Page 14 of Lower World
Dominic was unnaturally still.
“How did my father die?”
“The Council killed him.”
“Is she underground in the cages?” White noise was humming in my ears and getting louder with each gasped breath.
“No.” There was no longer any infliction in Johnathan’s tone.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know, only the Council knows.”
“Who is she?” But I received only a shake of his head.
So I punched him. Again and again until Dominic pulled me off, wrestling with me and the chain he was holding. Not that he needed to keep Johnathan tied. The Atua was slumped, no longer struggling to free himself. In the meantime, my ribcage hurt from the wild hammering of my heart. That‘s when Dominic asked a question and received an answer without any compulsion help.
“What is she?” The shifter growled the words.
“Freak.” That time, Johnathan spat the word, glowering at me.
“Not Brooklyn. Her mother, what is she?” Dominic kicked the Atua when he didn’t speak straight away.
Johnathan locked his empty eyes on mine, and I could’ve sworn I wasn’t breathing. When a small hand wrapped around my shoulder, I realized that Alice joined us too, and I didn’t even hear her step out from between the crates. My heart skipped a beat, but I had no need to worry. The Atua didn’t pay her any attention at all, although I could feel her legs press on my back where I kneeled in front of Johnathan.
“A witch.”
If Alice was not holding me upright, I would’ve dropped like a rock from the shock. As things were, I plopped on my ass, all the air whooshing out of my lungs. In the distance, I heard Dominic cursing up a storm, but I couldn’t look away from Johnathan’s face.
Witch.
My mother was a witch.
And she was alive.
That little nugget kept going through my head.
9
“It’s impossible,” I mumbled through numb lips. My skin was tingling like ants were dancing over it. “If what he says is true, I would’ve known. I’d know if I had magic in my blood.”
Dominic cocked an eyebrow at me. He had no right to look so tempting when I was having an existential crisis. Johnathan lied, I decided. It was the only logical explanation. I didn’t compel him to tell the truth. That was it.
“And how do you explain what happened when Alice was performing the ritual?” More disturbing than the reminder of the stupid ritual was the fact that Dominic called Alice by her name instead of the human. Her gasp confirmed that my friend was witnessing the miracle along with me.
“Alice must have some magic in her bloodline.” My chin jutted out stubbornly.
All of a sudden the idea of Alice being a witch sounded very plausible to me. Never mind the fact one day before it, I did everything I could to convince her otherwise. The amusement dancing in Dominic’s eyes called me out on my bullshit and rubbed me all sorts of wrong. I was still breathing like a bull that just finished a rodeo run, and the humming sound between my ears didn’t diminish. If anything, it was getting louder. Everything they were saying sounded like it was reaching me underwater.
Aware I was focused on what my mother was instead of her being alive because I could process it easier, I gnawed on my lower lip until a coppery taste filled my mouth. Dominic checked that Johnathan was well restrained before lowering on his haunches in front of me, and he tugged my lip from my teeth with his thumb. His hand stayed on my face, cupping my cheek, and I froze like deer in headlights.
“Look at me,” he muttered under his breath, but I stubbornly stared at his chin. What? It was a very nice chin. “Look at me, Brooklyn.”
I snarled when Alice elbowed me in my kidney, my gaze snapping to Dominic’s face. Instead of the pity I expected, there was only something I refused to name. My face was impassive as I stared back at him.
“I cannot imagine what is going through your head right now.” Nothing. I wanted to yell nothing, but I kept my mouth shut. “If he said those same words to me, I would be destroying multiple states by now coming to find her. I don’t need you to tell me that’s what you want to do. I’m telling you”—His eyes bore into mine with such intensity some of the whooshing subsided—“that that’s what we will do.”
I physically jerked like he slapped me.
