Page 4

Chapter Four

The Grand Advisor stood just before the portals, blood dripping down his face and his left arm. “You are a troublesome lot. Brayden and Klaus were right.”

“So, you admit that you are a sibling of Grandpa Nico’s?” I asked calmly.

“Please, you’d figured that out long ago,” he said and waved his hand dismissively. “Your parents are powerful, but your power comes from your innocent appearance. I thought you were a gullible, spoiled princess.” He scoffed. “How shallow of me.”

I smiled. “Yes, that was very shallow of you. What is your name?”

“Why?”

“Well, I’ve always felt weird calling you ‘Grand Advisor.’ I was hoping now you’d finally give us your real name.”

“You can call me, ‘Your Majesty,’” he sneered.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even call my parents that. Please, get over yourself. You’re not that special.”

His brows furrowed. “I shall enjoy cutting your head from your body and displaying it from the castle.”

My mates growled.

Smiling, I said, “You can try, John.”

His furrowed brows loosened a second before furrowing again. “John?”

“You won’t give me your name, so I figured it must be a basic name, like John.” I shrugged. “Seems fitting.”

He snarled and magic crackled around his body. “My name is Valentino and soon you will all refer to me as King Valentino!” He weaved a pattern with his hands, a movement I hadn’t ever seen done before. “Good thing I’ve still got an ace up my sleeve or all of these years of work dealing with the pitiful demons would have been for naught.” He pulled out the stone I’d given him with my magic and drew it out, absorbing it into his body.

Despite knowing that the magic had a curse within it that would eventually weaken him, I was scared because I didn’t know how long the curse would take to go into effect.

“Ready?” Kayden asked calmly behind me and used his thumbs to dig into a knot on my upper shoulder.

I nodded once. “Ready.”

The worst part was waiting for Valentino to make his move first. I hated waiting.

Trey reached over and squeezed my hand. “Patience, Princess. I know that’s something you’ve never excelled at.”

“Waiting sucks,” I whispered.

“Good things come to those who wait, or at least that’s what your parents always told us,” Mason muttered.

“Any word on the other siren?” I asked.

Dad teleported next to me and whispered, “Leona’s found the accomplice, a siren like you thought. We’re going to wait until they make their next move before attacking.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

He teleported away again.

“I need that power,” I whispered.

“No, then we would never find you,” Mason grumbled. “You’d teleport all over to visit people and places and it’d be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Kayden sighed softly. “Don’t even mention her having that kind of ability, it stresses me out thinking about it.”

Rolling my eyes was the only response they got out of me.

Dhun and Jol jogged up to us from behind and I bent over to hug Dhun. “You’re even bigger than when I last saw you!”

He yipped and his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

“He won’t stop growing for at least a year,” Jol explained. “He’s actually quite large already for a hound, so I think he’s going to be the largest one yet.”

“Probably Lily’s fault,” Kayden whispered.

I elbowed him in the stomach. “Rude!”

All of the men laughed, including Dhun.

“I’m weaving your deaths and you’re chattering and laughing?” Valentino asked, his hands still moving through the air, reminding me of martial arts movements my grandpas practiced sometimes. Though, their practice of those movements was for calming and centering yourself, which I highly doubted was Valentino’s plan.

“It’s hard to take someone playing with the wind seriously,” I said and shrugged, acting unconcerned despite the fear coursing through me. I had to believe that the visions were true and we would win. I had to. The moon rose closer to its zenith and I knew the time was coming. The time for the prophecy to be enacted.

“Laura! Now!” Valentino screamed.

Laura? Laura must be his siren accomplice.

I turned to look behind me, in the direction he’d looked, but a wave of magic, reminiscent of being hit by a wave of water, slammed into me from both sides simultaneously.

My breath was taken and I felt like I fell through the ground and into an ocean of water. Darkness clouded over my eyes a moment, until I heard Great Aunt Leona and Nana Jolie singing. Their song pulled me to the surface and I drew in a deep, long breath, my lungs burning with the precious air.

Dad knelt beside me, a hand on my back and asked, “Are you alright, cub?”

Nodding, I climbed to my feet. All of my mates were getting to their feet as well as Dhun and Jol. “You got her?” I guessed.

Dad nodded. “Leona took care of them.”

Valentino stood before us, a dark magic like black oil spinning around his feet and taking over his eyes. “So troublesome.”

Closing my eyes, I summoned my shadow snake. “Activate Goddess Mode.”

Intense warmth from my chest spread throughout my body, increasing in heat until I felt like it was pouring out of my skin. Scales formed from my neck down to my toes, a tail grew from my lower back, my tongue grew longer and forked, scales lined my temple, and I felt my eyes shifting. Magic swirled withing my body and around me, creating a slight dust cyclone around my feet. Memories of my ancestors, those who had this power before me, flitted across my closed eyelids, giving me insight, tips, and a history of who I really was. My head fell back as I accepted this power fully, accepted who I was. I would take on any enemy of the demons or hybrids. I knew … I knew I would defeat Valentino now. I would finish what my great grandmother had started. However, I also knew now that there would be a sacrifice. Using this power didn’t just use your power and weaken you, it consumed part of your power. It would permanently erase part of my power, destroy the connection I’d just had with my ancestors, and I could never restore it.

It was the only way.

I was Liliana, a demon and hybrid shifter, the royal from both worlds, and it was time for me to protect my people.

Opening my eyes, I smiled at my mates, who stared at me in awe.

Kayden snapped a picture on his cell phone.

Turning to my adoptive parents, I said, “My ancestors thank you for protecting and raising me so well.”

Mom and Dad’s eyes widened, but the most shocked was me as they both bowed their heads. Mom said, “It was our pleasure.”

“Jol,” I called and held out my right hand. “It’s time for you to take my hand, accept our agreement, and become an ally to my world.”

Jol, without missing a beat, took my hand, and said, “Yes, Goddess Liliana of the Demons.”

Facing Valentino, I saw the fear on his face and smiled. “My great grandmother tried to give you a second chance, but you’ve spit on that and now, you shall be punished.”

Dark power swirled within Jol and at the point of our joined hands, both of our powers began to merge. His eyes glowed red, his horns grew thicker and longer, and he roared his rage. A rage I felt within me as well.

The power grew greater within me. It was like Jol was a conduit to all of the demons and the demon world, drawing more and more into me.

It was so much. Almost too much. If I didn’t use it soon, I worried I might explode, though I wasn’t sure it would be a good explosion like when I accepted the shadow powers. My power, a piece of myself deep within my core, sizzled hot, ready to be used.

“Valentino, you committed grave sins, murdered innocents, and all for an attempted coup. You are hereby sentenced to death. Goodbye.” Inhaling, I gathered the power between Jol and I, forming it into a basketball sized ball, and shot it straight into Valentino’s chest.

The cursed power I’d given him had started working, making him stagger just before the power hit him, preventing him from teleporting to safety.

The ball of power hit him, his body lifted up off the ground, a scream tore from his throat, and then … he disappeared. Completely disintegrated. The power that was left exploded out, sending a wave outward, but somehow didn’t harm anyone it touched. In fact, the demons smiled when it touched them.

At the spot Valentino had been, a bright white light glowed, and a silver lily grew up from the ground, the tips red like they’d been dipped in blood.

The prophecy had been fulfilled.

The three large portals to the demon world had disappeared, along with Valentino.

The power within me burned hot, like a wound being cauterized, making me wince.

Turning to face the demons and those of my parents’ world, Jol and I, hand-in-hand, raised our joined hands, and I announced, “The war is over!”