Page 30 of Another Damned Storm (Another Damned #3)

NEVER

We repeated the training exercise a few times, switching between Matt and Lily as the one under attack. As it turned out, I was just as protective of Lily as I was brother, when she was in human form.

Her tiger was a different story.

I mean, who wouldn’t be triggered by a prowling, two-hundred-pound feline with paws the size of salad plates? She was the picture of danger.

The weird thing was, her animal could also have a calming effect too, and not just on me.

In the quiet moments in between, Lily and Angie were inseparable, talking and laughing as Matt looked on.

We were all outsiders to their reunion, but seeing them together, safe and happy, was a vivid reminder of why I was here and what I was fighting for.

By the third round, I was starting to get a handle on things. By the fifth, I was bone tired, but I nearly had it. Each time I felt the now familiar rise of power, I knew right where to look to find that internal thread that I could use to bring myself back down .

At least until Emerson flashed into the middle of the last session.

I couldn’t say whether he just startled me at a crucial moment, or if it was a combination of fatigue and the size of the fucking guy, but the power I’d nearly wrestled into submission flared right back up.

His reaction was to just study me with his eyes narrowed. His irises were a dark blue—a lot like mine, actually—including the way they flickered crimson when he realized what was happening.

It was still a deeply unsettling feeling. The wildness that opened up inside me was a force of its own, with its own seemingly endless well of power to draw from. Unlike my much weaker human side who was about dead on her feet.

I managed to leash that savage part of myself relatively quickly, with Lily’s help. Her tiger moved to my side and nuzzled my hip as it let out a chuff. For some inexplicable reason, that simple sound soothed the wildness.

I reached down and scratched her head like I had a million times in the past. You know, back when I thought I knew a hell of a lot more about the world than I actually did, including who and what she really was.

The weird thing was, scratching her enormous head still felt natural.

Normal.

And damned if I didn’t need some normal in my life.

“Learning control?” Emerson asked.

“Slowly” I stifled a sudden yawn with the back of my hand. “We’ve been working on it all afternoon.”

He turned to take in Matt and Hook, and paused briefly when his gaze found the cabin with Angie standing in the doorway. “And you’ve brought the whole family along for the show. Does this mean things have changed? ”

Hook moved to my other side, wrapping a strong arm around me. If I’d had even an ounce of energy to spare, I wouldn’t have leaned into him, but I was tapped out, and I was pretty sure he knew it.

Just standing felt like too much work, as if the ground were leeching energy from me through the soles of my tired feet.

“We have a theory about Lapalme that I’d like to run by you,” I said.

“I’m listening.”

“Actually, first things first. You should know that we saw him and Thrain earlier. In Charleston. Those two are definitely in cahoots.”

He crossed his arms over his chest like that wasn’t news to him at all.

“He was complaining that Thrain was taking too long taking us out,” I added.

His brow creased. “Lapalme is working with the god to have you and your family killed? Do you have evidence of this?”

“Just what we witnessed,” Hook replied. “First hand.”

“Did they see you?”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “I might have lost my shit and attacked Lapalme.”

He leaned back and let out a sigh. “So they know you know.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like that makes them any more of a threat, does it? I mean, they already want us dead.”

He tipped his head back and drummed the fingers of one big hand on his opposite arm.

“I believe it might make Lapalme more dangerous,” he said, before meeting my gaze again.

“The terms of his exile are that he cannot return to the Brethren until the human bloodline he created ends. Naturally. Until that time, he is not to interfere in any way. No contact. No influence.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “That ship has sailed. ”

“So it would seem. If he is doing as you say…” He shook his head. “His exile from the Brethren will be made permanent.”

That sounded ominous. How would a band of ancient immortal demons go about permanently exiling one of their own?

Hook pulled me into his side a little tighter, and I was too damned tired to put up a fuss about it. “Lapalme has nothing left to lose,” he said.

“Yeah,” Matt added. “If his goal was to be reunited with his brothers and he knows he got caught breaking the rules? He’s gotta know he’s toast.”

I shook my head. “He only knows that Hook and I know, not that Emerson does. But that’s not everything. Back when this all started for us, someone had to summon Petra from the Nassa. It wasn’t Matt,” I said, tipping my head toward my brother. “And it wasn’t me.”

The ancient demon leveled me with a look. “You think it might have been Lapalme?”

“Who else would know how? Or have a reason to?” I shrugged. “I mean, when I fought her in the park that very first night, she knew I was a Darling. She said the name.”

“You’re certain? It’s been a long time.” His words were skeptical, but there was no disrespect in his tone.

“That was less than a year ago for me,” I reminded him. “And if you don’t trust my faulty human memory, ask Lily. She was there.”

The tigress dipped her head and let out another reassuring chuff.

“Well.” He inhaled deeply through his nose, his wide chest expanding. “That is certainly an interesting theory.” Something in his voice sent a ripple of warning skittering across my skin.

“You don’t believe us?” I asked.

“On the contrary, I believe Lapalme is more than capable of doing the things you suggest.” He glanced between us.

“I was able to track his recent movements and discovered he’s been flashing to Charleston almost daily over the last several months.

As well as to several other locations where we’ve been seeing unusual spikes in demon attacks and uprisings. ”

“Is he raising an army or something?” That was the last fucking thing we needed.

Emerson shook his head. “Doubtful. An army would draw too much attention to one place. These hotspots feel more like distractions than anything.”

“Stretching the Brethren’s resources thin,” Hook said.

He pressed his lips into a flat line. “Essentially. I think that’s how he’s been able to keep the rest of us from noticing what he’s been up to in your neck of the woods.”

“Well, army or not, we have to do something. He and Thrain can’t just be allowed to rain hell down on my city,” I said.

But it wasn’t really my city anymore, was it? It belonged to the people who had been there, like Matt and Lily.

“Do you understand how much power you’ll need to take on a rising god and a primordial demon yourselves?” Emerson asked.

I glanced between Matt and Lily, but it was Lily who spoke up. “We have people and power, but any kind of attack or operation will only work if the humans are willing to work with us, instead of us sticking to our designated parts of the park.”

An expression I couldn’t read darkened Matt’s face. “Only a handful of them are purists.”

“You mean anti-shifter,” she corrected. “And anti-magic.”

He ground his teeth. “I’m not having this argument again, Lily.

Some people are afraid of what shifters and witches can do, but it’s not just that.

It all came out at once. Shifters, demons, witches, magic.

It’s a lot to accept when the city is basically under siege every day or every other day.

It’s going to take some people more time to come around than others. ”

“And some people just hate us because we’re different,” she fired back. “Which, in case you’ve forgotten, makes them a threat to you too.”

He clenched his jaw so tight a muscle in his neck started to twitch.

“I haven’t forgotten anything,” he bit out before breaking eye contact and rolling his shoulders back.

“I will talk to them. Given what Thrain and Lapalme are up to, I should be able to convince most of them that working together will give us our best shot of ending this nightmare.”

“What about the ones who won’t?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Then they can stay in the compound and mind their own goddamn business.”

Silence stretched between them, the air thick with tension.

I wanted to understand where my brother was coming from, but to be honest, I was still a little shocked that he was on the human side of this whole division.

After everything they’d been through together, I would have figured he would have Lily’s back no matter what.

“Did something happen between you two that we need to know about?” I asked.

Matt shot me a look that cut deep. “Twenty-six years happened.” He shifted his attention to the cabin and zeroed in on Angie. “We should get back”

The girl stared at her dad. “What if I don’t want to go?”

“You want to stay here?” he asked in disbelief.

Her gaze bounced between him and Lily. “I want to go to Salus.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“I’m old enough to make decisions for myself.”

“Not this one. It is too dangerous. ”

She pulled herself up to her full height, which was easily a head shorter than him. “More dangerous than hiding who I really am, Dad? More dangerous than being locked in a place with people who might kill me if they find out the truth?”

Anger rolled off him. “This is not the time or place for this discussion, Angie, and you know it.”

“I think it is,” Lily cut in. “You’ve gotten lucky so far, but for as powerful as her mother was, it’s only a matter of time before she comes into her own magic. Then what do you think will happen?”

“Hold the phone.” My gaze ping-ponged between the trio. “Angie’s mom was a shifter?”

“A witch,” Lily answered.

Oh. And apparently a strong one. “What kind of magic are we talking about?

“It doesn’t matter,” Matt said. “Angie and I need to return to Rutledge, where I will talk to our people.”

“But—”

“Enough.” He sliced his hand through the air, cutting her argument off cold.

“Do I need to remind you again that you’re only fifteen?

That means, one, you still have to do what I say.

And two, if you do come into any magical powers, which we don’t even know for sure will happen, it won’t be for at least another few months. ”

Lily bit her bottom lip hard enough to turn the delicate flesh pale. “You know sixteen isn’t set in stone.”

He turned to us. “We need to go back. Now.”

“Of course,” Hook said coolly. He glanced down at me. “Will you be okay for a short while?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

When they were gone, Lily sank down onto one of the wooden chairs she and Angie had brought out of the cabin. “That man is living in denial. ”

“I only spoke with Fiona a couple of times,” Emerson said, resting a big hand on her shoulder. “But I’m inclined to agree with you.”

“She was that powerful?” I asked. To be fair, I knew less about witches than I did about shifters, and my expertise on that front was wanting.

Lily nodded before letting her head fall back.

Emerson dipped his head and gave her shoulder a brief squeeze before letting go. “Unfortunately, I should get going too. I need to bring the others up to speed on things.”

“Are you guys going to do anything about Lapalme?” It was cool having a primordial demon on our side and all, but it wouldn’t do much good if he and his Brethren just hung out on the sidelines waiting to see how things turned out.

“We will, I just can’t say what yet.” He looked pointedly between me and Lily.

“If you can wait to launch your offensive, I would. At least until I’ve had a chance to confer with the others.

Lapalme is a formidable opponent, and for as weak as Thrain may be compared to his former glory, he is still a god. ”

Lily and I shared a look but promised nothing.

He nodded, and in a blink, he was gone.

I let the silence settle around us for a while before finally asking, “Are you okay?”

She had her eyes closed and her head leaned against the back of the chair. “Not really, but there’s only so much I can do.”

“You two were close, though. Weren’t you? Even after Angie was born? I saw the way you were with her earlier.”

She didn’t respond.

“What happened?”

She rolled her head sideways to look at me. “Fiona, Matt’s wife, was an elemental witch, and she thought she could use her magic to stop the storms. She was wrong, and Matt blames her magic for her death. Well, that and himself. ”

“Angie said he was there when she died.”

“He was there, all right, fighting right beside her. I don’t know what happened exactly. He still won’t talk about it, but I do know they were outgunned and overrun, and she was torn to pieces in front of him. Literally.”

My heart twisted hard. “Jesus,” I breathed.

“Those scars on his face…” She ran her fingers down her cheek. “Those are from that day. Can you imagine what that must be like? Every time he looks in the mirror and sees those marks he relives his wife’s death.”

I pinched my eyes closed. No wonder he didn’t shave.

I wasn’t sure I would ever want to look at myself again if something like that happened to someone I loved.

And I could understand him blaming himself.

I would do the same if I were in his shoes, even if I’d done every damned thing I could to save her. Which I was sure he did.

But that didn’t explain everything.

“Why would he blame magic for her death?” I asked.

“She was trying to harness more power than she was used to, and the spell misfired. He knew about her magic from the beginning, long before the rest of the world could see what you and he could see. But if someone like her, who grew up with her magic, couldn't use it safely, how could anyone?”

“No one would be safe,” I said quietly. “Then why would he help me?” I motioned to the ground in front of us where he’d just spent hours helping me learn how to control my own unpredictable power.

“Because you’re you, Never. You sacrificed yourself for him.” She shrugged. “He put you up on a pedestal a long time ago, and he’s measured everyone else in his life against that image of you since.”