by Laney Powell
“All right, take a look around,” Althaia said, “So that I can cast this spell. Since it’s late afternoon, there won’t be as many tourists. We won’t have long, but it’s important that you come here, where we were supposedly born.”
“Will it be like the Mother’s cave?” I asked.
“No,” Iliana answered. “But it’s special. You’ll see.”
“What’s the spell?” I asked, keeping my voice quieter. Sound carried over water.
“Just a cloaking spell, as well as whipping up the waves a bit. The entrance is quite small, and it will keep people out until we’re done. We’ll have about fifteen minutes,” Iliana said. “Then all the tourists who want to see it and take risks will be here.”
It seemed like a lot of effort for fifteen minutes, but this wasn’t my show.
“Okay,” Althaia said. “We’re hidden. Swim another ten meters or so, and then shift.”
I followed directions, and then we were approaching the mouth of the cave.
It was beautiful, with the water a deeper blue than it had been in the Mother’s cave. I could feel currents rushing under me, ready to sweep me along, had I still been in my human form. In my siren form, they were like a breeze around me.
We surfaced toward the back of the cave. “Various Roman emperors had shrines to their gods, themselves, their victories here,” Althaia said.
“It’s not like the Mother’s cave at all,” I said. “But you can feel history—time—here in a way I didn’t feel in the other cave.”
“Some of it may actually be ours. I just like it,” Iliana said. “And I agree with Mama. Every siren should have a chance to swim here. Because you’re right. The weight of history is present.”
I swam down below the surface, wanting to see if there was more. Instead, I found myself swimming around more rock formations, the water becoming less clear and less of the deep gorgeous blue.
There had been joy, and pain, and love, and anger and fear in this cave. That was interesting. I could tell, by the way the water felt.
When we left the cave, Althaia removed the spell after we’d shifted. I could see a crowd of people on the patio, as well as floating in the water. Almost as though they’d heard some signal, they started to move toward the Grotto.
“The water feels different,” I said as we were drying off. “Why?”
“You are connected to the water now in a way you’re weren’t before. And water, like everywhere else in the world, has memories. It has history. Have you been places, say in New York, that felt different?” Iliana asked.
I nodded.
“The water is the same. The Grotto is a place with memories,” Althaia said.
While it wasn’t as meaningful as the Mother’s cave, I was glad that we’d gone. We got back to the house in time for dinner. Jeno had everything ready.
Part of me didn’t want to leave.
All too soon, it was time to go home. I felt like I’d been wearing blinders my whole life, and now they were off. I could see more clearly, hear more—everything was more.
I wondered how sex would be.
I’d been texting the guys, and all I would tell them was that I had a lot to share, after being in my ancestral home.
“You must bring your men with you,” Jeno said, as he and Althaia stood near where we would open the portal. “It’s important for them to understand what is expected of the Karidias men.”
“Their families, at least one so far, hasn’t been thrilled that they have to join my family, if they stay,” I said.
“Oh, they’ll stay,” Iliana said.
I ignored her. “You’ll help them, Pappoús?” I asked.
“Of course. It will be a pleasure,” he said, pulling me in for a warm hug.
“I am so glad to have been able to spend time with you,” Althaia said. “Please be careful with your magic. It’s going to grow, and you don’t know in which way it will grow. So be careful. Don’t blast anyone,” she grinned.
“Thank you, Giagiá,” I said.
When she hugged me, I smelled her baking bread. It was the smell of home.
“All right, let’s go,” Iliana hugged both her parents, and then opened the portal. With a flash, we were back in the greenhouse on Minnette street.
“Wow,” I said, listening to the sounds of New York at night. “Wow, wow, wow.”
“I brought you back a couple of days before our next family inspection because you might need some time to acclimate. It’s pretty quiet on Kythira.”
“You are not kidding,” I said. “Is this what it’s like to be on drugs? Because it feels like it. It’s like there is more than one of me, or something.” I couldn’t describe it. I kind of recalled the way I felt after I’d gone into the cave with her and Althaia. It wasn’t as off the wall as that experience had felt—even as it was wonderful—but right now, this was pretty intense. I felt like my senses were on high alert, and I wanted to get inside and get under the covers. Shut it out.
Iliana laughed. “You’ll get more comfortable, I promise. Come on, let’s go in and share the news with your parents.”
Together, we walked into the house. My home. My other home.
I loved that my family was growing. Now I was going to have to learn how to use all these new things and powers and whatever to keep them all safe. My mind went to Violet. Raised without magic, which meant she had no idea why she’d been kidnapped. And if I knew the Concilium, they had some creep watching over her. She was family also, and she was out there, alone. She’d been taken, because the Concilium were a bunch of Underworld haters. We had to find her. I’d been enjoying this week with my family, with my guys—but I couldn’t forget Violet. We had to find her. I made a note to ask Iliana about her. We couldn’t just leave her to whatever the Concilium had planned.
Because as I’d been thinking about family, I felt a flash. A flash of the reddish black room, and the hint of brimstone.
He might be my father, but he would never be family. I’d make sure of it.
Chapter Seven
Matty
When we’d gone to see Silas and meet his parents last week, I could tell the minute we showed up that he was nervous. I remembered, at the time, that I’d wondered why. None of us were anything to be ashamed of. And Olivia? She was amazing. I’d wondered why he was more nervous than I’d ever seen him before.
Now I knew. I owed him an apology. This was agony.
I stood in my room, brushing my hair and making sure I looked good. There was no reason why I wouldn’t look good—I was totally presentable. But still, I stood here, messing with my hair and sweating my ass off.
Jake came in. “You okay?”
“Yes. No. This sucks,” I said. I didn’t have to say a lot. Twins were always seen as people who could communicate in ways that others couldn’t. In a way, that assumption was correct. Jake and I were tuned in to one another. Not like mind reading, or anything like that. But we shared the same makeup. We looked alike, laughed alike, and ran our hand through our hair with the same hand, in the same manner. It made sense that we’d share similar feelings, and be able to understand what the other was feeling.
“I hope it won’t be the pissing contest of last week,” he replied, referring to Silas’ mom. Her alpha display had been something. I’d felt for Silas, the poor bastard. But I wasn’t sure my parents would be any better. My mom was pretty snobby. I loved her, and she loved Jake and I to death, but you couldn’t deny that she was snobby.
Jake and I had told them a bit—that Olivia was a siren, from one of the ruling families—we knew that would impress Mom. And that she was unconventional. It had taken us two days to tell them that both of us were dating her. Mom had gotten up and gone to her room.
Dad stared at us, not saying anything. When he did speak, he said, “So. The same girlfriend. And you’re one of four. What’s that like? Do you have a schedule of who gets to spend time with her?” The fact that Dad went right to the practical made both of us laugh
, out of relief as much as humor.
Dad’s question, however, had broken the ice, and we shared more with him that day than we’d shared in years. He was always proud of us, came to all our rugby games in high school, and followed our grades and our sports progress avidly, even now. But we’d gotten removed.
I recalled Iliana’s warning. That we would need our families. The implication was that we’d better get it together now. I hadn’t thought about how telling them the truth, and dealing with the aftermath would be so fucking uncomfortable.
Mom had finally come out of her room for dinner that night, and said that she’d hoped for better for us, because while Olivia might be a wonderful girl, there was danger in being with her, and she didn’t want us to be in danger.
I opened my mouth to protest when I felt Jake’s foot come down on mine under the table. When I looked at him, he gave me a slight shake of the head. That was one of the best things about Jake, one of the areas we were different from each other. I got hot, and angry, and would go off. He was calmer, took his time, and generally didn’t lose his temper. It had helped me to back away from situations over the years.
“Why don’t you meet Olivia, and her family, and Caspian and Silas, and make up your mind then?” Jake asked.
“You’re in a romantic alliance with a siren, a wolf shifter, and a fae,” Dad mused. “At least you picked interesting people to ally with.”
“Reg, really,” Mom said.
“Well, think of it, Sophie. You’re always wanting us to have a foot in many camps. This expands our camps.”
Mom rolled her eyes.
But with nearly a week to get used to the idea, I had hope that Mom wouldn’t be rude, or mean, or anything that would make me cringe. Dad was far less worrisome. He was interested, and asked random questions. Dad was like Jake. He liked to think things over, to consider all the angles. And even then, if new evidence or situations presented themselves, he was capable of changing his mind. He was open to most things.
I just hoped it extended to Olivia. And the promises that both Jake and I had made. We hadn’t talked about it—none of us had. But we’d made a promise to Olivia, and each other. That promise had been sealed when the five of us worked together to close the hellway at Nobledark, and send that Marbys bastard back to Hell. It had been forged with the strength of Olivia saving us all, keeping us from being tricked into hurting ourselves. How did you forget that? I mean, ignoring that I didn’t want to forget it.
I loved Olivia. I thought I might have fallen in love with her when I saw her, the first week of school last year. She was quiet, with her head down, and she was always taking notes, or had her head in a book. It was only after the winter break that she’d finally, finally noticed me. I’d been on the point of considering drastic measures.
“If you keep brushing it, it’s going to fall out,” Jake said, bringing me back to the present.
“I feel bad for thinking that Silas was overreacting last week,” I said.
“Yeah, well, no one ever thinks it’s that bad until they’re in the wringer.”
“I thought it was bad, but I didn’t realize how bad it was going to feel,” I said.
“Listen, the worst part is over. They know. They may be unpleasant, but they’re not going to be shocked, or just learning about it. Can you imagine if we’d just dropped this on them at dinner?”
“Gods, no,” I said.
“Come on. You can’t do anymore. Let’s go wait for Olivia.”
“You know,” I said, “It would be interesting to see who comes out on top, Mom or Iliana.”
“I’m putting my money on Patty,” Jake said, referring to Olivia’s mom. “She is quiet, but I was watching her last week. She was ready to blow, and something brought her down. I don’t know if it was Roger, or Iliana. She was about to tear into Morag.”
“Well, Morag was trying to pick a fight,” I said.
Jake laughed. “And no one would give it to her, which I’m sure was frustrating.”
I laughed with him as we walked down the stairs and went to our portal. I wanted to be the first thing Olivia saw. Jake probably had the same idea, but that was fine. He and I had been sharing our whole lives. This was just a natural extension.
When I’d first learned that Olivia wanted to be with more than one person—both me and Silas—it had felt odd. But not that odd. I’d been okay with it. When I learned that Jake was also one of the people she chose to be with, that had been harder, initially. But then it just felt… normal. And the added bonus of no Wendi, his former girlfriend, made things even better. She was not a nice person, and I’d been pleasant for the sake of my brother, but I couldn’t pretend I was sad she was no longer in his life.
No, after a bit of weirdness, it felt right. How to explain that to my parents, though? I’d have to try with Dad, maybe. Maybe.
I’d been surprised she also wanted Caspian. But once he’d made the decision to be part of this, just like with Silas and Jake, it felt right.
Not that I was interested in Silas or Jake. But now, instead of only having one brother, I felt that I had three. And that, I liked very much.
We stood by our portal, waiting. The portal started to flicker, and then with a flash, Olivia came through, followed by all her parents.
I had my arms open and waiting for her. I kissed her, not caring that we were in front of her parents, or that my parents might be right behind me. I’d missed her, missed being with her, spending time with her—normally, I enjoyed the summer. But not now. Now, I wanted to be with Olivia and my brothers more than here at home.
Jake cleared his throat, and I let go of her, only to see her folded into Jake’s arms. He kissed her as well, although perhaps with less enthusiasm than me. He was more private than I was.
Roger, Patty, and Iliana all waited for us to say hello, all with varying degrees of smiles on their faces. Thank gods for that.
“Are Silas and Caspian here?” Olivia asked when Jake let go of her.
“Not yet,” I said.
Olivia whipped out her phone. “They’re coming,” she said after a moment. “Let’s wait for them. Do you mind?” she directed the question at her parents.
I took a moment to look at her. There was something different about her. It was almost as if she had an inner glow, or some knowledge that no one else had. She was… more confident. But that wasn’t it. I didn’t know what had happened, but she’d changed.
Maybe when she was with her mom in Greece?
“Strength in numbers,” Jake said.
I thought I heard Roger snicker, but if so, he covered it quickly.
“That’s fine,” Patty said. “As long as it doesn’t take too long. I don’t want our hosts to think we’re being rude.”
The portal flashed, and then Caspian was standing in front of it. Olivia turned to hug him, and he kissed her tenderly, his hand cupping her face. She tucked her head into his chest for a moment before moving away from the portal, which was flashing again.
Silas stepped through, and he hugged Caspian, pulled Olivia to him to kiss her soundly, and then hugged Patty, Roger, Iliana, Jake and me.
“What is going on with you?” Olivia asked Silas.
“I’m just so glad it’s not my turn anymore,” he said.
Which made all of us laugh. And that’s when my parents came in, when we were all laughing.
“Olivia Washington, this is Reginald and Sophie Pearson, our parents,” Jake said.
Olivia shook their hands, and introduced her parents.
Then I introduced Silas and Caspian. My mom looked surprised to see Caspian. All the fae I’d ever met were good looking, but he was particularly good looking. I was man enough that I could admit it.
“Why don’t we go and sit down?” Mom asked. “Dinner’s not quite ready yet.” She turned and led the way into the sitting room, just off the dining room.
Once everyone had come in, Mom moved around, getting drinks. She was not as aloof as I might have exp
ected.
Dad, as expected, was peppering Caspian with questions about the fae. I could see the expression on Caspian’s face. He was surprised by my dad’s enthusiasm.
Mom said, “Tell us about yourself, Olivia.”
I saw Olivia stifle a sigh. She’d already done this with Silas’ parents. She told them how she’d come to find out about her heritage, and how we’d all come together. My mom nodded and smiled, which surprised me.
With things going better than planned, we went into dinner. Olivia was seated between me and Jake, and I reached for her hand under the table. She smiled at me, and threaded her fingers through mine. We held hands for a bit, until my mother noticed, and gave me the eye.
I ignored her. Holding hands wasn’t anything horrible.
Jake
At least Mom put Olivia next to me and Matty. I half expected her to put Olivia at the other end of the table, but she didn’t. I found excuses to touch Olivia, to let her know she wasn’t alone.
Why had Iliana thought this was a good idea? Olivia looked a little annoyed, but she hid it well.
“You are doing great,” I whispered.
She turned to smile at me. “I feel like I’m just answering the same questions over and over.”
“There’s only one more after this,” I said.
Dad was talking to Patty and Roger. Iliana, strangely, was next to Mom, but Mom was chatting with Caspian on her other side about herbs. He was very enthusiastic in his replies. Herb nerds, I thought, grinning.
Silas sat on the other side of Iliana, and the two of them were speaking quietly.
I wondered if it was too soon to dare to hope that this would go off without a hitch? I shoved the thought aside, not wanting to jinx anything. Which was stupid, but I couldn’t help myself.
Olivia, however annoyed she might be, looked amazing. She was gorgeous on any given day, but her mini vacation with Iliana must have really been good for her. She’d gotten some sun; her normally pale face had a tinge of color from being outside. It wasn’t just her looks. She was carrying herself differently.
