The script was memorized by an hour into the drive. And with Christian’s empathetic abilities, he was sure he could convince the entire coven to move, temporarily. Though, he had a feeling some of those witches would choose Edenton and Seattle, instead of Oregon, to get away from a coven so full of lies and betrayal.
“What do you think about what happened to Gina?” Delilah asked.
Christian glanced over. “Which part?”
She shook her head. “Well, she has a being inside her, right?”
He shook his head. “Mom sent a text last night. Gina gave birth to the woman. Now she’s more than what she had been before her father pissed off the wrong Fae.”
“Huh?”
“Um, so I’m going by a dream. But I think she was something called a Sylvan Fae. She could have shifted if she went through an awakening. Her animal happened to be a wolf. However, when she was young, her father was an exiled Fae, and Henroyld had what made him Fae severed from his body.”
“Okay,” she answered slowly. “So, what happened to her magic?”
“They took it when they took his. She didn’t die because she was too young to use her magic. Remember how I said she had a hole in her soul?”
She nodded.
“Well, that happened when they ripped her magic out. That’s how Badb got in. And she somehow helped Gina become pregnant, and hijacked the embryo, and in the process, healed all the shit they did to her. She has her magic back, I think. But the strange thing is, I think Mark either has his too, or will.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Uh, because they sort of awakened each other. I’m not sure if he was something more than a witch before he became a wolf, or if it was just a gift to him from Badb.”
“Okay,” she answered slowly.
“I know, I’m confused too. But I know Mark and Gina are going to have at least two kids, not just Badb, who should be at least mostly grown by now…” he trailed off.
“Huh?”
“That’s what Mom said. She gave birth already, to a fully formed miniature woman. And that woman was growing at an insane rate.” He shrugged. “Look, maybe with what we found out about Amelia and your family, just maybe, you can get your magic back.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I’m good without that, thanks. Look, unless it’s going to help a lot of people, like Amelia did, I don’t want anything to do with it. I like being a wolf. And I know Mark. He isn’t real thrilled about magic. He avoids the witches.”
“He was a witch, Delilah. He may have shut that side down when a creature tried to steal his persona and nearly killed him.”
“Maybe. Think he can get used to magic again?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. I just know they have kids.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I suppose, if it meant we could have kids down the line, I could consider my magic.”
He took her hand and pulled it to his mouth. “Honest, sweetheart, I’m happy just having you. Considering my fucked up family, I’m not sure passing on my genes would be a good move.”
“You’re a good man, Christian. And I think you would make a wonderful father.”
“Time will tell, I suppose.” Though he had never seen anything about him having children with Delilah, just that he had her by his side always.
* * * *
Valen took a seat on the chair. He wasn’t sure if he should be mad at his mother or not. He saw the kind of guilt she wore all over her face. Even dozing on the couch, she looked distressed.
Cora nodded up the stairs, and he followed.
She brought him into a room and shut the door. “I don’t know if she can stick with her decision.”
Valen shook his head. “I’m sticking to mine. As much as I don’t want to lose her, there’s too much wrong with Gerard and his people. I don’t want to be like them, and to think my mother fell under his sway and tried to kill the man she supposedly loved…I don’t know that I can understand. I sure as hell don’t right now.”
“She loves you more than either of them. There’s something to be said for that. Hopefully, that’s enough motivation for her to stay by your side and fight against Gerard, because they do need to be stopped. They will kill the entire coven if we don’t stop them.”
He nodded. “Cora, I saw what she did to my father. Everything he remembered, and I know there has to be more. And I get it, it wasn’t all her choice, but that doesn’t make it easy to forget the facts. I really do hope I’m more like him than her after seeing the memories.”
“You are more like Mark than Kindra. You always were. Even now, with his new intensity, you have that. And maybe he always did, but I never witnessed it.”
He smiled slightly. “Think Melanie will like him?”
“Yeah, I do. And maybe you should call her and let her know you’re okay, and that you’ll be able to go to her soon.”
“I talked to her already, but I’m not willing to tell her everything over the phone. I know how crazy it all sounds. I would rather wait and talk to her face-to-face.”
“I wish you could bring her out here.”
He lifted a shoulder. “She may like that. Neither of us like coven life. I always wondered what the appeal was. I mean, they’re so shut off from the rest of the world, and I always wanted to explore, to see new things, and to be part of something bigger. It seems like that’s a possibility in Edenton. I can learn more about all the things my mother was too afraid to bring up.”
“I hope she pulls through this, but even if she does, I wonder how she’s going to adjust to being free.”
“Wasn’t she when she was young?” Valen asked.
Cora shook her head. “You’re lucky you never met her parents. They made my skin crawl. I still think they were behind your father’s parents’ death. And they had been disappointed when he wasn’t in the car with his parents the night they died.”
“But why?”
She sighed. “They wanted more power. I don’t know what kind of power they sought, but I know they were the reason the doppelgangers came in the first place. I don’t have any idea what they thought they may gain, but they all but trained your mother to seduce Mark from the very beginning.”
“Did everyone expect him to become the high priest?”
She nodded. “Yeah, and he had been the only candidate. Only Germaine and Liliana changed their minds about stepping down when they saw the way the Churnskis were pushing everything the way they wanted them to go.”
He groaned. “Why does everything have to be so convoluted in the coven?”
She sighed. “Once upon a time I would have disagreed, but I saw firsthand how messed up our politics were. And the thing is, I don’t think there was ever a good answer to our problems.”
“You mean how we never seemed to improve anything?” he asked.
She nodded. “Most people refused to work outside of the community, but there was a limited amount of jobs. Which is why you noticed how much poorer we seemed than those around you in college.”
He nodded.
“Your grandparents all worked outside of the community. And at times were shunned for it. In fact, Mark worked outside of the community too, but nearby. I wonder what he does now. But he was a craftsman. He loved to build and worked on a construction team from the moment he got out of high school. He went to some night classes to learn more, but he didn’t seem to like it.”
“How close were you two? Mom said you had a crush on him.”
She sighed. “Who didn’t? Hell, I think my sweet Daniel had a crush on him too, at times. Anders was that guy everyone flocked to, everyone trusted. He was so attractive and caring, and it was hard to find a fault in him. It was never serious, though. And I loved Daniel with all my heart. But yeah, I was a little miffed when she got him first. But only because I wasn’t sure she truly felt anything for him.”
“Did she? Do you think?”
She nodded. “I think she wound up seducing him and falling in love in the process. But maybe it was never as pure as what I had with Daniel, because her parents orchestrated it from the very beginning. But I can’t really see her with anyone else now. I don’t know, Valen.”
He sighed. “Well, I’m not giving up on Melanie or my child. So if my mother does something stupid, I can’t follow her. I won’t. I wish I knew how to make her see that there is something beyond what she thought she had. The coven certainly didn’t help her. I saw how my father went to others for help, and everyone shut him down, like they thought he was crazy.”
“They didn’t want to believe we could fall so far. And there is no other way to explain what happened to us. I just hope we can find them soon.”