Davina (The Immortal Prophecy 3)

That was Davy’s message to him, and Roane tried to decipher it. Who was missing? Davy. Everyone. Himself. He couldn’t wrap his mind around who she meant and the innocent—no one was innocent. And who was coming back? She was insistent that there was hope, but as he followed The Immortal, he couldn’t figure out who Davy meant. The one person who had enough power to defeat The Immortal was Jacith and he was dead. Thinking about it, Roane could’ve cursed himself. He hadn’t been thinking, but The Immortal was in his head. He couldn’t have been thinking ahead. She would’ve known then.

“Okay.” They’d been steadily winding up around a mountain and The Immortal stopped. She stepped out on an edge. “We’re here.”

He looked to where she was gazing and was surprised. “That’s the Mori village?”

His mind was racing. Why had she come here? What did this mean? He glanced sideways to her. “Are you here for my brother?”

Her eyes narrowed, but a hint of a grin flashed over her face. It was a glimmer, and it was gone just as quick as it showed. “No, but your brother could become an annoying pest.” She leaned forward and said, “Silence. I need to hear.”

She was listening to the entire village. He should’ve have been surprised, but nothing surprised him anymore, not when it came to this creature. She could bend the world’s rules. She could be in his head. She could do almost anything. It was hard to imagine that Davy could be brought back, and yet, The Immortal was no longer in his head. A small victory happened, and she hadn’t gotten into his head since. She had stopped many times on their trek, and she kept glancing back at him. She was trying to understand what happened, how she was locked out. Frustration rippled off her, and he basked in it, but all that was gone as she was eavesdropping on his brother’s allies.

“Your friends are there,” she murmured.

Alarm spiked in him.

She waved a hand at him. “Of course, they’re there. They want to free you.” She shot him a warning look. “They won’t succeed. They’re harmless, right now.”

His friends weren’t being held captive. She would’ve told him if they were. That meant they were there on their own accord. They were there to work with his brother, like he told them to do. He needed to distract her.

“Why are we here? If you’re not here for my brother, who then?”

She frowned.

He asked further, “My brother’s witches? He has a coven. Are you here for vengeance? I can’t imagine they’re an actual threat to you, not if Jacith hadn’t been. He was the most powerful sorcerer on the earth—”

“I know what you’re doing.” She cut him off. “And it won’t work.” She turned back for the trail. “I found what I needed to find.”

“What?”

She ignored him and began around the mountain once more. Roane fell in line behind her and they walked in silence until they got to the other side of the mountain. He was mulling everything on his mind when she stopped again. He could hear the sounds of children laughing not far from them. He judged they were a quarter of a mile away. Too close for his liking. She shouldn’t be this close, not to children, but he couldn’t stop her. Yet. He could hear Davy’s voice in his head. Yet, but he would.

She closed her eyes, bowed her head, and a second later the air became overwhelming. It pressed down on him, and he couldn’t move. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but no sound came out. She looked at him and spoke. Her voice sounded like she was on the other side of a wall. He could barely make it out.

“You can’t come with me any further.”

“Why?” He tried yelling. No sound still came out. He was yelling in his own head.

“You’re cloaked. No one will know you’re here. They can’t sense you either. I will be back once I’m done.”

A foreboding sensation tunneled low in him. It was spreading fast and growing in urgency. “Don’t.” But it was useless. She turned her back and left for the village.

All he could do was yell, but no one heard him.

TRACEY

Talia had been her sister. Their bloodline was among other thread-holders. She was honored to be Talia’s sister. She always had been even when she was taken and hidden by the Roane family. She knew Talia loved Lucas Roane, but she knew that Talia had loved the werewolf as well. Both loves had been true and unconditional. Talia was a gentle soul. She was beautiful in spirit and body. Tracey understood why both men became besotted with her.

And now, as she watched her niece kicking a ball around, she saw similar traits in her. A soft smile spread over her face. It felt alien. Her cheeks were stiff. She hadn’t smiled in so long, but this was right. She had come all this way for her niece. Her mission had been the correct one. No matter what happened, she would remain at her side. She would guard this child with her life.

“She looks like her mother?”

Her niece’s mother, the Mori who adopted her, sat beside Tracey. Her name was Suhnah, which meant sunny and warm in their language. She explained it to Tracey the first night she welcomed her into her home. When Lucan brought all of them into the village, their reception was much different than the first time. They were captives then. They were visitors now. And being able to walk among the Mori freely, she realized they were good people. They just weren’t aware of Lucan’s evilness, but that would be corrected soon.

The Immortal was coming. Tracey felt it in her gut. And she was coming for her niece. When The Immortal would arrive, Tracey didn't know what would happen, but she knew there would be chaos, death, and misery. Lucan would no doubt unveil his true self. He wanted the thread for himself, but the thread would never go to a man. It could only go to a female and the Mori had kept her niece human. Suhnah told her that they wouldn't turn her into a true Mori vampire until she decided what age she wanted to be for eternity. They thought that would be her future. That's what they wished anyways. Tracey hoped her niece had a future at this point.

“Lily!” Suhnah called, standing up from where they were sitting on the grass. “It is time for your meal.”

Lily stopped in mid-kick. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were elated. Her blonde hair was in a mess, sweat-darkening streaks near her forehead, but to Tracey, she had never looked more alive than ever. This was the magic of humans. This was why they were to be treasured and cherished. They were alive in the truest form.