“Well.” Seraphina actually fucking blushed. The more Lucain spoke, the more lax Seraphina’s body became, she had even added a sway to her hips. Her arousal could be scented by everyone on the roof; she was a barely talking bag of hormones. “One has to do what they must to get things done.”
When Seraphina was finally standing before Lucian, he began playing with her hair and gaining full eye contact. She was putty in his hands. And the more he poured on his power, the weaker her magick became. Chandler and Darvyn were the first to break free, and using the katanas strapped to their backs and their vampire speed, they made short work of the three minions. Their heads were detached from their bodies before they had a chance to so much as blink.
Then Elyssia and Tia broke free as Lucian brought his lips to Seraphina’s. Elyssia went into full-on ice-queen mode, gone from flesh and bone to a walking, talking ice sculpture in less than a second, frost coming from her mouth as she breathed. Without wasting any time on talk or fanfare, she turned her focus towards Rasputin, held out her hand as if she were blowing him a kiss, but blew particles of ice his way instead and turned him into a huge block of ice before he had a chance to throw any type of magick her way. Then Tia, standing right at her side, took her fire and melted the ice sculpture that used to be Rasputin down to a puddle of water, and kept it going until he evaporated.
While all this transpired, young Jayden had managed to drag himself to where Seraphina stood. While the older incubus continued to drain her of her magick, he managed to grab on to her leg to drain her of rage. It wasn’t nearly enough to get him back on his feet after the beating he had taken, but enough to weaken her that much further.
Lucian pulled back from Seraphina, sucking out more of her essence as he did so. “By the way, dear, I ran into an old friend of yours along the way. He wanted to tell you hello.”
“What?” Seraphina asked in a drugged haze, a dumb-ass-looking grin on her face. “Who?”
“Me.”
She tried to turn around at that familiar voice, but never got the chance. Anya, Tia, and Darvyn’s father had come to join the party also, and he was quite hangry. He punched a hole through her back, coming out through her chest with her heart inside his hand as he latched on to her neck and drained her dry.
“Dad?” This came from Anya as she was set down safely on the roof by Kierra.
“The three of you come all this way and not a word to your father?”
“What took you so long?” Tia asked.
“I felt the three of you cross over, then ran into Lucian on my way as I followed the pull of your blood. He filled me in on what was going on.” Turning to Kierra and Anya, he continued, “Kierra, please be a dear and fetch the young incubus.” Without question, she did what was asked, knowing he wouldn’t do so without a reason.
* * *
With Rasputin’s power no longer bespelling the chains, Jelissa broke free like a wild animal on the verge of escape. They all surrounded her, but something about them made her hesitate from trying to rip them apart. When she noticed two of her mates lying around like broken and discarded toys, she knocked the flesh and blood wall out of her way to get to them. She gathered them both into her arms and sat down on the floor of the roof with them, trying to figure out a way to fix them.
Kierra returned then with Raziel in her arms. She placed him at Jelissa’s feet. But it was Lucian who spoke. “Son, you must feed. It’s the only way to save you both.”
With the small amount of strength he had within him, Raziel got to his knees. Placing his hands on either side of Jelissa’s face, he shot a small spark of his power through their bond. At first her only response was to cock her head to the side; then she allowed him to place his lips on hers. As he began to kiss her, tentatively at first, he also began to feed, and in doing so her demonic hunger began to dissipate. As Raziel continued to feed, not only did he gain the strength he needed to survive, but Jelissa began to come back online, returning the kiss.
Jayden cracked his eyes a bit to see the two of them looking like they were trying to eat each other, then non-too politely said, “Get a damn room.”
Breaking the kiss, Jelissa looked down, “Who the fuck are you?”
“The mate you haven’t fully bonded with yet. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a rain check on that until later. I’m also the one who was forced to kidnap you.”
“What the fuck?” Jelissa screamed her outrage at him.
“Ah yeah, baby, keep that rage coming, and I’ll be ready to cash in on that rain check in no time at all.”
Hearing several someones groan, Jelissa looked up and found multiple beings surrounding them. “And who the fuck are all of you?”
No sooner had she said that than Deelah and Genie flashed atop of the roof with everyone else. Deelah spoke first. “Are you still some kind of psychotic bitch ripping people to shreds, or are you you again?”
Queen Tialanna dismissed all the vampires, including Darvyn, Chandler, Ferenc, and a very sore Adorjan to feed before the sunrise, and before crossing back through the portal. As a thank-you for everything they had done, the remainder of the night would be no holds-barred; they could feed as they wished from whomever, as long as they didn’t draw too much undue attention their way. Jayden had been offered the same, but he was eager to cross over before someone this side of the lines had a chance to summon him. He assured her he had a knack for enraging people, both human and other, so he would have plenty of opportunities to feed. The wolves remained to sniff out if any of Seraphina’s minions were still hanging about and do away with them, as well as sniff out any humans that may have seen anything, so the witches, with Elyssia overseeing them, could bespell them into thinking they had seen something else entirely. They would also gather all the dead outside the building and put them inside, as Tialanna would torch the place when all was said and done.
Anya and Tia could hold off until they got back home. The latter and Kierra went ahead with the vampires anyway to ensure they stayed out of trouble; they didn’t want anyone to get stuck in a situation where they were caught here while the sun came up. Their father reassured them he was finishing his dealings in Detroit and would be home no later than the following evening. The Matrix twins had left as soon as they possibly could, once given the all-clear. Lucian and Raziel also left quickly before anyone from their home realm could sense their presence.
Which left Tia and Grimm on the roof to explain things to Jelissa, along with Deelah and Genie.
Tia didn’t know what reaction she expected from Jelissa; maybe expected wasn’t the right term, more like wanted. She had dreamed of this moment for so many years, the opportunity to hold her daughter in her arms again, talk with her, laugh with her, hear the sound of her voice as she called her Mom. She didn’t get any of that. She counted her lucky stars the girl didn’t try to kick her in the teeth. And Grimm? He wasn’t worth shit for moral support. Worse was she believed she deserved every word lashed out at her, having kept the truth from them both for all this time.
That didn’t stop it from hurting more than any physical blow possible. She could barely even breathe through it all, and there was no use in trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Even though she was crying, Tia still stood tall with her head held high. Yea, she had fucked up, but what she’d done was out of love, not malice. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? You think that just erases it all? You abandoned me!” Jelissa could barely hold in her outrage. “You, my Queen, can take your apology and shove it. You’re telling me not only do I have living and breathing parents, but four fathers. And the one whose actual seed sired me is possibly trapped in the underworld now?”
“I did it to protect you.”
“Protect me? In case you didn’t notice the witch got to me anyway. Excuse me, my great-grandmother, the woman who killed her own daughter. A daughter that was your mother, who did the exact thing to you and your twin sister, to protect y’all, and look how well that
turned out.” Jelissa looked up to the sky as though searching for some answer she wasn’t getting. “What kind of screwed-up family is this?”
Anya flashed back on top of the roof to stand by her twin, having felt the soul-searing pain Tia was suffering. “Jelissa, I know how you feel—”
Jelissa cut her new-found aunt off before she could go any further. “Oh really? Just how would you know how I feel?”
“Because I’m the one who grew up without a mother too. Only I never got the chance to forgive her and now I never will. Sure, you may think you don’t give a flying fuck right now, but don’t wait too long to at least give her a chance.” Anya gave that a second to sink in. “I know you’re not going to forgive her right now, this ain’t some Mary Poppins’ story.”
“I wanna go home right now. No offense, but I really don’t wanna even look at either of you right now. This is way too much to take in.” Jelissa directed the next at Grimm. “And as for you, I just need time to process everything.”
“You can stay at the castle if you want. There’s plenty of room for all of you,” Tia offered, desperate for a yes.
“Uh, no. The guys can stay there if they need to, because frankly, I’m not ready to deal with any of them either. Right now, the only ones I can stand to be around are these two right here.” Jelissa gestured to Deelah and Genie at that last. Before they flashed away to the portal, she said one last thing to Grimm, “So, if I listened to everything correctly, you’re not her mate, right? Just her husband?”
“Right,” was the only word Grimm said, ever the male of a thousand words.
“If I were you, and she kept all this from me? I’d divorce her ass.” And with that, Jelissa, Deelah, and Genie literally left the building.
At the look on Grimm’s face, a look that said he was actually contemplating what their daughter just said, Tia closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose before she said, “You have got to be fucking kidding me? You want a divorce?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. You know what? Fuck you, Grimm. If I had never forgiven you for lying to me, we never would have been married in the first place. So let me decide for you.” Tia turned around and got straight up in his face. “You egotistical, arrogant son of a bitch, I should have let you rot for betraying my father, because in doing so you also betrayed me. I want a fucking divorce.” Before he had a chance to respond in any way, Tia backhanded him so hard he went flying off the roof. He’d survive the fall, but she hoped like Hel he’d have more than a few broken bones to heal from.
“Tia?”
“Anya, please get away from me, and get everyone away from this building, fast. I’ll meet you at home. ’Cause I’m about to literally explode.”
Tia dropped to her knees, everything coming to a head in her heart and brain. Every loss, every mistake felt as though it were going to eat her alive from the inside out. She had both found and lost her daughter, and now Grimm wanted a divorce even though he had lied to her almost her entire life about who he really was. She had no idea if she would be able to get her demon back, one she truly was bonded to. And if and when she did, she would have to decide if she even wanted to stop him and Chandler from killing Grimm for hurting her. The only reason they ever even put up with him was for her sake.
All of it was too much. Good thing she had planned on torching the building anyway. Unable to hold it in anymore Tia let her fire rip free from her body in an exploding rush as she let her head fall back and screamed. She let all the hurt and anger go out in a rush of flames that started from her spot on the roof and cascaded throughout the rest of the building.
When Tia realized the roof was getting ready to collapse beneath her, she somehow managed to regain some semblance of control. She flashed herself back to the portal on Belle Isle, to where Chandler and the others awaited her, and fell into his arms. She looked up at him and said the only words she could, “Let’s go home.”
22
What’s My Name?
Tia agreed with Elyssia; she should try from her castle, the House of Sekhmet, where she ruled the Witches of Underlayes, to summon Bran, since it was surrounded by more magick than the vampire castle. Tialanna might now be Queen of all Underlayes since she’d proven to be stronger physically, mentally, and strategically than all others, but true magick was Elyssia’s domain.
Tia didn’t have her own castle because she didn’t want one. She was perfectly happy within the walls of the vampire castle, mostly because she loved being so close to her family. Something she was certain Jelissa would find ironic.
But none of that magick was helping now. They were down in her former workout room; Tia, Elyssia, Anya, and Chandler, and had failed for the tenth time in a row.
Chandler placed his hand on Tia’s shoulder and said, “Are you sure you heard his full summoning name? Could you have perhaps heard wrong?”
“No, I didn’t hear him wrong!” Everybody else took a step back as it looked as if she might rip Chandler’s head clear off his shoulders.
“There was more than a tad going on at the time, love. Something might be amiss. Please try and keep a level head. We’ll sort this out.” Chandler attempted to reassure her, pulling her into his arms.
“Why isn’t this working? Why is everything just going to shit?” Tia sobbed into his shoulder. She tried her best to get a grip even as it felt as though everything was slipping away.
“Probably because you can’t summon a demon when he’s on this side of the lines.”
“Bran!” Tia shouted. She leapt out of Chandler’s arms and straight into Bran’s. She knew Chandler wasn’t offended in the slightest since he too was happy to see the demon alive and well, and back with them where he belonged. “And what?”
“Well, I’ve been taking on the Bran persona for so long its now as though I’m both Bran and Tridamoreus. And while I was more than sure she meant for me to kill and not to maim, I’m also more than old enough to interpret commands to my benefit. So, when the evil, wicked bitch sent me back to where I came from, I was able to route myself to where Bran originally came from,” Bran explained to not only Tia, but to everyone else also, giving a pointed look at Tia and her sisters. “Took me so long to get here since someone we all know and love laid so much magick-laden destruction on the former Bran’s home, it took me a while to get myself free of it all.”
“Well, I don’t know who you could be talking about, dear.” They all laughed at Tia’s sweet and innocent voice as she told that whopper of a lie. A laugh they all needed after everything that had gone down.
They didn’t know what drama would head their way next, but they had one another and they knew they would figure it out, whatever it was. In the meantime, they would take whatever peace they could get and run with it.
Tia did make a new mandate; that any and all demons who made it to Underlayes were free to roam about and no longer live in hiding. Not saying she was opening the doors and sending out invitations, but those who made their way there, on their own, were offered refuge. She hoped and prayed to Sekhmet and Nyx she wasn’t opening up a can of worms she wouldn’t be able to close by doing so.
About the Author
When you become a Mom, you begin to put yourself last, and your combat boots begin to collect dust. Going to your child's PTA meetings in full Gothic, especially industrial, regalia is pretty much frowned upon. Especially by your own children, and your teens would die of a heart attack. But, one should not have to completely stop being themselves, uniqueness is greatness. So all of that darkness is put into words in her books, and designs in her jewelry sold in her Etsy shop, GothicMoms DarkCharms.
Mother of five beautiful children, but by far more than just that. T. A. Moorman is an artist, a violinist, a seamstress, a crafter, a writer, a blogger, a reviewer, a dark confidant and a darkly dangerous, fiercely protective friend.
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Blog: http://gothicmoms.blogspot.com/
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