All Hail the King (Celestra Forever After Book 6)

by Addison Moore

  He blinks back as if the thought turned his stomach. “If it were so, that would truly mean she has way too much time on her hands.”

  The baby gives my ribs a walloping kick as if to say enough with the racket.

  Before I can agree with Logan, Mia and Melissa pour into the room, joining in on the top of the lung festivities, shouting something about finally being able to live in student housing.

  I roll my eyes at the thought. Back in the day, Gage shared a dorm with Coop, and quickly thereafter Gage and I rented a flea-infested hovel from Morley Harrison, Ellis’ slumlord of a father. Ellis helped me haul up a used and stained mattress from the alley and both Gage and I promptly got scabies.

  I would say that explains a lot, but Gage technically has a new scabies-free body. Come to think of it, he probably got some brain-eating prion due to the fact that new body of his was only meant for paradise and not cozying up next to a parasite at night. Figures.

  But then, Gage lost his mind before he ever took her as his bride, and I guess I’ll never know the reason behind his evolution to evil. I’d like to think he was engineered that way, but that’s just my ego talking.

  Logan’s phone chirps and we look down to see it’s a text from Ezrina. She wants us at the lab before noon, and we both nod at the idea. I’d rather sit and stare at Gage’s disembodied head than stare at Chloe’s flawless form any day of the week. She’s miraculously lost all her baby weight and has poured herself into a pair of jeans and a skintight sweater. I hate that she looks so good, and I look like the beast who ate West Paragon High. With my hair sporting a rat’s nest, it’s enough to make even Cerberus run whimpering in the other direction.

  Mia staggers up and wraps her arms around me. “Wish me luck. I have a mid-term today. Just because I’m a millionaire now doesn’t change the fact I’m on track to getting my degree.”

  Melissa scoffs. “Not me,” she says while manically tapping into her phone. “I’ve already dropped my classes. My daddy’s money is taking care of me now.”

  “Good Lord up in heaven,” I grunt. “If you don’t get back into those classes, you’ll be working for that witch Dominique Winters for the rest of your life. You don’t want that, do you?”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve seen how much she makes. Just last week, that twin of Gage’s dropped off a check that makes today’s winnings look like chicken scratch.”

  My mouth falls open as I look to Logan a moment. “Melissa, do you remember what he was buying?”

  “Yeah, something called conium, a hemlock alkaloid.”

  “Of course.” I shrug as if I knew what she was talking about, but thankfully Logan is already googling the shit out of it.

  Melissa steps in. “Wesley ordered it. Dom said it has to do with hiding the markers, but she didn’t think it would work.”

  A sense of relief fills me. If Dominique thinks they’re going in the wrong direction, then it’s probably true.

  I glance to Logan and nod, and he flashes his phone my way, exposing the fact he’s already sent the text to Ezrina.

  Less than a second later she texts back.

  Dead end.

  I shoot a sly smile to Logan. Here’s hoping Gage paid a mint for it.

  Melissa takes off and jumps onto Tad’s back, spanking his bottom as he races her around the room. There are simply some Landon traditions I don’t want any part of, so I promptly turn away.

  Mia jumps in front of me again. “Seeing that we’ve got the Midas touch now, I suppose Rev will be asking for my hand in marriage soon. And since Dad isn’t around, he hinted that when the time came, he’d ask you.” Her lips crimp and she looks so much like me. “You’d better say yes, Skyla. Don’t go ruining this for me just because you think you know better. Don’t be a witch just because everything is coming up roses in your life.”

  I clutch at my belly as that sweet baby Logan and I made indeed swims like a rose come to life. Chloe moves into my line of vision and promptly reminds me that roses grow amidst manure.

  “Don’t worry, Mia,” I say. “I want to see you happy. And so long as you stay in school, both you and Rev will have my blessing.” I blink a smile along with the scholastic threat, and she takes off for the kitchen, giving me the stink eye.

  Chloe comes over, swift like a demon in flight. “I’m glad I was here to witness the spectacle. So how many goats did you have to sacrifice to pull off another financial win for your family? You’re not fooling anyone, Skyla. Nobody is that lucky. And using your powers for financial gain is No-No 101. I’ll be reporting you to the Justice Alliance in the event you’re wondering who pulled the ripcord.” She glances down at my belly. “Wow, Logan, are you feeding her burgers, or cutting out the middle man and just letting her inhale cows at will? I’d go easy on the donut deliveries lest she crushes you one day. But then, knowing how much Messenger has always turned you on in whatever psychotic state she was in, I suppose you’ll enjoy it.” She glances to her phone. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get home and make love to my husband. I’m being summoned for my rockin’ body.” She gives a sly wink my way—most likely because she saw me ogling her perky boobs. “I’ll see you at Dudley’s in a couple days. You’ll just love my costume this year, Skyla.”

  “Is it different from last year when you pretended to be a devoted follower of mine and threatened to help your people? Or are you being more honest this year and dressing up like the traitor you are?”

  Her jaw clenches as her eyes harden over mine. “I’m no traitor, Skyla. I still have a heart for my people. But, since their fate lies in your ridiculous hands, I’ve given up hope for them—as have they.” She takes off sans her DNA deposit still clinging to my mother’s chest.

  My blood boils as I take it all in. Every cell in my body wants to weep over the fact that she’s off to make love to my husband. As much as I consider Logan as my husband, the memory of who Gage once was—he was my husband, too.

  We go to leave and Emily charges for us, baby Ella bouncing happily in her arms as a tiny Emily doppelgänger.

  “I have a message for you.” Em’s dead eyes hook to mine.

  “No thanks. Why don’t you give it to Chloe? She needs a good fright to set her straight.”

  “No can do, this is for you, Skyla.” She nods to Logan. “You, too.”

  “Fine,” I say. “But save it for a rainy day. We have to get the boys ready for preschool and then head to Ezrina’s.”

  Logan and I get the boys ready and head out into a downpour as we race to the minivan.

  I told Emily to save her petrifying prophecy for a rainy day. I should have realized it’s always a rainy day on Paragon.

  The lab at Whitehorse is far too bright and my eyes need to adjust from the nocturnal world Paragon routinely thrusts them in. We didn’t see Gage at the preschool drop-off this morning, but we see him now—staining the foreground of Ezrina’s primary work station, shooting the breeze with Marshall and Nevermore while holding a cup of coffee.

  He offers an amicable hello, and I grunt in response as I waddle my way to the fresh donuts sitting next to them on the counter. I pull out a glazed cruller. I can always appreciate their soft airy middle, and I take a bite and savor the feel of it in my mouth for a moment.

  “Chloe is waiting in your bed,” I say through a mouthful. When someone breaks your heart so violently, you don’t feel the need to be so prim and proper around them anymore. In fact, you long to show them the very worst part of yourself as a defense mechanism to keep them permanently at an arm’s length. But for the sake of Logan and Nev, I swallow before piping up again. “She was just at our house giving away your daughter to my mother like a door prize. Please collect your kid on your way home. You have your own mother. Mine is off-limits.”

  His cheek flickers and I can’t tell if it’s because he wants to scowl or smile.

  He glances to Logan. “Ezrina called me down. Said she wanted to show me something.”

  I suck in a quick breath as I wadd
le out of the room and deeper into the area that houses those overgrown glass caskets. I stop in my tracks when I see how large those pink slimy pods inside of the tubes have grown. The outlines of grown men wiggling and squirming startle me even through the blue keeping solution they’re soaking in. There’s a lengthy rope-like membrane that runs from a tube inserted at the top of the pod that hangs like an umbilical cord, rife with veins that pulse with life.

  “Skyla”—Ezrina pops out from behind while examining her glowing clipboard—“it’s time.”

  “Why is he here?”

  “I ask permission to share this moment with the enemy.”

  A dull laugh bounces through my chest, my eyes still locked on the hundreds of Spectators incubating like fetuses. Of course, this is just a handful of the Spectators from Tenebrous, the first batch if you will. But what progress. I can’t stop marveling at the progress.

  “Yes. Why not? It’s a harbinger of things to come.”

  She steps beside me, her gaze feasted upon the squirming masses as well.

  Ezrina disappears momentarily, only to return with the men.

  Logan takes his place beside me and Marshall ensconces me on the other side.

  Ezrina and Nev head for the control panels that are built into the walls to our left and Gage lingers alone. Every ounce of his obnoxious ego is taken down a notch as his expression grows fiercely sober.

  “That’s right, Gage,” I say. “This is what we’re capable of. And if my people can accomplish this, there is no stopping us.”

  A pair of footfalls quicken from behind as Wes comes into the room, panting.

  “Shit.” He strides boldly forward, his disbelief is so genuine I can taste it. “I was running late,” he says as he staggers back toward his brother. “Why, Ezrina?” He shakes his head. “No good can come from this.”

  A tingle of pleasure pulses through me. “Not for your people, Wes. Never for yours.”

  Now, now, Ms. Messenger. Marshall straightens. Let’s not exert ourselves on the enemy’s behalf. I wouldn’t let them boil your blood. This is your battle cry, whether they realize it or not. These are the sharpest weapons in your arsenal, my love. Welcome to your shining hour.

  I give Marshall’s hand a squeeze just as a quickening of lightning shoots over the tops of each of these glass cages at once and the writhing movements of those in the glass caskets grow increasingly spastic by the moment. Then it happens—the tearing, the ripping of the slippery membrane, the shedding. Soon enough, the blue keeping solution drains from each of the pods into an underground receptacle. The bodies drop to the bottom, then slowly they rise. A sticky gelatinous membrane glosses their skin, falling away in thick sheets as they struggle to rise to their feet. Each man is fully formed, naked, and as they were before their transformation by Wesley himself.

  A whistling noise hums over the speakers and the men look up and stiffen as if at attention. And in a moment the glass pods dislodge from the ceiling before sinking down into the floor of the lab. And slowly, one by one, they step off their platforms, choking and wheezing, some of them slipping, some of them intently fixated on Wes and Gage. One of them roars and is quickly joined by the others. The sound is deafening, exhilarating, chilling to the core.

  Wes is the first to speed out of the room, stalking away as if filled with rage. But Gage remains, wide-eyed, as the men begin to turn their attention his way, a violent tension quickly taking over the room.

  Gage steps away slowly. He nods my way as if acknowledging the victory before following his brother off the premises.

  “It’s finally happened,” I say, stepping forward. “Welcome to your new life.” My voice booms across the room as a water sprinkler bursts forth from the ceiling and their flesh washes clean, anew, as if they were never the monsters Wesley demanded they be.

  “This is it, Skyla.” Logan’s breathing is erratic. “This is the super army we needed.”

  Marshall nods. “They will be loyal to you, my queen. Have no fear. All will be well. In two days, the rug will be pulled out from under those menaces that scurried out of here like a couple of rats.”

  “Two days,” I echo. “I want a Faction meeting set for tomorrow night.”

  Marshall stiffens. “No details.”

  “No,” I say. “Just preparation.”

  For so long our Faction meetings have taken place in the barn just outside of Nicholas Haver’s house. The Havers live inside the same gated community as the Olivers, the Harrisons, Wes and Laken, Demetri, Marshall, and let’s not forget Gage and Chloe.

  Thankfully, Nicholas’ widow, Lucinda Haver, has generously allowed us to continue to have our Faction meetings here for as long as we like. The barn itself is cavernous. It’s been heavily refurbished and looks more along the lines of a pretty decent hall you’d rent out for any occasion.

  Coincidentally, I’m as large as the barn itself, and since I’m already seated in my supreme position in the front of the celestial masses, Logan graciously brings me coffee—decaf, of course—and a couple of crullers from the refreshment table. The Gas Lab has provided all the refreshments—dozens and dozens of yummy fresh donuts.

  I didn’t need to put in the request. Both Nev and Ezrina seem to understand my impulsive need for them. And each time I take a delicious bite, the baby offers up a kick of approval.

  Speaking of which, my baby, Angel, is getting so big. Her due date is just a hop and a skip away, and I can’t wait to hold this little piece of Logan and me in my arms. The last time she was with us—the cruel, cruel preview provided by my mother in the sky—Logan and I couldn’t get enough of her. I named her Angel in haste, and in truth, that’s what Logan and I have been using as a nickname. In no way are we actually going to gift her the name as a formal moniker. God, no. Especially in light of what we’re about to do as far as the government is concerned.

  The Faction meeting goes off without a lot of pomp and circumstance. They have been dismal for the last nine months since we’ve resumed having them. We discussed the minutia of Faction life and pulled together more resources for the youth classes, which teach about the many facets of our powers that are still being taught regardless of the fact Gage not only slaughtered Nicholas Haver but a few of the instructors for those classes as well.

  Someone asked about the Spectators—Emily, obviously concerned for her brother. Although, I’m not even sure what she’s doing here. Her allegiance to Celestra is wishy-washy at best. But I did hint there would be exciting news to come shortly. There will be.

  Ezrina and Nev are currently cataloging the newly regenerated Spectators. And soon Logan and I will speak to our new army on how we’ll proceed with them. They’re good guys. Good family people who will be reunited with their loved ones in just a few short days.

  Ellis and Brody have bought out every thrift store of their men’s clothing in an effort to offer them some sort of an interim wardrobe. And Marshall has helped set up a massive gym in the Wonderground to help them gain their strength back. It’s been one miracle after another, and it is certainly beginning to feel as if everything is coming up Celestra.

  Logan concludes the meeting with a prayer, and soon enough bodies begin to mill around the room. A familiar caramel-haired girl with a bright smile and an adorable infant strapped to her body in a pastel baby sling heads this way.

  “Laken?” I inch back as I struggle to stand. “What are you doing here?”

  She wrinkles her nose as she pulls me into a quick embrace. “Coop invited me. He’s invited me all along, but this was the first time I said yes. I hope you trust me enough to be here.”

  My heart pinches because I’m not entirely sure I do. I’m not entirely sure I trust anybody, and this is the exact reason Logan and I weren’t about to blab off our perfect plan.

  “I don’t mind one bit that you’re here. Let me see that baby.”

  She pulls back the fabric on the sling and I see him there, little Wes with his adorable face.

  “My God,
he looks exactly the way the boys did at that age. Oh, Laken, enjoy it. They really do grow so fast.”

  “Not fast enough.” She sighs. “He hates sleep. Correction, he hates sleeping when I want to sleep.” She covers him up again, and I can’t help but frown.

  “Laken, this isn’t going to win me any brownie points with you, but I think you should do a paternity test on Charlie.”

  Her eyes widen with horror. “Skyla, we did that. Ezrina did it, for God’s sake. I’m going to forgive you for that because you’re a big ball of hormones right now. But please don’t mention it again. I was satisfied by Ezrina’s results, and I wish you would be, too.”

  “But it couldn’t hurt. You could do it for me? When the Counts killed you off all those years ago, it was me who helped bring you back to life in Ezrina’s OG lair.” Sort of true. Sort of not. “You could just humor me and satisfy my curiosity. No Ezrina. Just you and me and some at-home who’s your daddy test.”

  Her mouth falls open and a dull laugh emits from her before she shifts her gaze to my right. “Logan, you should really take Skyla home before she offends anyone else. I’d kill her, but she’s playing host to your child.” She leans in and glares at me. “That is, if it is Logan’s child. Goodnight, Skyla. Good show.”

  She takes off for Coop, and Logan pulls me in.

  “You went for the paternity jugular again, didn’t you?”

  “I had to. I hate the spell Wes has cast over her. Look at those two,” I say nodding over to her and Coop. “They clearly belong with one another.”

  Laken finishes telling Coop something and he grimaces our way a moment.

  “She told him.” He takes a breath. “What’s done is done, but I bet Coop would love it. Let’s get home to the boys.”

  “Not before we hit Taco Bell. And every burger place between here and Whitehorse.”

  “What’s at Whitehorse?”

  “Have I mentioned that I’m craving a slice of Logan Oliver pie? I’m sorry, but my hormones have me hot and bothered and I need to moan my lungs out. I just can’t do that with the boys in the room.”