Two women in particular caught my attention. They seemed around my own age, and both had massive horns that were made of a diamond-like material that matched their translucent hair. Their tanned skin contrasted their white silk dresses and the multiple diamond piercings along their skin. Honestly, they were super cool-looking, and I found myself a bit jealous of their overall aesthetic.
Looking down at myself, I smirked slightly, suddenly very happy about the physical change the breaking of the glamour brought.
The garden began to clear as Alexander spoke loudly. “Alright! First thing first, you are now able to phantomize.” Why did that term sound so familiar?
“Like this, ma chérie.” Dorian snapped his fingers as he seemed to flicker out of existence. My eyes widened as he formed into a smoky figure, his smile making my center tighten despite him being a damn ghost.
“Exactly,” Jeremy nodded. “You must be fairly powerful to be able to do that as an incubus.”
Dorian’s ears flushed just slightly, making me smile. I could feel the awkwardness between my boys and my fathers slowly disappearing. I think it helped that my guys were so protective of me. Dorian and Abel seemed to be having the easiest time, as Alaric seemed a bit grumpy still, and Declan was quieter than normal, observing everything with fascination.
“So how do I do that?” I asked curiously.
“Try pulling on your new powers,” Duke encouraged. My eyes moved over to my mother, who sat watching with avid interest. I nearly felt nervous under her attention because she rarely gave me the time of day. Can we say ‘mommy issues’?
Closing my eyes, I inhaled and let myself sink further into my body. Resting on the surface was my familiar necromancer magic, cool and minty, with a strong pull on the life around me. I could feel something more dangerous underneath, filling the once void space, so I tried to dive past the minty stream of death magic.
Holy Maker.
The energy at the center of me was hot, like a searing flame. My instincts rose up, and the feeling I’d gotten from entering this realm, anxiety and excitement in heaps, came to the forefront. This energy felt darker than my normal one, but more impassioned, full of strength and energy. I tightened my grip on the licks of flames under my skin, willing myself to fade out of existence...
“Oh shit,” Alaric muttered.
My eyes snapped open as I looked around, feeling my smile widen as I realized that I was see-through! I let out a small amused laugh as I turned and floated right through Declan, making him groan, a thick heat hidden under his tone. Did that turn him on? Interesting.
“Oh my Maker, this is amazing!” I spun as Dorian shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have shown her this,” Alaric stated, looking amused.
“Why?” Duke demanded.
“You have no idea how much fun she will have with it,” Abel replied with a grin.
“It’s true.” I flashed a wicked smile because I was going to fuck with them so much now, they had no idea how much trouble they were in. Turning once more in the air and landing on the ground, I released the feeling and felt my limbs harden. I sighed as my feet touched down.
“That was epic,” I mumbled and then looked at my fathers. “What else?”
Alexander tilted his head. “You will be able to portal in and out of the Demonic realm without spells, bring anyone with you for a period of time in a protected ward, and send anyone here from other realms.”
“I have been able to before,” I pointed out. I had always been able to send the annoying fuckers down here, but maybe he meant something else.
“Yes, but that’s a bit different,” Alexander eased. “Now when you send them down here, you have the ability to keep them here because you aren’t just banishing them from Earth realm for a period of time.”
“So I can lock them up in Hell?” I arched a brow, looking amused.
“Exactly,” Jeremy confirmed, his arms wrapping around my mother.
“Sweet,” I nodded. “Anything else?”
Before any of them could respond, the sky cracked with orange lightning, making them frown in confusion and a bit of surprise.
Alexander spoke quietly. “The lessons will have to wait for now, daughter. I think you are needed in the Earth realm.”
“I have no idea who could be drawing on that much power to affect this realm,” Jeremy pointed out. I smiled at that because I very much did.
With an easy flick of his wrist, my father created a large, glowing red portal near us. I watched as Jeremy walked towards me, handing me a thin, dark sword, muttering, “Just in case.” Where the hell had he gotten that from? You know what? I’m so not going to complain about a badass sword.
“Let’s go handle these assholes,” Alexander sighed, looking frustrated.
My mom flashed me a smile before disappearing completely and leaving me with my men and my three fathers. You know, today may have been overwhelming, but I was starting to think that this could work... I wasn’t, like, ready to have Christmas together, but it was better than nothing. Right? My mom and I would still need to talk for sure.
“You ready, lass?” Declan asked quietly, his eyes heated and focused on me.
I tossed him a smile. “Ready? Of course I’m ready. After all, one of my dads is essentially the devil and my mom is a Queen of Hell.”
Declan shook his head, his green eyes filling with amusement. “I love you, lass.”
“I love you guys more.”
As I stepped towards the portal I realized - we were finally going to end all of this.
8
Dorian
Official portals always made me feel disoriented as fuck, especially considering it wasn’t of my own making. Inhaling sharply, I stepped through the red portal of light, my hand pressed to Narcissa’s in a tight hold as everything went from a vibrant crimson to dark at once. I let out a small groan as the world began to spin, and it wasn’t until I felt fresh air rush over my face that an exhale of relief left me.
My hand tightened around Narcissa’s as she looked up at me, and I was relieved to see that she appeared healthy and unbothered by the portal. Unlike myself and the twins. I pulled her to the side slightly as Declan stepped through, looking completely okay as well.
That was right around when everything seemed to pop back into focus. I winced as my hearing cracked to life, the humid air tightening around us as the music of cicadas filled the space we found ourselves in.
Why the hell were we... in the swamp? Ahead of us, cypress trees and tall grasses, the shifting of wind allowing the scent of wild animals nearby to play across my nose. Was this really where they had decided to portal all of us? That’s weird as fuck.
I heard the soft drop of Narcissa’s new sword on the ground—well, the tip of it at least—and I easily took it from her, knowing she was far too distracted to be carrying a sword around. Plus, what the fuck was the woman going to do with a sword? She was much more powerful than some elementary-made weapon.
King Alexander stepped through as we watched his face turn from lighthearted to confused. It was amusing, in some ways, because his expressions were a ghost of Narcissa’s.
I honestly hadn’t been terribly surprised upon realizing Narcissa’s heritage. I mean, sure, it was fucking crazy, but her powers were so intense, even more so than her grandmother’s, that it was obvious something had been different. It clearly hadn’t been a matter of experience, either, because her grandma had years on her. It was a natural, raw, instinctual power that was honestly awe-inspiring.