Page 10 of The Aether

The king-size bed reminded her of all the passion-filled nights they’d shared over the last five years. Reminded her of his worshipful gaze and loving gestures.

A sharp, stabbing pain in Vivian’s head caused her to cry out. When it passed, she firmed her resolve to leave. She didn’t want to believe he could go insane, but what choice did she have? The thought slithered through her mind that his behavior in recent months had become erratic and that she, along with her daughter, was in serious danger. There was only one option—they must escape.

CHAPTER4

3 YEARS LATER - BELTANE 2019

Damian swiped a hand over the scrying mirror to conjure the image of his wife with her sisters. Tonight they were to celebrate Beltane, and the women were dressed in loose flowing gowns, with their hair ranging from straight to curly and spilling down their backs. Each wore an amulet about her neck to represent one of the four elements—a ruby stone for the daughter of Fire, sapphire for the daughter of Water, emerald for the daughter of Earth, and moonstone for the daughter of Air. The amulets had begun to softly glow as their magic ramped up closer to the upcoming ceremony. Each of the sisters was as different as the next, but to a one, they complemented the other.

It was Vivian, though, with her white-blonde hair that matched the shade of her moonstone amulet, who captured and held his attention the longest. Since returning to her family home, she seemed lighter, flitting from place to place, alighting on people and places, bringing joy wherever she went.

It disturbed Damian that she was happier away from him.

The night she absconded with their daughter, he’d been true to his word and hunted them down. She hadn’t gone far, just to her family’s estate on an island off the coast of Massachusetts.

In a rare act of bravery, the four sisters had stood up to him, defiant and bold. It had occurred to him that if Vivian was truly terrified he’d hurt Sabrina, terrified enough to take a stand, then perhaps they were better off away from him.

Leading up to that moment, he and Vivian had done their jobs well when they hid Beastie’s existence. So after extracting a promise from Vivian to let him know the moment Sabrina’s magic bloomed, he’d allowed them to cast their wards on their home and left for the mental well-being of mother and daughter.

For the last three interminable years, he’d been a fucking bear. No one had dared approach. No one other than Alastair and Sebastian Drake’s butler, Leopold, could stand his surly moods.

With a tired sigh, Damian shifted the scene from his estranged wife to his daughter, and his heart spasmed at the look of loneliness and longing on her face as she watched her mother and aunts prepare for the Beltane ceremony.

“I want to be like you,” she said forlornly. But for all the emotion Sabrina packed into the confession, there was no one to hear her. No one but him.

“Oh, Beastie.” Moisture stung his eyes, and his throat ached with his grief. To see his child so lost and alone, similar to how he was after his mother had been entombed, was pure agony. He wanted nothing more than to ease her suffering. But he’d promised Viv not to interfere unless Sabrina showed signs of developing abilities.

Now, as the sisters laughed and gathered their supplies for their celebration, Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut.

“I wish,” she whispered from her hiding place on the stairs. “Oh, Goddess, please, please, please, give me powers!”

On the heels of his daughter’s fervent plea, Damian became supercharged, as if he’d touched a live wire and was absorbing its energy at warp speed. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed simultaneously, reverberating and shaking the walls of Ravenswood.

The image of Beastie blurred, and he felt fear cloud his mind, but an instant later, he could see her witchy glow.

Goddess Almighty! Sabrina had willed her own magic into existence!

That kind of blast would be felt around the globe, and the single thought, utmost in his mind, was that he needed to get to her before anyone else discovered the source. She was no longer safe in her mother’s care. Visualizing Vivian’s lawn, he teleported outside the doors of the Stephens’ old Victorian home. Unthinkingly, he touched the doorknob, and the metal burned his hand. Not enough to blister his skin, but enough to sting and piss him off.

How dare Vivian ward her house against him!

Channeling the air current, he harnessed it into one tornadic blast. The entry door flew back on its hinges and slammed into the wall behind it. The rainbow-colored glass that had once represented a tree of life shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. But he didn’t care. He had to get to Sabrina.

As he stepped through the opening, his furious gaze locked onto her, and the terror in her eyes was a fucking wrecking ball to his chest.

His child had been taught to fear him.

Right as he was about to speak, he noticed her glowing aura flicker as if it couldn’t make up its mind whether to attach to her or not. As if her magic was fighting against another to return to her. And suddenly, he knew.Vivian had bound her powers.

It was the only reason she hadn’t come into her legacy six months ago when she’d turned five, as all Dethridge children had throughout history. While it was true not all his potential children would or could hold the title, any destined to become Aethers inherited their gifts at the age of five. His daughter had lost six months he could’ve used to help her learn the craft.

Without removing his focus from her, Damian understood what he had to do.

“Vivian! Get out here!”

Sabrina’s elfin-like face contorted with fear, and she screamed,“No, Mama!”

When she would’ve called out again, Damian raised his hand and, clenching his fist, locked the sound in her throat. Although she would experience no actual pain, she was heartsick, and he could feel her angst. Tears pooled in her eyes and slowly dripped over her lower lids, finding their way down her cheeks and neck, dampening the collar of her pale-pink unicorn pajama top.

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