that hand belonged to. Her? That was her hand? The drive to keep moving forward burned in her brain.
The skin burst into flame. A second later the pain exploded through her body. She tried to get to her feet, but her nerves were a melted mess of stinging nettles. “Mariela,” she whispered as her throat filled with smoke and her vision went dim.
Then an incredible lightness filled her. And she turned to ash.
Chapter Forty-nine
Son of a priest.” Mal shuddered at what he’d just seen. He was a few yards from the front door and the church’s proximity caused his body to ache more than the silver bullet Lola had put through his leg. He couldn’t imagine the pain of dying the way she just had. One of the fringe guards retched and the rest stood staring, their job of guarding him and Jerem forgotten. He pushed to his feet and not a single one of them did a thing.
Chrysabelle looked up from the ashes that marked where the mayor had been incinerated, tears streaking her cheeks. She swallowed, her body racked as a sob overtook her. Then her eyes met his. She skirted the mayor’s remains as she walked stiffly into Mal’s arms.
He held her while she wept soundlessly, held her until the last sobs left her. Finally she lifted her head. “How could she…”
“Greed. A false sense of reality. Who knows?”
“She said she did it all for Mariela—that’s Lilith’s real name—but I don’t know if I believe her. She seemed as power-driven as Tatiana at times. That poor little girl. At least she won’t be used as a pawn anymore.”
“Mariela’s safe now.” Mal wiped a tear off her cheek. “How’s Preacher?”
“Human. The apple worked.” Chrysabelle swallowed and smiled weakly. “How are you? She shot you?”
“It hurts like hell, but it went straight through. I’ll have a scar, because the bullet was silver, but I’m already healing.”
“Good.” She turned a little and looked back at the church. “Preacher will have to move. He can’t raise a child in an abandoned building.”
Mal nodded. “The mayor never mentioned any other family, so I’m pretty sure Mariela is her only heir. With the inheritance due her, Preacher will have everything he needs to take care of her just fine.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” She took a deep breath and raised her face to his. “We should go home. We have guests coming.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure I like this plan to domesticate me.”
She planted her hands on her hips, pulling her sweater tight across her expanding belly. “Too bad, because as you may have noticed, there’s no turning back.”
He grabbed her hand and turned toward Jerem and the car. “Home. Before she starts making up a chore list.” He helped her into the car.
“Hey,” she said. “That’s actually not a bad idea…”
Tatiana lost track of how many times she’d walked the perimeter of the Garden. In fact, she wasn’t sure she
And the idea that there was no way out? Impossible.
Her building frustration needed venting. She tipped her head back and screamed for Samael, even knowing while she did that there was no way he could come to her. Not here. Not to the place of the original sin. He was banned from this place, just as she was chained to it.
She grabbed a tree branch and ripped it free, tossing it as far as her rage could manage. Instantly, another grew in its spot. “I hate this place!” She shook her fists to the sky.
An eternity here would drive her insane. She fell to her knees. Hot, angry tears seared her skin. An eternity here would drive her to her death.
Maybe that was the point. Maybe this was how she would die. Killed by the inescapable splendor of the most beautiful place on earth.
A hawk sailed overhead. If only she was that free. Her tears stopped. She pushed to her feet and got her bearings. The gates were behind her. She ran to the right as fast as she could, finally encountering the wall of trees she sought.
Here, at the edge of the Garden, multiple rows of trunks merged into what seemed to be one giant hedge. She found a low branch and pulled herself up, picking her way through the dense lattice of branches. Higher and higher she climbed, squeezing through narrow slivers of space until she felt satisfied she’d gone high enough. She inched forward on one thick branch. So far, so good. A tiny spring of hope welled up. Could she escape this way?
Her hand coasted along the branch as she got ready to move farther along, when something sharp and searing bit into her fingers. She yanked her hand back. The ends of her fingers were gone, tiny bits of ash stuck to her skin.
A new wave of pain struck as the flesh began to grow back. She crumpled against the branches, hugging her hand to her body as a pit of desperation opened in her chest.
There was no way out.
Not unless she intended to die.
Within half an hour of Mal and Chrysabelle returning to Mephisto Island, Doc and Fi arrived. Chrysabelle sent them into the living room with Mal since Dominic and Mortalis were already in there. Hopefully, they were adult enough to keep the peace between themselves, although Dominic seemed to have softened toward Doc since he’d become pride leader and lifted the ban on pride members patronizing or working at Seven.
As soon as Damian came back from checking on Amylia in the guesthouse, she and Mal could make their announcement official.
A knock at the door called her out of the kitchen, where she was helping Velimai get drinks. Velimai looked up, questioning.
“I’ll get it. I don’t know why Damian didn’t just come in.” She wiped her hands on a towel and went to answer the door. But the security camera showed a different face than the one she’d been expecting.
She opened the door and slipped outside so whatever conversation was about to take place wouldn’t disturb her guests. “What do you want?”
Creek held up his hands. “Nothing bad, I promise. I just wanted to tell you I’m not Kubai Mata anymore.”
“You’re not?” He did seem different. Perhaps a little worn around the edges, like he’d had a few hard days and nights. And yet, there was a lightness about him she couldn’t recall seeing before. “How did that happen?”
He laughed a little, staring at the ground. “My grandmother. And Dominic.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m free of the KM and I thought you should know.”
“I’m happy for you.” She smiled. “Happy that we can be friends again. What are you going to do for work?”
He tipped his head back toward Dominic’s sedan. “My new employer’s already here.” His smile faded. “Look, I didn’t mean to interrupt. You obviously have something going on and I wasn’t invited, so let me get out of your —”
“Creek. Hey, how are you?” Damian grinned as he walked toward them from the guesthouse. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Creek shook his head. “I’m not. Just leaving.”
“Stay,” Chrysabelle said. “There’s no reason for you not to now.”
