Chosen - Kiersten White Page 0,96
long they had ceased to have meaning. Watching him discover the world, feel things as a human, was really wonderful. He never tried to break the binding, never asked to be free. I loved him, and I really do think he loved me, too. When I fell pregnant, he—well, when I say he glowed with happiness, I mean it literally. He was thrilled. He had been alone for so long too. We had that in common. And we both wanted you, Cillian.”
Cillian is silent. I can’t imagine what must be going through his head. Aside from the decidedly complicated question of whether a hellgod bound by magic can give consent, the sheer fact that his parentage is half not of this world would be enough to set anyone over the edge. I reach out and take his hand in mine, squeezing.
“So what went wrong?” Jade asks.
“Everything was normal. Happy. I had the magic shop. He volunteered with the local police force, helped out in the shop, took over the bulk of the parenting and housekeeping. But then a few years ago, I came home early with a headache and caught him in the shed with Cillian. They had that triangle receptacle. I didn’t know where he got it, or how, but I recognized the symbol from the town where he’d crossed over. A circular courtyard in the center where he’d appeared had an old stone pillar with the symbol carved on it. I had thought it was a Celtic relic, but it wasn’t. It was him. His symbol. He was teaching Cillian how to manipulate it, and then—then it started glowing. It terrified me.”
“Why?” Cillian asks. “You knew what he was.”
“I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know if he was using it to siphon energy from you like one of his sacrifices. Or if … or if he was trying to make you into whatever he had been.” She grips her mug, her posture rigid. “Either option scared me more than I’d known was possible. I had gotten complacent, so used to him and in love with our life together that I let myself forget who and what he was. And for the first time I wondered if maybe he had let me bind him. Maybe I had been the one without power all along. I was so distracted, that night I forgot to redo the binding.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I forgot on purpose. I was in over my head, and I was scared for my child. On that very first day with him, over tea, he told me he’d kill me when he got free. He said it with a smile, casual and cheerful.” She shivers. “But when I woke up in the morning, he was gone. He just left. I think—I really do think he loved us. In his own way.”
“Why did you lie to me?” Cillian’s voice breaks. “Why did you let me think he was dead?”
“He’s not the same as us. He’s an ancient creature, infinite. And when he was no longer tied to us, he had no choice. He had to go back to what he was. But he loved us. We’re still here. If he didn’t love us, if his time with us hadn’t changed him, he would have killed me. So I let you think he was dead. It felt kinder than knowing he couldn’t stay. That he went back to his own dimension.”
Rhys frowns. “He went back? Just like that?”
“I never saw him again. I don’t know what else he would have done. He hated how noisy it was here. Going by his old calendar, he was due to return this spring equinox, but he can’t, obviously.”
Cillian stands, pacing. “This is so messed up. This is all so messed up. I—I don’t have time for this. We don’t have time. What’s the triangle thing?” He shakes the necklace, our only link to Leo’s captors. “Why do they have it on necklaces?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say they worship him.” She makes a distasteful expression, as though something is sour or rotten. “It’s tacky, really. Maybe they’re trying to reach him.”
“Like Eve,” I say, “trying to make a new hellmouth.”
Jade leans back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. “Could be what they need Leo for.”
Rhys nods, his expression intent as he ponders these new developments. “They heard what Leo’s mum did and want him to do the same thing.”
“Would that be so bad?” I’m genuinely