“My mother and father are trapped in this realm. Give me sight to resolve my plight.” I waited and searched. My stomach clenched, and sharp pain shot to my temple, reminding me not to grit my teeth.
Another moment or two passed before I blew out a hard breath. “Nothing. Again. Wait…”
I looked at Discord, who sat patiently across from me, his hands resting atop the table. “The seer was half-demon, half-witch, right?” I asked, and he nodded.
“This is demon territory. Maybe I can’t see into the ether here because I’m all witch.”
He raised his brows. “That’s a strong possibility.”
I reached for his hand across the table and clutched it in mine. His skin was warm and soft, and he held me back as if his hands were made to hold me. “Can you share your energy with me? If I can channel some of your demonicness, maybe I can mix it with my witchiness and break through.”
“That could work.” He nodded in appreciation. “You are as clever as you are beautiful.”
My stupid cheeks heated at his words, so I angled my head down and stared into the mug. “Let me have it.”
My palm tingled where we touched. Then, heat spread through my hand and spiraled up my arm before flowing into my chest and filling me with more power than any witch should possess. I gasped, the sensation both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
His magic didn’t scare me. In fact, it felt…right. That was the frightening part because I could so get used to the feeling. My nerves fired on overdrive, connecting in ways they never had before, and my skin turned to gooseflesh, my senses heightening as his essence surged through me.
I recited another incantation and took a deep breath as Discord’s energy danced with mine, swirling and melding until I couldn’t tell where mine ended and his began.
We were one being in that moment, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the first time in my life I’d felt completely whole. But I could ponder the unnatural rightness of channeling this demon later.
I slipped into the ether, and this time it wasn’t empty. I couldn’t see the goddess, but I felt her in my soul. Digging in deeper, I focused on the surroundings in my vision. “Fire, brimstone, a cave, and a crumbling temple.”
“Is Hecate there?” Discord’s voice sounded miles away.
“Yes. No. I can’t see her, but I feel her.” My brow furrowed as I concentrated on the goddess. “There’s a shroud.”
“Look for details,” he said. “There are hundreds of crumbling temples in this realm.”
I shifted my focus away from the being and turned to the temple in my mind. Three Corinthian columns stood at the front of the stone structure, their capitals adorned with acanthus leaves and skulls. Three steps led up to the entrance, an archway with the triple moon symbol carved above the door.
“It’s a temple for Hecate.” I described it to Discord. “She’s hiding out in her own temple.”
“The last place anyone would think to look.”
“They wouldn’t find her even if they did. She’s the goddess of magic. Her shroud is strong.”
“I know the location.” He started to tug from my grasp, but I held him tighter.
“I need to look for my parents while I’m under.” I left the temple in my mind and focused on my mother’s energy. It was there, teasing the outskirts of my vision, her high vibration contrasting with the low hum of the Underworld.
A commotion sounded outside, and Discord tightened his grip on my hand. “Wake up, Cinder. We must leave.”
“Not until I find my parents.” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying my damnedest to stay inside the trance.
“Now.” He swiped the mug and everything else from the table, yanking me back into the present.
“What the hell?” I stomped on a candle that was still lit. “I was so close.”
“So are they.” He moved the curtain aside, and I caught a glimpse of silver hair at the front of the property. Seraphine had found us.
“Well, shit.”
21
CINDER
