It may have been a rash decision, but Addison was certain it was the right one. Although she’d only known Samael for a short time, their bond continued to strengthen with each passing day. Becoming allies in the fight against Aamon seemed like the right choice and keeping Samael close seemed like a wise move.
Addison entered Grayson Manor and turned, reaching out a hand to her father. He took it, and they walked inside, joining Luke and Lia in the living room. The pair stood next to each other with their arms crossed, eyes tense.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Neither appeared thrilled to see Samael standing before them.
“Please understand,” Addison began, “I invited him in because it’s time. I know what I’m doing.”
“I wish you would have discussed it with me first,” Luke said.
“Maybe you’re right, and I should have. Either way, he’s here now.”
Luke huffed an irritated, “Yeah, I can see that.”
“No harm will ever come to any of you,” Samael said. “Not by my hand. You have my word.”
“Your word means nothing to me,” Luke said. “I don’t know you.”
“All I want is to protect my daughter, my granddaughter … and you, Luke and Lia,” Samael said. “You mean everything to Addison. You matter to her, which means, you matter to me.”
Lia moved a hand to her hip. “And if we didn’t matter? What then?”
Before Samael could respond, Amara Jane scurried past Luke, Lia, and Addison. She wrapped her arms around Samael’s legs and squeezed. Then she stared up at him and held her hands up, something Addison had never seen her do with someone she’d never met before. Samael pulled Amara Jane into his arms, and she pressed her hands to his cheeks, giggling, and staring into his eyes as if she’d known him all her life.
“Hi,” she said.
Samael hugged his granddaughter and said, “Hello, sweetheart.”
Luke’s jaw clenched, and he stepped forward, his hands outstretched. “Here, I’ll take her.”
Amara Jane turned toward her father and shook her head. “It’s okay, Daddy. He’s nice.”
He’s nice?
“Why does it seem like she knows you?” Addison asked.
“Because she does,” Samael said.
His answer came as a surprise.
“Explain,” Addison said.
Staring down at Amara Jane, he said, “Just because you have never seen me before now doesn’t mean she hasn’t,” Samael said. “Before, when I said I’d been watching over you, I meant it. Little Amara Jane here has the gift of sight. She sees things most people can’t.”
Luke and Addison exchanged confused glances.
“I don’t understand,” Addison said.
“You will. I’ll explain everything to you later.”
“Why not explain now?”
“There isn’t time.”
“There’s plenty of time.”
“There’s much to be done, starting with you packing a bag, Addison.”
Packing a bag?
“Why?” Addison asked.
“I believe you may need more training before facing off with Aamon again. You have centuries of necromancer power inside you, but you’re my daughter, which means you also have centuries of sorcerer power within you. Both will be useful if you are to defeat him.”
“And where would this extra training take place?” Addison asked.
“We must go to Gaia.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s not part of this world.”
“What do you mean? Where is it?”
“Think of it as an in-between place, a place between this life and the next.”
Lia’s eyes widened. “Gaia … as in Greek goddess of the Earth?”
“It was named in her honor, yes,” Samael said.
“Why must we go to Gaia?” Addison asked. “What’s there?”
“Not what … who. Our people, those willing to stand up and join you in your fight. When Aamon comes again, he will not be alone. He will bring an army of tortured souls. Many will have been cast out of the underworld, aligning with his plan to bring about destruction.”
“I won’t leave my family,” Addison said. “Can’t I learn what I need to here? You can teach me. Can’t you?”
“I could, but you should learn from the best, and there is one far more skilled than I am.”
“Who?”
“Aryanna, your great-grandmother, the most powerful sorcerer of them all.”
“A female sorcerer?”
Samael nodded.
“I always assumed sorcerers were men,” Addison said.
“Many, not all.”
Luke stepped forward. “Addison’s not going anywhere without me. Where she goes, I go.”
“Same goes for me too,” Lia said.
Addison shook her head. “No. Neither of you are going. I can’t ask you to risk your lives for me. This is not your fight.”
“The hell it’s not,” Luke said.
“You have no power, Luke. Nor do you, Lia. No way to protect yourselves. I can’t allow either of you to get involved. I won’t.”
Samael lifted a finger into the air. “If I may. You are right, Addison. They aren’t like us. But what would you say if I told you they could be?”