A Fall of Secrets

“Come up here!” she yelled.

We hurried up the tree and Zinnia grabbed Sofia’s arm as soon as we exited the elevator.

“Zinnia, what—?”

She dragged us through Eli’s front door. The living room was packed with people. Their backs turned toward us, they all seemed to be focused on the television.

“Guys,” Zinnia said, “they’re back.”

Two dozen people spun around to greet us. I noted Xavier and Vivienne right at the front near Eli. Then my eyes traveled further along the room and fixed on the screen. Sofia, Corrine and I gasped at once.

I squinted, pushing my way through the crowd closer to the television, believing that my eyes must’ve been mistaken. But they weren’t. Sofia and I knelt right in front of the screen, so close that the glare hurt my eyes.

We were looking at a sandy beach crowded with dragons. Several men in dark clothes stood next to them, and surrounding the group were swarms of humans.

The woman reporting the scene on the television seemed lost for words as she stammered and stuttered her way through trying to describe the situation.

As the camera zoomed in further, I could clearly make out the features of the men standing right by the dragons. Kiev, Griffin and Gavin. Now I also spotted a wolf sitting nearby—Micah, it seemed. Corrine clasped a hand to her mouth, kneeling down beside us.

Before any of us could voice our bewilderment, Zinnia spoke. “As you can see, some of us left the island—my boys included. Rose got it into her head that we ought to storm the witches’ islands in search of the humans.”

“Rose? Did she go, too?”

“Yes.”

I glared at Xavier and Vivienne, who looked like they were steeling themselves. “I didn’t give anyone permission to leave before we returned,” I said. “Especially not Rose. Why would you have let her go?”

Vivienne stood up and walked over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down. Rose is safe. They all arrived in California—Ibrahim, Caleb and Aiden went too. The reporter just mentioned before you entered that about two dozen teens have been dropped off at a nearby police department.”

I sat back down in front of the screen, my eyes fixed once again on the dragons. It was all so surreal. We had just returned from visiting several police officials, informing them of the existence of supernaturals. Seeing these huge dragons lined up on the beach like this, surrounded by swarms of humans snapping pictures, pointing, and talking animatedly amongst themselves… it was the most graphic representation of what I’d feared the moment I laid eyes on Ben’s footage on the news: a timeless barrier had been broken.

Things would never be the same for the human world again.

Chapter 29: Mona

It killed me to leave Kiev, Rose and all the others on that island without my assistance. But I had to. I didn’t know how long it would take them, and Derek and Sofia—hell, this human realm—was now depending on me to find a way to get rid of Lilith. Enough time had been wasted already with the dragons’ stubborn insistence on flying instead of allowing me to magic them all there.

As I vanished myself back to The Shade, I just reminded myself that even I was not much use against the black witches anymore. I remembered how effortlessly Rhys had overpowered me. They had the dragons. I couldn’t offer any better protection than those beasts.

On arriving back in The Shade, I didn’t speak to anyone. I headed straight for Kiev’s and my treehouse. I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of cool water. Swallowing it down in a few gulps, I wiped the sweat from my brow with a kitchen towel. My palms were cold and sweaty as I gripped the tabletop hard, my knuckles whitening.

How am I ever going to do this?

I had already told Derek that I knew little about Lilith. Yes, I had met her, but Rhys had deliberately withheld details about her. I left the kitchen and began pacing up and down the living room.

Think.

I spent years and years living with those black witches. During that time, I must have witnessed some conversation, picked up on some clue that could help me now.

Lilith. That abomination of a living being. How is it that she survived all this time when no other Ancients could? I had a feeling deep in my gut that if I managed to answer this question, I would discover the key to Lilith’s undoing.

Time is running out. I don’t have all day to just stand here and pace.

There was only one thing to be done right now. I vanished myself from the spot and reappeared in the Sanctuary. Since I hadn’t yet set up a spell room in Kiev’s and my apartment, I had no choice but to use Corrine’s.

I began rummaging through Corrine’s shelves and pulling down bottles of ingredients. I reached for a medium-sized cauldron that was drying by the sink and began tipping substances into it. After adding enough liquid, I sped up the heating process until the potion had reached a rolling boil. I relinquished the heat and poured the liquid into a jug. Tidying up my mess in the space of three seconds, I left the kitchen, clutching the jug in my hands. I reappeared again in my apartment. I headed this time straight for the bedroom and placed the potion on my bedside table. I manifested a goblet from our kitchen and poured out one full portion. Then I climbed on top of the mattress and slid between the sheets, propping my head up so that I was sitting at a forty-five degree angle. I reached for the goblet and took a sip. The liquid burned my throat as it slid down.

As the memory potion began to take hold of my mind, I fixed all my consciousness on one single question: Why is Lilith still alive?