“Shut your mouth.” My father’s skin burned crimson as he snapped his face toward me. I pointed my finger at him like a gun. “Threaten her again, and you’ll be a very sorry god, Balor.”
My father’s mouth was a slit in his ivory face. “Tread carefully, Destiny. Don’t let your tongue write checks your magic can’t pay.”
“Oh, I can pay, Daddy.” I gritted my teeth. “I mightn’t be able to kill immortal scum like you, but I can drain the life from every single member of your clan if I want. And what kind of god with you be without a family to do your bidding?” I dropped my voice to a faux whisper. “You’d be the eunuch of the Celtic world.”
“What are you doing here, Destiny? I’d hoped you were smart enough to come begging forgiveness, but it seems you inherited your mother’s intellect after all,” my father drawled.
Nick stroked the inside of my wrist and I stared down at my hands, suddenly aware the temperature in the room had plummeted. I gazed at the tendrils of black magic swirling from my fingertips. It had always seemed absurd to me that something so lethal could be delicate and beautiful at the same time. I focused on the warmth of Nick’s touch against my skin as I glared at my father. “Where are the children?”
“Like my men already told your little friends, I know nothing about the missing children, Destiny.” My father examined his fingernails as if he was already bored with my company.
“Bullshit, Balor.” I took a step forward and traced a rune that sent his golden crown spinning into the air. “Your men kidnapped a child from Guild property using exactly the same method the kidnapper has been using.”
My father shrugged one shoulder. “Possibly it’s the same kidnapper, we didn’t take the child.”
“Stop the lies! We know you took her, Markus returned her to us.” I faltered when I saw my father cut his eyes viciously in Markus’ direction but the red witch didn’t flinch, staring straight back at my father with his jaw tight.
“We were using the girl to draw you out, yes. But we didn’t take her from her home. I can’t even take credit for being aware of the child’s existence. An anonymous source contacted us the morning after you’d escaped in Galway and told us they had something in their possession that would lead you back to the clan. Obviously, I didn’t expect you to come riding in on a snow white horse,” my father said, cutting his eyes toward Snow and her men.
My lip curled. “An anonymous source? How stupid do you think we are? And what did this source ask for in return? A chest full of gold coins?”
“No. I think all they wanted was for your attention to be diverted.” My father grinned at me like a sly old fox from a fairy tale. “And it looks like they got what they wanted, didn’t they? I wonder what they got up to when all your attention was on me?” I spun around to face Patrick and he stared at me in confusion, his look of quiet confidence shattered. Nick gripped my arm and glared pointedly at the wavering shimmer of blue.
My father chuckled. “Not quite what you hoped for, little one?” Without warning, he leaped from his throne and grazed my throat with his fingernails. “You’re mine, Destiny. You were always mine.” He leaned closer and his breath crawled over my skin. “And your mongrel daughter and your slut of an aunt are mine too—don’t ever forget that. You might escape today, but when I decide it’s time, you will return to me, child. Free Witch or not, you will be mine.”
With a roar, Nick flung my father away from me. Patrick swept us out of the way, just as Balor blasted a bolt of energy through the air. Snow and her men ushered us out of the room at the speed of light, leaving my father pacing the charmed ballroom like a caged lion. Snow’s soldiers guided us toward the stairs but Izzy broke away from the crowd and sprinted back to the doorway of the ballroom, standing just beyond arm’s reach of the charm.
“I’m going to warn just this once, you mother fucking shit eater, you come after Destiny or her little girl, and I will gut you. I don’t give a fuck if people say immortals can’t be killed, there’s a whole heap of humans with no powers that tell me otherwise—somebody killed their gods, so I can find a way to kill you. You come for her again, Balor, and I will end you. That’s a fucking promise. And I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” My father froze and stared at Izzy like he was seeing her for the first time. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped as he roared at her to stop and face him, but Blackwood and Teddy grabbed her by the arms and spirited us all down the staircase and out the front door before he had time to formulate a sentence.
When we reached the gates, the rest of Snow’s men were waiting for us on Griffith Avenue with what could only be described as a shit-kicker of an armored bus.
“So much for flying under the radar,” I muttered.
Snow’s lips curved up on one side as she clicked her safety belt into place and the driver released the hand-brake. “As you young people might say, we’re royally fucked. At this stage, staying together and alive is the best we can hope for.”
I sank into a seat between Nick and Markus and nodded, keeping half an eye on Patrick who was staring bleakly into Dublin traffic. Izzy, Blackwood, and Teddy were engaged in an intense conversation at the back of the bus, and I massaged my temples as I tried to process the information I’d received in the last few hours. My stomach was heavy. “We were played, weren’t we?”
Nick and Snow glanced at each other before Nick answered my question. “Yeah, Destiny, I think we might have been.”
“Fuck.” I let my head fall back and screwed my eyes shut. “Why the hell did the kidnappers want us away from Galway? Did they take more children?” I sat forward with a jolt and pressed my hands over my mouth. “Saoirse!”
“I’ve already—” Patrick and Nick stared at each other as they spoke in tandem. Nick extended his hand to let Patrick continue. “I’ve already asked a contact to check on Aoife and Saoirse. We should get word soon.”
Nick nodded. “Same, I asked Lan to see could she get somebody to reach Aoife.”
“Thank you.” I glanced from Nick to Patrick. “Both of you.”
Snow pulled out her phone and began pressing buttons furiously while whispering with her men in hushed tones. Nick squeezed my knee and then slipped out of his seat to join Izzy and her men at the back of the bus. Markus stared down at his hands with his brows drawn together. “Destiny?”
I stared out the window as the leafy Dublin suburbs were left behind, replaced by grittier neighborhoods. I already knew what Markus was going to ask. “Yes. I have a little girl. Not the little girl you rescued from Murphy.”
“I figured that much, Destiny. Nick’s daughter is at least ten,” Markus said.
“Twelve.” I rested my head against the seat in front of me. “Maya is twelve.”
Markus nodded. “And your daughter—”
“Saoirse.” I bit my lip.
“Saoirse.” Markus’ crooked smile made my chest hurt. “That’s a pretty name, Destiny—freedom.” He looked down at his hands for a minute before he turned his green stare on me. “How old is Soairse?”
“Two.” I knotted my fingers together. “Two and a half.”
He barely moved. I wasn’t even sure he had drawn a breath until he spoke again. “And is she—”
“Yes,” I whispered. Markus exploded from his seat and stormed down the aisle like a raging bull. Blackwood opened his mouth to roar at him, but Izzy held him back, whispering something in his ear. My cheeks blazed with mortification and guilt as I realized everyone on the bus had figured out what was going on. Probably before Markus had realized himself. Patrick sat down beside me as Markus flung himself into a seat out of my line of sight. I wrapped my arms around my chest. “I’m a pretty shitty excuse for a person, right?”
Patrick exhaled slowly. “You did what you thought was right at the time.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Let the guy I was supposedly in love with rot in my father’s crypt for three years while I raised a child I didn’t even tell him existed?”
“I never
said it was the right decision. Just that you believed it was when you made it.” Patrick shrugged.
“And that’s enough? That makes it okay? Because I feel like a pretty horrible person right now.” I crushed my fingers against my lips.
Patrick’s forehead creased. “I don’t know, Destiny. I don’t know what makes something right or wrong, but every decision I’ve ever seen you make has been because you thought it was the right one for Saoirse. If I was a father, I think that’s what I’d want the mother of my child to do.”
Patrick put his hand on my knee, palm up, and I let my fingers curled inside his and my head rest on his shoulder. “Thanks, Patrick.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused. “Just to be clear, I do think you made fucking awful choices and Markus has every right to be furious with you, but I think he’ll come to realize that deep down you had good intentions.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yes, I did understand that’s what was inferred. But thanks for spelling it out so clearly.”
“No problem.” Patrick stared out the window.
My head was warm and heavy on Patrick’s shoulder. “You’re feeling shitty because your visions didn’t give you any indication we were being played, and things might have gotten a whole lot worse while we were away from Galway?”
“You’re such a bitch.” I felt Patrick’s grin on the side of my head.
“You deserved it,” I said.
“I did.” Patrick’s grin faded. “I just don’t understand it. I mean, my visions aren’t always crystal clear but this is different. It’s like somebody has put a block in my mind. Ever since I woke up this morning, it’s like there’s a blind spot in my brain. I can see so many other moments, far into the future in all directions, but when I try to focus on the children—nothing. That’s never happened before so why is it happening now, when I really need my sight?”
I lifted my head to look into his eyes. “Maybe you’re trying so hard you’re psyching yourself out? You’re too invested in it?”
“How can I not be invested in it? Somebody’s taking these kids, and they’re not planning on giving them back, Destiny.” Patrick met my gaze and his eyes were deep with sorrow. “I know I’m right about that much. If we don’t find them soon…” His voice trailed off for a moment. “And you made that deal with Magnus—”
“Yeah, I don’t know if that matters so much anymore, Patrick.” I stared down at my lap and Patrick ran his finger along my jaw so that I raised my eyes again. “You heard what my father said; he’s not going to stop until he gets what he wants. The Free Witches couldn’t protect their own children, why do I keep fooling myself they’ll be able to protect mine? There’s no future for us in Ireland.” Maybe there was no future for us anywhere.
Before Patrick could reply, Nick bounded into the seat in front of us. “Lan just messaged—Aoife and Saoirse are with her and Maya at The Paper Heart. Aoife managed to undo the sleeping spell, Maya’s awake and doesn’t remember anything. She’s okay. Saoirse’s safe. They’re all safe.”
Relief burned like a hot coal in my chest and I reached over the seat and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank fucking gods.” I glanced out the window at the countryside rushing past in a blur. “How long until we get back to Galway?”
Snow tapped a deep red nail against the screen of her cell phone. “Approximately forty minutes. I’ve asked Lan to encourage the parents of the missing children to go home with the promise that we’ll contact them with any further developments.” She pinched her lips together. “Hopefully we won’t be delivering them more bad news when we uncover your father’s mysterious correspondent.”
As I glanced from Nick to Patrick’s drawn face and down to where Markus was glaring at the darkening sky, I couldn’t help but feel the worst was yet to come.
Chapter Eighteen
I pressed my forehead against my hands and squeezed my eyes shut as I listened to Snow’s voice repeating the same details we had sifted through endlessly since we had returned to The Paper Heart. Children’s names, ages, skills, home addresses—they rattled through my brain like a freight train, shuddering and jolting. Hearing the door to the case room open, I glanced up as Aoife and Lan bustled into the room with trays of cake and pots of tea and coffee. I froze when Markus followed them through the door. I wasn’t ready to talk to him again, not yet. I waited for him to move across the room before I slipped into the corridor and sank down onto a packing crate full of art equipment.
Aoife followed me, holding out a fudge-frosted cupcake. “Here, have this sugar overload with my blessing. I think you need it.”
“Thanks, Aoife.” I took the cake from her and picked at it listlessly. “Are Saoirse and Maya still sleeping? Have Peggy and Elizabeth already gone back to the Silent Quarter?” Aoife’s friends had come to The Paper Heart to help her perform the ritual to break the binding between Markus and my father’s clan.
Aoife nodded and settled herself on the box beside me. “Yes, pet. The kids are grand. Teddy and two of Amelia’s soldiers are standing guard on their bedrooms, and Elizabeth and Peggy helped me erect a stronger charm around the building before they went home—nobody is getting anywhere near the girls tonight, Destiny. I promise.”
Through the glass in the double doors, I watched Markus cross to the far corner of the case room. I set my uneaten cupcake on the crate beside me. “How did the ritual go?” I twisted my fingers into a knot. “Will he need the rite of fire?”
“No, the ritual worked, Markus won’t need to suffer the rite of fire. Your father can’t punish him anymore, love. He’s a free man.” I covered my face with my hands as I said silent prayers of thanks to the universe.
Aoife stroked my hair. “Patrick told me what happened at your father’s house today. And with Markus.” I twisted away from her, but she caught my chin. “Hey, don’t make that face, Destiny. What your father did was terrible, but you’re not responsible for his actions.”
“I’m responsible for my own,” I muttered. “I forgot about everyone I left behind—”
Aoife caught my hand. “Markus wasn’t ready to leave, pet, he was enthralled with the clan and its power.”
“You don’t get it, Aoife.” I scraped my hair away from my face. “I didn’t want to leave either. After Mammy was taken and you left me…when I was alone—I liked my life at Dagda Prep.” I shook my head and stared down at my hands. “I liked being the black witch—being all-powerful, drinking, scaring people, making mayhem. If you’d sent Patrick to me with your message a few weeks earlier, before I found out I was pregnant—I don’t know what choice I would have made, Aoife.”
“Your pregnancy brought you to a crossroad, Destiny.” She squeezed my hand. “And this is the path you chose. Can’t you let yourself feel proud of that?”
I pulled my hand away. “No, I can’t. Because maybe Markus would have chosen this path too if he’d known I was pregnant, but I took that from him. And I left him behind. And I left Willow behind again today. I didn’t even try to find her—”
“Stop.” Aoife glared at me. “Enough, Destiny O’ Neill. I’ve had enough. I have held my tongue and held tongue, and I can’t hold it a second longer. I should have spoken out a long time ago, but I was afraid of pushing you away, afraid of hurting you. Maybe I’ve done more harm keeping silent.” Aoife crushed her hands between her knees. “I forgive you, Destiny, For the way you treated me when you first came to Galway. For punishing me for not taking you with me, even though you knew I couldn’t protect you until I’d been cleansed of your father’s hold over me. For not understanding that every moment of agony I suffered through in the years we were apart was for you. For not trusting me with Soairse and for thinking she needs a whole coven because her family wouldn’t be enough—I wouldn’t be enough. For believing your father’s poison instead of my love when I tell you your past and your magic doesn’t define you. I forgive you, and I love you, without question or boundary, just like your mother did.”
I opened
my mouth but Aoife held her palm out. “I’m not done yet, my girl.” She leaned forward. “I forgive you and so will Markus, but now you’ve got to start forgiving the rest of us. Because we all hurt the people we love sometimes. We all let them down. Coven, clan, family, lover, friend—nothing is failsafe in this life. So, you’ve got two choices here, Destiny; you can spend your life counting all your mistakes and wallowing in them until they choke you in your sleep, or you can dust yourself off and try again.” She raised her eyebrows. “But whatever you decide, I want you to do it knowing that in this building alone there are more than a few people who are willing to suffer through pain and torture so they can run to your side. Including three very handsome young men who haven’t taken their eyes off you once this evening.” Aoife patted my knee and slipped off the box. “The ball is in your court, pet—drown or swim.”
I stared at my aunt as she disappeared back into the case room. Izzy crossed Aoife’s path on the threshold and walked over to me with a steaming mug. She nudged the crate with her knee. “Is this spot taken?”
“No.” I tucked my hair behind my ears and spread my fingers wide. “No, Aoife was sitting there but she’s gone.” Izzy settled himself into the chair and I shot her a bemused frown. “I think she just scolded me.”
“Then you definitely need this tea.” Izzy handed me the mug and grinned. “What was she mad about?”
I took a sip of the warm, milky tea and swallowed gratefully. “Nothing I didn’t deserve.” I rested my elbow against the wall and twisted my body to face the gold witch. “Izzy, what does the I.G.S. want from me? No bullshit. Just be honest, please.”
“Destiny, if you want to talk to the Guild, Snow is the woman to have that discussion with—I’m barely an agent, I wouldn’t even be allowed in the field if the guys weren’t with me,” Izzy said.
“Come on, Izzy, neither of us are that fucking stupid—you know something.” I crossed my arms and gave the pretty brunette a hard stare.
Wicked Destiny: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Series (Wicked Witches Book 1) Page 15