Page 97 of Tortured Royals

“You were always with me,” she tells him. “And we did it. She’s ready.”

“No. No, No,” I repeat the word over and over. “I’m not ready. I willneverbe ready.”

“I loved you from the moment I knew you existed,” Serafine tells me.Mom.Not Serafine.Mom.“Be kind to the witches. I have hope that without Reselle’s influence, and with you as the new anchor, they will find a way to heal. They will need you now more than ever. And they will need a home. A real one. The witches were afraid, and without Reselle’s influence, and with a renewed connection to their ancestors, I know they can be good again.” She swallows, her throat bobbing. “Promise me.”

I can hardly see through my tears. “I will. I promise.”

“Don’t be afraid of the power, my daughter,” Mom tells me. “It will become a part of you. Normally there have been three anchors so they could balance each other and share the load of the power. You must rely on your mates. I can tell how much they love you.”

Dad reaches for me, his hand cupping my cheek, and I lean into it. “Do not mourn us, daughter. I have waited for this moment. Finally, I can be with my mate. Rule well with your bonded, and one day, we will see you again in the shadow realm.”

I nod, sniffling. “I’ll find you.” I don’t know if that’s possible. When we suffer a true death, our souls are said to roam the far reaches of the shadow realm. But I’ll find a way. Someday. When my time comes.

My mates crowd around me, crouching down. Dante wraps his hand across my shoulders, and Prince Callan grabs my hand, pressing it to his lips as he kisses it.

Mom smiles at my mates before looking back at me, those golden eyes full of warmth, even as the bright color starts to fade. “We love you, daughter,” Mom whispers. “More than anything.”Her last words are barely audible from her lips, and Mom’s eyes close as she holds onto dad, their foreheads touching as the blade remains buried in her chest, and the pair of them fall silent.

The world stills, and my birds stop flying. Hundreds of them land on the roof, settling around us, bowing their heads like they’re paying their respects to the demon queen and his mate. Like they’re there to support me. Others take to the sky, twirling and spinning as the dark clouds clear, streams of light washing over us.

I can’t stop the tears that keep coming, but my mates are there. Holding me. Not speaking, but just…holding me, each of them with a hand on me. Like they’re trying to remind me that I’m not alone.

The tattoos on my body glow brighter, until it feels as though the swirling marks are on fire. Instead of burning me, power flows into my body, golden sparks coming from Mom and landing on my skin. Like a part of her is coming to me.

I gasp, and a wind whips up around me and my mates, teasing our hair and pulling at our clothes. None of my mates let go of me. We all heard what Mom said. I squeeze my eyes shut and images flicker behind my eyelids, pictures appearing in my mind. Of a time when the witches lived in their land. Of the three anchors sending out the power to their sisters. The joy on their faces. The peace between their people. A peace Celzar shattered a long time ago. Yenna’s face appears in my mind, and she smiles at me. Beside her, appears my Mom, and even Dad is there. I don’t know where they are. Is that the shadow realm? All I know is that somehow, I’m connected to them. The power of the witch ancients implodes inside me, and there’s no darkness. Golden streams of light dance in my vision, and I feel the connections to generations of witches. The pressure builds, light shining from my tattoos.

“Let us in, our mate,”Mason says in my head.

“This burden wasn’t meant for you alone,”Alaric growls.

Prince Callan grabs my hand.“We’re here with you.”

“We need you, gorgeous. Let us help,”Nate adds.

“We’ve got you, princess,”Dante says softly in my head.“Always.”

Lastly, Mom’s words repeat in my mind:Don’t be afraid of the power, my daughter.With another gasping breath, I let go, and some of the power overflows into my mates, golden light filling them as well. They all brace against the strain of it, but not once do they let go of me. Not once. The power pulses within us, and then it flows down, connecting with the minds of the witches across Seral.

The witches drop their weapons, and they start sobbing, the whispered words of loved ones on each of their lips as they see glimpses of family members lost long ago. For just a moment, in their minds they see the ones they’ve been so desperate to connect with, and while the images fade, the memories remain and so does the power.

Freed from Reselle’s influence, the demons, archangels, water monsters, and shifters watch on in surprise as a different kind of magic flows from the witches’ fingers. Beautiful flowers burst up from the ground, the sky fills with light, and the sisters laugh.

My mates and I pull back, smiling as we stare at one another, and I send out a burst of power, letting our soldiers see what the witches see. Glimpses of the witches’ home that was destroyed when their magic was taken, just like Perstalia was destroyed. Of a time when the witches were content to keep to themselves.

“Blake!” Shade’s voice comes to me from across the roof, and I rush over, peering down the side of the building. The human girl is a few feet up from a balcony, and she grips the edge of thebuilding, her muscles straining as she tries to climb the rest of the way.

“Are you crazy?” I yell, reaching down and grabbing her hands. “What are you doing?”

She peers up at me with determined violet eyes. “I’m coming to kick some ass and save you. What do you think?”

“It’s already over,” I tell her, my lips twitching.

I pull her onto the roof, and she falls on top of me.

“What? I missed it?” Shade says. “Ialwaysmiss the good bits.”

Reaching around, I hug her tight, laughter bursting from me. She might not be the crow I knew her as, but I can feel this is my friend. My Shade.

My laughter soon turns to tears, and Shade holds me tighter. Her gaze finds my parents, and she lets out a pained noise. “Oh, Blake,” she says, her fingers stroking through my hair as she holds me tight. “I’m so sorry.”

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