Page 55 of Midnight Reign
“Yes.”
“Am I ready for this? Or will it kill me?”
“Oh, you’re ready,” he says, beaming with pride. “Look at what you did here.” He gestures absently to the shadow pet still curled up at my feet. I’d forgotten all about it.
“What is on the other side of the portal?”
He gives me a warning stare, which I take to mean as he will tell me, but not now. “I don’t know,” he says, eyes narrowed.
I give him a nod that lets him know we will continue this conversation when the entire school isn’t watching.
I turn from him and catch Lyra looking at me with renewed interest. She is standing with Asher and Lucian, which makes me very wary of her intentions. “I need a minute,” I say and walk off, disturbed to find the shadow pet follows me, slinking along the ground like a dark mist at my feet.
“You and I need to have a frank conversation. Are you capable of that?” I ask Crimson.
Sure. What do you want to know?
“Oh, now you’re all chatty, after the revelations come out.”
She giggles.What can I say? I like being all mysterious and shit.
“If my mother is a celestial being, is yours a demon?”
Yep.
“Is she still alive?”
Can’t say for sure. She was in the other dimension the last time I saw her.
“Why are you trapped in my head?”
I’m not in your head, Addy. My essence is in your body. I was in the mirror in the tower. Locked away. When you took over residence there, and you saw me in the mirror. I was freed from that prison, only to be trapped in your body. Then Randall tried to get rid of us.
“Who imprisoned you and why?”
The five fathers, like your little Fae mate, said. They thought I was a threat to them, when all I wanted was to rule my dimension.
“The place Randall opened up? What’s it called?”
That’s enough questions for now.
I let out a frustrated growl. Crimson always knows when to pull back, leaving me hanging with more questions than answers. It pisses me off, but part of me knows that it’s probably for the best. I’m already on information overload as it is. I need time to process this lot first.
Taking deep breaths, I lean against one of the stones on the circle where the Sanctuary is, feeling its chill seep through my clothes. The shadow pet nudges at my hand, seeking attention or perhaps offering comfort. It’s bizarre, having this creature so attuned to me when I didn’t even know it existed until today.
Pushing away from the wall, I walk back to the guys, who are waiting with various degrees of patience. I find them gathered under an ancient elm tree.
I look at each of their faces, trying to gauge what they’re thinking. Zephyr’s eyes hold a touch of concern, his lips pressed into a thin line. Corvus is watching me with that intense gaze that seems to peer into my very soul, stirring up things inside me that I’m not ready to face. Ignatius looks like he might burst into flames at any moment, his skin flickering with sparks as if reflecting his inner turmoil. And Zaiah, well, he just raises an eyebrow and smirks, as if he finds this whole situation incredibly entertaining.
“Addy,” Zephyr starts, but I hold up a hand to stop him.
“I’m fine,” I lie. Because let’s be honest, I’m anything but fine. My head’s spinning with thoughts of celestial beings, demons, and cosmic balances.
“You don’t look fine,” Corvus snaps. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
I sigh.
Ignatius steps forward. “You know we’re here for you, right? Whatever this choice is that you have to make—we’re behind you.”
