Chapter fifty three

Her mind was bubbling with fear but a tiny bit of her felt a presence. A familiar benevolent presence.

"Solomon?" She called out, finally turning away from the sight of wicked hot flames. His presence seemed to break the repeated cycle of having to see Storge die repeatedly in the hands of Simon.

"Sybil, I got your message. Who did this to you?" Solomon sent using the mate bond.

"The Western Prince," Sybil revealed as the fire behind her flared dangerously in her path. It missed burning her by an inch but Murmur's act forced Sybil to look back to the scene. The flames of rage that Simon created had died out and the blank look on his face resembled something between regret and terror. She hadn't remembered seeing that. Not that it changed how she felt about him but there was this subtle relief that he felt sorry for the sin he had committed. She saw him run to Storge's charred body; a mix of mangled hot pink flesh and bones. He carried the body, screaming in agony as he hugged the remains of the man he once loved. The man whose he took. The sight triggered uneasy emotions in Sybil. It was the first she had come to admit that Solomon did not hurt Storge because it was his nature. He was afraid to lose Storge and that myriad of fear and regret caused an irreversible damage. Grief was what broke Storge. Fat tears started to drop down her face as she remembered the stages of grief the mother of all and grand witch of the Gemini coven had always mouthed to her every time she lashed out at the world for Storge's death.

Denial. Anger. Acceptance.

  The Grand witch was so sure Sybil would come to terms with the unfortunate lemons life had thrown at her but Sybil had refused to let any of it go. She believed she needed to remember her sufferings in order to get stronger but how wrong she was. The truth in Storge's actions had proved she wasn't any different. He had lashed out at the world to cope with his grief. Troops of students were beginning to troop in at the time. Terror filled the crevices of their curious hearts when they saw the sight and the culprit. Simon saw it too and just before he invoked the powers of strife and war deeply rooted in every living breathing thing, Sybil walked up to him. This might have been a nightmare created for the purpose to torture her and keep her in place until those scheming gods had gotten what they came for but Sybil thanked Hecate for the opportunity.

"Simon Andre," She began. "I forgive you."

That seemed to do the trick. Simon smiled at her and closed his eyes right before he exploded, scattering a piercing flood of pure white light that blinded her vision across the room. It shot right through her, filling her whole, lifting her afloat and her in its euphoria before it all went dark.

"Sybil??"

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard her name being called. There was a tingling sensation in her neck.  Her eyes observed the bed above her and she could only ascertain that she was free of the nightmare. She immediately kicked off the bed, remembering what was at stake, and almost hit Solomon by the nose. Luckily, his reflex was quick and his face was long out of the way. Her fast movement seemed to sharpen the mild tingling she felt on her neck into true pain.

"What did you do to me?" Sybil demanded in agitation. Solomon seemed tongue-tied so she found an answer for herself by tracing the spot where the pain kept shooting out from. A simple trail sent the worst pain but Sybil recognized it. Tooth marks. Shifter toothmarks to be precise. Had Solomon marked her?

"I..." Solomon tried to say before he was ultimately cut off by Sybil.

"No time for that. We have to get to the garden. Yemoja's son has partnered with the vampires and Hades and  they plan to use Talia as leverage to get something." Sybil paused, walking up to the door before continuing. "Hades wants his Highness to kill Talia."

Of course, it was shocking to hear. For a father to want his own daughter dead. Sybil's words seemed to make Solomon step back. Strangely, Sybil discovered she could sense his emotions. A chaotic mix of worry and relief. What the hell could be refreshing about what she had just said. Sybil ignored it and forced the door, taking some steps outside before rushing back in to see Solomon still rooted where he stood.

"You coming?"

"I don't think we have to worry," Solomon assured. "Talia left."

If his words were supposed to put Sybil to rest, it certainly was not working. If something, it made her even more afraid but there was no way Solomon would be so chill about his friend getting the end of the stick. Left meant many things and not one gave her anything positive.

"What do you mean?"

"Hades visited Talia the night Murmur was attacked. She was worried about what he planned to do knowing her father's history with Persephone. She chose to take Persephone's deal before the goddess discovered her father contacted her. She must be home now. So I guess there is nothing to worry about. Hades' plan is doomed for failure.

"What?" Sybil's mouth twitched. "She accepted Persephone's deal?"

"Yeah?"

"Persephone never had the intention to let Talia go. Her mother is dead because of Persephone and Her Majesty was convinced Talia would rain hellfire on her realm and the world if she learned the truth. She might probably be dead or worse."

Right before Solomon and Roman could have their 'wtf' moment, A loud explosion erupted above them causing the castle to shake to its very core.

"What was that?"

***
Talia walked out of the shadowy inky portal that had kept her locked in. The flames in her finger licked at everything in sight as Persephone's furniture, bed and books went alight in brilliant blue. Her eyes got the book that had managed to seal her fate. The book of life was rested on Persephone's bed unaffected by the fires that ravaged the bed. She knew Hades was not lying but this was just a necessity to prove that Persephone was truly unredeemable. She scrolled past the pages and stopped at the Trueborn family tree. Ajda Trueborn, Talia's grandmother. Burned alive after being mistaken for a witch. Talia knew that story. Her mother had piped into her aching years every night as a child. Ajda had trusted a human priest in the late 16th century but he had only exploited her for his selfish benefits before he accused her of witchcraft in the presence of his entire congregation. The next name Talia's eye flicked on was her mother's name. The cause of her death made Talia's stomach churn. The poor Fae drowned. She had felt her mother's touch and undying love right before Persephone snuffed her life out. Her name was next. She was destined to be history but Talia refused to be just another statistic. If she was going to go down, She was going take Persephone down with her.

Smokes from the fire seeped outside and called the attention of the guard stationed outside who forced the door open.

"You...did this?" He said between chattering teeth right before he darted for the door but the poor thing. It was too late for him. Talia's flames washed past the door, blocking the man's only exit. Talia watched the man struggle and panic as he considered jumping through the open window or running past the indigo flames to escape sure death but the fear of dying, either way, seemed to scare him more.

"Please, I don't want to die." He wept.

His pleas did not deter Talia. It physically hurt her to know this being knew she never left that room but he chose to remain quiet. He didn't deserve to live. The guard seemed to suspect his pleas were falling to deaf ears, he swung his spear back around and jabbed it threateningly at Talia.

"Stay back you abomination!"

"Abomination?" Talia scoffed, fuming smoke and ash. "Imagine having to live in the shadows all your life because of someone's mistake. Imagine having to be cursed because of who your father is. Imagine being a pawn thrown left and right by gods with no scruple and you call me the abomination! You are the abomination! And this world doesn't deserve to have people like you."

Her words made the man back into a corner as she came to a halt in front of him. The spear in his hands trembled incessantly. Talia willed the flames to embrace him. Talia watched fear and pain rushed through him as he writhed in agony.

Talia shot the door open with a burst of fire and stepped into the open. Looking down the spiral staircase that led to halls, Talia heard horrified gapes and saw true fear in the faces of her former colleagues. It reminded her of her first day at the academy. Except for this time, she did not resent it. But they weren't the big catch. The bitch was close though so Talia waited. Just as she had predicted, Persephone threw the doors, crossed past the guards that stupidly put her life above hers, and stopped right in the middle of the halls. The look on her eyes was pure gold. It was the face of someone who knew karma had finally caught up with her. A few moments later, a bunch of major gods including Ade and Denys stumbled into the halls. The trident clattered to the floor when Denys saw what Talia had done. Talia had no idea what he thought of her but she didn't think she cared anymore. He had been someone she had trusted and he had lied to her and his hurt the most.

Braving the last of resolve and anger she had, Talia tossed the book of life directly at the feet of Persephone. "You have called yourself a victim so many times Persephone. Of course, you had a right to hate me for I am my father's daughter but you should have never brought my mother into this."

"No," Persephone protested, tears blissfully pouring down her cheeks like her immortal life was flashing through her eyes. "How was I supposed to know she would try to save you?"

"It's called a mother love and this, this is daughter's fight. I will kill you Persephone!"


The rage then took hold of the power within her. Talia felt it stretch, reaching through the light flourishing and purging it black with a speed and fury that made Talia's legs leave the floor as flames of indigo blanketed her whole. It was all fine until he chose to stop her. Before she could lift Persephone to the air and make her go through the same hell she had to go through, Denys jumped in the way.