Page 85 of House of Crimson Kisses
Only this time, he kneels on one leg and holds out a hand, palm up.
I glance at my hand holding the blade, but it too has vanished. So I lay my hand in his. There’s a tingle between our palms as we grip each other.
“Congratulations, Octavia. And now, your reward. The gods have decided to bestow upon you a single piece of information. You’ve always wondered what happened to your birth mother. This is her story…”
The ghost vanishes, and instead I am standing in a quaint little cottage a thousand years ago, the sun setting, showering the cottage in beams of orange and burnt yellow. I try to move, but I’m pinned in place. The kettle simmers on the stove. A woman with long hair is facing away from me.
“Mum?” I say.
But before she can answer, dusk settles, and the light vanishes.
There’s a knock at the door.
The vision drags me to the far side of the room. I try and step closer, but I’m stuck at the entrance to the living room. My birth mother moves constantly, so I can never quite see her face. I want to scream in frustration. What gift is this if I can’t see her face, if I can’t discover who she really is?
Her hand slides to the door handle, and she twists it open as a small whimper comes from behind me. I gasp, as I find a cot nestled just behind me in the entrance to the living room. It’s a baby?
Not a baby.
Me. As a baby. I reach down to pick myself up but my hand brushes through my body as if I’m an apparition.
It doesn’t matter. The door opens and the air cools to ice, gooseflesh prickles my birth mother’s arms, and as I glance up, I gasp.
“Cordelia.”
Chapter24
CORDELIA
Present Day
Istand amongst the bodies of my unconscious children. I am not one for nerves, but as I stare down at their strangled expressions, my stomach churns and twists in on itself.
The blood monks hum and sing their chants, pacing around the outside of the stone beds, praying for my children’s return.
The Chief appears at my side. “Wondering if this was such a good idea?” she asks, her blue eyes staring into mine.
My jaw flexes. Years of hatred seep into my bones, reminding me she is my enemy. Every hunter is. They always have been. They always will be.
“I still believe the Mother of Blood will reveal something of us to them. You forget, she too had power. She too was a dhampir. She would want magic returned.”
“Perhaps.”
“We must get through that border, Chief. Last night, there was another attempt to break in. I lost three vampire guards.”
“Was the boundary penetrated?”
“No. And the amulet is safe and under twenty-four-hour guard surveillance, too. I’m not concerned.”
“More annoyed you didn’t catch who was doing it?”
I nod. “If we were faster, I wouldn’t have to put my children through these trials. Do you really think I want to put them through this kind of mental anguish?”
The Chief’s eyebrow rises.
“Don’t look at me like that. I am capable of love.”
“Are you?”
