Lyric
“So, where is she?” I demand while folding my arms across my chest.
We’ve been in this room for five minutes, and Blaze hasn’t said a word. Theo is sitting beside him, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. Tyler, who arrived just as Thane and I walked through the door, stands by the window. I thought Tyler was over two hundred miles away and wouldn’t be home until tomorrow.
Why am I the only one who finds that strange?
Yes, Lycans are the fastest predators on land, apart from vampires. Vampires may be able to run two hundred miles in two hours, but then they can teleport and wouldn’t need to run. However, Lycans can’t teleport, and they most certainly can’t run two hundred fu.cking miles in two hours!
I know it should have been two hours because Thane contacted Tyler to come home. Tyler said two hours, but it was half an hour, and the man was home!
Am I missing something?
Why has no one questioned how it was possible?
The man doesn’t have wings, so he didn’t fly here. He’s not a vampire, so he didn’t teleport here, so how... Never mind, I don’t even care right now. I want the information Blaze has on The Witch so I can kill her already!
I have a life to get back to, shopping to do, a ceremony to prepare for, and a gender reveal to organize.
How did I get roped into that?
Isn’t that a human tradition?
Isla told me she didn’t care where the tradition came from. Some of her best friends had thrown her a gender reveal party while pregnant with Ivy, and she loved it. Now she wants to do the same for Harmony.
I couldn’t argue that Harmony wouldn’t want a party because she would. My sister might not like being the center of attention, but she seems to love it when it comes to her baby. She’s allowed to be excited and enjoy all the attention right now.
“Well?” I prompt. Thane takes my hand, entwining our fingers. He’s silently telling me to stay calm.
“I will tell you where she is and who took her, but first,” Blaze shifts in his seat. “There are things you need to know. Too much for me to vocalize, so I’ll have to show you.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
Blaze nods at Thane. “I know what it will do to me, but it’s the only way, Thane.”
‘What is he talking about?’ I ask Thane through the mind link.
‘Blaze can project memories, be it his own or someone else’s. He wants to show us what he learned about The Witch. I’m assuming that it will have more effect than just telling us.’
What the hell?
I didn’t even know that was possible! I’ve never met anyone who could show others their memories, but then, I’d never met Lycans until Thane and his family. I’m in awe of Blaze right now.
“I may as well show all of you at the same time.”
“Blaze,” Theo shakes his head. “Showing four at the same time will drain your strength for days.”
“Two,” Blaze chuckles. “At the most. I guess I’ll need a few days off, Thane.”
“You can have as long as you need. Tyler will step up in your place.”
Blaze tips his head in thanks.
“Everyone join hands.” I narrow my eyes but follow Thane as he leads me around his desk by the hand.
We stand in front of Blaze with Theo on my other side.
“You too, Tyler.”
I turn my head and look at Tyler. He’s still looking out the window and seems miles away.
I wonder what’s wrong?
“Tyler!”
He turns at Thane’s authoritative tone. “Oh, right.” Tyler walks over and takes Blaze’s left hand and Theo’s right. Theo then takes my right hand, and Blaze takes Thane’s left, pulling us into a circle.
“I know you three have heard this before, but I’m saying it now because Lyric doesn’t know the rules.” Blaze looks at me. “You will see things that will both upset and anger you. Do not try to pull away because my ability could go haywire. We don’t want that because it won’t be good for any of us.”
I swallow hard because I don’t like the sound of that.
“What you see will be someone else’s memories of things since passed. You will be nothing more than a ghost. No one will see you, no one will hear you. Please,” Blaze’s eyes sear into me. “Try to stay calm. It won’t be easy when you see what’s inside my head. You may want to shift and kill certain people. But you won’t be able to call upon your wolf.”
“I understand.” I don’t really, but I want him to get on with things. I’m getting old here!
“Very well. Everyone, close your eyes.”
I close my eyes, and warm energy fills my whole body. Wind blows through my hair momentarily before Blaze tells everyone to open their eyes.
I open my eyes and am surprised to see we’re in Valnor. I know we are because I recognize the blue trees from Mom’s stories. I smile because I can see Mom and Emily dressed in their fairy finest. Their beautiful, waist-length white hair has three braids. Two are on either side of their head, joined by one down the center. They look so much alike that they could pass for twins. They weren’t twins, but there was only a year between them.
‘We can’t agree to this, Emily.’
I clutch Thane’s hand tighter in mine. His thumb strokes calmingly over my knuckles, letting me know he’s here, supporting me, and always will be.
‘If we don’t, then we can kiss Lennix and Spencer Goodbye, and I know you don’t want that.’
‘Of course, I don’t. All I want is to be with Spencer. But what Astro is suggesting...’
‘Will not happen.’ Emily takes Mom’s hand in her own and smiles. ‘Elena, Fairies, and wolves cannot procreate. We will never have a child, and Lennix is fine with that. All Lennix wants is me, and I’m sure Spencer feels the same?’
Mom nods her head. ‘But what if we do have a child? Stranger things have happened.’
‘Then let’s hope if either of us does, by some miracle, have a child, that it’s a boy.’ Emily hugs Mom.
The scene around us fades and returns to the same place. It looks like a field with different colored trees and horses roaming free. This time, there is someone else with Mom and Emily. I can’t see the woman’s face; she has her back to me. But she has long brown hair to her waist, but only two braids, not three.
‘We will come back for you, I promise.’ Emily lays her hand on the girl’s face and smiles.
‘I don’t want you to go!’
‘Emori,’ Mom’s baby sister!
Mom turns Emori to face her, and my gut drops to my feet. No! It cannot be!
‘We have to go because it’s our destiny. Don’t you ever forget that we love you...’
Emori pulls away from Mom and runs away in tears.
I look at Thane, whose eyes are wide. He looks down at me.
“The Witch... Thane’s she’s...”
“I know.” He whispers softly as the scene changes again.
‘They don’t care about you nor love you, Emori.’
My skin turns cold at the sight of Astro sitting high on his throne.
‘When are you going to get it through your thick skull? They. Don’t. Love. You!’
Scenes flit in and out, showing Astro’s brainwashing of Emori, severe torture the likes of which I’ve never seen because Emori dared to speak out. I have to look away because I’m scared I’ll vomit if I don’t.
When I open my eyes, I see Emori standing in a nursery in front of a crib that holds two newborn twins, one with black hair, one with white – Harmony and me. There’s no one else around, and I just know Emori snuck into the room without being seen.
Emori smiles and strokes the babies' cheeks, one at a time.
‘You are both so beautiful. Elena is very lucky to have been blessed by the Gods.’
I observe Emori lift my newborn self out of the crib. She kisses the baby’s head.
‘I wish I had been brave enough to leave with my mate when I found him. A hundred years ago, in the human realm, I came across a man in the forest. He was the most handsome I had ever laid eyes upon. He was my mate, and for a split second, I let myself believe we could be together.
‘It wasn’t to be because I knew my brother would use my mate against me. I could not leave Valnor, and I could not take my mate there with me. There was no way we’d ever be together, so I did the only thing I knew to push him away from me. I attacked him and left him lying there passed out, for I did not want anyone to know I’d found him.
‘I have spent all these years wondering if he’s okay out there. I hope he found someone to love and that he is happy now. He deserves that. I say him because I don’t even know his name. I have hidden the memory of him deep within me so no one will ever know who he is. I have to protect him with all that I am because, even though I don’t know him, I have loved him all this time.’
I can feel myself choking up from her confession. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to find her mate and have to hide all those years.
‘When you find your mate, if you find him before Astro convinces you to leave with him, don’t push him away, Lyric. Embrace the bond and let him love you.
‘I have a gift for you, little one. There will be some incredibly tough times in your life, Lyric. There will be times when you feel you cannot go on. But you will because you will do amazing things, Lyric Ryker. So unto you, I give the gift of a Fairies immortality.’
What the hell is this?
‘You may believe one day that you are cursed, but you are not, my precious one. I mean only for you to live.’ Emori opens her mouth slightly, and a pale blue light travels up through and out of her throat. The light enters the baby’s nose, lighting up her little face, neck, and chest for a second before settling down.
Emori closes her eyes, and even though she’s smiling, I can see the pain she’s in. Doing what she did must have caused great physical pain. When she opens her eyes, she kisses the baby’s head again.
‘If you should be killed, accidental or otherwise, you shall awaken momentarily. No matter your death, life will never leave you. This is my gift to you, half of my Fairy immortality.’
Lifting the baby to her chest, Emori cradles her.
‘Auntie Emori loves you, Lyric. No matter what you hear about me in the future, know everything I do, every choice I make is because I love you, baby girl.’
Emotion fills me again at her words. I shouldn’t care about Emori after what she did, but I can’t help feeling sad for her. I’m not cursed; my aunt blessed me because she loved me.
I watch as she places the baby in the crib, then lifts baby Harmony. With a smile, Emori kisses the baby’s head.
‘Now, my sweet Harmony. I cannot give you the same gift as your sister. Oh, how I wish I could. But I cannot render myself human. I have to help in the fight against my brother, and I cannot do that as a human. I won’t stop until he’s dead, but without my fairy, I’d die. I love you, Harmony, just as much as your sister. I don’t ever want you to doubt that, baby girl.
‘I may not be able to give you the same gift as your sister, but I have one for you, nonetheless. Before your parents realize I’m here, I give unto you the gift of Fairy cloaking. There will come a time when Astro will try to use you against Lyric, but with this gift, when Astro looks upon you, he will not see you. You will appear as someone else, but only to Astro’s eyes and the eyes of those who seek to harm you.’
Emori brushes the pad of her thumb over baby Harmony’s forehead. White light fills the little girl. Emori smiles, then hugs my sister, and the scene fades.
I don’t know what to think. I had no idea Astro couldn’t recognize Harmony. But it makes a lot of sense now, all those times he looked right through her.
I see the moment Astro informed Emori of Mom’s death and how she stood there, not reacting, much to Astro’s delight. But away from him, Emori’s heart broke, and her sobs of anguish will stay with me always. It’s the same thing when she’s informed of Emily’s death.
Then we see Astro telling Emori how she must kill Thane. We see how she gained access to Knight Castle and became a staff member. We see her sneak into The King and Queens chambers under cover of darkness.
Thane and I are asleep in bed, me lying on his powerful chest. Emori looks at me and smiles before leaning over Thane. I don’t know how neither of us sensed her there, but neither did Jagger or Aspen. If they had, they would have woken us.
‘My King,’ Emori whispers, but not loud enough to wake Thane. ‘I was sent here to end your life, and I will, but the reason is not so you will stay dead. My niece needs you more than I need my immortality. She and her sister are my world, you see. I cannot have my mate, but I’ll make sure Lyric keeps hers. So I am gifting you the other half of my Fairy immortality.
‘I am doing this only because I know you are worthy. Forgive me for what I must do tomorrow; I mean only to activate my gift to you. However, if you should find me and want to punish me, I will understand and hold nothing against you. I will not fight back, though I could use what little of my fairy power I will have left. There will be no point because it will leave me within days, and I doubt you’d let me live that long, hopefully not long enough to render me human. But the sacrifice will be worth it in the end.’
Emori opens her mouth, and the same pale blue light from before leaves her mouth and enters Thane’s parted lips. His face, throat, and chest glow for a few seconds.
‘It is done. Take care of my precious niece, King Thane Knight; for you will be together for a long time. Fight beside one another and rid this world and the next of Astro Lightfeather.’
The scene fades around us, but I don’t take my eyes off Emori’s smiling face until the dungeon appears. I clench my jaw as, moment after moment; it shows Emori’s torture and se.xual assault at the hands of the guards in Thane’s employment. My stomach is churning, and I want nothing more than to rip the ghosts of the past apart! I’m suddenly grateful the man in black took Emori from the dungeon.
In an instant, we’re back in Thane’s office. Thane takes my face between his hands. I look at him with tears in my eyes. I’m shocked, confused, and brokenhearted.
“Thane, everyone in her life did awful things to her. She lost everyone, and all she had was Harmony and me, even if she didn’t have us, and look what I did.”
“No,” Thane shakes his head. “You were not to know. Whoever let her out... Wait.” Thane looks at Blaze, held up by Theo. “Who did let her out? And where the hell is she?”
“The twins.” Blaze gasps out sluggishly.
“Thorin and Tane released Emori?”
Blaze shakes his head, his eyes rolling. “Tristan. Starr. Mom’s cabin.” Is all Blaze gets out before passing out in Theo’s arms.