Chapter 11

My house in Silloth is still the same. The small townhouse is nestled between others, with the same door, the same windows, the same roof with many missing tiles. It always fills me with this complete sense of being home when I stand out on the cobbled streets, staring in. It is my home because she is my home. I know my mum and dad were there until I was six, and they were brilliant parents. But my grandmother, she brought me up for the rest of my life, and I love her completely and utterly. It was always her.

I don’t know how to ask her for this because it will change everything. She deserves a quiet life in a sleepy town, just like she chose. I know, deep down in my soul, that she’ll say yes when I ask. Without question, without blinking. She’ll do anything for me. Even if it means losing her forever. My hand shakes as I turn the handle and step inside, hiding the staff in shadows by the door. The warmth of the house blows over me, along with the smell of freshly baked cookies.

My grandmother’s in the kitchen, her back to me as her multicoloured dress swings with her dancing. Her grey hair is a mess of curls, clipped with bright plastic flowers that I see on school kids. She sings to a song on the radio, slightly dancing and in her element. When she turns back, her eyes widen when she sees me, and her smile makes me feel warm. She drops the washing in her hands. Liquid bubbles hover all over her fingers as she runs my way, wrapping her arms tightly around me. “My dear girl.” She leans back. “Have you seen your mother? Did she send you back here to tell me everything is okay?”

I blink. “My mother… What?” I look around like I half expect her to be sitting in the corner of the lounge. I was rushed getting here, and I didn’t even think about my mother, how she could be awake already. “Is she here?”

“No…she’s in Ayiolyn, looking for you.” She gently touches my shoulders. “Oh, my girl, you look so much stronger than the last time I saw you. Like a true queen.”

She cups my cheek like she always does. “I’m better now. I’m with them and, wait…she’s awake and in Ayiolyn?”

“Yes.” She takes one of my hands and leads me to the sofa. “You’ve not seen her, have you? Come sit with me. I’ve got to tell you something that your mother was going to do. Time is a funny thing, and I don’t want to run out. Now tell me everything that has happened.”

I quickly run over everything that’s happened, and why I went to this other world. My grandmother takes it all in her stride and pats her legs. “Cronus. I have not seen the old buggar in centuries. He always was a nosy old bastard. Cronus sent you back to Earth. Why?”

I gulp, the words stuck on my tongue. Parting with them is torture. “He wants me to bring you to his world in trade for my mates, and he promised to tell me what’s happened with Emrys. I don’t even want to ask it of you…”

She softly smiles. This immortal goddess of marriage and childbirth smiles at little old me like I couldn’t ask a thing wrong. It hurts how much I love her. “Ask me.”

Tears form in my eyes. “Will you go to this world with me and stay there?”

She wipes away my tears that fall, matching her own. “For you? Anything. I would die for you, Ellelin. Living in another world, well, that’s a straightforward task for me. The old bastard has no idea what is coming when he asked for me. I’ll make him suffer for it.”

“Grandmother”—my voice breaks—“you must understand. When I leave Lapetus, I’ll be leaving the staff in that world. We won’t see each other again.”

“Oh, sweet girl.” She takes my hands. “No matter what world I’m in, I am your grandmother, and there’s an eternal bond that lives between us. Do you understand? We are a family. Your life is just beginning. I would make no better trade in this entire world than for you to live a full and long life with your mates. You have suffered so much, fought so hard, and the end is in sight. I am proud of you.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders, hugging her tight, like I can hold on forever. She lets me cry for a bit before she leans back. “As for your mate, Emrys, I know what’s wrong with him. He killed Ares, correct?”

I wipe my tears away until my face is somewhat dry. “How do you know that? I didn’t tell you it was him.”

“Because Ares has dark magic wrapped around his soul. Spells that he wove for centuries to make himself truly immortal. Your mother and father found out, and that’s why they didn’t kill him. They know whoever kills him becomes him.” The colour drains from my face. “It takes time, but Ares will take over their soul. Destroy them from the inside until there’s nothing left but a shadow of a body for him to possess. That’s why he never dies.”

“What?” I whisper, too shocked to say another word. I stand up, needing to move, and I start pacing in front of the fireplace. “It all makes sense. There must be a way to stop Ares. I can’t lose Emrys… Gods. The red, the magic, all of it. It was Ares. How do I stop it?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I do not know how to stop Ares, but your mother, she’s gone back to your world. If anyone knows, it’ll be her.” She rises up. “You will go to your mother when the trade is done. She’s missed you and you will need each other.”

“I’ve missed her too,” I admit. I’m not sure I’m ready to see her. What if she doesn’t like who I became? I’ve made such a mess of the Spirit Court, and I’m no closer to fixing any of it.

My grandmother walks around the sofa, looking back at me. “You’re one of the greatest gifts I ever had, you know that? You are this beautiful, amazing woman, and I’ve been blessed to play a small part in your life. I got to see my daughter again, who I thought I lost, because of you. These are all gifts, such beautiful, special gifts.” Thick emotion clogs my throat, and I can’t reply. “I’m going to pack a bag, and then we’re going.”

“What about Jinks?” I glance around for the evil cat.

A cheeky look flashes in my grandmother’s eyes. “Jinks finally found a use in his deviously endless life when he met his mate. He traded his immortality to be released from his prison here and Phobos’s hold over him to go after her. You’ll find him in the Spirit Court, free as a bunny and exactly where he wants to be.”

I’m surprised Phobos agreed to that. Wait, Jinks has a mate? I know he can shift into a human form, but I wonder who his mate is? Who would he give immortality for? “What about the house?”

She is already walking up the stairs. “It’s yours. It belongs to you now.”

I wait for my grandmother to pack a bag before helping her turn all the lights off and locking the house up. We go back out onto the street as the sun sets in the sky, and I can smell the sea like a long-lost friend. I bring the staff with me, letting the shadows transfer it straight into my hand. My grandmother pulls a face. “That staff is pure evil.”

We both can agree on that. Not wanting to hold it longer than necessary, I shoot it forward, letting the power pour out of me into a portal straight back to Cronus, to that room he lives in. I think he let the magic portal open this time. We walk through together and it snaps shut behind me the second I let the staff go, my shadows catching it and hovering it nearby.

His eyes light up when he sees Hera, and they both stare at each other. “It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen each other, but I never forgot you, Hera. I’m glad you’ve agreed to the deal.”

My grandmother drops her bag with a thump. “You won’t be, not after I’ve lived here a while. I forgot about you completely.” He grins at her, and I swear his skin seems to come to life. “Now give my granddaughter her mates back and everything you promised. Do not interfere in her life or her rule ever again, Cronus. I’ll make you pay for it if you do.”

He inclines his head. “As long as you’re here, I am never a harm to them.” They look at each other, the air charged enough that it feels awkward for me to even be in the same room. Cronus lifts his hand and clicks his fingers. The door right behind me snaps open, and I see my mates in the distance in the same room we came in. It’s almost like they’re frozen in time, reaching for me.

My grandmother looks at them. “They best care for you.”

“They love me, and I love them,” I promise her. “They are everything.”

Her shoulders drop in sadness, and she looks right at me. “I will always love you. We will see each other again, if not in our bodies, then when we are dust floating among the stars.”

I wipe my tears away and turn to Cronus, waiting. My grandmother speaks first. “She knows about her mate.”

He leans his head in his hand. “Are you aware of how to stop it? There’s only two ways to break the bond to his soul and Ares. Death?—”

“Is not an option,” I quickly interrupt.

He rolls his eyes. “Dramatic girl, I’m aware. I have another option, but I’m aware that you’ll be told it soon. As for how to break your magic on your people, the answer lies in the depths of your castle, in the magic of the pure darkness.”

No. “You said it killed the rest of my family?”

“Because it’s too strong for one soul to hold. Even two…” He drifts off. “A puzzle for you to figure out, I’m sure, but either way, there will be a great sacrifice needed.”

My grandmother leans into my shoulder, kissing my cheek. “Go, run to them, and be the ruling queen of Ayiolyn.”

I can’t look back before I take off, knowing it will hurt more to see her one last time. We have said everything we can, and it will never not hurt to say goodbye to my grandmother, so I run through the tunnel. I smile as I get close to my mates. The stone wall slams shut behind me, locking my grandmother away with him. I have to trust she knows what she’s doing. As I run to my mates, the room slowly unfreezes before me. They all look a bit dazed when I get to them, and Lysander just looks pissed. Grayson wraps his arms around me. “What happened?”

I glance at my mates, my mind firm with our next plans. “Nothing. Everything. We need to go back to Ayiolyn, and I have to tell you about Emrys.”