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Ripe for the taking.
I wanted it. I wanted all of it.
I snapped out of it and turned away, facing the back wall of the cottage. I could barely control myself with one tiny lick of her blood. To drink it? To close the veil with it?
It seemed impossible.
The sound of Natalie’s yelling was a welcomed distraction to the silence that weighed heavier and heavier in the damn cottage.
Narcissa ran to the back door, flinging it open. Wrath yelled at Natalie, too, but I could hardly hear him over her screams.
The three of us ran outside to the back gardens.
“What the hell is going on back here?” Narcissa exclaimed.
Lyra stilled in front of me. I nearly ran right into her.
And then I saw what—who—Natalie was screeching at.
Theia stood before us, her normally pristine, white clothes now tattered and ripped, dirt covering the majority of her pants and her high heels digging into the mulch of the garden.
I gripped Lyra’s arm and pulled her behind me, all awareness of her blood dissipating as my protective instincts took over. “What the fuck is this?” I barked. “What are you doing here?”
Theia lifted her chin defiantly. “I came for my daughter.”
“Did you follow us here?” Natalie seethed, her eyes burning with hatred. “Have you been tracking us?”
Theia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. It was a confident gesture, but in this form, Theia looked anything but confident. “You can watch the way you speak to me,” Theia replied. “I’m sure your mother would love to know the type of shit you’ve involved yourself in.”
“Like saving the mess that you created?” Natalie retorted.
Lyra remained silent behind me.
“My mess?” Theia responded with a huff, followed by a loud crack of laughter. “Look at you! You’ve ruined everything!”
Except her words didn’t land on Natalie. Her eyes drilled into me—through me—to Lyra.
“We’re closing the veil once and for all,” Narcissa pushed with a sneer. “You can either help us, or you can get those nasty shoes off of my property.”
A long silence filled the air. I kept my chin up, kept my shoulders rolled back. Wrath did the same.
Until Lyra put a hand on my arm, stepping to the side of me. “What are you really doing here?” she asked.
Theia’s face tightened, then fell slowly. “You’re closing the veil,” she stated. “I’m the Goddess of Light. Keeper of the veil that you all have done a fine job ruining. I’m here to help you.”
What. The. Fuck.
Another silence washed over us. Natalie’s mouth practically fell open.
“You really want me to believe that?” Lyra snapped. “After everything you’ve done to me? After the threats, the lies?”
“I never lied to you,” Theia answered stiffly, eyes narrowing. “I only wanted what was best for you. What was best for the veil.”
Lyra scoffed. “You can want what’s best for me, or you can want what’s best for the veil. I’m not sure you can want both, Mother.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” That sharp voice came rushing back. “You have no idea what kind of sacrifices I have made for you.”
Lyra stepped forward, ready to fight. I followed inches behind her, ready to end the first person to lay a finger on her.
