Page 28 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

IZZY

“ W ell, fuck,” I blurt into the silent room.

That’s definitely not the news I was hoping for. I knew the spell wasn’t something mundane, like growing flowers or building orphanages, but I didn’t think it was for killing the Earth and everyone here.

The absolute last thing we need is Lua getting any more power, much less the power of an entire freaking planet.

“You can say that again,” Levi mutters. He shoves his hands into his black hair and tugs at it, looking beyond distraught.

I stand up from my chair and cross over to where he’s standing near the door. Approaching him hesitantly, I hold out my arms, offering comfort if he wants it.

He steps into my arms and desperately clutches me.

Squeezing him as tightly as I can manage, I hold him for a long moment until he reluctantly steps back.

I peer up into his black and red gaze. “I know this isn’t what we were hoping for, but the plan remains unchanged, just maybe with a faster timeline.

All we do is add ‘Stop Her From Draining the Earth’s Core’ to our to-do list.”

How exactly we stop her remains to be seen, but I don’t mention that in my attempt at a pep talk.

He’s shaking his head before I even finish. “I should’ve stopped her long before this. I should’ve realized she was missing. I shouldn’t have let her steal magic for hundreds of years.”

“How exactly would you have known? None of this is on you, Levi.”

“She’s my mother!” He thumps himself on the chest to emphasize his point. “I’m responsible for keeping her from hurting anyone else.”

“So this is Hades’s fault, too, then?”

“What? Of course not.” Understanding dawns on his face. “That’s different. Hades has an entire realm to run. He doesn’t have time to be keeping tabs on our mother. That’s up to me.”

“It’s not different,” I insist. “You were busy helping him run Infernus . This isn’t on anyone other than Lua. Don’t take her bad actions on your shoulders, screech owl.”

Angerona swivels in her chair to face us. “There was no way you could have stopped her before meeting your mate, Leviathan.”

He looks like he wants to argue but keeps his mouth shut. Levi thinks over what she said before asking, “Are you sure?” When she nods, Levi deflates and hangs his head. He hooks an arm around my waist and pulls me into his chest again. He buries his face in my hair and mumbles, “I’m sorry.”

I huff a laugh into his shirt. “Stop apologizing. It’s not your fault, and we’ll figure it out together.”

He holds me for a moment longer before reluctantly letting me go.

I can tell from his face that he’s still feeling a lot of guilt, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it with an audience. I’ll make sure to get some time with him alone after we create a plan with Hades.

Facing Angerona once more, I know I have to ask the question, but I really don’t think I want to know the answer. “Anything I should know about stopping Lua, taking down the council, or any of the many battles I’m sure are coming my way?”

She stares at me for a beat before reluctantly shaking her head. “Nothing I can tell you.”

Her clear blue eyes look like she’s trying to convey some hidden meaning, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.

Well, that’s great. There’s something I should know, but she can’t tell me.

Story of my life, honestly.

But I’ve made it this far without having all the answers. I can totally make it through this whole save-the-world gig without blowing everyone and everything up. Maybe if I say it enough, I’ll start to believe it.

When I’m sure Angerona isn’t going to say anything else, I give her a nod. I then glance over at Joseph. “You good here? I should probably get back before my dad loses his shit over my mom.”

He looks at me in alarm. “Is your mom okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. At least I think so. Hades would be in deep shit with his mate—who happens to be my great-grandma—if he let anything happen to her. My dad just needs to see that she’s fine with his own eyes.”

Joseph’s eyes widen in shock. “What? Hades is real? And you’re related to him?”

“Yep, he’s real. A real dick at times, too. And I’m not biologically related to him. It’s… complicated. If you ever wanna go to Infernus , just let me know. It’ll make more sense if you meet everyone.”

Still looking stunned, Joseph gives me a nod, his gaze appearing miles away as he contemplates everything I just told him.

“I’m good here with Grams and Mateo. You don’t have to worry about me.

And thank you. For saving me, believing in me when no one else did, and giving me somewhere to stay.

If you ever need my help, all you have to do is ask. ”

I duck my head at his kind words, feeling awkward at his compliments. “No problem,” I mumble before I focus on Angerona. “Is it okay if I open a rift here?”

She nods, but Mateo is the one to speak. “You’re welcome to open rifts into and out of our city, Isabel. Don’t hesitate to come back if you need assistance or sanctuary.”

“Thanks. And thanks for looking after Joseph.”

Mateo lets out a quiet laugh. “I doubt Abuela Angerona would’ve let me turn away her grandson, but you’re welcome.”

Blowing out a deep breath, I picture Levi’s suite and my dad and brothers. I let my magic flow out of me to form a rift. With one last glance at the three of them, I walk into the interdimensional portal and hope for the best.

I must’ve proven my ability to create accurate rifts because not one of my mates complains about me going first. Apparently, they should’ve because I walk out into absolute chaos.

Stepping through the rift, I expect to come out into Levi’s suite. Instead, I walk out into a room made entirely of the same obsidian that makes up the rest of Hades’s castle. Shouts sound from all directions, and magic whizzes past me at a dizzying rate.

I have to duck to avoid a fireball that’s on a collision course with my face. With wide eyes, I watch the fireball slam into the stone and leave a char mark.

“Sorry!” someone shouts from somewhere behind me.

I turn to look for the source of the noise when I’m roughly yanked back against a hard chest. Before I can get upset about the manhandling, a vicious red spell zings through where I was just standing.

“Where the fuck did you portal us, sweetheart?” Bishop growls in my ear.

“I don’t know,” I squeak, trying to figure out if we’re at least in Infernus . I would hope I can’t portal to a realm I’ve never been to, but who knows.

“We’re in the training room.” Levi has to yell to be heard over the sounds of the explosions, shouting, and general chaos. “What or who were you picturing when you opened up the rift?”

“I was thinking of your room and my dad, Rhys, and Aiden.”

Levi nods. “That’d do it.” He stretches out one long arm to point in front of me.

Squinting, I try to figure out what he’s pointing at. I peer past the jagged obsidian walls, the people and creatures of all manners slinging magic, and the explosions that rock the space every few seconds.

Eventually, I spot Rhys, Aiden, and Dad flinging their magic around like there’s no tomorrow with giant grins on their faces.

Well, at least some of us are enjoying this. I can’t deny that I’m a bit envious of all the fun they look like they’re having.

My shoulders slump. “I opened a rift directly to them, didn’t I?”

Levi’s mouth twitches up. “It would appear so, little raven. That is a rare skill to have.”

Of course it is. I’m apparently allergic to doing anything normal.

Blowing out a breath that ruffles the strands of my blonde hair hanging in my face, I look up at Levi. “So, how do we get to them?”

He chuckles and cups my face in his hand, rubbing his thumb along my cheekbone. “We don’t. Unless you want to get chargrilled by the many curae and other residents of Infernus blowing off steam here. We have to wait until time is called on this session and everyone is asked to leave.”

Relaxing back into Bishop, since it seems like we’re going to be here a while, I fight to keep my eyes open. In the middle of a one-sided battlefield is definitely not the place to fall asleep, but everything that happened today is doing its best to catch up with me.

My eyes snap back open when a loud buzzer sounds. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed my eyes, so I must’ve dozed off while standing up for a bit. Quickly wiping the back of my hand over my mouth, I’m relieved when I don’t swipe off any drool because that would’ve been embarrassing.

The magic flying around the space comes to an abrupt halt.

“Session six is officially over. Please make your way off the practice field. If you wish to have more practice time, sign-up sheets for the next time slot are in the lobby,” a disembodied female voice calls.

The curae and other Infernus creatures shake hands with their neighbors and chat and laugh as they make their way over to us. I’m wondering why they’re all heading this way when the first buff guy with red flames on his head instead of hair pulls open a hidden door to my left.

We get a few weird looks as people file out past us, but I ignore them. It’s been way too long of a day to give a shit about what randos think about me.

I finally spot my family toward the end of the procession.

Rhys is the first one to notice us standing there. He stops in his tracks, temporarily holding up the line. “Iz? What are you doing here?”

I gesture for him to keep going. Once he’s moving, I try to go over to him, but Bishop’s strong arms keep me in place for a moment. Eventually, he lets me go, and I fall into step next to Rhys. I can hear the rest of my mates following.

“I accidentally portaled to you guys instead of to Levi’s room. The better question, though, is what are the three of you doing here? How did you even find this place?”