Page 64 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

She lifted a brow. “He found out about Thea. I didn’t expect him to care that he had a child. But he came around and demanded I give her to him. I knew that if I did, I would never see her again, so I ran.”

“And you used a glamour to hide us from him?” Thea guessed. “You made yourself sick. Why?”

It made sense in a warped way. I’d seen how far Willem was willing to go. What wouldn’t I do to keep Thea from harm? And if Kelly’s actions had protected Thea until I could, part of me wanted to thank her.

“There was only one way to do it. Being near a source was too risky. What if someone saw us and told him? What if someone knew what we were? Sirens have never lived within the magical community.”

“Because they were exterminated.”

Kelly nodded. “Very few of our kind survived the vampire’s attempt to eradicate us.”

“How? How did we make it? What’s special about our family? Why did Willem want you? Me?”

“When Demeter gave us life, we had families of our own. Her magic passed into all our children, diluted with each generation as it passed from mother to son, from son to his own children. Our line is different.”

No one was moving. Thea had stopped breathing, and even I felt poised on a knife’s edge.

“How are we different?”

“We are the first tear that fell. We are the divine wish she had for a daughter to fill the space Persephone had left. As such, our bloodline has only produced females,” she whispered. “If you believe our family lore, the Goddess herself blessed us to carry her divine powers from generation to generation. To carry on her bloodline in a way that Persephone would not—could not with the God of Death. It’s why sirens abhor vampires because, like Hades, they reign over death. But it seems that fate cannot be denied.”

My heart had stopped when Thea finally asked what I was thinking. “What are you saying?”

“Magic has awoken.”

“That’s what everyone keeps saying,” Thea grumbled. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

Her mother ignored her, turning a searing glare on us. “And you two have found each other, at last.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THEA

“What the hell are you talking about?” My mother might be healthy again physically, but I was beginning to wonder about her mental state. Gods and ancient bloodlines and...

A year ago, I would have cried and made her an appointment to see a psychiatrist. Now? Things were different. Vampires and witches existed. Werewolves and sirens. At this point, I couldn’t discount the existence of any supernatural creature, from Bigfoot to the Loch Ness monster.

Bigfoot is a myth.

I rolled my eyes mentally at Julian. Finally, something’s a myth. Wait, does that mean the Loch Ness Monster is real?

But he didn’t have time to answer.

“You carry Demeter and Persephone’s divine essence just as he carries Hades.” My mother hitched a finger at my mate. “You already knew about him, didn’t you?”

I felt numb as what she was saying sank in. Sabine had told us about Hades. Part of me hadn’t believed her. But Sabine had known, had said my mother knew, too. And that meant, we…

“When you mated, your magic stirred. But when you took the throne, it did something more. I’ll admit I didn’t know the full extent of your magic. My sisters—our sisters,” she corrected herself before continuing, “were the ones who told me.”

“Sisters?”

“The other sirens calling this place home,” she explained. “They are from different bloodlines, but we all descend from Demeter. They heard about a new Queen and spoke to some…friends.”

I glanced at Julian. The rumors she’d heard only told part of the story. It was up to me to decide how much more I wanted her to know. “So, they told you I took the throne?”

“We were told a siren was made Queen—a siren with a very protective vampire lover. I assumed it was you,” she added with flashing eyes. “Our sources within the Council and your court can be a little reticent.”

She really doesn’t know about the resurrection.

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