Page 37

Aisling

I open my eyes and I immediately know I'm somewhere else.

The ground breathes beneath me. Trees twist above me in impossible shapes, reaching toward the sky in swirling patterns. The sky is a vibrant swirl of deep violet and black, sprinkled with twinkling stars.

Again. Great fucking interior designer… or I guess… exterior designer? Whatever. Either way it’s fucking breathtaking.

And the air? The air tastes like him.

Ronan .

Like smoke and fresh lavender after an autumn rain.

The raven skull in my abdomen pulses. Its energy no longer scares me, but rather, makes me feel a kind of power I’ve never held before. It vibrates through me with more energy than ever, like it knows she’s close.

My mother.

Lilith .

The Queen of the Succubi, the one ruling the Dreamworld.

This may be her world.

But I’m her blood, and I came to burn everything she loves to the ground.

I reach my palm out, placing my fingertips to the ground in front of my sitting form.

The ground breaths beneath me, pulsing like a steady heartbeat synced with the raven’s skull inside of me .

“You sense her, too, don’t you?” I whisper to her, feeling this world's power coursing through me.

I can’t explain this pull, but my body knows better than my brain right now, and I’m listening.

Whatever is making me feel this energy begins to work quickly as silver veins bloom from where my fingers rest, leading me forward like the Dreamworld itself wants to deliver me to her.

I rise to my feet and walk forward, following the spiraled, glowing path ahead of me.

Massive trees twist at every step I take as my shoes sink slightly into the soft moss below, the earth meeting my feet like it’s breathing below me.

Watching me.

Guiding me.

I keep pushing forward, the raven skull pulsing beneath my skin increasing its rhythm, matching the pounding in my chest.

Every part of this world is breathing with me.

The air grows cold, trees shifting to open into a break, revealing a clearing lined with dead trees covered in black bark and glowing thorns. And there, wrapped in the darkness, Lilith awaits.

She smiles like she’s been expecting me.

Good.

She should be.

“Welcome home, my dear Aisling. I wondered how long it would take you.”

“You knew I was coming?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” She smirks, examining her fingernails in front of her, like she’s already bored.

“Every move you made, every choice you felt like you had no other option but to submit to… that was all me, darling.” Her smile grows more sadistic, her teeth glowing in the dark.

“Every time Ronan was sick, every time you felt something watching. Even down to your undoing with Tyler. Now, losing that one was a shame. I had really grown fond of that pet… I guess that’s why I ended up taking yours,” she snickers to herself, like this is all some kind of game created for her amusement. “Soul for a soul, as they say.”

She snaps her fingers, gesturing to the shadows as the dark mist swirls and parts, revealing a shadow.

Ronan steps from the shadows, taking a place beside her. He meets my gaze, but it’s as if he doesn’t recognize me anymore. He just stands there, silent and still, jaw twitching like he’s fighting some invisible force.

Tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks, but I stuff them back down.

I’m not even a memory to him anymore .

I turn to my mother, trying to ignore the ghost of my past.

“You don’t even know what I did for you,” she spits, her voice shaking from fury or sorrow, I can’t tell. “I built this world from pain. Built this empire out of spite. I created a place where women like us would never have to kneel again. ”

I stay still and watch her fall apart, unravel thread by thread.

“I was the first woman to say no, and they treated me like a monster for it.”

She takes a breath, and I swear I catch the glimmer of a tear in the corner of her eye.

“They said I was unworthy because I wanted to rule beside them. Not beneath them. They said I was too loud. That I was only worthy if I was quiet and on my knees.”

A cruel laugh escapes her lips, her voice turning dark.

“So I took everything from them. I made them worship me, then bleed for it. I fed on their lust, their shame. And I built a world where I was a God.”

She looks at me again, her eyes searing into my own.

“You’re part of me, Aisling. You have my blood and my power. I know that rage lives in you, you can’t pretend it doesn’t. ”

“No,” I say coldly. “I will never fucking be like you.”

She sighs, annoyed by my refusal.

“Such a pretty little failure,” she breathes, glancing over her shoulder at Ronan.

“Kill her,” she says before handing Ronan a blade.

I can see him grab it, wrapping his fingers around it slowly. Within seconds, he’s in front of me with a feral look in his eyes.

I don’t flinch as he pushes the knife to my throat, beads of crimson pooling under the blade.

If this is how I die, by his hands, I’ll give my life a thousand times over. The moments I shared with him were few, but I wouldn’t trade the memories we made for anything. He’ll always be my sweet boy.

I hold my breath, eyes closed. There’s no question in my mind. This is okay.

Silence.

I release a breath and tense my body, ready, but the seconds drag on.

“No.” His voice cuts through the stillness, and a smile creeps onto my face. He’s still here.

Releasing the blade from my neck, he turns on Lilith before plunging it deep into her chest, pinning her to the tree behind her like some sort of sick offering.

She wails in agony, causing the birds to burst from the dark tree tops. Black flames burst from the wound, lighting the tree and her body on fire.

I watch as her face twists. And I now see her for what she really is.

Not a goddess.

Not a queen.

Just a devil that became the same monster she tried to destroy.

She lets out a final howl, reaching for me just before her body bursts into a glittering ash.

Ronan collapses next to me, and that's when I notice the deep, ruby-coated wound on his chest. Fuck. She must have gotten him when he was facing her.

I fall to my knees next to him, pulling him onto my lap.

“Ronan! Ronan, baby.” My voice comes out panicked, a shell of the strength it wielded only moments ago.

He looks up at me, the goofiest look spreading across his bloodied face.

And he smiles.

My sweet boy smiles.

“Guess I finally saved you, huh?”

One breath, one smirk.

And then his eyes close.

A tear falls from mine.

I breathe in and look up, smiling to myself.

He’s not gone. Not really.

Not here.

This is the Dreamworld, after all.