Page 11 of Homecoming

It was time for a little light housekeeping.

Serin nodded to the door of the sprawling home. “Open the house, please.”

Aeryn waved her hand, and the front of the house came off.

Serin smiled and walked into the house with her assistant behind her.

Sara and Ulo came running to the front of the house, and they halted in shock. Sara gasped. “Serin, what are you doing here?”

“It is my house. Given to me in preparation for my union to Ulo, this home is mine. I want you out. Both of you.” She looked at them with what she knew was a cruel smile. “Now.”

Ulo stepped forward. “Just because I chose Sara, don’t pitch a fit. It is all in the past.”

“Yes, it is. I was standing a few feet to the left of you when I started to lose my child. The pain remained for days, but it started there when you rejected your mate and turned to her half-sister instead. So, since you took my child from me, I am taking your home from you. Find somewhere else to live. In five minutes, this house will be destroyed, and most of my rage will go with it.” She smiled. “Most, not all. Gather what you can. Your five minutes starts now.”

Sara gasped. “You can’t!”

“Why? Is it your family home? You have filled it with the laughter of children? I was his destined mate, and he rejected me. There will never be children from those loins. Not now. The very island we stand on has rejected his bloodline. I am guessing that his siblings haven’t had children either. I wonder if they know why?”

Ulo stared at her in horror. “No.”

“It wasn’t me. I wasn’t even here. The island wanted tiny heirs, and you took that from her. Your kin will pay the price. Four minutes.”

Sara opened her mouth, but Aeryn extended two fingers, and a hole was bored through a series of walls, creating a viewing window to the lush greenery outside.

The two scrambled to the bedroom to get clothing and bolted outside with armloads of clothes as the five minutes ended.

Serin nodded. “Go ahead. Start with the kitchen, and then, work your way to the bedroom.”

“Yes, boss.”

Serin walked out of the home and got to a safe distance. She turned and watched the wind tear the house apart to set it down in neat piles of bamboo and woven reeds.

In ten minutes of cracking and howling, the home disappeared.

Serin closed her eyes and exhaled. That had been wearing on her. The thought of the house haunted her memories.

Aeryn was floating in the middle of the wreckage and looked at the assembled crowd. She gestured, and they got out of the way. She floated with the entire pile wrapped in water and escorted the wood down the hill and onto the open ocean. The water carried the wood, and Aeryn flew to the smallest island with the open lava field.

Sara muttered from behind her, “You bitch!”

Serin lifted a finger, and vines snaked down and grabbed Sara, hoisting her skyward. Ulo put his hand on Serin’s shoulder, and he was grabbed and yanked upward by his appendage.

Her grandmother stared at her and gasped. “Serin? They told us you were dead.”

“No, Gran. They wished I was dead, but their wishes don’t mean shit.”

“Language.”

Serin smiled shyly. “Yes, ma’am. I am back and here to stay.”

Her grandmother looked at the empty lot being stared at by Sara and Ulo from their upside-down position. “Does your father know?”

“No. He’s still wherever he was with her mother.”

“Oh. They are on Emerald now. Retirement estate.”

Serin patted her grandmother’s shoulder. “Good for them. I have confirmed that I own the land and will build my own house.”

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