Page 26 of Loving Amari

Angie’s face falls. The color drains from her cheeks.

Anora looks to Amir. He’s glaring at Damon and Selene. “You knew about this threat and said nothing.”

“Hold on, Amir.” Angie steps forward. “Before you start pointing fingers, you need to be angry at me. I’m the one who told them not to say anything.”

Damon holds his head down, guilt written across his features. But Selene doesn’t. Her chin lifts, shoulders back, ready to defend her mate against anyone. Even a king.

Angie moves from Jacob’s embrace with a heavy sigh. Magic spills from her fingers like water, blue and gold threads weaving through the air. A projection screen appears, hovering in the center of the room and glowing with ethereal light.

An image appears. A man with deep mahogany skin and sculpted features that speak of both strength and cruelty. Hiseyes are cold, calculating. Dead. There’s no warmth in them, no humanity left.

“This is Henry.” Angie’s voice is steady, matter-of-fact. “He took an oath with the Blackwood witches centuries ago. Protected our assets. Our knowledge. Our bloodline. But when he realized all the witches were dead thanks to Aya, he started misusing the gifts given to him.”

“Nathaniel is Henry’s older brother.” Aya’s ghostly form drifts closer to the projection, studying the image like she’s remembering. “The Blackwood witches came to him first. His birth name was Nasir. He is of Moorish descent.”

I gasp. My eyes snap to Amir, whose face has gone completely still. Stone. Unreadable.

“They were assimilating to European culture and started changing their names.” Aya continues. “When they offered Nasir the magic, he took it eagerly. But then I came along and offered him even more power. Promised him things the Blackwood witches never would. He started helping me hunt them down. Kill them. One by one.”

I feel Carla shiver against me.

“They banished him to limbo when they discovered the betrayal, but the magic they gave him stuck with him. Bound to his soul.” Aya looks at Angie, and there’s something almost like pity in her expression. “You’re bound by the same laws I was. What you give, you cannot take back. It has to be given back willingly. So now you have two villains walking around with your magic. Two men with the power to destroy everything you love.”

“Yeah, I know that shit already.” Angie’s hands curl into fists.

Carla and Anora both turn to Angie. Carla speaks first, her voice quiet but steady. “Why didn’t you say anything to us about Henry?”

“I didn’t think he was that big of a threat.” Angie’s shoulders tense, defensive. “Damon and Selene have been actively lookingfor him for months, and he’s been completely off the radar. Like he doesn’t exist.”

“Until now.” Carla’s voice drops. “One of the doors to the living in Nathaniel’s room opened to Brookstone and Blackburn.”

The room goes silent.

“So what do we do?” Anora’s hand moves to her stomach, protective. Maternal. Frightened.

“That’s where I come into play.” Aya drifts closer, her form solidifying slightly. “I know Nathaniel. I know how he thinks. How he plans. How he kills.”

She looks at Tofi and frowns. Then forces a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “First, we need to dismantle that army in limbo he’s building.”

“And how do we do that?” Carla’s body tenses against mine.

Aya points at Tofi. “They’ll need to work overtime.”

She means all the children. Every single one of Carla’s spider spider children fighting an endless war in the void. My hand on Carla’s waist grips harder.

“Then we need to get some barriers up. I may not be able to read or cast spells anymore, but I have enough knowledge to show you all how to do it.”

Amir walks up to his sister slowly. Stops directly in front of her ghostly form. “And what’s in this for you? I know you aren’t helping out of the goodness of your heart. You don’t have a heart.”

Aya just smirks. “Mother Fate said if I save Wintermoon, I can come home.”

Amir smirks back, cold and humorless. “Looks like we’ve got some planning to do.” He pauses, his expression darkening. “But make sure you take what she says with a grain of salt. She’ll give you a lot of truths, but there’s always fine print. Always. She’s got something up her sleeve, and I know it.”

I look down at Carla. Pull her closer, feeling her heartbeat against my side. She didn’t leave of her own will. Fate pulled her to limbo. Yanked her away while I stood helpless.

Now the question remains. How long before Fate permanently takes her from me?

And will I be able to handle it when she does?