by C. M. Owens
“What about you, changer?” she asks Thad. “Or what about the absent dark angel? His name is Dray, right? Or what about the demon you’ve brought in?”
Thad snorts, shaking his head as though he can’t believe her audacity. The dark-haired man in the corner peers up, seemingly uninterested in the whole ordeal. I assume that’s Shaylan.
“This room is full of people who are adept at killing and bereft at mercy, yet I’m the one being judged—the only one.”
Then her eyes shift to settle on Gage. “What right do you have to doubt my motives? You of all people should understand a person’s ability to change. After all, I met your mother. She may have withheld information about the strength your magic possesses, but she didn’t hold back the details of your formative years. You have no right to deny me the chance to make amends.”
That certainly piques my interest, and admittedly scares me a little, but Gage merely smirks. “Oh, I can assure that she held back many details,” Gage says, sounding smug and a little menacing. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have been brave enough to come here.”
Sadie swallows audibly, and I cast a questioning look at Gage. He’s still in his tux, looking every bit like a dark fantasy dressed up. But now I wonder how dark he really is.
Several pairs of curious eyes turn toward Gage, but no one speaks as he stares down Sadie.
“Speaking of my deceased mother,” Gage says, putting his hands behind his back as he begins walking toward Drackus, “what did she want from purgatory?”
Sadie looks genuinely confused. “Damon and Dragona. That’s what the primary goal was—to set them free.”
Gage studies her for a moment, but purses his lips in thought. “I understood Hilly wanting to set her parents free—no matter how misguided and delusional she was. But I always wondered why Mother wanted Damon and Dragona free. So why did she?”
“She never said,” Sadie says quickly, still frozen to her spot.
“It never did fit Amari’s personality,” Drackus muses. “She didn’t want to be associated with someone who possessed ultimate power. She wanted ultimate power.”
I was fortunate enough to only briefly meet Gage’s mother. Any prolonged exposure to the woman might have been a reason to pray for death.
“Castine certainly didn’t want to be ruled,” Kane says thoughtfully. “If anything, she would have died before serving someone. I never really understood why in the hell she wanted to bring back two tyrants.”
“Amari could have killed me multiple times,” Alyssa adds, her wheels turning now as well. “Castine could have killed me, too. Instead, she toyed with me and imprisoned me with Kane after starving him. Supposedly she wanted him to drain me, and as a true mortal, I would have died. But I wasn’t a true mortal, and witch’s blood is much stronger. Considering I was actually a creature goddess, my blood was ten times stronger than a witch’s. There was never any true risk of death. Both pretended to not know I was a witch, but both were working with Aunt Hilly, so they actually knew all along who I was. Hell, they knew what I was before I did.”
It all plays out like a freshly solved puzzle.
“They wanted you to live so that you could kill Dragona and Damon,” I say in a reverent breath. “They knew you were supposed to kill them, and they wanted you to go through with it. They only helped Hilly in order to open purgatory and let the unknown spill out.”
Gage turns back to Sadie. And she stumbles forward when he releases her from his invisible hold.
“Sounds like you were all getting played by my mother and Castine. They just never planned on getting killed in the process.”
She looks as taken aback as I feel.
Gage continues, only adding to the unraveling mystery. “It’s masterful, really. Everyone was supposed to be distracted with the two deadliest, coldest, most heartless beings known to man, that no one would see the bigger picture. Whatever they wanted, it was apparently more powerful than Damon and Dragona.”
That leaves me to shiver, and Ella drops to a couch and tilts her head back.
“I thought they were the most powerful beings,” Ella says, sounding exhausted already.
Sadie becomes forgotten, but I refuse to look at her. The others may find our world fucked up enough to overlook the crimes of her past, but I was one of her victims. I may not seek revenge, but I won’t forgive, and I sure as hell won’t forget.
“It might not have been a being they were after,” Dice interjects.
“Considering purgatory was apparently loaded with all kinds of shit, there’s no telling what it was,” Thad adds.
“None of it matters anymore,” Zee says with a careless shrug. “They’re all dead.”
Gage purses his lips. “As long as they were the only two who were after whatever it was, then it doesn’t matter.”
“One problem at a time, Gage,” Drackus says on an exhale. “Let’s deal with the rings and then find answers to this debacle.”
Drackus walks outside, while Liza and Sadie take the opportunity to escape outside for air. Everyone starts breaking off into groups to talk. Gage returns his attention to me, fully turning his back on Sadie, and he thumbs my bottom lip before kissing me on the forehead.
“What the fucking hell is going on here?” Kane asks suddenly, his eyes wide and horrified as I sigh long and hard. Guess the cat is out of the bag. I wasn’t expecting the Sadie bomb, and Gage has been supporting me through the entire reveal. Now things are just a little obvious.
“What does it look like?” Dice drawls, obviously enjoying every minute of this.
“You two?” Alyssa asks, biting back a grin. “Well I’ll be damned.”
“No. No. Hell no,” Kane says, adamantly refusing to even consider it.
Sadly, he thinks he bears influence on my decision. Instead of listening to him, Gage just leans forward and kisses me again.
“Drackus!” Kane growls, apparently wanting backup. This is going to be bad.
“Hells yeah!” Dice says like an excited schoolgirl.
Gage blows out an exasperated breath as he prepares.
“What?” Drackus asks as he returns, looking over at Kane who seems to be ready to bite through concrete. Overprotective alpha males.
“Do you know about this shit?” he demands.
Calypso winks at me, obviously granting me approval. Then again, she always did like the bad boys—hence the reason she married then remarried Drackus Devall.
“Know about what?”
Zee, Dice, Thad, and Chaz all sit down, stretching their legs out as they await the showdown. Thad and Zee sandwich Ella, and Chaz snaps his fingers to make popcorn appear. He grins over at me as he starts crunching down on it, and I flip him off.
“Apparently your dear daughter and your dear favorite dark user have found companionship in one another,” Chaz chirps, smirking over at Gage who doesn’t bat an eye.
Drackus flicks his eyes between us numerous times, and then he looks up toward the heavens and says, “Thank fuck.”
Silence descends, and Gage tilts his head, apparently just as confused as I am, but suddenly, numerous people exclaim, “What?!”
“I’m fairly sure there is a better time to discuss this,” I grumble, still contemplating on whether or not I’m healed enough to continue being so close to one of my captors.
But they all ignore me. “Did you really just say thank fuck?” Dice harps.
“Yes I did,” Drackus says with a shrug, coming over to clap Gage on the back. “Kimber won’t let me stay around her and keep her safe, but she’ll let him. And he won’t have it any other way.”
Of course that’s his reasoning. Damn men.
Drackus kisses my head before walking out, and Dice pouts. “Well, that was rather anticlimactic,” Dice says, frowning. “It was like sex without an orgasm.”
Karma smiles at him, and says, “So like sex with you?”
Heckles burst out while she sashays outside, and Dice follows on her heels. “There’s a r
eason Gage is casting soundproof spells now, and it’s not because you’re not getting yours,” he scolds.
The laughter continues as though everyone has forgotten about the woman who helped keep me in bars for a large piece of my childhood. It’s actually a little hurtful, but I’m trying my best to go on as though I’m just as okay with all of this as they are.
Gage tugs my hand in his as we walk out, and he turns to talk to Dice about moving locations to one of his bigger houses close by. I go to stand by Karma just as Chaz walks up behind her.
“So they tell me you can see an immortal’s power if you look for it,” he says.
“As long as I’ve come into contact with the power before and know what it is,” she says as she turns around, but then her mouth falls open, and she turns a little pale as she studies him.
That’s confusing. Chaz is blonde, muscled, and tall, but he’s not like the deadlier beauties out here.
“You… You’re… You’re a—”
“Duster,” he interjects, his eyes narrowing as a small smile curves one side of his lips. “Just a lowly duster. My magic even leaves a glittery after effect. You run into any of my kind before?”
She swallows hard before weakly answering, “Just one.”
“Don’t call him a fairy,” Dice warns. “He really doesn’t appreciate that.”
I laugh, but Karma still seems stunned. Chaz smirks and winks at Karma before walking away, but his grin is a little… odd. Different. As though he’s enjoying the fact Karma seems at a loss for words.
“You okay?” I ask her quietly.
She startles, and then she turns to face me, warily casting a glance at Chaz’s back.
“How well do you know him?” she asks in a whisper.
That’s… weird. “Since I came into the family. He grew up with Alyssa, and they’ve been close since always. Why?”
She once again looks at his back, and she gradually starts breathing easier.
“So you trust him? And his family?” she asks cryptically.
“His mom is Calypso’s best friend. She adopted him when he was younger. Why the twenty questions about Chaz? He’s the least threatening of the guys here.”
“No reason,” she says while shaking her head.
She looks over one last time, and Chaz’s eyes meet hers before he winks once again. She backs up closer to Dice, and she leans against him when he drapes his arm around her shoulders. Weirdest day ever.
I walk down to Chaz, curious as to why Karma is acting so weird. He tosses his arm over my shoulders without even looking, and he kisses my hair.
“Karma freaked out a little.”
“Oh?” he muses. “Why’s that?”
“Not sure. She just seems… off. Something you can explain?”
He shrugs. “Sometimes things aren’t always as they seem. And sometimes things are exactly as they seem.”
He grins at me when I scowl at him.
“That makes no sense.”
He laughs as I look back over my shoulder, and I see Gage leaning against a post of the porch, talking quietly with Zee. Chaz looks over to follow my gaze.
“I couldn’t have picked anyone any better for you. He’s strong enough to handle you, and he’s good enough to keep you safe.”
“Everyone seems to think I need to be kept safe.”
He snickers softly. “That’s because we love you. There’s no one I wouldn’t go through to keep you safe. Gage is the loyal type. He’ll die before he lets someone he cares about get hurt.”
He always has talked a lot tougher than a simple duster.
I look back just as Gage’s eyes meet mine. Zee says something to him, and Gage nods. When Zee walks away, Gage continues to watch me, and I take several slow breaths to calm my heartbeat. One look from him seems to make everything in me work hotter and faster.
Finally, he gives me a crooked grin and pushes off from the post before walking my way.
“Looks like we’re changing locations,” Deke says from somewhere close by. “Gage says he has a large house that is less than a few hours away.”
Gage reaches me about the time those words finish, and he leans down brush his lips against mine. “Come on. You’re riding with me.”
***
KIMBER
“We’ll check the perimeter, and then head up to the house,” Gage asserts, putting a hand on my back.
Kane shoots daggers with his eyes, but Alyssa laughs at him while tugging him in the opposite direction. We’re surrounded by woods, and there’s no trail to the house. Who builds a house right in the middle of the woods?
“How far away is your house?” I ask him as we trek in the opposite direction from Alyssa and Kane.
“About two miles. We’ll check the perimeter around it, and then we’ll head up. This place is pretty special to me. It’s where I come to get away. I suppose now it’s a place where everyone can come together.”
He tucks me against his side before bending to kiss my head, and I breathe in deeply. I feel so different around him. I don’t feel like I have to be so tough. I don’t feel as though I have to try so hard either. Which is odd, considering I felt just the opposite about him the other day.
Chaz and Zee walk up to cross paths with us, and Gage nods to them.
“Take her. I forgot something in the car.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” I say, my eyes narrowing on him. “No one should be split apart from the group.”
Zee smirks and steps in. “I’ll go. Dice’s mother was going to leave once she made sure everyone was okay with Sadie being here. Dice refuses to let her stay with us.”
I’m sure as hell not okay with Sadie being here, but I suppose we don’t really have a choice.
Gage bends and kisses me quickly. “I’ll be back soon.” He winks and then walks away with the night stalker, and I turn to face the blonde duster.
“He told me earlier I wasn’t leaving his side, and then he ditches me the first chance he gets,” I joke, and Chaz laughs lightly while dropping his arm around my shoulders.
“You and Gage. Didn’t see that one coming.”
He shakes his head while releasing a wistful sight, and I look around the woods, taking in every scene to check for possible disruption.
“You think Sadie is telling the truth?” I ask him somewhat randomly.
His smile falters before disappearing altogether. “Not sure. Only one way to know. But one thing is for sure, if she messes with you again, I’ll kill her. Well, if Gage doesn’t get to her first.”
That has me smiling ever so slightly.
“I was starting to wonder if her apology suddenly made everyone okay with the fact she aided in my childhood nightmares.”
His face hardens as he stares ahead. “I can promise you that no one is okay with it. But sometimes it’s smarter to wear the face of a friend as opposed to the face of an enemy. Believe me when I say that I’ll smile my friendly smile at her before ripping her head from her shoulders if she steps out of line and endangers anyone that I care about.”
My eyebrows go up in surprise. I expect that sort of thing to come out of the dark magic boys I hang around with, but not with the light magic duster. “That’s a vivid imagery.”
He snorts while steering me away from the house.
“You think dark magic is the only magic capable of revenge? Alyssa is my sister for all intents and purposes. By proxy, you became my sister the day you joined the family. Then I genuinely grew to care about you. Now there’s Ella. This damn family of ours needs to stop expanding. There’re too many people for me to take care of.”
That has me laughing. A duster taking care of a creature goddess. “Gage broke through a crystal stone trap. And then today he makes his dark confession that he’s not always been such a standup guy. I just—”
“Ella can break through traps,” he tells me, looking down at me. “Gage is strong, but Ella is stronger. She can be as dark as she wants or as good as she wants. Can I offer you
some advice?”
“Let me guess, don’t ask about things you don’t want to know the answers to?”
I smile, but his serious expression remains in place.
“Actually, I was going to tell you to accept him no matter what he tells you. Once upon a time, Alyssa was struggling with the truth about who she is. She wasn’t crazy about her darker side. We all have secrets. We all have crosses to bear. And we all need to feel accepted. If you persecute him for the person he was, then you really shouldn’t be with him. If you live long enough, you make choices you regret. But go mad if you spend an eternity dwelling on those regrets.”
That actually has me thinking it over, and as disturbing as it sounds, I doubt there’s anything I couldn’t accept. I’ve heard about Drackus’s dark past. I’ve heard his horror stories, and I still love him because he’s the only father I can remember. Kane’s shady history is rarely spoken of because he was under the influence of his sire, but I still love him. Zee’s history is the least disturbing, because he found a coven and his sire was killed early on, but it’s still a past he likes to keep buried.
The deeper we get into the woods, the darker it becomes. “How big is the damn perimeter,” I ask, cursing the moon for hiding its glow. Even my immortal eyes are having to strain.
Chaz smirks, but then a golden orb appears about thirty feet in front of us as he lights the way. The orb floats like a duster’s lantern, and the gold glitter flakes in its wake. I can’t believe Karma acted so odd around him.
“It’s a big patch of woods. Before they can spell it to ensure no one can get in, we have to make sure no one is already in.”
It’s funny how they still feel the need to explain everything to me, but I smile and take it in stride. Suddenly, a bright, redheaded doll appears in our path, and I bite back a grin as Karma walks alone in the doll she has possessed.
I suppose you don’t need a perimeter buddy if you’re wearing a form where you can’t be harmed. I wonder where her actual body is.
“For the record,” Chaz says, cocking an eyebrow as the doll continues on, barely glancing in our direction, “she’s creepy.”
That has me laughing and shaking my head. “Dice said the same thing. Then he screwed her.”