Page 12

JACOB

he meeting room has a long table with twelve chairs in it, but there are only four of us –Adrian, Rosie, Izzy, and me. Rosie insisted that Adrain and she get involved in helping me find my mother. Here we are, sharing what we know.

Adrian told me to go fuck myself a few times, but at the end of the day, I stay because Rosie loves me. I used to find it amusing how he would melt at Rosie’s every glance. Now that I shake with fear when Izzy cries, I understand. Men like me can kill with ease and be unbothered, but when Izzy is hurt and there is nothing I can do to make it better, it is terrifying.

Izzy is sitting next to Rosie, gazing at her in awe, and my lips curve up. Rosie is a kind soul – she draws people to her. I’m glad Izzy finds comfort in her presence.

Last night invades my mind as I watch Izzy lean in to whisper something to Rosie. The way she reacted to my every touch was beautiful. She moaned, her body jerking and shuddering with every orgasm. At one point, I lost track of time as I tasted every part of her. The way she screamed when she exploded with bliss was magical. Every time, I muffled her voice with my mouth, claiming her pleasure as mine.

My cock twitches and mygroin tightens at the memories. Maybe meeting Clara wasn’t such a terrible thing for Izzy. The fairy is wise and good at what she does, but I worried it would be too much for Izzy. She did good. She let go. That’s a good start.

“I sent for Jona,” Rosie states with a wide smile as she looks around the room, bringing me back to the current problem.

Jona, the Watching Angel, even though not Rosie’s real father, was the one who raised her. He did a good job with it, too. The man loved her like his own. When Adrian took Rosie away, Jona left the village as well. I don’t know what he has been up to these days, but I am sure the Upperworld is coming up with a punishment for him as we speak. They don’t take kindly to angels getting involved with humans. He was only supposed to watch, not raise the daughter of Lucifer.

“Why?” I ask. Not that I mind his help, but it seems a little over the top.

“Because we have an angel that doesn’t know how to use her power.” Adrian glares at me like I’m an idiot.

That is a good idea.

“Oh, Your Majesty. You think of everything. How kind of you,” I respond with a wicked smile on my face.

I love pushing his buttons. Sometimes, I can imagine him itching to stab me or choke me to death with his bare hands. Rosie loves me dearly; he can’t do anything. Even if he were to try and kill me, I am not sure he would win. My power is a rare one.

Adrian’s eyes twitch, and his jaw tightens as he stares at me. The man flares up too easily. Three, two, one –

“You fucking halfling,” he grits through his teeth. “The day will come.”

I laugh in response. Rosie gives me a glare, and so does Izzy. Damn it. I’m the one in trouble. Adrian smirks at me, feeling smug and victorious. Luckily for me, I don’t get angry as easily as him, so I smile sweetly at the girls.

“Jona is a Watching Angel. A very good man.” Rosie turns to Izzy. “He will teach you everything he knows, and he’s been around for a very long time.” Turning from Izzy, she looks at me and Adrian. “Now boys, would you like to spend some time at the training grounds?”

“Rosie, are you suggesting a fight?” I dramatically gasp.

“No. I think the two of you need to work it out. Both are powerful, right? So, it will be a fair fight.” She raises her eyebrows.

“Rosie, that is a wonderful idea.” Adrian smiles with a little too much excitement and kisses her shoulder.

“Fine.” I roll my eyes.

Truth be told, I am thrilled to throw punches with the asshole. Izzy looks at me a little confused, though, worry written in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, they will be just fine. Meanwhile, I can show you my garden.” Rosie’s smile grows, and I laugh.

Growing up, all Rosie did was collect herbs, flowers, and all sorts of plants. The only thing that got her excited was a house on the outskirts of town with a large garden. It looks like she has finally gotten what she dreamed of.

The training grounds are massive with areas equipped for a variety of sparring – spears, swords, knives, and archery. Adrian makes his way to an even field with nothing on it but sand.

Hand combat it is then .

We get a few side glances from practicing soldiers, but no one says anything. By the looks of it, most of his guards are demons. There will be no concerns about using our powers.

Wonderful . My lips curve up lazily.

“Shall we?” Adrian states, and without waiting, elbows me in the ribs so hard, it knocks the air out of my lungs.

Asshole! I double down and cough a bit.

That should be considered cheating, but who’s keeping track of the rules? The pain dissipates, and I straighten out, watching him for an opening. He won’t give me an easy one. I ball my fists and aim for his face with my right hand. As expected, he blocks it, but I use my left to hit him in the kidney. The impact is solid against his body. He grunts and scowls.

I must admit, hitting him feels good.

“You protected Rosie all of her life. I feel like it is only fair that I offer the same to the woman you love,” the prick says casually as he circles me.

Love? The word hits me like a brick wall, my mind scrambling.

My feelings for Izzy are strong, but we have known each other for a month. Standing still, I realize there is nothing I would not do for her. As long as I have her smile and her pleasure, I will be happy.

I am brought back to reality by the dull pain of a punch right in the middle of my chest. My body flies at least a few feet. I land on my back, sand dusting around me. Everything aches from the impact, making me grunt as I get up.

“You haven’t told her yet, have you?” Adrian laughs. The piece of shit has not changed a bit. “Oh, you haven’t realized it yourself yet.”

Everything happened quickly with Izzy and me. Have I had enough time to fall in love? Or are these powerful feelings just in my head – my mind protecting me from everything crashing around me?

“Victor will come looking for her. He is a vile man, but he will want his experiment back. I guarantee that the price he paid to make her was not cheap.” Keeping his distance, he casually circles me. “As long as she is under my roof, she will be safe. You have my word.” He glares at me as I get up.

As much as I dislike the arrogance of him, the man is always hyper-focused on justice. Maybe if I were shunned from a kingdom in the Upperworld as a reject because I believed in choice, I would have a point to prove as well. No matter our differences, Adrian, the Dark One, has honor. I am grateful he is promising her safety. Still, I want to land a good punch on that smug, pretty face of his.

Time to heat things up a little . Collecting my power into my center, I let hot energy travel through my veins.

“What did Victor want to achieve with this experiment?” I eye him while continuing to gather my power.

Adrian has been around for a very long time, and so has Victor. Plus, they are sort of like mortal enemies. It makes sense that Adrain has been keeping an eye on him.

“He did achieve what he wanted.” Adrian smirks. “He created a powerful being. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is strong.” Taking cautious steps around me, he squints his eyes. “Don’t you feel the strength in her? There is something deep inside waiting to burst.”

I scanned her vaguely, but I did not sense anything besides the vampire on her. That’s odd.

“No,” I respond. Keeping my focus on his every move, I turn. “What is exactly her power?”

Fire courses through me, ready to strike at any moment. Keeping it steady, I wait for him to answer.

“Hard to pinpoint. Genetics and all, but I felt force. It was like she could kill with just a gust of wind. It’s hard to decipher when she is not in tune with it. Volatile. Unpredictable.” His jaw twitches as he explains.

My teeth clenched, I try to contain my rage. Victor wanted to make a weapon. How original. It’s disturbing that he chose to do it with his own child.

My power is buzzing within me, ready to explode. I direct it at Adrian. The flames escape my palms, knocking him back. He flies backward, his arms flailing. Taking this chance, I move forward. My fist lands on his cheek with a solid thud. Satisfied, I huff as he tumbles back. He falls to the ground with a grunt.

Damn, that feels good .

Holding his bleeding nose, he gets up slowly. Glaring at me, he sniffles, inhaling blood.

“Your mother is a problem as well,” he states, wiping his hands on his brown pants.

Unfortunately, he is right. My mother managed to convince the fire fairies to help her get the root of Tartus, and it wasn’t by being polite. If she has been hunting vampires for the past twenty-six years, it would not be that difficult for her to add a few werewolves to achieve her end goal.

My hand suddenly burns, creating an unpleasant stinging sensation. Shaking it, I look down with my brows firmly brought together. It looks fine. This has never happened to me before. Frustrated, I growl at the situation. This is not a good time for things to decline.

“I’m working on that.” I sigh and run my hands through my hair.

Andrian’s glare becomes very suspicious as he watches me. He is observant, but he does not meddle.

“Work faster and fix whatever is broken with you.” He motions his hand at me.

“Aw. You care,” I coo.

I am working as fast as I can to solve this problem. It’s not like I enjoy this pain.

“Fucker,” he grits through his teeth.

Ideally, I would love to talk my mother out of this insanity, but I am not an idiot. She left her child for this – she will not stop because I ask her to. The most likely outcome is her death. The idea of killing my own mother is unsettling, but so is having her kill fifteen werewolves and ten more vampires just to create this spell. And if she does get what she wants, then what?

Once Izzy is settled, I will travel toward the cascades to find Sofia. Last I heard, she was hiding in one of the mountain villages. It will be interesting to hear what she has to say to her abandoned child.

A dull ache throbs at the back of my skull. It’s not as bad as some of the others I had, but it is notable enough. The least Sofia could’ve done was leave a letter telling me about the demon lineage and how to stop these rapidly growing symptoms.

Izzy practically skips next to Rosie with a massive smile on her face as they walk down the hall together. It makes my heart swell to see her beaming like this. Rosie leans toward her ear to say something, and Izzy giggles in return.

“Her garden is beautiful!” Izzy jogs a few steps toward me, the sun reflecting magically against her hair.

I want to capture her joy for eternity and see her smile like this for as long as she lives. She deserves that, and so much more – she deserves the world.

Adrian marched past me without a glance. Scoffing, I take a step closer to Izzy.

“Any news from the scouts you sent out last night?” Adrian whispers into Rosie’s ear.

Izzy is too busy being excited about the plants and bugs, but I hear the subtle question. Rosie always had a great mind for landmarks and tactical thinking. It was one of those things that Jona encouraged when we were younger. Now, she is a queen who does not hide behind a king.

Rosie eyes me and Izzy with a small twist of her lips, then gazes up at Adrian. By the looks of it, the answer is not good, because Adrian’s jaw tenses, and he nods at Rosie.

“What is it?” I place a hand on Izzy’s hip to bring her closer.

“Victor knows that you are here and is marching towards the country border with a small army.” Rosie’s face contorts as she says the words.

Izzy inhales sharply and backs away, but I tuck close to myself. No harm will come to her, she has to believe that. Victor can march, but he will not get past the border. Even if he did somehow manage to get through, it would take him two days to get to the castle.

“Oh, don’t worry. He will not get into the country.” Rosie reassures, her eyes focused on Izzy.

Izzy’s body relaxes next to mine, but I worry that her nightmares are going to haunt her with her father so close. Sometimes, she shuffles and gets restless at night. I hold her snugly, and she settles. I savor those moments when I’m her comfort.

I will make all of your evil disappear. I tighten my arm around Izzy’s waist.

Searching for my mother will have to wait until the problem with Victor is solved, but maybe she will hear that he’s here and show up at the doorstep. Victor is the man she’s been chasing all of her life, after all.

Wishful thinking, but stranger things have happened.