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“It was, wasn’t it? However short-lived.”
The dark stairwell opened to a different room than before. Gone was the strange glass case which housed the books on shelves, replaced instead by a beautiful garden room overflowing with unusual plants and flowers in magnificent, vibrant colors. Breathtaking.
I followed her toward a bench set beneath an arbor that was adorned in vine-like purple and green flowers with red speckles near their centers. Flowers I’d never seen in my life. Across from the bench stood an ornate coffee table, where a teapot sat beside two cups, as if she’d been expecting company. “You’re Lustina’s mother.”
“I am.” She ushered me toward the cushioned bench and took a seat beside me.
I studied the way the cushion dipped as she sat down, and the fact that Ifeltthe presence of another beside me. “The lady in the bookstore downstairs, she had no awareness of you the last time I was here. You’re a wraith?”
Clasping her hands in her lap, she nodded. “Merely an apparition.”
“Catriona, the reason I’m here is … well, I’m pregnant.”
“I figured as such.” She reached forward for the teakettle and poured what appeared to be a strange rainbow-colored fluid into one of the cups. Steam rose over the top of it, and though I wasn’t the biggest fan of tea in general, I sipped it, delighted by the ginger citrus flavor. “One does not avoid the cursed blood moon prophecy otherwise,” she kept on, pouring a cup for herself. “My poor Lustina did not.” Wearing a wistful expression, she held the small teacup to her lips and took a sip. “Of course, if she had, you would not necessarily be here.”
“Do you know how it works? What happens to those whoactuallyperish on the blood moon?”
“That is a secret only the sacrificed are privy to.” She took another sip of her tea, her movements slow and gracious and mannerisms like that of a noblewoman, the way she held her posture straight. “My hope is that they find peace, as well.”
“Do you remember being pregnant with Lustina?” I straightened my back, too, noticing the ache of having had horrible posture my whole life.
“Yes.”
“How? I just mean … I thought everyone loses their memories here.” Holding the teacup in the same delicate manner, I attempted to be as gracious, but failed when I dribbled the fluid down my lip. Embarrassed, I set the cup back onto its plate and cleared my throat.
“Some do. Some of us do not. I still carry quite a few memories of my past. There are some dark patches. A void here and there. But I’ve remembered important moments. Perhaps due to being cursed-born.”
“So, do you recall in your pregnancy any unusual symptoms?”
“Unusual?”
I hesitated to say at first, for fear of her answer. “Loud sounds in your ear. Hallucinations. Really vivid nightmares. Black vomit.”
“Goodness, no. Nothing like that.”
Not even the slight smile could hide the disappointment of hearing her say that. “And Lustina’s father. He was an angel, correct?”
Her cheeks dimpled with a demure smile, and she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Ah, well. An angel with a bit of the devil in him. That one …. Few men had the power to make me shiver in their presence. Ceallach. Now, he was something.”
“I actually met him. He goes by the name Gabriel now.”
“Gabriel. Hmmm.” Gaze lowered, she ran a thumb over her lips as if his name lingered there.
“Seems he remembers you fondly, too.”
Clearing her throat, she straightened even tighter than before, the sight of her making my back muscles ache. “Yes, well, ‘twas a very long time ago.”
“He helped me bring Jericho back from Ex Nihilo.”
“Did he now?” The look of surprise on her face faded for something more thoughtful.
“I’m … fated to become cambion. So it’s possible, I suppose, that these symptoms might be related to that.” I toyed with the hem of my dress, hoping she didn’t catch the slight tremble in my hands. Happened every time I thought about what would happen after the baby was born. “When the baby is born, that’s when they’ll come for me. I’m just really scared.” Saying the words brought tears to my eyes, which surely must’ve been hormones.
“Don’t be.” A slight twinge of embarrassment washed over me, as she rested her hand on mine and tipped her head, drawing my attention to her. “I brought young Lord Van Croix into the world. and I will say, given the blood that runs through his veins, he is quite exceptional. There are few who could rival the pure evil in this world. Van Croix is perhaps the only one who would stand to be victorious. And he isfiercelyprotective, as I recall.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze, the humor on her face fading to an earnest stare. “So do not fear the infernal who wish to lay claim to your soul. Fearforthem.” Her words cast a chill down my spine.
I didn’t want to tell her that he had lost all of his power because of me. Had sacrificed his wings and abilities in order to save my life.
My mind slipped into thoughts of Camael and the conversation we’d had. “A friend told me that those cursed to die on a blood moon were chosen. And that the curse itself goes back to the beginning of mankind. Do you know what it is that subjected us to this?”
