Chapter24
Traitors and Enemies
"Too long. Too damn long I lived as Hilly Coldwell. No more. Never again. I'm Ursula, daughter of Damon and Dragona. My mother and father will return, and this world will be restored to its glory. It'sourworld. Fuck the humans and the forced coddling. We deserve our freedom, sister. Choose your side wisely right now. It's the only chance I'll give you."
I shiver as I stare at the woman I've loved as an aunt my whole life. Apparently Mom wasn't the only orphan my grandparents took in. And hers wasn't the only secret they kept.
"Hilly," Mom says, taking a cautious step forward, releasing my hand. "Don't do this, please. You're my sister. We grew up together, loved each other, still love each other."
Aunt Hilly shakes her head, and I bite back another gasp when her hair falls from its tight bun, and flows around her shoulders, changing from blond to black during its descent.
"There's no such thing as love, Calypso. Not in our world. There is power. That is all. And without it, we'll cease to exist. I'm saving us. Can't you see? We're tied down and constricted, and for who? For what? The weaker humans?"
Nothing makes sense until realization floods me. Hilly gave me the pointless books when I needed information on Castine. She couldn't tell menowhen I asked for help, but she didn't supply me with very much. Gage told me it would be someone who was withdrawing from the light. Hilly was already withdrawing, and she used my mother's disappearance as an excuse, distracting me from the truth.
And when the night stalkers found me outside the woods—Hilly had just come to visit. She knew where I'd be, and she probably had them watching me.
Then an old story settles on me about the Crescent coven who created those stones—the ones they've been using to break through our protective spell barriers. Hilly once worked close with things of that nature. She would have known about their power. She would have known how to steal them. She'd been saving them for now—for me—to kill. Oh God. How did we all miss this?
Mom wrings her hands, doing her best to think of a way to defuse the crazy woman she thought was her sister. If this comes to throwing shots of power around, it could get bad. Really bad.
My eyes dart to the man who looks like Thad, and tears glisten in his eyes as he gives me a sad smile. He mouths something. I don't know what it is though, considering lip-reading isn't a talent of mine.
Who the hell is this poser designed to look like my friend? Is this one of their twisted mind games? Haven't they fucked with my head enough?
Another woman steps out from behind Hilly, disrupting my focus on Thad, and my eyes widen. It's Mom—well, her imposter. Hilly smiles as she waves her hand, and the woman's appearance changes. Her dark hair glistens, her true face comes to light, and a daring smirk curls up as she pulls out a black stone. She had one as well. That's how she moved around the light council despite the numerous spells to keep out imposters.
"Airis," Hilly says, keeping her wickedly spiteful grin in full glow while more souls escape from the black hole.
"Meet your cousin," she says, smiling broader, enjoying and savoring every bomb she drops on us.
Cousin? Fuck.
"And one more surprise, niece," she spits. "Since you somehow manage to keep fucking up every plan I've had for your death, you should know—he won't live."
Amari walks to the side that is guarded by a darkly veiled portion of the lake, and she returns, pulling a guy by his dark hair as his hands remain bound by magically-laced cuffs. I've seen those symbols—they confine power if they're strong enough.
When Amari turns him to face me, tears spring to my eyes. Bloody, beaten, and tied up is the man who loved me too much for his own good.
"Gage," I cry out, choking on the tears lodged in my throat.
Gage tries to speak, but the gag tied around his mouth stops any words from forming. I lunge, ready to charge, but Kane jerks me back, holding me in place, gripping my elbows behind my back.
"How could you?" I scream at the bitch. "He's your son!"
The cold smile she gives shows me her black heart. "You refuse to die, and he won't live without you. He made his choice. He chose wrong."
I look away from the psycho bitch, and turn my eyes to Hilly again. "Please. Don't do this. Let him go. If all you want is me, let everyone here go!"
She shakes her head in response, as though I asked a question. "I don't want you at all. I just need you out of the way."
Castine steps forward, ending the only chance of reasoning with the woman we've loved. But the crazy gleam in Aunt Hilly's eyes leads me to believe there was never going to be any chance of resolving this without resorting to measures that can only end in bloodshed.
"We're going to need Drackus," I whisper, still battling my panic as my eyes fall on the dark user with hopelessness and guilt in his eyes.
Kane releases me as he starts strategizing with Deke and Zee, keeping his voice so low that not even I can hear him.
I can see the lights of the eyes of all their followers as they start stepping out from the circle, their numbers multiplying. We aresooutnumbered.
