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Before I can find a way to counteract the dark and ancient magic, the Crimson Roses reach us. I burn them all, destroying and incinerating and giving myself over to my shadow beast nature.
I use my dragon’s body to shield Tori, but we’re running out of time, and the damned enemy keeps coming. Farther up, on the ridge, two figures watch the fight—such as it is.
No, they watch me.
And they know they have me.
I can feel her gaze on me—her quiet certainty that I will submit—and it makes me sick.
I fight harder.
When the last of the Crimson Roses has been burned from this earth, I look up at them. My stomach churns, and my beast recoils at the sight of her.
My mother.
She walks beside Uziah, her steps slow and measured. She could have unfurled her dark wings and flown here, but that would have meant making haste toward the woman she’s just poisoned.
At the sight of her venom-laced stare, my dragon trembles with rage and desperation. I hate her more than I want to live. But I love Tori more than either of those things, so for her, I stand my ground. And bide my time. All that matters is saving Tori. I’ll do anything to ensure her survival, and they know it.
As they approach, my mother’s mouth quirks upward in a smug smile. Uziah is not nearly as subtle. His flash of teeth is unapologetic as they stop before me.
“Hello, son,” he calls.
I shift back to my human form, uncaring that I’m coated in dirt and blood. “Don’t call me that,” I snarl.
“Don’t be rude, Legion.”
I glare at my mother. Her skin is flawless, her beauty untouched by time. But I’m not fooled. Her ugliness is buried deep beneath the surface.
“You don’t get to order me around anymore,” I tell her.
“I’m still your mother.”
“Actually, you lost that right a long time ago. You’re nothing to me.”
She cocks her head. “Is that why you spent your first night back in this realm searching for me?”
My hands ball into fists. “A shame I didn’t find you sooner. Your death could have saved us all this trouble.”
“Ah, the cloaking spell. Powerful, isn’t it?”
“Not powerful enough,” I say. “It’s gone now. Your rancid scent is all over this mountain.”
Her eyes flash at my insult but she maintains her cool. “You assume the cloaking spell was for you.” Her gaze flicks to Tori. “Besides, if you’d found me, you might not have run into her. And then you would have never cursed, oops, I mean met your mate.”
Her taunting snaps my control.
With a roar, I give in to the fury building inside me and consume them both with hellfire. When the flames clear, they are both unaffected and glaring at me.
“Have you forgotten I am immune to your tricks?” my mother calls.
“You’ve lied before,” I say with a pointed look at Uziah. “Figured it was worth testing.”
“I never lied,” she says.
“You told me my father was a god.”
“When he was made, no other word existed for what he was,” she says with a shrug.
