Page 83 of Depths of Desire
“How lovely,” my mother drones, sarcasm dripping from every word. She turns back to her ritual.
I haven’t forgotten what she said earlier, and I brace myself for the answer when I ask, “What did you mean when you said you needed me for your spell?”
Mother glances over at me, and her smile ices my blood. “You’ll see,” she says with a tinkling laugh.
“She means that she needs you as a substitute so she can fix her body as she grows powerful,” Esme explains. “You have to be on the altar with all the other items she’s collected. When she performs the spell, she must call on each item and let the power of that item seep into her. You are there to fix her broken body.”
I turn and stare at my mother. She’s once again leaning on the altar, and I realize that her left arm is hanging oddly. She hasn’t moved it since I arrived. “What happened to you?”I demand as I try to discern what’s going on with her, but her black robes hide everything she doesn’t want me to see.
“I had a little mishap, but you’re going to help me fix it.” She offers me the coldest of smiles.
Esme sighs as she shifts position. “When she tried to perform the spell last time and was interrupted, it took a toll on her body. Once you start the spell you are never supposed to stop. Because she hadn’t finished, the power that she’d taken from some of the items on the altar immediately went back to them, but it took some of her power with it. She seems to have an issue with her left arm, and she tires easily. I also imagine she can’t run or move too quickly anymore.”
My mother glares at Esme. “I think it’s time you stopped talking.”
She takes a step toward us, and I distract her by asking, “You need me to get back to peak physical condition, is that it? What else do you have on your altar? What powers are you trying to summon?” I am hoping to stall her from harming Esme. Not that she can really be distracted, but her desire to brag will buy us some time.
“I have all kinds of things that will aid me in my quest,” she starts. “I?—”
“Nerezza,” Malrick calls from the rear of the church as he starts up the aisle. “How long is this going to take? I’m missing the vampire council’s meeting to decide Luna’s fate.” He glances at me. “Not that it matters. You’re going to be dead, so she’ll be mine, one way or another.”
Rage runs through my blood. “She will never be yours,” I growl.
Malrick laughs. “Yes, she will, and there is nothing you can do about it.” He turns back to my mother. “I don’t like missing the council. It makes me look bad.”
My mother tuts at him like he’s a small child as she walks to meet him. “You will get Luna as you said, so why does it matter? Do you really want the approval of those pompous old vampires? Or do you want to be powerful in your own right, more powerful than the vampire kings? I promised you, Malrick, that if you did as I asked, then things would be different. We’re on the precipice of something big. Don’t lose faith now.” She touches his cheek as if he were her child.
Nausea snakes through me. My mother has been actively plotting against me. Suddenly, I blurt out, “It was you, wasn’t it? You put the curse on us. Not the group that stopped the spell from working, but you.”
My mother turns to me, her eyes flashing. “Yes!” she hisses. “It was me. Your father sided against me. He helped the opposing coven find and stop me. He broke our pact, so I broke him. Your father loves you all so much I knew the only way to hurt him was to hurt you three. I had the witch spin that curse, and it’s about to come true.”
Esme frowns. “But their wives aren’t all sisters.”
My mother cocks her head. “Not yet, but they will be.” Her smile grows.
A sense of dread fills me. What the hell is she going to do to Luna? I can’t let her hurt Luna. “Wait,” I say. “Do you mean that Luna is in front of the Council of kings right now?” I can’t breathe. She will never forgive me for putting her through that all on her own. She must be terrified. It will be awful for her. Humiliating. I should be beside her. I should be the one bearing the brunt of it, not her. I want to destroy my mother for bringing me here. And Malrick for creating this whole situation in the first place.
Malrick starts to laugh. “Yes, she’s in front of the council along with your brothers and your father. They are being torn to shreds by my representative.”
It takes everything I have not to show a reaction. “And who might that be?”
“Lady Sivara Draethe,” Malrick crows. “She is the best litigator there is. She will make mincemeat of your family and then Luna will be mine.”
I say nothing. There’s nothing I can say at this moment. I can only hope and pray that the council finds the truth under Malrick’s lies and that my brothers protect Luna. She cannot be given to him. It cannot happen.
The weight of my mother’s stare lands on me, and I turn to meet her gaze. She cocks her head. “You really do love her. How interesting.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Malrick hurls at me. “Luna is mine.” He turns to my mother. “You promised her to me. You promised that if I helped you, it would work out for me. That Luna would come to my court and help protect me. You promised.” His outburst sounded like something I’d hear from a bratty child, not a centuries old vampire.
My mother’s face remained impassive, but I recognized the look in her eye. When we saw that glint as we were growing up, we would scatter and not come back for days. I braced for the yelling to begin, but instead she put on a fake smile and simply nodded at Malrick. “Yes, I promised you, and you will get what’s coming to you. All in good time.”
I stare at my mother. She’s been actively plotting against us, against me, my brothers, and father for years. And now she’s dragged Luna into it. There can be no forgiveness for any of this. None. She will have to pay for what she’s done. She got away with the damage she caused last time because we thought she was dead. She will not get away with it this time. If it takes my last breath, I will make sure my mother pays for her sins.
I look up at Jesus on the cross. With God as my witness, I add, making my silent vow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Sivara stands. “Your majesties, I only have a few questions for this witness. Mrs. Benedetti, did you sign an agreement with Malrick for your daughter’s hand in marriage?”
