Chapter 37

"Wakey, wakey," I said, throwing cold water on Dahlia's face. "You don't want to miss what Mama's got planned."

Dahlia blinked, slow to return to consciousness after our little jaunt to the bunker. Interplanar travel wasn't easy, and the first time was always the worst. Which worked out in my favor, honestly, because it made it that much easier to position my daughter in the place of honor.

"W-what are you..." she murmured, tugging on her restraints. "Let me go. What is this?"

I sighed. "Oh, sweetheart, it's your very own crucifix. You should be excited. Not every girl gets to experience the same fate as Jesus. That's reserved for the very special."

"Weren't common criminals crucified back in the day?" Sin asked.

"Can it. No one's talking to you, Sinclair."

"Cut me down from here. I have to go help them!"

I laughed at her. "You're so cute. They're already dead, I'm sure of it. Your beautiful army of the undead saw to that."

The way her chin wobbled and her eyes filled with tears made me giggle. "You're not my mother. You can't be. She'd never do something this horrible."

"Pfft. Where do you think you got your gifts from, Dahlia? Certainly not that father of yours. He was a clown. A charlatan. Everything of value in your life you inherited from me. A chip off the old block, if you will. I'm going to need you to reevaluate your rather skewed and narrow-minded view of the world, darling one. Power is neither good nor evil, but it is absolute. And I? I'm about to have all the power in the universe at my fingertips."

"I can't believe this one is actually going to win," Malice muttered. "I really thought it would be one of your sisters. Where are they, by the way?"

I gritted my teeth against the rage threatening to make me slip up and do something stupid like snap Dahlia's neck before I was ready. "They weren't invited. They have a way of messing things up."

"Well, you're not wrong," Grim mused. "But I don't think they'll appreciate being left out."

"They'll live," I snapped, my temper momentarily flaring. "Unlike you," I added with a simpering grin.

"You can't kill us. We're immortal," Chaos protested.

"Oh, can't I? Is anything truly immortal these days? Even Hades himself seems to be weaker than ever. Perhaps it's because so few believe in anything other than the power of their social media following. No one worships any longer. Where is the reverence? The fear? The absolute devotion?"

Dahlia scoffed, drawing my attention back to her.

"Something amusing you, daughter?"

"I just find it ironic that my father had a literal cult in your honor, and when he tried to show the ultimate act of devotion, you snuffed him out."

"Not me, sweetie. You did that."

"You told me to."

"Of course I did. But that's because I had plans of my own. I couldn't let his misguided faith result in the death of my progeny. How else was I to put the pieces on the board and make my strategic moves so we'd end up here?"

Dahlia shook her head, denial stamped across her face.

"You're just starting to realize how brilliant I am, aren't you? Every choice you thought you made, you're realizing I was behind it. That there's no such thing as coincidence. Not even back then." I nodded sagely. "I know, I know. My plan was flawlessly executed. Though it was a bit touch and go there at the end. You really made me work for that last piece."

Dahlia's complexion drained of color as she trembled. "What last piece?"

"Why, you stepping into your power. You were so close for so long, but then that final battle, the way you called the dead to your aid and used your scream to wipe the earth of your enemies." I made a chef's kiss gesture and beamed at her. "It was beautiful. You called up your power like it was a missing part of you, which, honestly, it was. I just gave you the nudge you needed to break down that last little wall.

"Your foolish little friend very nearly ruined my plan. It's why she had to die. She almost got you to return the horde to their graves."

Her eyes widened. "You?"

This was the best part. The grand reveal. My sisters told me all about it. For the final time, I donned my disguise. Elizabeth Masterson's form shimmering into being, the shift between my true self—or at least my preferred one—and hers instantaneous.

"And how does that make you feel, Dahlia?" I asked in Masterson's voice.

"You killed Kiki. You... tricked me. I trusted you." A fat tear slipped down Dahlia's cheek, and I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

Ditching the accent, I offered her a simpering smile.

"Yes. Yes. And yes, you did. For someone as untrusting as you, I'm shocked at how quickly you believed every word I said." I sauntered through the room, making sure everything was set. "I'd say I was sorry about your little friend, but that would be a lie. If it makes you feel better, it wasn't personal. But the second she took you under her wing and declared you her family, her fate was set in stone. I was always meant to be your only family. I couldn't have your loyalties divided, sweetheart. I did you a favor, really. Her death was the catalyst. Your last tie to the mortal world and the final thing I could take from you that would push you to accept your full potential. She died. You blossomed. You're welcome, by the way."

"I thought you were my ally."

"No, daughter. You were mine. My pawn, really. All I had to do was kill the doctor and take her shape, and you played right into my hands."

"You should stay like that, by the by. You look better as a brunette," Grim said.

"Careful, I can still castrate you," I said, dropping the persona.

"I'd like to see you try. In fact, why don't you come over here and do just that?"

"You just want to trick me into releasing you. You should know better, Grimsby. I'm not that stupid."

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Dahlia.

"I can't believe it was you. All those sessions, the secrets..." She shook her head. "Why pretend to help me if you just wanted to hurt me?"

"I wasn't pretending. I needed you to accept the truth of who you were. More than that, I needed you to trust me. And no one wants to trust someone more than a girl who was cast off and betrayed by the most important people in her life. You wanted to believe in me so badly, you'd have done anything to earn my approval. Poor girl. It was a double whammy. Mommy and daddy issues."

The clock chimed, and I let a wide grin spread over my face. "It's time."

"Time for what?" Dahlia asked.

"For my apocalypse. Places, everyone. Oh, wait." I giggled. "You're already there. I'll just hop into my spot, and we'll finish this in style." I skipped to the middle of the room, equidistant from all five of them. In fact, the five of them were all strategically placed on the points of a star, and I was dead center. "Just a warning. This is going to hurt."

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before taking a straight pin from my pocket and pricking my finger. "Mmm, I feel just like Sleeping Beauty." I began humming "Once Upon a Dream" as I squeezed my fingertip until a bead of dark blood welled on the surface. Then I turned my hand over and watched as the drop fell and splashed between my feet.

An earsplitting crack of thunder shook the walls, and the lights flickered once, twice, before we were plunged into total darkness. That was, until the glow began in each of the four cells.

"Welcome, Dahlia. You've got a front-row seat to the end of the world. Pity you won't live long enough to enjoy it."