chessboard. What’s your next move?”

  17

  Vincent

  Had Lorelei really just spoken those words to Akakaios? Did she actually feel like she was little more than a pawn in his game of chess? The burning question that raged in my mind was how the fuck was he here on this plane?

  Archangels couldn’t venture to Earth. Their spiritual forms couldn’t handle the chaos of the realm. It wrought havoc with their angelic bodies and depleted their powers, too long on Earth and they would be almost mortal. Add in the danger from The Syndicate and everyone else that would seek to capture them?

  It was a recipe for disaster.

  Their blood was power in its purest form. One drop for a demon or a vampire and they would obtain extraordinary powers. Far beyond any of the normal abilities that they possessed.

  Damius backed away. He remained standing, keeping a wary eye on the Archangel and on Lorelei as the exchange heated. His back was pressed against the same column that he had stood next to before squaring off with Akakaios.

  “Lorelei,” Morgana snapped. Hurt radiated around her, flickering on her face as her posture stiffened.

  Akakaios wrapped his arms firmly around her and whispered something in her ear before he turned to his daughter. “Lorelei,” Akakaios repeated.

  Lorelei bristled in my arms, opening her mouth to interrupt her father, but I brushed my lips over her ear. “You need to listen to them Theera. This isn’t as it appears.”

  It wasn’t. It was plain to see on the faces of Morgana and Akakaios that they loved their daughter with every fiber of their being. The emotions swirling in the air made it clear that they felt betrayed by her accusations. They had their reasons for their actions, but we couldn’t get to the bottom of them until Lorelei let them speak.

  My fiery mate whirled on me, poking her finger into my chest. “Don’t, Vincent. Just don’t.” She shook her head, her fury rising before she climbed out of my arms, rising to her feet. “This—” She waived her arm around to indicate her parents. “—Is ridiculous. You hide from me for nine years. Let me get kidnapped. Twice. Tortured. Beaten. Burned alive by a collar. And what do you have to say for yourselves? That you’ll explain? No. Let me explain something to you.”

  I watched in abject horror as she marched up to Akakaios and faced off against him. Even though the Archangel had almost a foot of height on her, she held her head up high with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Fuck. Why did she have to argue about everything? This needed to stop. She had to listen to them.

  “Lorelei.” I rose to my feet, the chair clattering to the floor behind me. “Will you just listen to them and hear what they have to say? Or are you going to act like a petulant child and insist that you’ve been a chess piece this entire time? Listen then decide.”

  Oh, I had done it now. My mate was utterly furious with me, as she whirled around to pin me with her intense blue irises. Yet, I saw a small part of her bowed to the logic in my words. I was more than likely going to be kicked out of my bed tonight, but if it got her to listen—well, then it was worth it. Even if my cock hated the idea of a night without being buried inside of her sweet heat.

  Akakaios cut me a look from across the table, his dark brow creased together. “You risk much by trying to force her hand. She is too much like me, stubborn to her very core.” I startled at the sound of his voice in my head.

  I hid my reaction, schooling my features using my centuries of practice in composing myself. “She’s too stubborn. It’s why she needs the push to see that there’s another way of seeing this. I’ve known Morgana for centuries. I was there when she told me about the vision that she had of Lorelei. She’s more than a mere pawn.”

  “Right you are, Vincent. Right you are. She is the Queen.” He smirked, just a small tug at the corners of his lips, but it was enough to echo his statement.

  She was the Queen.

  With the extraordinary powers that had been bestowed upon her, she was more powerful than anyone in this room—save Akakaios himself. The lightning bolt that she conjured and thrown at Adrianna was a thing of beauty. I felt the rising power within her since that day. It was Akakaios gifting her the final piece of her legacy. He’d given her the first piece the day she had been taken. It was just enough to keep her alive and sane during her time with The Syndicate.

  The picture slowly started to emerge as I fit the pieces together.

  “Now you’re starting to see why we have done what we have. It was all for her to lead up to these moments.”

  His words were simple and rang true. Lorelei wasn’t a pawn. She was the Queen. The most powerful being. The only one that stood a chance against Adrianna.

  Lorelei was the only one that could put an end to The Syndicate.

  My mate gnashed her teeth together, her arms still crossed over her chest as she looked from me to her father. “Explain.”

  “Sit, then,” Akakaios replied, not giving an inch. It was almost comical to watch their exchange. They were so alike, even though they had only met while Lorelei was in her astral body. The pinched looks on their faces, the set of their eyes and the slight curl of their lips downward, it was all the same.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I think I’ll stand.”

  “Gods damn it, Lorelei,” Kaniul threw up his hands and everyone turned to the prophet. Every jaw in the room hung open at his blatant outburst. The otherwise soft-spoken Kaniul didn’t have outbursts like this. He especially didn’t speak that way to his niece and possibly his favorite person in the world.

  “Kaniul?” She replied in a broken whisper. Hurt rolled through her. I felt it pulsing to life through our bond. He had never spoken that way to her before and it cut her deeply.

  “Lorelei,” Kaniul said on an exasperated sigh, his tone softening a fraction. He ran his fingers through his dark before speaking. “You keep insisting that you’re nothing, but what you don’t seem to understand is that you cou
ld probably kill us all with a mere flick of your wrist. The only one that rivals you in raw abilities is the person standing before you. The person that gave you life.”

  Doubt flickered in her blue depths as she clung tightly to her anger and betrayal. “Don’t you blame them for us being captured?” she pleaded in a low whisper.

  Kaniul shook his head and laughed. “Iah, Archangels can’t control everything. Just like I can’t see everything in my visions. Freewill and decisions happen. Why are you blaming that on someone who couldn’t do anything about it?”

  “Because they could’ve done something about it.” Her arms fell to her sides, hands clenched into tight fists. Her nails dug into her palms so hard that the aroma of her blood soon filled the air and dripped out from her clenched fingers.

  “Do you really believe that Theera?” I asked her, desperation tinging my words. She had surprised me with her reactions to situations before, but the torrent of emotions that she felt right now baffled me. “What’s this really about?”

  “Never mind.” She shook her head vigorously from side to side before turning away and marching toward the door.

  “Lorelei. You need to understand the forces that are at play here. I don’t come to this realm in my true form lightly. It is incredibly dangerous for me to be here. You must understand that.” Akakaios teleported in front of Lorelei and blocked her path, his hands falling to rest upon her shoulders.

  “Why are you here now?” The way her voice broke with the simple question was like a dagger stabbing me straight through the heart. So much pain. So much betrayal and rage. It coiled around her like a thick cloud of smoke, so intense my breath caught in my throat.

  Akakaios hung his head, closing his eyes briefly before snapping them open and gritting his teeth. “Thugater,” he whispered on an agonized exhale.