Chapter 25

AYRA

"What are you doing in here, and why the fuck are you going through Nathaniel's things?" Aiden asked, raising a condescending brow at me.

"Instead of being a bitch to me, why not keep your fucking mouth shut, and make yourself useful? Your brother is laying on that bed unconscious, and instead of finding a solution, you're here questioning me."

He crossed his arms, unmoving from his spot by the door. "And you think answers to his cure is in office? Sounds rather suspicious to me."

"If I said I gave a fuck about what you think of me, you should know I'm lying," I said, grabbing another book from Nathaniel's shelf.

This one was bulkier than the others. I opened the first page to find an old piece of parchment paper with a message on it. Everything was written in a strange language, but strangely, I found myself able to understand the words.

*Our bloodline is contaminated. Odin has seen the future, and he saw an even bigger upset to the balance. Quadbrids. All four powerful species. This will obliterate the balance of powers completely just as our lineage has. They'll try to kill every descendant of the family who finds his mate. The Blacks will forever be in jeopardy. Protect your children, Raissa. Dalia and I are going to seek refuge with the vampires. This is what the Black ancestors have been wary of. They knew.*

"Who is Raissa?" I asked Aiden, rolling up the paper.

"How do you know about her?" Aiden asked, a mask falling over his face.

"Who is she, Aiden?" I snapped.

"Our mother. What's written on the parchment paper?" He asked.

"What about Dalia's mother? Who is she?"

"Aunt Edwina. Did Nathaniel tell you about them?"

"No." I flipped through the book, and I received the greatest shock of my life when the text faded with each page I opened. "What the fuck?"

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked, stepping closer to me.

"Dalia. I need to speak with Dalia."

I ran out of the house, ignoring Aiden's shouts. I burst into the guesthouse, breezing past Seth on my way. When I got into my old room, I was panting heavily.

"Dalia, I don't care how you did it the other time, but you need to show yourself," I said looking into the mirror in my bathroom. "Dalia, I need your help, okay? You need to come out."

Five minutes of pure silence passed, and I sighed in defeat. She wasn't coming. I thought she would since there was no spell around the guesthouse.

*You're dumb, Ayra. What makes you think she can hear you through a mirror?*

I turned on my heels, prepared to leave the bathroom when she spoke.

"I believe you called for me, mistress."

I gasped, turning back around to face her. "You came."

She knocked the hood off her head, exposing her face, and when I say my jaw dropped, I meant it. She was that gorgeous. Her long black hair was braided down on her back to keep it away from her face, but a few locks fell around her oval-shaped face.

"You have changed," she said, cracking a small smile. "This is exactly what I wanted."

"How have I changed?"

"The bondage they had you under is slowly loosening. When it finally does, you'll still have a long way to go in learning your powers again. The most important thing is that you have knowledge of your past."

I didn't understand anything she said, but that was the last thing on my mind. I had a more pressing issue namely Nathaniel.

"I know this is a long shot, but do you know anything about the demons that attacked Nathaniel?"

"I don't, but I do know one thing. The demon that attacked him must have been a very powerful one. Possibly a millennium old, but I doubt that. You won't be able to defeat a demon that strong."

"What about Nathaniel? Can he defeat the demon?"

"Yes, but of course, he can't. He's unconscious."

"Not for long."

Dalia hopped off the counter. "What do you plan on doing?"

***

DALIA

"Are you sure of this?" Ishmael asked Ayra for the thousandth time.

"Yes."

It was rather bemusing to see the level of trust she had in Nathaniel. What she was about to do was dangerous, and she could very well lose her life, but she chose to do it anyway.

I couldn't remember the last time I trusted someone other than myself — except Ayra — and aside from yourself, you had no idea what the other person was thinking.

I was a hundred percent sure she thought of the possibility of Nathaniel not finding the demon — or maybe she didn't. She had that type of trust in him.

"No one should interfere in the process. Even though it seems like the pain is intolerable for me, don't interrupt me. Am I clear?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Crystal," Aiden rumbled.

"Dalia?" Ayra asked, gaining me everyone else's attention.

"She hurt you in the bathroom. I don't think she'd worry about you getting hurt," one of Nathaniel's pack Enforcers snarled.

I could only smile at him. His name was Kai if I wasn't wrong, and he was still bitter over our little encounter.

"Does your ear still hurt? Do you need me to kiss it better for you?" I mocked, ignoring the pointed look I got from Ayra.

"Instead of being a bitch, why not shut the fuck up and let things go smoothly?" Aiden snarked behind me.

"Well, fuck you, too, Aiden. It's not like you've been nice to her either. Hypocrite."

"Quiet down, everyone!" Ayra raised her voice when she saw an argument was about to break out. "I need fucking silence from everyone, and if you can't extend that courtesy to Nathaniel, you might as well leave."

No one made a move.

"Good. It's time to start the process."

She grabbed both of Nathaniel's hands in hers, her eyes changing from blue to bright white. She began chanting some words quietly, and I could see a black vein pop up on her skin.

The poison. She was sucking the poison into her body. She'd stopped chanting now, grinding her teeth together from the pain, I assumed.

The veins kept popping up on her skin, and sweat beaded on her forehead, showing just how difficult what she was doing was. White static electricity surrounded her and Nathaniel.

She resumed chanting, squeezing Nathaniel's hands tighter in hers. Her head tipped back and a blood-curdling scream left her lips. The black veins crawled up her neck and face, disappearing into her hairline. She alternated between screaming and chanting until she couldn't keep on going.

She whispered one last word before her hands slipped out of Nathaniel's, and she collapsed backward. Thankfully, Ishmael was there to hold her just before she collapsed to the floor.

"What have you done, Ayra?" Ishmael asked her unconscious body.

"He's healing up!" Alan gasped, moving closer to Nathaniel's bedside.

Right before everyone's eyes, his wounds slowly closed up until it was his body was back to its uninjured form.

Now, it was time to see Nathaniel's reaction when he woke up. That would determine if he was the right choice for her, or he was just using her because of sex.

Either way, I'd be there to support her even though it meant sneaking her out of The Borough.