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Domenico led the way, Freyja following closely behind him, but he stopped, turning to face us all. “Don’t even think of trying to escape, I am faster and stronger than the three of you combined. You would be dead before you made it out the doors.”
With that, Charity and I are left behind as Domenico led Freyja to Melody, the secret Domenico hid from everyone until now.
I wondered how many other skeletons hid inside this castle.
28
LILITH
Returning to this castle feltwrong.
I was never able to return before, the curse wavering upon my arrival. I had wanted Domenico tosuffer, just as I suffered that day that I watched flames lick up Annabel’s roped body.
I had decided I didn’t care about clothes anymore after I returned to The Underworld. Why I was returned, I wasn’t sure.
I tried to find a way out but was trapped, but now I am free again, free to grasp power. And here I was, back where it all began.
Things were far different there, but not in the way you would think. There were no eternal fires, no suffering, but rather a quiet and cold place where you were forced to be at peace with your thoughts, alone. The worst part of it was the ebbing loneliness that lingered there, that had the power to swallow you whole if you were not careful. I had everything I could ever want there, besides the company of friends—and love.
I thought perhaps I missed being in love the most. I craved the adornment of another. I dreamed of it night after night.
Domenico.
My hair tickled the backs of my thighs as I slowly walked up the back staircase, the shadow of night protecting me from being seen. The snakes had followed me of course, but there was nothing I could do about that. Besides, it would be the only clue Domenico would have of my presence. I wanted him to know, I wanted him to be scared.
Could vampires feel fear? I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I was a monster too. But could monsters frighten other monsters?
I ran my fingertips over the stones, reminding myself of the reason I was here.
Revenge.
I must protect myself from his charms, which was exactly what got me here in the first place. Was this ever really my home? Or was it all just another way for a man to control me? Was it all a façade that I inhaled like the air inside my lungs? I didn’t need him, I was a force all my own, and I would show him as much.
I would find my kin, and we reunite with a vengeance.
I heard footsteps from the top of the stairs and hopped gracefully to the cathedral window above, landing on the sill and crouching down until they had passed.
And there he was, after all these years, and he looked the same. Devilishly handsome, regal, and sexy. I had to bite my lip to bring myself back to the reality that was now, and I watched as the woman behind him followed—Freyja.
Her head jerked up in my direction, and I ducked down further, she could hear me, and I knew this because we had communicated since she was a child.
The first one to ever hear me, I was brought back to my power because of her. She looked just like me—like my Annabel. I covered my mouth as I held in a jagged sob.
I am here my child, and together, we will take back what’s ours.
29
FRYEJA
She was here, she had come.
I knew Domenico lied when he gave me the crystal; I knew as soon as I held it. The power and vibration small.Ibrought her back;Isummoned her here. I had that power, and I knew now just what had to happen.
He led me to the back of the castle where three large tapestries commanded the back wall. The draft of the dark, cold floors sent a shiver through me, and I hugged myself tightly.
She told me what she did, showed me images of the tiny, swaddled baby, the doorstep, the emptiness. I saw the fire that consumed her, whoever she was. I felt a familiarity inside the vision, a resonating that I couldn’t explain. She had been a part of my family, part of Lilith’s family.Wewere family.
I would follow you to the heavens, or search through the depths of hell. Blood is thicker than water, and my soul will always be tethered to yours.
