never even spoken about it because our careers had come first. In our line of work, it meant early retirement. So, I’d pushed off even thinking about it.
I loved my children, but what kind of life were they living? I’d hidden them from angry gods and mages who literally murdered me to get to them. Since the first breath they’d taken, they’d been targets. I was their mother, and I wasn’t strong enough to protect them.
Ryder hadn’t sent them away because he couldn’t protect them. No. He’d sent them away because I wasn’t able to protect them if we were attacked. I’d listened to him since, as their mother, my job was to do what’s best for them. Our enemies knew I was weak. I seriously hated it when Ryder was right.
Sifting into the castle, I moved up the empty stairs to my bedroom, which had also been destroyed. I sat on the stone seat that had once been the windowsill. The inside of the castle was like a tomb, much as the dragon palace had been. I stood after some time had passed, staring at the rotting legs that stuck out from under the bed.
Outside the room, I moved toward the tower we’d built here, finding it destroyed much as ours had been. Inside, there was blood everywhere. The blood of Liam’s own children covered the floor. He seemed so brave and untouchable. Scarred by Alazander, the old Horde King, he still stood fierce and proud in the face of the new one.
Liam had protected my children, and I’d let him down. I hadn’t been back to our tower. I was unable to look at the stairs without seeing the blood that had covered them, or Dristan’s severed body outside the children’s playroom. I was weak with grief because I’d failed them, and deep down, I blamed myself.
I turned, surveying the glyphs I’d placed, and then noted the old wards Lucian had placed before I’d overwritten them with my own. Lucian warned us they would weaken, so I’d replaced them. That was probably the cause of everyone dying because I was too weak to outdo a god in his own world.
I sent a whisper of power rushing through the Blood Kingdom, righting the wrongs while burying the dead in nameless graves. I placed flowers over the dirt that covered their bodies, forcing them to sprout from seeds to blanket the mass graves in vibrant colors.
Lifting my hand, I sent magic to the castle, raising it higher, making it stronger until it was once again a proud stronghold that could withstand a siege while offering a safe place for Liam to rule. I owed him that much.
Soon his palace was just that: a vast, sprawling stronghold that spread as far as the eye could see. I placed beautiful, foreboding fountains of blood out front as a reminder of who owned it. Skulls lined the tops of the walls, a warning to anyone that thought the Blood Kingdom was weak. Large red flags the color of arterial blood lined the battlements, while smaller flags covered the outside grounds.
I stepped back, tilting my head to take in my handiwork before I vanished. I visited the Dark Kingdom next, staring at the carnage that littered the courtyard and the once-proud walls of the palace. I pushed past it, reminding myself that this place had been my first excursion into Faery, other than being hunted by Ryder.
Lifting my arm, I looked at my wrist before dropping it to stare up at the twin suns. If Ryder was the holier than thou god of the land, the asshole needed to pick a sun so I could tell when my time was running out. I flicked my wrist, righting the damage to the courtyard before frowning at the castle.
It was huge and screamed Castle of Doom to the rafters. I smiled. It had terrified me to come here. I’d put on a brave face while my heart shattered into a million pieces at the idea of leaving Ryder. I’d fallen in love with the enemy, and fuck if I hadn’t fallen fast and hard for him.