Page 19 of Spells of Shadow and Blood

Annelise’s brow drew together with hurt. “Never.”

“What, then?”

“I…I plan to leave her there,” she replied.

“Leaveher there?” Zion asked, incredulous.

Annelise nodded. “It’s the only way to keep her truly safe. As long as she remains in this realm, Diana will be hunted. Osiris’ pursuit of Stormshades has only worsened in recent months. A war is brewing, and I cannot in good conscience allow a child to be stuck in the middle of it. She will never be safe here as long as storm blood runs through her veins.”

“What do you plan to do with her?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Leave her with a mortal friend. One I met in college. We were close, once. I trust her with Diana. She will be raised mortal. Live a mortal life. She might have a chance at happiness that way.”

Zion’s gaze was downcast. Thoughtful.

“And when she summons magic in the mortal realm? When her storms rage and her power ignites everything around her?” he finally asked.

Annelise shook her head. “I will bind her. She will never know.”

“Bindher? You think that is what’s best?” he replied.

“Yes. She is already bound here in Istmere to prevent the king from tracking her. I will bind her magic to ensure she will never know it, never know she is a Shade. She won’t be traced. The Kotova grimoire has a powerful binding spell. It will last quite some time.”

“And when the binding wears off?” he asked.

“I will travel to the mortal realm to bind her again. Wipe her memories of it. She will never know what she is. Who I am. She will be spared of this heartache.”

“You’re forgetting one crucial piece of information,” Zion’s voice was low when he spoke.

A warning.

“And what’s that?” Annelise asked, stroking the baby’s hair back from her face, her voice feigning innocence.

“The prophecy.”

Annelise’s gaze turned cold as it bore into Zion’s. “Fuck the prophecy.”

A humorless laugh escaped Zion. “Has Alastir ever been wrong?”

Annelise’s face curled up with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“Has he?” Zion pressed, pushing off the opposite countertop and moving toward her. He grasped her arms in his, squeezing them. “You cannot hope to interfere in a prophecy from the mother herself. This child is destined for things far greater than anything you or I could have planned for her. She will bring peace to Istmere after a decade of strife and war.Thatis what Alastir saw.Thatis what the mother showed him.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke. “Maybe he was wrong. There is still time for the visions to change. She is only but a babe now, and that will not come to fruition for over a decade. A lot can happen between now and then.”

“I know,” Zion replied, running a hand down his face. “But you and I cannot hope to stop fate. The mother has bigger plans for this child.”

“But a war is brewing,” Annelise protested.

“I know,” Zion replied again.

He was exasperated with her. Once Annelise made up her mind, it was made up. There was no changing it. Come hell or high water, she would bring that child to the mortal realm and bind her magic.

I closed the bedroom door with a snap, knowing they would hear the sound of the door against the wooden frame. Serves them right for speaking as if I weren’t even there. I fucking hated how they did that.

They were right about one thing, though…

War was brewing.

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