Chapter 9

Nine

Calista

“You stupid bitch,” Draxos growls, glancing over his shoulder at Chloe. His eyes are burning, and he’s pissed.

“I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist bringing you here to show you off,” Chloe explains, and it takes all my power not to punch her in the face. I have to get Draxos and Adrian out of here. My heart twists remembering the painful roar that left Adrian when he was hit with her power. Now he’s not even awake. “You can’t stop what’s about to happen. My coven is already in place.”

“For what?” I ask, not even sure I want to know the answer.

Chloe rolls her eyes, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize she was just watching me. “The overtaking. You want to save the Underworld. We want to destroy it.”

“Why?” I demand. “Let me take them home.”

“You don’t get it, do you? If you take them home, it can’t be destroyed. With their Queen there, it will be too powerful.” Chloe steps toward me, and it takes everything in me not to back up. “I should have been Queen. I was marked for it.”

Draxos lets out a harsh laugh. “Calista was born to be Queen. Who filled your head with bullshit?”

Chloe turns an unhealthy shade of red. “I lived a life of hell down there to rule by your side. You don’t feel this between us?” Is she insane?

“All I feel for you is disgust and rage for hurting my mate and trying to hurt the other.” Draxos stands to his full height, towering over Chloe. Fear passes over her face, but it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared. “What do you think you’re going to do? Even with your little spell, you’re weak.” Draxos taps my wrist, and I know exactly what he’s preparing me for. He scoops Adrian up like he weighs nothing and takes a step back toward the door. “Now!”

I call on my powers and see surprise all over Chloe’s face when I start glowing. She knew I was a witch but obviously didn’t know I was being trained. I fling my hands forward, hitting her right in the chest, and take off running with Draxos right on my heels. As soon as the cool night air hits us, I’m swooped up in a swirl of black and land where I need to cast the spell. Only we aren’t alone.

Several women, who I assume are witches, are standing around. I try not to make a sound when the woman kneeling between them lifts her head. “Mom?” I whisper. Her nose is bleeding and she looks so pale.

“Hello, darling,” she croaks. Her wrists are bound tightly behind her back, so I know she’s not a willing participant. “I’m sorry.”

“Chloe failed,” one of the women says, her voice eerie. “We must finish this.”

I turn to Draxos, but his eyes are vacant. My gaze lands on a witch who’s staring at him, and I know she’s doing something. “Draxos,” I say, trying to keep my voice even. “Draxos.”

“He won’t answer you, dear,” the older lady responds. “You should have picked the other side.”

“I didn’t even know there was another side!”

“Your mother failed you,” another woman says. “The coven would have protected you, but she chose the demons.” I don’t miss how her lip curls when she says demons, and now understand that my mother gave up her life to protect my mates. She’s known this whole time and made sure she saved them for me. Tears fill my eyes as I look at her, and she smiles.

“I would do anything for you, darling. Transfer it.” I look at her in confusion. “Transfer it.” She jerks her head at Draxos, and I hope that I’m right about what she’s hinting at.

I call on my powers, making electricity run across my arms, and wrap my arms around Draxos. He roars so loud that the trees shake, but I keep pushing it through him. “We have to go,” I beg, when his eyes finally clear. “Draxos! We have to go!”

Black starts swirling around us, but this time it seems angry. It strikes out toward the witches, blowing them off balance. My hair swirls around my face, and I watch mesmerized as Draxos seems to change in front of me. His body gets bigger, his horns get taller, his fangs start growing, and I gasp when a tail whips out from behind him. Adrian jerks awake, and Draxos sets him gently on his feet. When Adrian’s eyes land on Draxos, they widen, and he grabs my hand.

“You’ve come to hurt my mates,” Draxos says, but his voice is deeper than I’ve ever heard it. Flames are dancing in his eyes, and I’ve never seen someone so powerful. The witches are scrambling backward, trying to escape his shadows. “Unhand the witch.”

“Never,” the older one says, trying to stand her ground even though she’s shaking with terror.

Draxos roars, and even though it makes me jump out of my skin, it’s not because I’m afraid of him. His body is protectively blocking us, and every time his tail whips back and forth, he makes sure it’s nowhere near us. I’ve never seen something so terrifying yet so beautiful before. “What’s going on?” I whisper to Adrian.

“He’s transforming.” When I stare at him blankly, he squeezes my hand. “He’s the Underworld’s rising King. He just took his place.”

“Oh,” I breathe, looking at him with new eyes. There is something seriously wrong with me . Just hearing King and Draxos in the same sentence does something to me.

“You have two seconds to give me my mate’s mother before I rip your fucking head off,” Draxos threatens, his voice becoming even more distorted.

Even my mom’s eyes are wide, staring at Draxos, but she doesn’t look scared, she looks surprised. The woman holding Mom shoves her forward, and they take off running through the woods. In a whoosh, Draxos disappears and appears in front of them, grinning. I rush to Mom, but keep my eyes on him even though it’s useless. He’s moving so fast that I can’t figure out what’s happening. When the dust settles, Draxos walks toward us, dragging the older witch by the hair on her head.

“Mom,” I say softly, grabbing her hands. “What happened?”

“I’m not sure. I was reading one second, and the next, I woke up to them chanting over me. The chains fell from my wrists, and they brought me here.”

“Let me go, you disgusting monster!” the old witch yells, and Draxos shoves her to the ground in front of us.

“Shut up,” Draxos barks, looking like he did before the transformation. The only thing that stays is his agitated tail. “Can we still do the spell?”

Mom nods, trying to stand up. When she sways, Adrian reaches out to help her up. She pats his arm. “You’re a good one.”

“Can we trust you?” Draxos demands.

“We can,” I answer, feeling it deep in my heart. “Did you know about Chloe, Mom?”

“Not until they grabbed me. Where is she?”

“Back at the house,” Adrian answers.

“We don’t have a lot of time then.” Mom shoves the hair out of her face and pushes her shoulders back. “I can lend you my power so the spell will go quicker. You need to go quickly.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assures me.

Mom and I step to the middle of the circle while Draxos and Adrian stand on the edge. Mom explained that I can draw power from our bond to strengthen the spell. I close my eyes, join hands with Mom and start the chant that will hopefully open the veil to the Underworld. Draxos and Adrian are also in place just in case something we don’t want tries to escape. Wind starts wiping around us the more that we chant, and I hear the souls of our ancestors whispering. I can’t make out what they’re saying, so I’m hoping they approve of what we’re doing. Our chant rises in volume, and I feel the earth shake. My eyes snap open, and Mom nods, letting me know that it’s working. Green flecks of light dance on her arms and the white light from my power flows through my fingers.

“Shit,” I vaguely hear Draxos mutter under his breath, but I can’t pull my attention away from breaking the curse. We’re so close. I can feel it. “Keep going!” Draxos calls out when something catches my eye from outside the circle.

Chloe steps into view with an evil smile on her face. The witches who took Mom step up with her, join hands, and start their own chant. Blinding pain slides across my brain, but I grit my teeth to fight against it. I feel my power diminishing fast, and Mom squeezes my hands hard, letting me know it’s affecting her too.

“Have fun in Hell,” Chloe yells over the noise, and the Earth opens up beneath our feet. I don’t have any time to scream before we start freefalling. We fall for what feels like forever before I hit something hard. I stay as still as possible, checking for injuries until that familiar warmth seeps into my bones.

“I’ve got you, my Queen.” Draxos sets me on my feet, and I frantically search for Mom and Adrian, only to find them in one piece.

“Where are we?” I ask, looking around in awe. It’s dark, smokey, and I can see fire in the distance.

“This used to be our home,” Adrian says sadly. “But it’s been destroyed.”

“We didn’t get here in time?” I grab both of their hands, trying to lend them my strength because they look devastated. “We’ll rebuild.” A new determination comes over me, and I drag them forward. It looks like the human world with houses and buildings. But the sky here is a bright red, even without all the fires burning. At one time, you could tell it was beautiful, but there’s nothing left. “Come on.”

“We don’t know what we’re walking into,” Draxos says, trying to pull me back.

I stop and turn around to look at my mates. “Then we’ll figure it out. Together.”

Draxos’ face softens; he runs a finger across my cheek. “Together, my Queen.”

Adrian kisses my knuckles. “Together, baby.”

It was time these people realized who they were messing with.

And that’s the Queen of the Underworld.