‘Clearly, she didn’t teach you to keep your mouth shut,’ the woman hissed. ‘You don’t knowanything.’
No, there was more here. A tangled, vicious history that went deeper.
‘You’re so much like her,’ Aífe said with narrowed eyes. ‘You wouldn’t want me to pretend youareher, would you? Take out all my emotions? Justpurgethem onto thispretty face.’
She slapped Nicole faster than she could guard herself.
Pain broke over her cheek like a lash of fire. Mouth full of copper, skin stinging, Nicole spat her blood onto the stones then tipped her head back to look the woman in the eyes. She felt the inside of her cheek knitting back together slowly, but blood still puddled on her tongue with its sharp taste.
‘What are you?’ Nicole snarled.
She wanted to know what creature she was going to rip to pieces to get out of here.
‘Today isn’t about me. It’s about a reunion!’ She clapped her hands. ‘Bring in the family.’
The black glass wall to the right suddenly turned opaque and Nicole’s heart nearly stopped.
Her father and sister were revealed. Both of them were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs. Their father looked like he’d beenshot,whileBells glared at Aífe. Someone had gagged her, so the rag wrapped around Bells’ blood-speckled jaw was wet with tears, her cheek swelling like she’d been hit in the face.
Nicole had never seen such dark rage in her sister’s eyes.
‘Her whimpering was pissing me off,’ Aífe said by way of explanation.
Nicole nearly couldn’t see from the tide of red that washed across her vision. She forced herself not to launch at the woman. They were outnumbered and Alexander now strode over to her family. What damage he could do—
Her power snarled and tore anyway, feral at the sight of them so brutalised. Where was Dylan?
She scrunched her eyes shut, trying to smother the need toprotect them at all costsand corral the twisting of her stomach.She needed to be calm enough to figure out how to get them out of here without making everything worse.
But the only bargaining chip she had left was the information she had promised.
‘It seems your sweet little sister bit and killed an Empyreal,’ the woman said. ‘So a rag was justified.’
Bells?
At the lack of blood on her sister’s face Nicole realised what would have actually bitten the Empyreal – the Tène still wrapped around her sister’s wrist. Hope almost lightened the dread, until Aífe spoke again.
‘If you’re wondering about your brother, he had a nice little transformation on the way in. So he’s in a cell where he will remain until he wakes up to take the oath.’
Blood drained from Nicole’s face, from every inch of her. She smothered the bright fear; the guilt that she hadn’t been there to help them.
An Empyreal pulled Bells in while Alexander hauled her father up by some kind of great chains inscribed with ancient Celtic symbols. A third Empyreal came in holding—
The portrait of her mother.
The first of the three goddessblood artefacts.
Nicole had hoped there was some pigment left in it, that the samples Verin had taken and the Wake had stolen after his murder weren’t all that was left.
Did Aífe know what secrets it held?
Someone propped it at the head of the pool, so it could watch.
‘Nicole, are you all right?’ her father asked.
‘Your daughter is fine,’ Aífe purred. ‘Unlike yourwife.’
Despite the lash of anger, Nicole smothered her relief. If Aífe really thought her mother was dead as well, then if the Druid was telling the truth, maybe they had a chance to get out of here. To get to her andtrulyhave a family reunion.
