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bsp; “The hexer died after her spell was cast. They tried breeding her because they knew she had created greatness once,” Ella says in a whisper.
“This was before the species mixing was cast into purgatory,” Chaz whispers.
Dice leans up. “Hell, it’s probably the true reason why it was cast out. According to that page, they wanted an army of creature gods and wanted to find the correct bloods to make it. They couldn’t accept that fate left it at random.”
“What?” I ask meekly, still feeling queasy.
“Slade’s parents were both bred and brutally tortured when they tried to fight back. They never stopped fighting,” Ella murmurs under her breath. “His father sacrificed himself to save his wife and his two sons. It says the boys were too new to magic to fight his power. Their father was a dark user—a strong one. With a wave of his hand, he cast his sons and wife too far away for them to return in time to fight at his side. Again, this was before the mixing was stripped.”
“And you’re just now figuring out it was about him?” Dice asks, trying to read the book over Ella’s shoulder.
“It said they’d created creature gods, but it didn’t call them twins or refer to them as the Gemini twins,” Chaz defends. “And we seriously had no idea Slade was that old. Hell, he could have written this damn book for all we know.”
Swallowing down my own issues, I take a deep, calming breath. Just having Zee’s arms around me keeps the images of Slade and his wrath out of my head.
“His family was brutalized by my ancestors,” I say in a quiet summary, feeling my stomach lurch. “Treated like lab rats for their own sick uses. No wonder he hates me.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chaz quickly points out. “That’s been so long ago that it’s not even dated.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I tell him, looking up to meet his gaze. “I’ve studied sociology since I started college. It’s why I took the job with Marilyn. Some families hate each other over a land dispute that happened centuries ago. I once wrote a paper about two families that hated each other because one man stole another man’s pig over two-hundred years ago, and the descendants still held their own grudges. This is far more severe than that. His anger has to be directed at someone, and I share the blood.”
“That’s not all,” Ella says on a long sigh, still reading. “It says the Aquarius only got close to his family because his mother befriended one in an effort to declare peace between them and us. The female Aquarius tricked the female hexer into trusting her enough to learn of the power her sons would one day yield. She learned a lot about our kind through that friendship, while selling falsehoods about the anointed to the hexer who was too compassionate and idealistic to see the truth.”
My eyes close, and I blow out another breath.
“Slade’s family was not only brutally murdered, but they were tricked and betrayed by my ancestors. To him, I’m just history repeating itself by befriending all of you.”
Dice shifts. “Maybe we should do a truth spell on her.”
Ella cuts her eyes at him, and a stab of pain hits my heart. I hadn’t thought of them not trusting me.
“Magic doesn’t work on her,” Thad states, acting as though he’s thinking it over as well.
Roslyn cuts her eyes toward him. None of the men seem onboard with me all of the sudden, and I start feeling very defensive and unwelcome. If it wasn’t for the sheet I’m wearing and Zee’s arms clamped around me, I’d walk out of here right now.
“Some magic works,” Dice goes on. “She can be dematerialized and healed. We know that much. And we haven’t tested her boundaries now that she’s supercharged. We don’t know what being sired by Zee even means for her. All of the typical rules seem to be damned, and Zee isn’t typical either.”
Ella gets quiet, and her eyes keep moving from her doodles to another book as she keeps the two side by side.
“What?” I prompt, hating the look on her face.
Her lips tense before she meets my gaze. “The symbols he drew on you… Zee took them off, but I saw them before he took you. I’ve seen them before, and I didn’t remember where until now.”
“What?” Chaz asks, leaning up to see what book she’s looking at. He closes his eyes and pushes the heels of his palms into his eye sockets while groaning and leaning back.
Ella looks up at me. “In some of the older tribes, they believed the souls of the victims couldn’t rest until revenge had been served and marked as sacrifice. Since he never got the chance to lay their souls to rest—according to legend—with the true murderers, you were the next best thing.”
Cursing, I try to get up, but Zee clings to me for a second before allowing me to stand. He blinks rapidly like he’s getting out of a coma, and he releases me completely while practically sprinting up the stairs.
“At least he’s him again,” Dice says with a shrug.
I follow, only to find him tossing a bunch of shit in a duffel bag.
“Going somewhere?” I ask dryly.
“Away. It’ll help break the bonds down. The others can walk you through the process.”
