With Rasputin’s power no longer bespelling the chains, Jelissa broke free like a wild animal on the verge of escape. They all surrounded her, but something about them made her hesitate from trying to rip them apart. When she noticed two of her mates lying around like broken and discarded toys, she knocked the flesh and blood wall out of her way to get to them. She gathered them both into her arms and sat down on the floor of the roof with them, trying to figure out a way to fix them.
Kierra returned then with Raziel in her arms. She placed him at Jelissa’s feet. But it was Lucian who spoke. “Son, you must feed. It’s the only way to save you both.”
With the small amount of strength he had within him, Raziel got to his knees. Placing his hands on either side of Jelissa’s face, he shot a small spark of his power through their bond. At first her only response was to cock her head to the side; then she allowed him to place his lips on hers. As he began to kiss her, tentatively at first, he also began to feed, and in doing so her demonic hunger began to dissipate. As Raziel continued to feed, not only did he gain the strength he needed to survive, but Jelissa began to come back online, returning the kiss.
Jayden cracked his eyes a bit to see the two of them looking like they were trying to eat each other, then non-too politely said, “Get a damn room.”
Breaking the kiss, Jelissa looked down, “Who the fuck are you?”
“The mate you haven’t fully bonded with yet. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a rain check on that until later. I’m also the one who was forced to kidnap you.”
“What the fuck?” Jelissa screamed her outrage at him.
“Ah yeah, baby, keep that rage coming, and I’ll be ready to cash in on that rain check in no time at all.”
Hearing several someones groan, Jelissa looked up and found multiple beings surrounding them. “And who the fuck are all of you?”
No sooner had she said that than Deelah and Genie flashed atop of the roof with everyone else. Deelah spoke first. “Are you still some kind of psychotic bitch ripping people to shreds, or are you you again?”
Queen Tialanna dismissed all the vampires, including Darvyn, Chandler, Ferenc, and a very sore Adorjan to feed before the sunrise, and before crossing back through the portal. As a thank-you for everything they had done, the remainder of the night would be no holds-barred; they could feed as they wished from whomever, as long as they didn’t draw too much undue attention their way. Jayden had been offered the same, but he was eager to cross over before someone this side of the lines had a chance to summon him. He assured her he had a knack for enraging people, both human and other, so he would have plenty of opportunities to feed. The wolves remained to sniff out if any of Seraphina’s minions were still hanging about and do away with them, as well as sniff out any humans that may have seen anything, so the witches, with Elyssia overseeing them, could bespell them into thinking they had seen something else entirely. They would also gather all the dead outside the building and put them inside, as Tialanna would torch the place when all was said and done.
Anya and Tia could hold off until they got back home. The latter and Kierra went ahead with the vampires anyway to ensure they stayed out of trouble; they didn’t want anyone to get stuck in a situation where they were caught here while the sun came up. Their father reassured them he was finishing his dealings in Detroit and would be home no later than the following evening. The Matrix twins had left as soon as they possibly could, once given the all-clear. Lucian and Raziel also left quickly before anyone from their home realm could sense their presence.
Which left Tia and Grimm on the roof to explain things to Jelissa, along with Deelah and Genie.
Tia didn’t know what reaction she expected from Jelissa; maybe expected wasn’t the right term, more like wanted. She had dreamed of this moment for so many years, the opportunity to hold her daughter in her arms again, talk with her, laugh with her, hear the sound of her voice as she called her Mom. She didn’t get any of that. She counted her lucky stars the girl didn’t try to kick her in the teeth. And Grimm? He wasn’t worth shit for moral support. Worse was she believed she deserved every word lashed out at her, having kept the truth from them both for all this time.
That didn’t stop it from hurting more than any physical blow possible. She could barely even breathe through it all, and there was no use in trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Even though she was crying, Tia still stood tall with her head held high. Yea, she had fucked up, but what she’d done was out of love, not malice. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? You think that just erases it all? You abandoned me!” Jelissa could barely hold in her outrage. “You, my Queen, can take your apology and shove it. You’re telling me not only do I have living and breathing parents, but four fathers. And the one whose actual seed sired me is possibly trapped in the underworld now?”
“I did it to protect you.”
“Protect me? In case you didn’t notice the witch got to me anyway. Excuse me, my great-grandmother, the woman who killed her own daughter. A daughter that was your mother, who did the exact thing to you and your twin sister, to protect y’all, and look how well that turned out.” Jelissa looked up to the sky as though searching for some answer she
