Prologue
Xeraphine
Idon’t know how I didn’t see it.
Was it really that obvious, though? Believing everything she said, taking her words at face value, came naturally to me. How could I not believe my own mother? Even after she tried to kill me, the thought of her being a psychotic killer seemed more plausible than… this.
Anything but this. Anything but the monster now standing before me.
She’s the creature of my nightmares, the dark shadow of my past; a mirror after which I had been unknowingly molded. My mother, Tali, is a Succubus.
I don’t need to see the double fangs peeking out from her upper canines, or the slick black oil pooling in her once-siren eyes as she stalks toward me. I don’t need those signs to know. The moment I felt my will stripped away, my body paralyzed, I knew exactly what she was.
Was this what my victims felt? The numbing helplessness, their minds screaming for control while their bodies betrayed them? Did they feel this same certainty, this same dread, as death crept closer?
“Xeraphine, darling.”
No, please, no—What is she doing here?
When I glance over her shoulder, I notice a man with her. Brown hair, average height, and blue eyes. There is nothing extraordinary about him, and that is the problem. He is the kind of person who could disappear into a crowd. Someone so unremarkable that I wouldn’t have given him a second glance.
At least, until he steps closer.
His scent hits me first, sharp and unmistakable. I don’t need anyone toexplain what, or who, he is. No introductions are necessary. And in this moment, the question of why my mother is here unravels before my eyes, as undeniable as Kairhyse’s love for me.
“No…” I whisper, and it feels like lightning crackling through my throat. “You lied…”
Tali scoffs and brushes past me, grabbing my upper arm to take me with her. My eyes never leave Lars as he smiles at me, then winks.
“Of course I did, my dear.” Sighing, she leans toward me. “You’ve been causing a lot of trouble.”
I want to move, to scream until my lungs give out, but an otherworldly force binds me. A silent, unyielding command compels my body to obey, no matter how desperately my mind screams to resist.
It feels like I’m on fire, my skin searing under invisible flames. If it started to melt me away, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.
A sharp hiss cuts through the suffocating air. My gaze drops to the floor, to the feline I had told to leave. Mister. His fur stands on end, his small body bristling with defiance. At barely five pounds, he growls and readies himself to pounce as if he were something more than a measly cat.
“Go.” My voice breaks. “Please…”
I shake my head, a sharp, involuntary jerk that feels as if I’m trying to break free from unseen chains.
“I never took you for a cat person,” Tali sighs.
I see her foot lift and know exactly what’s coming. Some buried strength rises, and I use it to snap the invisible string tethering me in place.
Falling to my knees, I grab hold of Mister just as her foot slams into my spine. The force sends a jolt of pain radiating through my body, and the sickening crack of bone makes me wince.
I don’t know how much force she intended to put behind the blow, but holy fuck—it was enough to shatter me.
Mister would have been killed instantly. The realization crashes over me like a tidal wave and I clutch him tighter, protective and desperate.
“How old are you now?” she asks, circling us like a predator.
“She’s thirty today,” Lars answers, his voice carrying a smug familiarity that churns my stomach. “Quite the treat for us to drop by and celebrate with her.”
Tali hums, the sound low and mocking. “Celebrate. Right.”
When she steps into view, I glance up at her. Her silver eyes, darker and more tarnished than mine, fix on me with a chilling intensity. “Happy birthday,” she says, her voice dripping with venomous mirth.
