I licked my suddenly dry lips and took a deep breath. And looked into the face of the Great Mother.
My vision at Vinca’s pool hadn’t done her justice. The air escaped my lungs in a hiss. Turns out my black hole analogy hadn’t been so far off, after all. It was as if the mortal’s god had molded her out of night itself. Two massive black-feathered wings unfurled behind her, kicking up a breeze every time they twitched. Her hair reached the floor and in its black mass, shifting shapes appeared like holograms. Her eyes were obsidian marbles. Her skin was ebony, dark and perfect and cold. Black iron fangs flashed when she smiled. The only color on her face at all were two luscious red lips that explained a lot about the origins of lust.
“Why have you come?”
I froze. Was this another test? The final test? I cleared the butterflies from my throat. “I have come to prove that I am the Chosen.”
The mother of the dark races threw back her head and laughed. The sound reverberated through the air, making the ground shake. Nearby, Horus made a choking sound, his hand flying to his throat. Black veins exploded on the surface of his skin and smoke escaped his ears. His body twitched and convulsed. The more Lilith laughed, the worse his suffering became until he was convulsing on the ground with bloody froth escaping his blackened lips.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Lilith’s eyes cut to mine and the laughter cut off abruptly. While she held my gaze, she snapped her fingers and smiled at me.
Horus’s body burst into flames. The conflagration was intense but brief. In no time, Lilith’s spell consumed him completely, leaving not even a scorch mark on the marble.
The silence that followed pulsed in my ears in time to my staccato heartbeat. I wanted to demand an explanation. To rail against Lilith for her cruelty. But she’d just killed Horus on a whim to prove she could. The message was clear. She’d kill us all without remorse if it pleased her.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the stoic expressions of my team as they each struggled to keep their own reactions under control. Behind Lilith, Valva stood beside Clovis. The vampire-demon looked like he was enjoying the show. But Valva’s eyes moved restlessly between the void where Horus used to be and her mother. Despite her obvious upset, it seemed even the flighty demon knew better than to challenge her mother.
“Prove that you are the Chosen?” Lilith said. Said it like she hadn’t just tortured and killed one of my team. Said it like we were discussing the weather and not the fate of all of her children. “Silly girl.”
My mouth worked as I tried to form words, but Lilith wasn’t done.
“You are not the Chosen.” She snapped her fingers.
A door opened in the bone wall surrounding the throne room. A female with curly red hair and alabaster skin emerged. Beside me, my father gasped and took a step forward. “Phoebe?”
My mother’s head jerked up and her eyes widened at seeing Tristan. At my other side, Nyx stiffened and all the blood drained from her face.
My stomach dropped in sympathy for all three of them. For Nyx, Tristan’s reaction was the ultimate proof that he’d never gotten over Phoebe. And for my parents, it was the first time they had seen each other since before Maisie and I were born. What should have been a joyful reunion was instead a reminder of sadness and betrayal.
Tristan caught himself before he rushed toward her. As if he suddenly remembered that their love had been a cruel trick played by a psychotic mastermind. His posture stiffened and he crossed his arms. Phoebe noticed the change and a dark shadow crossed over her face. She glanced uneasily at Lilith, who raised a brow. “Bring her.”
Phoebe nodded jerkily and reached back through the door. She led another female into the throne room. A female with red and black hair and my blue eyes.
All my concern over the tension between my mother and father evaporated the instant I recognized the surprise Lilith had invited to the party.
“Oh gods,” I whispered brokenly. I fell to my knees. “Maisie?”
Chapter 38
My gaze wouldn’t leave my twin. She looked… healthy. So different from the tortured waif who’d been under Cain’s thrall. Her red and black hair glowed with health and her curves filled out her black chiton.
“Sabina!” Maisie cried brokenly. She tried to break away from our mother’s hold, but Phoebe held her still.
“Maisie?” Adam whispered.
“Silence!” Lilith thundered. She waved a hand and a wall of shimmering magic surrounded Maisie and my mother. Their heads jerked around and their mouths moved, but no sound escaped their prison.
Frustration rose in me like a hot wind. What game was Lilith playing? Plus, as I watched Maisie’s and Phoebe’s agitated movements in the circle, something niggled at the back of my mind. Something about Maisie’s movements was off. I scanned down her body and gasped when I realized her feet didn’t touch the floor. “She’s still dead.”
A feline smile stretched across Lilith’s full lips. “Well, of course she is.”
“Maisie?” I called.
“Don’t bother,” Lilith said. “The circle is just a precaution. You sister knows she is forbidden from interfering with your test.”
I took a deep breath and tried to keep my head above the wave of sadness that crashed over me the instant Maisie appeared. “I don’t understand. Why is she here, then?”
“It’s simple really. Maisie had the potential to be the Chosen.” Lilith’s smile was tight, accusing. “But because of your failure to protect her, she died before she could fulfill her destiny.”
Her words couldn’t have hurt me more if she’d ripped my heart from my chest cavity with her fist. But Lilith had more damage to inflict.
“Without the Chosen, Cain cannot be killed. Unless…”
She let the word hang there, like a dangling spark of hope in a world gone black.
“Unless what?” My voice broke, but I didn’t care. The mother of the dark races had just confirmed that my own failings had doomed us all. I’d do anything to atone for my sins.
“Unless you make one more sacrifice.”
My stomach sank. She looked way too eager for this to be anything comfortable. “I’ve already sacrificed my magic and my immortality.” I raised my arms out to the sides to show just how vulnerable I really was. “What else is there to give?”
Lilith smiled like a cobra. “You’re still breathing.”
My soul shrank into a cold little ball at the base of my spine. “What?”