“So that’s the truth of your parentage. I sincerely do wish I had told you earlier, and had taken you away. You deserved a better childhood than you got. You deserved better from me.”
She watched him look down at his hands before reaching over to hold them in her own. “You did what you thought was right. Who knows how I would have reacted if you had told me sooner. I might have thought you were crazy.” She waited until he looked up at her. “As hard as my childhood was, I can forgive you for you intentions.” Persephone smiled softly. “You’re my real father, and showed me more love than Priscilla or Bruce ever did. I think part of me always knew, or at least suspected.” Leaning forward, Persephone put her arms around Daniel and gave him her first hug as his acknowledged daughter. “I love you, Father,” she whispered in his ear as she felt a lump in her throat and tears well in her eyes. His warm hands on her back, returning the embrace, comforted her.
“I love you too, lass,” he replied, his voice hoarse and rough as he fought back his own tears. “Alexandria would be so proud of you. So proud.”
***
Daniel held his daughter in his arms for the first time since she had learned the truth. He rocked her gently as she cried on his shoulder while his own tears flowed without stop. It had been so difficult to watch her grow up all those years, calling someone else Father, and not ever being able to know her true mother.
He had come so close to telling her the truth just after she had turned fifteen. Persephone had stormed into his store, furious at her parents over some trivial matter. He had let her pace around as she let her anger out, and when she finally calmed down, he had hugged her, rocking her from side to side as he was now, and had started to speak when another villager had walked into look at the books. Instead of telling her the truth, he had broken the embrace, leaned back, and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It will be alright, lass,” he had told her. “Your parents love you, even if you don’t hear it. They always have and they always will.” She had looked at him strangely for a moment before nodding in understanding and walking out of the store. His heart had ached as he forced a smile on his face and attended the customer. He just wanted to run after her and tell her.
Now, he had the chance to begin to make up all the lost time and he never wanted to let her go again.
Their moment was interrupted as William, who had wandered off to give them privacy, came running back.
“The sparrow,” he panted. “I see the sparrow returning. It will be here in a few moments.”
“You have incredible eyesight,” Daniel remarked. William just nodded in reply, so Daniel rushed past him and back into the harsh sun that approached the peak of its daily climb. Just as William had said, the sparrow came flitting towards him, landing on his outstretched hand and shifting from foot to foot, appearing as if it was about to take off again. The bird’s chest heaved and, lifting a gentle finger to its chest, Daniel could feel its tiny heart beating faster than it should have been. The bird had received a tremendous fright.
Glancing at the sparrow’s leg, Daniel noticed a scrap of paper and he quickly reached for it, frightening the bird. Relief washed cold through him when the sparrow didn’t take flight, and this time he reached for the note slowly, anticipation slowing time to an agonizing crawl.
The moment his finger touched the note on the bird’s leg, it unwrapped itself and fell into his palm, stretched out for it. The message delivered, the bird took off, flying away with such a speed, Daniel was sure that it wanted to get far away before he made it deliver another note. He lifted the note to read it, and his heart skipped a beat. Daphne’s writing was scribbled, and he could see that it had been scrawled in a hurry. The words caused the blood to drain from his face and a cold wave wash over him.
Villagers from Mythosandria are here. Arrived just after you left, looking for Persephone and Daniel. They haven’t come in yet but they’re right outside. Will try to throw them off your trail, but Malachi is here with his magick man. They’re under disguise but I know it’s them. Get as far away as you can!
Daphne
Daniel didn’t fight Persephone as she took the note to read it herself. Her gasp made him look at her, and he could see how unnerved she was as she trembled. William stood by, frowning at them before curiosity seemed to win out and he grabbed the note from Persephone. Daniel felt sorry for the man as he read his sister’s scribbled writing. He watched William purse his lips, and when the large man looked up again, his eyes were chips of ice, merciless and hard.
“I can’t let her deal with them alone.” Even the man’s voice was hardened and rough, and the sound of it made Daniel think of rocks tumbling from a mountainside.
He nodded in response. “I couldn’t expect you to. But you must know that I don’t want my daughter anywhere near those people. I have to keep her safe, and get her away from them.”
William strode to his horse and was readying the stallion for a hard ride back to the village. “I can handle it. You look after my cousin, old man.”
Persephone stepped forward, hands clenched in fists at her sides. “I am here, you know, I can speak for myself! And I’m not some useless child, anymore, I don’t need to be wrapped up and coddled.”
Daniel turned to her and put his hands on her arms. “I know that, lass, but I could never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
Her eyes were solid green and dark, like emerald stones of the highest quality, and a breeze that he couldn’t feel fanned her hair out behind her, whipping it around. Daniel’s breath caught in his throat, and he realized just how much she was like her mother.
“I can take care of myself,” she growled like a mountain cat.
He stood back and his mind raced. In her anger, she no longer held in check the magick neither of them had realized flowed through her. The wings gifted to her from Adrian spread out behind her, crimson red and breathtaking in all their glory. A bigger wind kicked up from behind her, a sign that she had inherited his Earth Magick.
Daniel put his hands up, glancing at William who stared, slack jawed, at this magnificent, magick-wielding woman who was his cousin by birth, yet was not of the same blood. Focusing on Persephone again, he moved slowly towards her.
“I didn’t mean that you couldn’t, lass, I know you’re a capable young woman. I just would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you, not now that we finally know each other as family.” He continued his careful stepping forward and placed his hands on her shoulders when he drew close enough. “You’re my daughter, I’m supposed to look after you.”
Relief washed through him as her magick wind died down and her eyes softened to their normal shade of green.
“I know, Father, but I don’t want to let William ride into a dangerous situation alone to rescue Daphne. She’s only trapped because of us.” Persephone took his hands in hers, and their warmth spread into Daniel, still chilled by the immense power lingering in the atmosphere. “I have to go with, I just know it.”
His breath hitched, and he knew with utmost certainty that Alexandria would have been proud of their girl. Daniel nodded, lowering his head as he acknowledged to himself that his girl had grown up.
“Alright,” he croaked, “we’ll all go. Once we get close to town, though, Persephone, you and I will stay out of sight, and William will go fetch her from the tavern.” He turned to William to continue. “Use the excuse of a family emergency. You have an ill uncle and your aunt needs your help around the farm until your uncle recovers.” Daniel paused, and when William nodded understanding and agreement, he turned once more to Persephone. “Promise me that once we get close, you won’t leave my side. We stay out of sight.”
Persephone narrowed her eyes at him and didn’t reply for a few moments, setting his heart a flutter. With the combined magick from Adrian, Alexandria, and himself, she was a force to be reckoned with if she decided to use her power. He let out a loud sigh of relief once she nodded, and uttered her reluctant response of “Fine
.”
He smiled at her scowl. It felt good to bicker as father and daughter, rather than just friends. We should head off then. Enough delay, let’s ride.”
The trio mounted their horses and urged the animals to a gallop back towards the village. Copious amounts of dust were kicked up by the flying hooves, and Daniel found himself squinting to see the way ahead, only managing to make out the dark forms of Persephone and William riding beside him. He found himself struggling to breathe, and began to cough, until he lifted his tunic enough to hide his mouth and nose. It wasn’t a sturdy solution, however, and it quickly slipped off. Thinking quickly, he waved his right hand in front of his face and mumbled a spell to filter the air. He was unsure if the dust in the air would be enough contact with Earth for his magick to work, and his doubt solidified when the spell failed to work. Daniel breathed in a dirt-filled mouthful of air and sputtered, and hesitated to breathe in more. When his vision began to swim, however, he gave in and was relieved to discover the spell had worked.
Daniel breathed in deep, and his lungs were soon full of fresh air. Shaking off his dizziness, he urged Chiron faster, and it didn’t take long for the village to come into view. He reined in his steed, Persephone and William quick to follow. They sat on their horses and tried to see through the dust as it rushed past, the wind carrying it ahead of them. Daniel realized that anyone looking out from the village would see three riders once the dust settled, so he turned Chiron towards some trees. As William and Persephone made to follow, he shook his head at the other man.
“William,” he whispered, “you should stay here. It will look suspicious if no one is standing here when the dust settles. You need to ride on. There should be enough Earth in the air so I can cast a glamour spell to hide Persephone and myself long enough to get to those trees, but you must go on ahead. Collect Daphne, don’t dawdle, and return to us here.”
“Understood,” William rumbled.
Daniel sat in his seat, closed his eyes and hummed. He sincerely hoped this would work. If it didn’t, they were probably dead.
Chapter Seven
Daphne leaned against the door of her bedroom, breathing heavily. The men from Mythosandria had asked around the other businesses and houses in the village, but were yet to make their way into the tavern. That wouldn’t last, though, as they gathered outside, waiting.
She had been watching them from her room on the second floor, and was shaken by the scene below. The man she was assuming to be Malachi strutted through the town as though he hadn’t been thrown out all those years ago, close to death. His magick man strolled alongside him, weaving his hands in the air, which was filled with electricity. She could only guess it was magick, and the thought made her hairs stand on end.
Her brother had left with Daniel and Persephone only a short time before these men came through the woods. She had heard a commotion outside, so had peeked out one of the windows across the front of the tavern. Although she didn’t step outside the building, she could hear Malachi’s hateful speech. It sickened Daphne to watch him swagger around like a cockerel, crowing in feigned concern over what the dangerous fugitives might do to an unsuspecting village.
“A wizard of Dark Magick,” he had called Daniel, “and his violently disturbed victim, my poor fiancée.” Malachi had held his hand to his chest and bowed his head in mock despair. “He kidnapped her, stole her away from her family, and claimed her as his own bride. He defiled the young woman I was to wed within the fortnight, bewitching her, and filling her head with fantasies. She thinks she loves him, and that he is a kind man, but he’s nothing except a charlatan. He must be stopped, and she needs to be returned to those who love her.”
His call to action raised anger within the village, but for all the wrong reasons. It saddened Daphne to see her beloved hometown fall under this man’s spell. She was thankful to be far enough away to escape what she could only assume was some sort of compulsion hex wrapped around his words by his pet. She had watched the people flock to Malachi, clamoring for more information, and many of them pointing in different directions, claiming they had seen two such figures wandering past the village borders. It was at that moment that she had raced upstairs, hoping that if she weren't seen downstairs, they wouldn’t think to check the rooms on the second story.
Quietly approaching the window once more, she looked down and saw some of the villagers pointing at the tavern, talking animatedly to Malachi who glanced up directly at her window. Daphne pulled herself back, and her heart beat erratically in her chest, making her whole torso vibrate. Turning around, she leaned against the window, closed her eyes, and tipped her head back. Her mouth was parched, and she moved her tongue around, trying to produce moisture. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, and permitted a small smile as the warm smell of vanilla wafted through her room. Daphne had forgotten about the scented wax candles she had lit earlier—a gift from her brother for her last birthday. They were an expensive luxury that she had only lit to calm her nerves.
The sound of scraping steps outside her door sent panic rolling through her again, heart pounding and breaths coming in quick pants. A gentle knock sounded before the door opened, and she frozen in fear until she recognized the intruder.
“William,” she gasped, rushing to throw her arms around her large brother. She rested her cheek against his solid chest, the warmth of his body soothing her as her own body warmed. After indulging in the comfort of his bear hug, she leaned back and punched him in the stomach, feeling a twinge of morbid delight. “I told you three to get far away from here, not walk in and hand yourselves over.”
He was still rubbing his belly. “I couldn’t leave you to goodness knows what horrible things they could have done to you. And you needn’t worry about Persephone and Daniel; they’re hidden in the trees waiting for us. I’m to collect you and we’re to leave with the excuse of a sick uncle living by the sea. So hurry, pack some clothes, and let’s go. I’d rather sneak out without being seen. I don’t trust that man in the slightest.”
Daphne shook her head. “Nor do I, brother. His pet,” she spat, “weaved some sort of hex around Malachi’s words as he spoke, and the whole village is under his influence.” She took a deep breath and looked around her room, trying to decide what to take and knowing she had to travel light. Striding to her wardrobe, she flung the doors open and picked up a leather bag. “William, grab my shoes, will you, while I pack my clothes?” Daphne placed enough tunics and trousers to last her a week as well as two nice dresses, just in case. Once her clothes were packed, she held out the bag for William, and he gently put two pairs of sturdy leather moccasins and her satin slippers worn only for special occasions. Daphne looked at her brother, eyebrow raised and smirk playing with her lips.
William shrugged and blushed, looking sheepish. “Just in case,” he repeated her own thoughts.
She swept her gaze over the room one last time, still grinning at her brother’s romantic side. He had always been like that, enjoying traditional dances and quiet dinners with a woman as much as the women usually did, while most men in the village didn’t want to waste their time with customary courtship. Daphne wouldn’t admit it to her brother, but she rather enjoyed the dances as well, though she wished she had found a man who she could enjoy them with. William had never realized that, as tough as she was, she was also a romantic at heart, and envied the amount of dances he would attend, dancing with any woman who wanted a dance no matter the age. No man in town had a problem with it, because they knew William the Giant was a gentle soul who only enjoyed the graceful movements, and never had dishonorable intentions. Just as no man seemed interested in escorting her to a dance, or even asking for a single song.
Daphne shook her head and frowned. This was not the time to get sentimental; they had to run. Blowing out her vanilla scented candles, she placed the glass lid over the jars that held them and wrapped them in a spare cloth, then grabbed a few other mementos and placed them on top of her shoes before tying the op
ening shut. William picked up the bag and swung it over his shoulder and walked towards the door while Daphne took one last moment to imprint the memory of her home in her mind.
In the hallway, William shifted and cleared his throat, so she turned to him and they ran down the staircase as quietly as they could. As they reached the bottom, she paused to glance to the front of the tavern and gasped. The men from Mythosandria, as well as their own villagers, were pressing against the windows gazing in. They’d been spotted.
“It’s fine,” William whispered to her. “We have our story, remember? Sick uncle on the coast, we have to go help our aunt while he recovers. Stick to it and we’ll be fine.”
Daphne took comfort in his steady voice, but the next words coming from one of the men outside chilled her to the bones.
“There they are! They’re the ones who were harboring that wizard and his slave. Get them!” The rest of the crowd raised their voices into one single roar, and William bolted, dragging Daphne along behind him. It took her a few moments to gain her feet, and they were soon rushing through the kitchen and out the back door where Skylla and her own mount, Pyrois, a fiery chestnut mare, were waiting for them. William strapped Daphne’s bag to the saddle on Chiron, and the twins swung on to their mounts, urging them straight into a speedy gallop. Behind them, Daphne could hear the men pour out of the back of the tavern, angry voices following them as they sped away towards the trees that hid Persephone and Daniel.
***
Persephone stood at the edge of the small forest, chewing her lip and frowning as random shouts rose from the village. Every fiber in her body urged her to go to the aid of her cousins, but she knew Daniel would worry, and she didn’t want to do that to her father. Instead, she paced between two trees, glancing towards the village each time she turned. Her lip was sore from being chewed on and she was getting a cramp in her neck from straining it to see something, anything.
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 280