Addison tiptoed outside, pulling the front door closed behind her. She stood on the porch, blinking at the elm tree, thinking about Eve, Corbin, the father she’d never met, and the book of black arts. A fire swelled from within, spreading through her veins like an infectious disease.
Whether she felt ready or not, the time had come to meet Samael, and tonight, she’d do it on her terms.
Addison walked toward the sprawling elm. There, on the same knotty tree branch Luke had pointed out earlier, was the raven. They stared at one another for a time, and then Addison said, “You’re not fooling anyone, disguising yourself as your spirit animal. I know it’s you. I know you’ve been here, watching, following me. What I don’t know is … why? Why seek me out after all this time?”
The raven blinked at her and remained still.
“Maybe you’re here because I possess the book of enchantments, and you possess the book of black arts. If it’s my power, you can forget it. You can’t have it. If it’s my life, you can’t have that either. I’ll fight you with everything I have to keep you from destroying this world and everyone in it. And don’t for a second think you can’t be destroyed, because you can.”
The raven broke eye contact and flapped its wings, taking flight—away from the manor, away from her.
Oh no, you don’t.
Not this time.
Addison sprinted down the dirt path after the raven, shouting, “Stop hiding from me! Show yourself, your true self. Samael. Sorcerer. Archangel. Warlock. And whatever else you are, I command you to appear before me.”
For a time, there was a hush in the air, and it seemed the raven had fled. Then Addison’s eyes came to rest on the silhouette of a man walking toward her. He was tall and wearing a long black trench coat and black slacks. His salt-and-pepper hair was slicked back, and he had a thick, red streak across one side.
The man approached Addison with his hands outstretched. Addison spread her fingers, raising a hand in front of her. “Stop. That’s close enough.”
He nodded and did as she asked.
“How long have you known I lived here, at Grayson Manor?” Addison asked.
“Right after your mother’s funeral, the day you first stepped foot onto this land.”
“That was nine years ago. If you knew, why haven’t you shown yourself until now?”
“Back then, when you first found out who you are—who you really are—I knew you needed time to accept it. I decided it was best to wait. You’d spent your entire life believing the man who raised you was your real father. I saw no point in shattering that illusion, not after all you’d already been through with your mother’s death.”
Addison crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you.”
“Believe whatever you like. I speak the truth, Ravenna.”
“My name is Addison.”
“It wasn’t always.”
“What are you saying?”
“Ravenna was the name you were given at birth, before your mother decided to change it.”
“Why did she change it?”
“Because you were named after me. When your mother and I parted ways, she wanted to get rid of all traces of me. She did a fine job of it, too.”
“Why are you here? Why now?”
“To protect you, but you know that already, don’t you? You’ve suspected it all along, ever since your first visit to Crawley Manor.”
He was right.
She had considered it.
But what she’d considered even more was that he was there to do her harm. After all, the most cunning of snakes slithered through the tall, unsuspecting grass, waiting to strike at the precise moment their victim became vulnerable.
“If you came here to protect me, you’ve wasted your time,” Addison said. “I don’t need you. I’m more powerful than you’ll ever be.”
“Is that what Sybil Waterhouse told you when she gave you the ring you’re wearing?”
He knew about the ring.
What else did he know?
Samael reached for her once more, and Addison jerked back. “If you take one more step, we’ll test out whether everything Sybil told me about myself was right.”
Samael tipped his head back and laughed. “Your defiance … it reminds me so much of your mother.”
“I’m nothing like my mother. She gave up her power, denied who she was, and spent her life lying to me, hiding the truth about who I am. But, hey … at least she saved me from you.”
Samael stared at her, his expression suggesting she’d pained him with her words.
Had she?
Or was she a pawn in his elaborate game?
“You stare at me now as though you think I’m a monster,” he said.
“Aren’t you?”
“I’ve been called many things over time, but never that. When you and your brother were born, your mother wanted you both to be raised without magic. She didn’t want you to know about your abilities. I didn’t agree. It was your birthright.”
“Why did you make a deal with my grandmother? You took Corbin and left me behind. You abandoned me.”
Samael raised a finger. “No. That’s not true. When your grandmother offered me the chance to raise your brother the way I saw fit if I left you with your mother, I didn’t agree to it at first. But Marjorie was a cunning, wise woman, a woman who knew how to get what she wanted. She convinced me that taking Corbin and leaving you was a temporary solution. She promised your mother would calm down, and when she did, Marjorie said she would work on your mother to forge an arrangement that allowed me to be involved in both of your lives.”
“Whatever arrangement the two of you had, it didn’t work.”
“You’re right. It didn’t. When your mother found out about the deal your grandmother made with me, she sent your grandmother away, telling her she’d never be part of your life. Then she performed one final spell.”
“Let me guess. She kept you from finding me.”
Samael nodded. “It wasn’t until your mother’s death that I felt your presence for the first time.”
Was there any truth to his words?
Or was he a trickster, a master of lies?
“Where’s my brother?” Addison asked. “Tell me where he is and what you’ve done to him.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, and you will.”
“I can’t because I don’t know where he is right now.”
“You must know. I saw him, trapped in a place where his magic is useless.”
“It wasn’t me who put him there. I would never harm my own children.”
“Oh, no? Then explain to me why you’re not out there right now, trying to find him.”
“Whoever came after him will come after you. That’s why I’m here.”
“I don’t know you, and I don’t have any reason to believe anything you’re saying is true.”
Samael stared into Addison’s eyes. “Do you want answers?”
“I do.”
He reached out to her once more. “Then take my hand and let me give them to you.”