Page 213 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

I sobbed, feeling Cory pulling at the mind-link, but I couldn’t answer. I knew he was feeling my heartbreak, but I had no time to explain. I shut down my side of the bond with him and stood. My foot was still tender, but it wasn’t fully broken anymore.Violet wrapped an arm around me, providing me the support I needed to limp after the woman who would take and save my child.

“Wait.” Chris stopped us, running to the edge of the clearing and picking up Adam’s hat. “He loves this thing.”

We followed Vesta to another smaller clearing in the forest. I could see older, snow-covered formations like the one we were just in. Vesta made some motion with her hand and a different desert-like landscape appeared before us. It went up to about chest high, the jagged edges making it seem as if someone had ripped a piece of a magazine and was showing the area around the front page and the page behind it.

“I was in the middle of closing it when I sensed her. We should hurry.”

“Bu—”

“I promise, I’ll take care of him, Bells. I know how much you love him. I know how pure his soul is. I’ve watched him while he played with me for the last months.”

“I want to go with you. I need to stay with him,” I pleaded.

“I can’t allow that. I know who your family is. I can’t take you away from the fight that’s to come. You’re too important.”

“I don’t care. He’s mine,” I cried, falling to my knees and clutching him to me.

“He will always be yours. I’ll make sure he remembers you. I’ll make sure he knows how much you love him. I promise.”

I looked over at Martha and felt my broken heart filling with rage. I kissed Adam’s forehead. “I love you so much. I know I’ll see you again someday, Monkey. I promise you,” I vowed.

I stood and nodded at Vesta to take him.

“Leave her,” I said, motioning toward Martha, who was bound in silver twine.

“I can’t let her go again. She needs to be punished.” Vesta hesitated.

I called forth the earth around Martha, hardening around her waist and hands.

“She won’t be getting away. I will make her pay for taking away my little boy.”

Vesta nodded and released the rope attached to the twine. She walked over and took Adam from me. Chris placed the hat on top of his stomach so Vesta could take it with them. Violet and Chris held me up when I almost crumbled to the ground as I watched Vesta step into the opening. She made some hand gestures over Adam before placing her hand on his forehead, murmuring something I couldn’t hear.

“It’s done. I’ll find him a healer. I’ll keep him safe, Bells. I promise.”

“I’m going to keep you to that promise,” I told her, my voice breaking along with my heart.

Vesta placed Adam gently on the ground and began doing something to the opening. It took a few minutes, and all I could do was stare at my son by her feet as the opening got smaller and smaller. When it was barely a big enough hole a person could crawl through, I panicked, knowing this was my last chance to be with him, and I tried to pull out of Violet and Chris’ hold.

“Let me go to him! I need to be with him. Violet, please,” I begged her.

“You can’t, Bells. I’m so sorry, but you can’t,” Violet whispered next to me, her voice breaking, holding me against her, as we watched the last sliver of the tear begin to disappear.

“I’ll keep him safe.” I heard Vesta before it closed completely.

I was sobbing in Violet and Chris’ arms when I heard laughter coming from the side.

“You couldn’t keep the first one alive long enough to birth it, and you couldn’t even keep the other alive for more than a year.”

Rage like I’d never felt before filled me, and I pushed away from Violet and Chris.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Violet

My heart was breaking. For Bells, for Adam, for all the people who never got to meet and witness the wonderful light Adam was in my sister’s life. Then, I heard laughter from the side before I heard the most vile words come out of a person.

“You couldn’t keep the first one alive long enough to birth it, and you couldn’t even keep the other alive for more than a year.”

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