Better.
Maither turned away and cried into my dad’s chest as he gave one final nod to Bannick.
His blade slid into my chest with precision.
Piercing my heart.
“Break the heart. Knit the blood. Feed the soul,” Bannick whispered in an ancient tongue. “Your true identity will be forever hidden until her.”
The blade left my skin.
I didn’t bleed.
Every single bite healed immediately.
I sat up straight. I looked murderous.
I went to grab the boy, the small boy who looked ready to kill the world, but Cassius held me back.
A crack of lightning lit up the room.
Followed by thunder.
Gadreel stood. “Looks like we pissed him off again.”
“It’s what we do best.” Bannick shrugged. “At least then, we have his attention. We’ve been ignored too long. No more, brother. I’ve got plans for us. Big plans.” Within seconds, they were gone.
The vampire finally turned toward us.
He looked familiar.
He gave his head a shake and then whispered in the air, “My want has blinded me.”
Within minutes, another vampire walked in with a small child. “She’s beautiful! The angels have stayed true to their promise!”
The girl immediately started to cry.
“What should we name her?” The male vampire held out his arms.
My mother chimed in. “Death. Name her death. For there is only death here.” She collapsed against my father.
“She has only fainted,” he explained, “and your daughter is beautiful. Name her something that means peace.”
The vampires nodded.
Seconds later, Sariel the archangel appeared.
And nothing was ever the same again.
Cassius gripped my shoulder. “There is nothing left to see that we don’t know.”
SERENITY
One minute I’d been in Scotland. The next I was back in the kitchen with Hope, Alex, Genesis, Stephanie, and Ethan. The twins were quietly sleeping upstairs, and the house creaked with awareness as if it knew magic had just occurred and wanted to tell the world its secrets.
Our secrets.
Another groan, and the house was silent again as wind whipped the trees in the yard, banging branches against the side of the house as a scratching noise kept my eyes locked on the sliding glass door leading to the expansive backyard.