Three
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Camilla
“C amilla. We must gather what we have and flee. The island is not
safe anymore.”
I tapped my finger on my glass. The soft glow of the overhead light illuminated Quincy and the other members of the coven in the doorway. All were packed and ready to leave, their bags littering the floor around them. I felt her eyes on me, the satchel she had slung across her chest full of the small skulls she collected. “Nowhere is safe, Quincy. Not anymore.”
“The Hand has already secured every other location, but they don’t know about the hideout off the coast. I mean, where else do we go?”
A soft chuckle left my lips. “Iassulyn probably.” Quincy approached the table, soft blonde curls framing her face. “Leave, take the rest of them. It won’t matter where you go. She won’t come for you.”
Quincy placed her hand on my arm, her grip light. “May the goddess watch over you.”
“All the old gods are dead, love,” I whispered. I forced a smile, and she nodded before turning away, the others picking up their bags and following her. I listened to the worried tone of their chatter, their footsteps fading as they moved toward the door.
The wind had stilled, the island the quietest it had been since I’d laid claim here. Cool glass touched my lips, the sweet, tangy flavor of the wine exploding in my mouth. I had been saving it for a special occasion that would never come. I savored the taste and stared into flames of emerald green as they danced beneath the mantle.
“What have you done?” I yanked Drake’s sleeve, making him turn toward me. Several Otherworld creatures filed out of the room, whispering amongst themselves. The corpses Tobias had used for Kaden’s little show dropped to the floor, no longer of service.
Drake glared at me, agony darkening the vampire prince’s golden eyes.
“I did what Kaden commanded. What we had to do.”
“This was a mistake, and you know it. You know it. She was your friend.”
“And she was your ex-lover. You handed her over just as much as I,” he snapped, yanking his arm from my grasp. “I had no choice, Camilla. None of us do because of Kaden, because of The Order. Listen, Ethan is my brother, my only family. No matter how I feel, I couldn’t let him lose his mate.”
His eyes softened behind the monstrous mask he wore. I knew some part of him regretted what he had done, but he was family bound.
“She will come for us now. All of us. You heard the death cry and felt the world shake. Gabby was a leash that held a rabid beast, and now that tether is gone. There is no stopping her. I can feel it now. All of us can.
Something shifted, something old and—” I didn’t have words to explain what I felt, but it sent terror skittering through me.
Drake only shrugged as if words failed him, too. “Maybe death will be a mercy after everything we have done.”
Before I could respond, Ethan’s voice cut through the departing crowd, calling for his brother. His face held no remorse as he clung to the wife that had condemned us all.
“Go home, Camilla. Spend time with your coven because she will come, and I don’t think Kaden or Samkiel can stop her now.”
An icy chill went through me as I watched him leave. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself and turned back to the room. I had one last thing I needed to do. Some would call it remorse or guilt, but either way, I refused to give Kaden another weapon.
I tilted my head back, folding one arm over the other, my hair spilling down my back. What had we done? Even if our relationship hadn’t ended on good terms, taking the only thing from Dianna she loved was unforgivable. Kaden and The Order were older and more powerful than all of us. They were unstoppable. My hands were just as dirty as Drake’s, as
everyone on Kaden’s council. In her eyes, we were all responsible. And we were. Maybe Drake was right. Maybe death would be a mercy.
I swirled the shimmering red liquid in my glass. Thunder clapped above, but when I glanced out the window, I saw not a single cloud in the sky. I knew then it wasn’t thunder that shattered the night. I didn’t jump or move when the screaming started but only glanced at my glass, watching as ripples formed in the blood-red liquid. My heart didn’t flutter or change its beat when I felt my home shake. I felt the song of magic along my skin as they tried to fight back, but there was no fighting—not against vengeance, not against ruin, not against death.
The double doors slammed open and crashed against the wall with enough force to crack the heavy wood. Cold air filled the room, and my exposed skin prickled, my dress a ridiculous attempt to protect me from the chill that ran through me. The candles along the walls and ceiling flared and died. A hush filled the mansion. No more screams or spells, not even the sound of a heartbeat in the house other than mine. I took another sip of my wine, not lifting my gaze from the green flames in the fireplace. Even they appeared to cringe from what had just entered.
“You know.” Her heels clicked against the floor, slowly, deliberately. “I forgot all about Quincy.”
I squared my shoulders, knowing she had not spared even one of them.
“She was a young witch.”
“Hmm, she was cute. Fragile but cute. I remember seeing her curls on the screen. They were always so shiny and bouncy. I need a good moisturizer.”
I knew exactly what screen she meant and remembered how my stomach sank when Tobias had whirled that camera toward us. She’d memorized every face there, and now she wanted blood. I was wrong. No one in my coven was safe. I had damned them all.
“You redid the place since I was here last,” she said, her voice hollow and devoid of emotion. “It’s nice. Well, it was, at least.”
I turned and nearly dropped my wine glass. The green flames leaped higher, my magic flaring as if to protect me from what walked toward me.
Her nails scraped the table, chipping away at the smooth stone. The dark, archaic power emanating from her made my body tremble. I remembered her being a fraction of what I felt in this room, but then that was before, when Gabby was alive to drag her back from the brink. Now there was no
Gabby, and that sharpened edge she’d always teetered on was a thing of the past. She had dived head first off it, slicing herself to pieces on the way down.
Dianna’s once hazel eyes now bled solid crimson, the Ig’Morruthen making its presence known, the beast no longer hiding. Her cheekbones were sharper. The pantsuit she wore clung to her deceptively lean and feminine muscles, showcasing the best of her curves. The hem of her coat waved in some unseen breeze behind her. She had been feeding. A lot.
“Yes, I had to get new furniture after you and Samkiel nearly destroyed the place.” I swallowed the last of my wine and placed the empty glass on the table before the tremble in my hands made me drop it.
She paused, and I saw it then. The rage, anger, and hate disappeared for a mere second. My magic felt it too. The harmful power she held around her as a shield fractured, as if his name was a lover’s song, coaxing a trembling beast. But my hope, along with that song, lasted only a second before she corrected herself. I didn’t think even she realized the visceral reaction she displayed at the mention of him.
“Oh, Dianna, you can’t hide your heart even when you are fully gone.
Kaden knew that too. Why do you think he acted so rashly?” I was right. I had been right when I first saw them together. Kaden had seen it, and that was the true problem. Her reaction, while minuscule, was only further proof. “Where is Samkiel, by the way?”
Her eyes flared a shade darker, and she was in front of me. She grabbed me by my chin, lifting me and cutting off anything else I might have said.
“You know I haven’t had a taste for witch since…” Her smile was slight and devious as she scanned my face before her gaze dipped lower. “Well, you remember.”
“Just do it,” I bit out between clenched teeth, but she released me.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not you.” I fell to the ground, catching myself on my hands. She stepped around me, pulling out a chair. Sitting, she placed her heels on the table, crossing her ankles. “I don’t know if it’s sheer cockiness or idiocy that would make you come back to the one place you knew I’d search for you.”
“What can I say? I had no interest in delaying the inevitable.” I pushed myself up, wiping my hands on the front of my dress.
She clicked her tongue, inspecting her nails. “I always knew you were the smartest witch. I never understood why he wanted Santiago so damn
bad.”
“Santiago obeys orders better than I do.”
She sighed. “I guess we’ll see about that.”
I shifted on my feet, confused. Dianna’s words made it seem as if she wasn’t here to rip me to pieces.
“You’re not going to kill me?” I whispered in surprise. I hadn’t even considered the possibility.
She shrugged as if she wasn’t the threat in the room right now, but I knew what she was capable of when she truly fed. It made her damn near untouchable. I remembered the first time she’d slipped. It was so long ago, but I had never forgotten. Only Gabby could bring her back, and she was gone.
“Kill you? Camilla, let’s be honest. If I wanted you dead, you would have been gone the second I got here. I’m here to talk.”
“Talk?” I swallowed hard, somehow the prospect of that was even more
terrifying.
She nodded. “Yes. Now sit.”
I refused to obey. Dianna was behind me in a second, grabbing me by the back of my neck and forcing me to the table. How had she moved so fast? She hadn’t even disturbed the air. Steely hands forced me down, and my ass hit the chair. She reappeared on the other side.
“There. That’s better.” She cocked her head, scanning me. “What’s wrong, Cam Cam?”
Cam Cam. My nickname. Only she used it, and I hadn’t heard it in ages.
“Where is all that witchy badassery? The snark and magic. Where’s the one who tricked me? The one who stood there while she died. Hmm?”
I swallowed. “I didn’t think he would do it. No one did.”
“Really?” She chuckled softly. “You know him as well as I. So, let’s not play the I’m Innocent game. You know what happens now. You all do.” She leaned back, plucking at a long gold chain necklace. “But it’s okay because you have something I need.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know where he is. He left after it happened.
He opened a portal when he heard… Tobias and him, they left.”
She leaned forward, and the room went dark. The doors behind her closed slowly, the creak from the hinges sending a chill down my spine. Her eyes glowed, lighting up the room. They were nearly as bright as her smile.
How much had she consumed to have that much control?
“Oh, I don’t need you to find him just yet.”
“Then what do you need?” My question hung in the air, and I regretted it almost immediately. Her smile grew, her canines on full display. It seemed she wasn’t trying to hide the Ig’Morruthen anymore. I remembered when she would religiously check the mirror to ensure her reflection still portrayed the mortal shell. Now it seemed she had lost that part of her, too.
“More power.”
My eyes scanned her face, and I squared my shoulders. “If we are going to skip the formalities and not lie, as you put it, your power far outweighs mine. You have Kaden’s power running through every part of you, plus you’re feeding again. With all due respect, you’re wrong. You don’t need me.”
She clicked her tongue, wagging a finger at me. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not dealing with just Kaden. I’m dealing with Samkiel and his legion of celestials who all believe in peace, love, and fuzzy feelings. Any of who would be more than happy to show up when I destroy everything.”
Now my heart thudded. “What do you mean?”
“I messed up.” She placed her head in her hands and shook it. “I assumed he was like Kaden, you know? He wouldn’t care what I did. There were times when Kaden wouldn’t talk to me for weeks. I was wrong about Samkiel, but I don’t understand why. We didn’t even have sex.”
I swallowed, saying something I hoped wouldn’t get my head chopped off. “You know people can care about you without having sex, right?”
Her eyes lifted, and any hint of humor was gone. She placed her hands flat on the table. I didn’t know what I’d said, but a flicker of emotion passed across her features. She quickly buried it. I would have missed it if I hadn’t been looking at her.
“All I’m saying is, he’ll try to stop you. He will stop at nothing to get you, and not like Kaden. We’ve all seen the way Samkiel looks at you and how he is around you. Kaden had people watching the minute you left.
Kaden wants to possess you, but with Samkiel, it’s more than that, and a part of you knows it.”
I waited for her to snap, correct me, or maybe lift a hand and set me on fire, but her response was completely unexpected.
A forced smile curled her lips. “That’s lovely. Anyway, with that being said, I need you to make me something.”
I blinked. This wasn’t Dianna. Whatever broke when her sister died changed her on some deep level. She really didn’t care? I slid a tad bit of magic beneath the table. It hit a wall before ever reaching her and screamed.
I hissed, yanking it back into me.
“Very well.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder, trying to maintain the facade of being unbothered, but it was slipping.
Dianna’s lips curved in a small smile, and she waved her hand at me.
“Look at that. See, you’re already helpful.”
I lowered my gaze, eyeing my nails as I ran one thumb over the other.
What choice did I have? Fight? Even if I did, I knew I couldn’t stop her. I knew what Kaden truly was, and I had no chance. I’d hoped she would kill me quickly when she arrived, so I wouldn’t have to speak the next part aloud. It would have been better for her to find it after she’d reduced me to ash, but if I kept it to myself now, it would be so much worse when she discovered what I’d done.
I took a deep breath and blurted, “I have her body.”
The room stilled.
“I took it after it happened. They left as soon as they heard your cry. I think every Otherworld creature heard it. Even from miles away, we felt it.
Power rippled through the world when you screamed, even if you didn’t realize it.”
I looked up. The small smirk she’d worn mere seconds ago had slipped from her face. Her jaw tightened, her expression reminding me so much of the World Ender. Did she not realize how deeply they were connected? Did she not feel it? And now she wanted my help to avoid him while she tore Onuna apart.
“I know in your culture there are rites that must be performed, and I didn’t want Kaden to have… to have her body. I didn’t want Tobias to raise her and attempt to hurt you even more. Besides, it was a simple spell to preserve her.”
Darkness, thick and heavy, gathered in every corner, sucking the very air from the room. Dianna’s eyes bore into mine, and I knew she had been looking for her sister and had come up short.
I met her stare as she whispered one word. “Where?”
I stood from the table, her eyes never leaving mine as I raised my hand.
A wall shifted behind us, a door appearing in the far corner. I headed toward it, and she stood to follow. We walked down the narrow hall, the silence
between us oppressive. Emerald flames lit in the sconces on the walls as we passed. The hairs at the nape of my neck stayed up with her at my back. My body screamed danger, yet I kept going, one foot in front of the other.
The hall opened up into a large room. I twisted my wrist, and more magic hopped from one torch embedded in the wall to the next. Jars of bones and feathers rested on the shelves. A discarded, half-torn painting of my home covered the far back wall. Ancient art and relics I had collected littered the room.
I stopped at the entrance and moved to the side as she walked by. The flames on the walls bent away from her as she passed. There, in the center of the table made of stone, covered by a thin sheet, lay Gabby’s body.
Dianna ripped the cloth back, and the world stopped.
I expected a yell, a wall of flame, violence and rapture. My breathing quickened. I expected my head to hit the floor, separated from my shoulders by one of her blades. I expected her rage and vengeance, but what I got seemed so much worse.
Dianna stood over her sister’s body, her eyes never leaving her face. She raised a single hand and lovingly brushed Gabby’s hair from her colorless face. I saw Dianna’s nostrils flare and knew reality had slapped her hard.
The spell I’d cast helped, but I could not stop death, even with all my magic.
“In my culture, they say only a shell remains when you die. The soul leaves, taking every part that makes you who you are with it. You are welcomed to a great paradise of light and love. There’s no more pain or worry, just paradise.” She ran a hand over the other side of Gabby’s hair as if trying to put it back in place. “She’s so cold.”
Dianna’s eyes never left her sister, not a breath or flicker of emotion marring her features. I clasped my hands together and pressed my knuckles against my lips, swallowing back tears at her pain. The room went deathly still, tendrils of darkness reaching from the shadows, drawn to her and her agony.
Dianna reached out again, brushing the hair away from Gabriella’s face.
“I thought at first that maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was a terrible dream, and I could still find her, you know? How stupid is that? Even after I felt that mark sear my palm, I had hope, but seeing her like this?” She placed a kiss on her forehead before straightening. “I really have no one left now.”
“I—”
Roaring flames engulfed Gabriella’s body, and I gasped, forgetting my words of comfort. Dianna stood silhouetted against the angry glow, both hands extended, fire pouring from her palms. I stumbled back, shock washing over me as the sister she loved so much burned between us.
She stared into the crackling flames, their tips reaching, seeking more fuel. I feared my home would burn with us in it, yet as I watched, they never once licked the ceiling. She controlled them, the heat and the intensity.
“I buried my father. I buried my mother. Now, I will bury her.”
Dianna didn’t move. She just stood in front of the burning pyre.
Phantom pains shivered over my sides, chest, and throat as I remembered the clawed beast that had attacked and nearly shredded me only a month ago. I tried to keep my spine straight, but every cell in my body screamed for me to strike out, defend myself, or run. She felt so much like Kaden now, every dark and sinister power she’d inherited from him etched into her skin.
“Fear isn’t a good smell on you, Camilla.”
I swallowed and tried to regain my composure. “You’re different.
Everyone can feel it.”
Her eyes met mine through the flames, the stench from the burning body turning my stomach. “Good.”
“I’ll make what you want.” The words came out a tad quicker than I
meant them to.
“I know you will.”
The crackling of the fire and the smell were too much, even for me, and I turned to leave.
Dianna called after me, “I’ll need an urn and one other thing from you before we begin.”
I turned toward her, my heart racing. “Begin what?”
She glanced at me, the flames illuminating her dark silhouette.
“Dismantling an empire.”
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