He didn’t trust her, may never see her again, and she’d slept with him anyway.
The next morning, Stephanie remained in bed later than usual, breathing in the scent of Fate lingering in the sheets. She was sore in places she didn’t realize had muscles, but it was her heart that hurt the most. She didn’t know what to think about the man she couldn’t keep her hands off of, his cryptic warning about civil war, or the idea their one night stand was all they may ever have.
Was all this how the Immortal world worked at large? Two strangers were thrust together as mates then wrenched apart just when they started to fall for one another?
It seemed … wrong. And terrible.
But if she had the choice between being in his bed for one night, without his love and trust, and not being in his bed at all, she already knew she’d choose him every time. And that frustrated her more than anything, the powerful bond trapping people in a world where they were already fucked.
The boom of thunder drew her gaze to the French doors leading onto a balcony. The chandeliers of her bedchamber trembled. It was clear and sunny out, without any sign of a storm lurking.
Sensing something was wrong, Stephanie flung off her covers and dressed hastily. Pulling on her shoes, she tied her hair back as she hurried to the door. When she opened it, her two unwelcome guardians were both across the hallway at the windows.
“What was that?” she asked, squeezing between them to see.
Black smoke billowed into the sky from a part of the fortress she wasn’t able to see. She strained to see more, thoughts on the promise Kiki had made her the night before about getting her sister out of the tower where Wynn trapped her.
She couldn’t see what was going on from this angle and darted down the hall to the nearest stairwell, not slowing until she was standing on the back lawn. The Immortal nobility living in the fortress, along with quite a few guards, were gathered, pointing and whispering. She joined them, trailed by the demon.
“Hey.” She tapped the arm of one of the Immortal guards. “What’s going on?”
He started to brush her off but looked back at her, recognition in his face. “Someone attacked the north tower. You should be inside, my lady, where it’s safe.”
Safe my ass. She hadn’t been safe since landing in this nightmare. Unable to see what tower he referred to, she returned to the interior of the fortress and went to the second floor, open only to members of her family, where a flurry of guards were moving in and out of Wynn’s study.
Unable to decipher what she felt for the man destroying her world, she hesitated to approach him and instead, went down the hallway around a corner, to a quiet area.
“Chaos.” She summoned her mother, partially hoping it wouldn’t work, and the part about her mom lying to her for the entirety of her life was wrong.
“Hi, sweetie,” her mother’s voice was warm and friendly, as always.
Stephanie’s heart fell. “Hey, Mom.” She faced the direction her mother came from and watched the portal close behind her. “Sammy okay?”
“Someone grabbed her before the tower collapsed.”
Kris hadn’t been joking about Rhyn destroying things.
Kiki crossed the hallway and paused, retreating his steps and waving to catch her eye. Stephanie glanced towards him. He gave her a thumbs up, which she assumed was a sign her sister was safe, and then tapped his watch.
Stephanie recalled it was Saturday with some dismay.
“I think we should talk,” her mother said, pulling her thoughts from the meeting she was supposed to attend.
“Yeah, probably,” Stephanie replied. “Would be nice to know why no one told me my mom was a goddess and my dad a psychopathic Immortal.”
“To be fair, I did tell you he was a psychopath.”
“Calling an ex-lover a psychopath and talking about a real live psychopath are two different things!”
“After I check on your sister, we’ll all sit down and talk,” Chaos promised and began walking away.
“Wait, mom. Is her father a psychopathic Immortal?”
“No. He was pure human. A good man.”
Stephanie bit back the anger flaring at the sight of her mother walking away, as if today were normal and not the day she crushed the hearts of both her children with the truth.
She turned away and breathed deeply, calmed by the scent of Fate on her skin. How fucked up was her world that the man who could comfort her was him? She called a portal and started through, stuck in her thoughts, when someone snatched her neck.
“Escaping?” Trayern growled.
“I’m not escaping!” she strained to be away from him and then stopped when his long nails bit into her skin. “You’re just slow.”
“I’m not slow,” he said, offended. “Where do we go?”
“To a Sanctuary.”
He pushed her into the portal. “Lead on.”
“Where’s Mithra?” she asked, facing him.
“Dead-dead. Or not. I don’t give a fuck.”
Stephanie shook her head and strode forward to the yellow door beckoning to her. She slid through, followed closely by the demon, and emerged into the morning brightness and heavy air of the Caribbean Sanctuary.
Four of her five brothers were waiting outside the Sanctuary’s walls. She slowed and glanced back at the demon guardian trailing her.
“I’m not going to escape, but they’ll probably kill you if you follow me,” she told him.
He was quiet, taking in the four. “Fine.”
Surprised he agreed, she strode away anyway. Whether it was the beefy size of Rhyn and Tamer, or something else, she didn’t know.
The sight of Andre caused her muscles to relax of their own accord. Stephanie smiled at him and approached, hugging him with a sigh.
“Good to see you,” he said and squeezed her. “We’re waiting on Kiki before we start.”
She released him and stood back, observing her brothers. Rhyn was pacing, Tamer frowning, and Kris staring at the demon.
“Hey, you get in trouble?” she asked Tamer.
“Eh. Fired,” he replied with a shrug. “Better than the alternative. Gabe usually kills those who fuck up.”
“Fired doesn’t sound so bad,” she agreed.
“Your sister’s safe,” Rhyn told her. “Freaked out and crying but safe.”
She started to smile. She would’ve liked to see Sammy – a kickboxing champion, perfect student and the only one in the family who remembered to send birthday cards – freaking out. It made her feel a little better knowing her tough sister was having a hard time coping, too.
“What is he doing here?” Kris asked, indicating the demon with a lift of his chin.
“Wynn agreed to let Darkyn’s minion stalk me so I don’t break into Hell again,” she replied. “He saved my life the other day, after Wynn tried to kill me.”
This brought the attention of all her brothers on her. Stephanie explained what happened.
“I knew your mother was special!” Kris exclaimed when she finished.
“Doesn’t really help us to understand Wynn any better,” Andre commented.
“Who cares? He has to be stopped,” Tamer said.
“Hey, guys,” Kiki emerged from a portal. “Had to make up an excuse to leave.” He shook everyone’s hands, and the six of them stood in silence for a long moment.
“How long’s it been since most of us have been together?” Andre asked, a warm smile on his face.
“I’d like to say too long, but that’d be a lie,” Rhyn replied, eyeing his brothers.
Stephanie watched them make small talk curiously. A tense edge, softened by the presence of Peace, was present, and their distrust of one another was clear. Their guards were up, with the exception of Andre. She dwelt on what she knew of Wynn, of what Fate and others had shared. He’d selected their mothers purposely over more years than she could fathom and today, they were plotting to overthrow him.
Just how smart was Wynn? Smart enough to know this day would come? Smart enough to already have the next move planned so whatever they did, it wouldn’t matter?
“Down to business,” Kris said. “I think we all know why we’re here.”
“To get rid of Wynn for good,” Rhyn said.
“Out of curiosity, why can’t one of you just walk up to him and ... I don’t know. Shoot him in the head?” Stephanie asked.
“Wynn’s healing gift makes him hard to kill. He has enough allies in place that such a move would start a war,” Andre replied. “We can’t afford a war.”
“I think it’s the only way to get rid of Wynn and those who support him for good,” Kris said.
“We can’t leave our people, or the humans, exposed to the demons.”
“Then we make it a fast war,” Tamer chimed in. “We walk in, take out everyone in a position to fuck us up, and it’s done.”
“And Wynn either opens the gates to Hell on his way down or doesn’t try to stop the breaches from reopening. Anyone recall how Darkyn split the plane between the two worlds when his mate was taken to the Underworld last year?” Kiki countered. “And how Wynn’s healing power has always been the source that kept the demons at bay?”
Silence.
“If Wynn leaves for too long, that breach opens back up. We have to go back to the old way.”
“We get the point, Kiki,” Tamer snapped.
“What’s the old way?” Stephanie asked.
“When we kept his body in the basement so his magic formed a barrier the demons couldn’t cross,” Rhyn explained. “Our brother, Sasha, stole his body two years ago.”
“His first body. Not the current one,” Kiki added.
She frowned. They’d all imparted some part of their history to her since she entered the bizarre world. The details they spoke of, and how Wynn was alive twenty-three years ago to impregnate her mother, emerged slowly from the depths of her mind. His soul had been taken and incarnated into his second body by Past-Death as part of a deal they had made. Meanwhile, his first body had been kept at the fortress to repel the demons while Wynn 2.0 secretly roamed the human world.
“The castle sits on the site where Darkyn originally breached the mortal world, soon after the beginning of time,” Andre told her. “The second breach was made mere months ago, but in the same area. Our castle is there to prevent them from coming through.”
“Here I thought it was the beautiful surroundings,” she murmured. “So we’re sitting on two doorways to Hell.”
“The fortress contains its own magic. Wynn’s power amplifies it. We don’t need Wynn, so long as the fortress can prevent the breaches from opening,” Kris stated.
“We don’t know how much of the seal on the second breach is linked to Wynn,” Andre pointed out.
“Darkyn almost destroyed the fortress recently. We survived,” Tamer added. “We don’t need to overthink this. We just need to act.”
“Well, let’s vote,” Kiki said. “All in favor of outright attacking Wynn and his allies, raise your hands.”
Rhyn, Tamer and Kris raised theirs.
“Opposed?”
Stephanie reluctantly lifted hers. Andre and Kiki did as well.
“This is when it sucks to have an even number of siblings!” Tamer complained. “What the fuck are you thinking, Stephanie? Didn’t he try to kill you and kidnap your mom and sister?”
“Yeah, and I hate him for it,” she retorted. “Maybe it’s different in your world, but no civil war is quick, and the scars it’ll leave to wipe out Wynn’s allies aren’t going to heal quickly. I deal with those fucking petitioners every day. If you think there isn’t a great deal of resentment toward any of us, you’re stupid. The vast majority of the Immortals I’ve spoken to hate our family. Who’s to say there won’t be a second civil war once we get rid of Wynn?”
“Brava, little sister,” Kris said. “I won’t vote with you, but at least you’re thinking like one of us. Our family is in power because we have a tendency to crush any opposition. It’s what the enforcer role has been. I did it for years, and Rhyn took over.”
“You know Kiki will never speak out against whoever’s in charge,” Tamer baited.
“Fuck you, Tamer. You’ve never had to deal with picking up the pieces!” Kiki shot back.
The two of them began arguing.
Kris said something Stephanie didn’t hear, and Rhyn turned on him with a sharp response. Within seconds, all four were arguing.
“Is it always like this?” she asked, dismayed.
“Always,” Andre said. “Wynn turned us against each other before we were even born.”
“I don’t understand. How have you all lived for so long like this?”
“We were born in a different time, a much harsher one. Combined with our father’s selective breeding, we’re incredible survivors. But very poor at working with anyone else.”
His explanation managed to soothe the part of her that began to doubt they’d ever walk away from this without starting some sort of war.
“Your sister’s inside.” Andre pointed. “Go see her. I’ll straighten our brothers out.”
“You want help?”
He smiled. “I’ve played this role long before becoming Peace.”
Good luck. Stephanie left and went into the fortress, towards the doorway he’d indicated. She knocked before entering and walked into a rustic cafeteria filled with well-worn, wooden tables, a stone hearth, and wrought iron chandeliers.
Two figures sat in front of a television propped above the hearth, and she recognized the shape of her blonde sister. A third person, Hannah, the woman who had helped her break out of Wynn’s at one point, was helping nuns in brown robes chop vegetables on a table nearby.
“Sammy!” Stephanie cried with more excitement than she wanted to show and raced to her sister.
Sammy rose and turned a split second before Stephanie tackled her in a hug.
“Please tell me this is a nightmare,” Sammy whispered, bear hugging her in return.
“I wish.”
“You get used to it,” said the amused woman beside them.
Stephanie held her sister until certain she was real then released her. Sammy was ten shades of pale lighter than her with blonde hair and dark eyes. They were both tall like their mother, though Sammy was athletic where Stephanie was slender.
“You’re really Rhyn’s sister?”
Stephanie turned to face the woman seated by the fire with an infant in her arms. She was young, around twenty, with dark hair and large, blue eyes. The mating tattoo, Rhyn, scrolled around her neck.
“Yeah,” Stephanie said.
“I’m Katie.” She stood and held out her hand. “This is your niece, Hazel.”
“Don’t wake her up,” Sammy advised.
“Awww, does she get cranky?” Stephanie shook Katie’s hand then leaned closer too peer at the chubby face of the cherubic Hazel.
“Uh, not quite.” Sammy pointed to a nearby table, where it looked as though a vase of flowers had exploded. “That’s what happened when I tried to hold her.”
“She has her father’s temper and power,” Katie supplied. “She tends to blow things up when she’s throwing a fit, unless Rhyn or I am holding her.”
Stephanie looked from the baby, who wasn’t yet a year old, to the exploded vase. “Wasn’t expecting a laser baby,” she said after a pause. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Katie laughed.
“She’s so cute, though,” Stephanie shook her head.
“The cuter, the more lethal,” Katie said wisely. “You figure that out after you meet your mate for the first time. So sexy. So about to destroy your world.” She sighed dreamily.
“Mate? What’re you talking about?” Sammy asked, frowning.
It was Stephanie’s turn to sigh. “Later, Sam. You guys are safe here, right?” she asked Katie.
“We are. And we have an angel, so he obscures whatever it is that trips off people looking for us.”
“So that’s what they do,” Stephanie murmured. Maybe I should make an effort to keep Mithra around after all. She’d envisioned him fighting off demons with his cane and dying, then felt bad thinking she’d be responsible if that happened. But if him being with her meant no one could find her, he was more useful than she thought.
“They have access to libraries of information, too. Millions of years worth of memories from other angels,” Katie said.
“Is that helpful?”
“Not usually.”
Stephanie grinned. Of everyone she’d met, Katie was the first real person she could relate to stuck in the Immortal world.
The door opened, and Andre entered. He smiled at Katie as he joined them.
“How’s my little niece?” he asked, eyes on the infant. He reached for Hazel, and Katie cringed as she handed her daughter over.
“Careful,” Sammy warned and took a step back.
“She’s sleeping. Maybe … well, never mind.” Katie said ruefully.
Hazel’s eyes opened, and she peered up at Andre with the same liquid silver gaze as her father. Power sparked between her chubby fingers.
“You weren’t joking.” Stephanie moved away.
“You won’t hurt your uncle, would you, sweetheart?” Andre asked with a smile and took one of the fists sparking with power.
Stephanie shrank back, uncertain how powerful the child was. But the baby smiled, and her power dissipated at Andre’s touch.
The three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“See?” Andre asked.
Stephanie wasn’t surprised. She’d hugged him the first time they met, seconds after experiencing his gentle, calming power.
“You want to babysit?” Katie asked.
“My pleasure,” he said with a chuckle.
“Steph, Andre! Your turn to vote!” Kiki called from the entrance to the cafeteria.
“Stay here, Sammy,” she told her sister. “Mom’s with me. She’s okay, too. Just don’t leave somewhere where you’re safe.”
Sammy appeared ready to rebuke her. The competitive older sister was even less interested in being told what to do than Stephanie.
Andre handed Hazel back to her mother.
“Laser baby and I will take care of her,” Katie assured her before Sammy could speak. “Rhyn won’t let anything near any of us.”
Stephanie nodded, somewhat relieved to know the powerful half-demon was going to safeguard her sister. She and Andre went to the door, joining Kiki, who walked outside the walls, where the others were stewing in silence.
“Three for war, one no,” Kiki reported.
“So no progress?” she asked.
“Rhyn and I traded sides.”
She shook her head. “No to war.”
“No to war,” Andre seconded.
“Dammit!” Tamer snarled.
“As I said. Let’s try this from another angle first,” Andre said calmly. “Kris is working with allies inside the Immortal communities. I’m attempting to find deities who won’t fuck us over too badly in the process of helping. We have some breathing room, at least for now.”
“Wynn is too unpredictable, and he always, always, knows when something’s going on,” Kiki said. “Andre, we don’t have much time. Why can’t we go to plan B and assassinate him? Take the risk his allies won’t act?”
“Because he probably has a fail safe for this situation. As usual.”
Kiki sighed in exasperation and checked his watch. “Steph and I have to get back. He’s constantly on alert around us. We can’t make him more suspicious.”
“Bet you’re kicking yourselves now for voting me out,” Rhyn said, arms crossed and glare on Tamer.
“Wynn would’ve killed you,” Andre said. “It’s the only reason you were voted out. To protect you.”
“So I’m supposed to be happy with the status quo?” Kiki asked and raked a hand through his hair.
“No. But we need to be patient,” Andre urged.
“Why don’t we try voting him out?” Kris suggested. “It won’t get him out of the castle, but it’ll get him out of his position. If we’re all there to keep him in line, he’ll be more limited in what he can do.”
“That won’t stop him,” Tamer replied.
“We could at least keep an eye on him,” Kris said, though she heard his doubt.
“A knife through his skull. Even he can’t heal that,” Rhyn muttered.
“Vote him out, then kill him,” Tamer agreed.
“Killing him could unleash the demons,” Andre said with mild impatience. “You can’t forget the bigger picture in your haste to exact some sort of revenge on him.”
The four of them eyed one another in silence once more. Stephanie sensed they weren’t going to agree on what should happen to Wynn, even if they did manage to vote him out. Despair drifted through her thoughts.
“We have to do something,” she said. She looked up at Andre.
“Voting him out is a temporary solution,” he said. “We can then decide on what to do with him. When is the next Council meeting?” Andre asked Kiki.
“We meet every morning at eight,” Kiki replied. “Or … we could all corner him at dinner, before he has a chance to sniff out what we’re doing.”
“If we present a unified front, we have a better chance, I suppose.” Kris didn’t sound convinced or supportive. “And we risk the chance he saw this coming and has a trap waiting for us.”
The others were silent, glancing at one another.
“Let’s vote. All in favor?” Andre asked and raised his hand.
Stephanie’s hand shot up. The others did so reluctantly.
“I’m pleased to see we’re unanimous. This is the first step we’ll take,” Andre said, satisfied.
“It’s no use if we can’t agree on what happens next,” Tamer snapped.
“One thing at a time, Tamer. We’ll decide his fate tomorrow.”
The former death dealer snorted.
“C’mon, Steph. We can’t be away too long or he’ll get suspicious. Bring your fucking demon or the nuns will shit.” Kiki stalked away, opening a portal as he went. “See you all tonight. Might be the last day of our lives.”
Stephanie looked at Andre. “Go. I’ll find you later,” he said.
She trotted after Kiki, trailed by Trayern. They entered the place-between-places, and she caught up to her brother.
“Hey, what’s up? You aren’t usually the pissy type,” she asked and took his arm.
“I get sick of Tamer giving me shit for trying to keep things together,” he said and pulled away. “And for constantly being the guy who has to clean up after whomever is in charge flips out or leaves. Voting Wynn out with no follow-up plan has disaster written all over it.”
She studied him, unable to help the flicker of warmth for her unappreciated brother. “You want a hug or something?”
He eyed her.
“You’re doing amazing, Kiki,” she said with a genuine smile. “I honestly don’t know how you do it. Just don’t stop, because you’re the backbone of this family.”
“What is this? Why are you saying these things?”
“It’s called compassion, and it’s what you do around family.”
“I’m not sure I like it.”
“Whatever.” She swept past him through the portal and entered the gym at the bottom of the fortress. When Wynn didn’t pop out of the woodwork to confront them, she released a breath.
“You have the morning off and petitions at noon,” Kiki informed her. “Don’t be late.”
“Thanks.” She left, afraid of being spotted with him and arousing Wynn’s suspicion. She debated what to do with her free time, until she recalled the conversation she needed to have with her mother. I don’t think it’s something you can ever feel ready for.
Stephanie returned to her room and glanced at Mithra, who had resumed his spot on the couch. She paced briefly, ignoring the demon who took up position at the door and began throwing knives into the wall. When her heartbeat was no longer flying, she summoned her mother once more.
Rachel Jennings appeared with a sad smile, as if she, too, understood what they had to talk about.
Stephanie sat on her bed and grabbed a pillow. She wrapped her arms around it and breathed in Fate’s comforting scent deeply, preparing herself for another round of shock. “Okay. Tell me everything.”
The bed sank beneath Rachel as she sat cross-legged across from her. They’d sat this way a lot when Stephanie was a child, and her mother had told her fantastical stories to get her to take naps.
“There’s a lot to say,” Chaos said somewhat awkwardly. “Where should I start?”
“Maybe with how I’m alive when I have no soul.”
“Because I wanted you,” was the quiet, warm reply. “Because, at one point, I was convinced I loved your father. It was the only time I used my power, to ensure you came into existence.”
“Your power is what exactly?”
“At the elemental level, to create form where there is none or to disperse form where it exists. I knew something was wrong the moment you were conceived, but I wasn’t willing to let you go. So I did what my kind does.”
“But why?”
Chaos laughed. “Because I love you. You’re my daughter.”
“But every deity I’ve met is psycho. Why are you not?”
Her mother shrugged. “Maybe it’s the benefit of not being involved in the games the others play. My mother and I were left alone, viewed as obsolete. Retired.”
“Did you plan on telling us?”
“Eventually. I hoped to give you both the space you needed to live your lives outside of all this.” She waved to the room around them. “But … I think I was in denial. I assumed, if you never crossed your mates, you’d never be mated or forced into learning about the Immortals and their world.”
“I wish,” Stephanie murmured. She was relieved to learn her mother hadn’t created her as part of some sick game to manipulate others. “You swear I exist because you love me?”
“I promise.” Chaos smiled once more.
“Did you know who my mate was before you saw the tattoo?”
“No.” Her smile faded. “I’d have chosen otherwise for you. The Fate family has a reputation carried over from the time-before-time.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Stephanie said quickly. “I can guess and if I’m wrong, I don’t want to know.” She cleared her throat. “Did I inherit any magic powers from you?”
“I can’t tell, because you have no soul. Immortals can pass their unique talents, assuming they have any, onto their offspring. Deities pass down partial powers, about fifty percent of the time. Your true power lies in your family, both the one you were born into and the one you mate into.”
“I’m an important pawn.”
Chaos sighed. “I never wanted this for you.”
They sank into silence interrupted by the thump of knives into the wall and the angel’s snoring.
“He’s, uh, not that bad,” Stephanie ventured. “Fate.”
“I hope he’s treating you well. You’re sacred, even to him.”
Stephanie nodded, relieved once more to hear someone she trusted reassure her. “What happened to your mate?”
“It’s a long story. Not one I care to retell.”
At the hushed note in her voice, Stephanie looked up. Her mother’s eyes were on her wringing hands. Sensing something dark in her mother’s past, Stephanie was quiet, dwelling on just how much she didn’t know about her parents. She quieted such thoughts. If she let herself grow paranoid about everyone, she’d become as caustic as her brothers. No, she needed to trust someone, or she’d go insane.
“Wynn used me to get to you,” she said. “We have to get you out of here.”
“I won’t leave you, Steph.”
“Mom, whatever he wants from you, it’s probably horrible.”
“No one invites Chaos in with good intentions,” Rachel said. “He’ll kill you again over and over to bring me back. If I leave, you must come with me.”
“I, uh, well …” Stephanie squeezed her pillow harder. “I feel like I need to stay. To help my brothers.”
“Wynn has you trapped.”
“No. I mean, maybe. But isn’t it my responsibility to stop him? He’s my father.”
“It’s not. This mess isn’t our fight.”
“I’m a part of this world, Mom, whether or not I want to be. My brothers are family, too.”
Her mother pursed her lips.
“You can take Sammy and hide again,” Stephanie said. “At least, until we take care of Wynn.”
Agitated, Chaos stood. “I won’t leave you here for him to torture.”
“Then he’ll torture us both to get what he wants!”
“Or we leave!”
Stephanie rubbed her face. When had she gone from needing to flee to needing to stay, to help her brothers? How did she have any loyalty to a family who didn’t know what a hug was let alone how to care for one another?
You’ll find the strength because you know these fucked up people, and their fucked up world, need you to save them, Fate had claimed.
“I can’t leave,” she said. “And I don’t know what else to do.”
Chaos sat beside her and took her hands. “Then we have to play Wynn’s game.”
“He doesn’t lose.”
“But he wants something, and that gives me leverage.”
“Um, no offense, but if you’ve been retired, then are you … um, rusty at this?” Stephanie asked.
“I don’t think you ever forget how.” Chaos smiled. “It’s more a matter of how much damage I’ll do in the process of remembering the details of how to handle the others.”
This is a bad idea. “Just, uh, don’t kill my brothers. Or my mate.”
“Never thought I’d hear the day my daughter put in a good word for Fate,” her mother mused. “Do you love him already? Despite what he is?”
“I barely know him. But there’s something very …” Stephanie drifted off, recalling her few hours with him. “… he went to Hell for me. He’s told me how to survive this disaster, and let Wynn torture him so I’d be left alone. He’s … ” She stopped. There was no way to describe the combination of profound awe and distrust or how her heart sang whenever she thought of him.
“So, yes,” her mother said with a smile. “Love. Or something like it.”
Stephanie shrugged, at a loss for words.
“Okay,” Chaos said. “I’ll get him out.”
“What?”
“Your mom has a few tricks up her sleeves, retired or no.” Rachel squeezed her hand and rose, headed towards the door.
Stephanie tossed the pillow and scrambled after her. “You’re my mom. But deities and Immortals … yeah, I don’t trust that side of you.”
“As well you shouldn’t,” was the unsettling response. Her mother reached the door and faced her once more. “But I am your mother first and foremost. You and Sammy are my life. Your survival, and your happiness, are all that’s ever mattered to me. If you need him, then I will bring him to you.”
“Without destroying the world or anything like that.”
“I make no such promises.”
Stephanie gasped.
“I’m kidding.” Her mother grinned. “Sorta. Just remember Wynn started this.” She whipped open the door and left.
Stunned, Stephanie stood in place, uncertain she’d just heard what she did – her mother turning into a bloodthirsty deity.
“Good going. You unleashed Chaos,” Trayern said from his position nearby.
“I think you’re right.” Stephanie’s heart was pounding. “This could get very bad, very fast.”
“But fun to watch.”
She turned away, willing her mother not to do anything crazy.