42. Aurelia

Chapter 42

Aurelia

" I 've h-heard of the Dabu hyenas," Raquel says, after I've discussed the game plan with my animas the next morning during our library session.

"Some pretty powerful witches," Connor agrees, stroking Eugene. "You guys need to be careful."

"Savage doesn't seem worried," I say. "And we don't have another option."

"Marduk's not worried either," Minnie says. "I really wish I could come this time."

I wish she could too, but a smaller group is imperative for this. We don't know exactly what we'll be facing under my father's mansion, and for all I know, it'll be the most dangerous thing I've ever faced.

This is also the first time I'll be going back to my childhood home since I got kicked out at thirteen. The fact that my father had put a trap for me around the perimeter hurts more than I'd like to admit.

"Get her back, Lia," Sabrina whispers ferociously, clutching a paperback novel tightly in her fists. "You get your mum back."

The backs of my eyes burn as I nod. "Whatever it takes, I'll get her out of there."

Minnie and Stacey wipe their eyes before Connor clears his throat and tosses his hair back to try and distract us all from the emotions. "Meanwhile," he says, patting Stacey on the shoulder, "we're constructing a plan for Stacey to seduce zookeeper Rick and rescue the nimpins."

Stacey blushes. "Yup, we think Dolores might be hiding Cherry as well."

Sabrina nods absently.

Another part of our phoenix deputy's reign of terror was the closure of the student village. He claimed the school budget did not allow for both that and the annual school ball. I don't think anyone actually cared about the annual ball, but he'd make the executive decision without consulting anybody.

Lyle had hinted that he'd forked out quite a bit of the academy's budget from his own pocket, and Dolores definitely didn't have the same sort of dedication. Even the school buffet was showing signs of cuts; we didn't get our pastries anymore.

After library class, I find Raquel falling in step with me. "If you need anything, " they say into my mind, "you'll tell me, Lia, won't you?"

I take my wolf anim's hand and squeeze it. Having one of my friends sworn to Scythe isn't as awkward as I'd thought. When I'd asked Raquel about it, they'd just shrugged and said they were used to this life and that their parents and cousins had known Savage for years. Being sworn into a group that had so many wolves in it actually worked in their favour.

"Honestly?" I reply. "I think it's going to get real messy, Raquel. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

"I'm worried," they admit. "This is more dangerous than when Minnie went into Clawson House. There are a lot more moving parts required."

"Tell me about it. Xander will be in one place. You'll be outside with the Dabu pack, Marduk has the getaway car and the rest of us will be trying to get in." And Scythe planned the arrangement of our group as well. Savage has the fastest reflexes, so he'll be up front with me and Scythe. While Lyle will take up our rear. Once Xander rejoins us, he'll be ready to come in if we need backup. It's necessary, though, for a complex operation like this one.

Two sleepless nights later, Lyle wakes me up from my doze just before sunset. We eat a light dinner of sandwiches, although Savage and Lyle both eat five each. Scythe eats sashimi, and I try not to stare at how he's dressed tonight.

It's the first time I've seen him in anything other than business attire and it has me quaking . A tight black T-shirt sticks to his substantially muscled shoulders and arms, letting us see more of his tattoos he normally allows, and he's wearing a pair of XL black track pants that make me blush.

They're the same black track pants from Aunt Charlotte's shop that I'd gifted him when we'd first met. Savage winks at me when he notices my cheeks before hooking his fingers under my chair and dragging me to his side.

For his part, Savage only wears a pair of tiny rugby shorts and his own skin, explaining that his instincts are better when clothes aren't hindering them. Lyle has pulled his hair up into a neat bun, and he wears a black singlet and loose track pants. Even Eugene has a new black coat on to protect him in addition to his usual goggles.

It's this change in things that sets my nerves alight and I have to excuse myself from the table, heading into the bathroom and locking the door. I press my back against the cool tile, telling myself to breathe and wishing I had Henry here to count my breaths like he used to whenever I had a panic attack. I splash cold water on my face multiple times and do a nervous pee. After a moment of thought, I shift.

It's not a form I've used since my early days being on my own and learning about my powers. But when my body drops to the floor and elongates, and I suddenly detect Savage's bare tapping foot on the dining room carpet and Lyle's heavy feet prowling into the bedroom, it's incredibly cathartic. I rear up so I can see everything better, forked tongue slipping out to taste the air. I can scent my mates and Eugene, as well as the food currently on the table. I slither around the bathroom tiles, not even cold against the scales of my belly.

If I want to break into the house of a serpent, I have to think like a serpent. I have to make sure my senses are in tune with my serpent side, so I don't miss anything crucial. So I don't get my mates killed in the process.

One of my few memories of my mother is how my father used to make her shift into a cobra whenever we were alone in the house and the servants were dismissed for a public holiday. I'd not found it strange that she could shift into many different creatures, but it had been drilled into me to keep it a secret. Only my nanny Rosalina had suspected, because she'd looked after me so closely since my birth and was like a second mother to me. But on a night Rosalina had been sent away, Father had sat me in the living room and we watched my mother turn into a serpent. He marveled at how beautiful she was and told me all about how cobras were the superior species.

I really believed he'd loved her.

I'd never really believed my father was a good person. I'd seen his anger, seen his punishment, felt a very real fear at his displeasure. If I didn't do well in my homework, or if one of my tutors reported I'd forgotten something. But I'd thought all fathers were like that. I just thought that was the way things were and accepted it. It's only looking back that ice trickles down my spine and I can pick up on all the warning signs.

I feel great shame for never knowing better. I feel an even greater shame that I'd lived my entire teenage life in my bungalow not knowing my mother was trapped in a prison.

"Regina." Lyle's voice from the other side of the door makes me jump. "Your sadness is leaking through the walls."

I shift back so fast it hurts. Groaning, I unlatch the door to find all three of them standing there. Hastily, I reach for my clothes and quickly shove on my underwear, sports bra, black jumper, and leggings.

"You don't have to do this, regina," Lyle says, leaning against the doorframe. "I just want you to know that."

"She's not worried about going there," Scythe says, to my surprise. "Are you, Aurelia?"

I swipe at my cheeks. "I was just thinking about how I missed all the signs when I was a child."

"Children are never responsible for the actions of their parents," Scythe says with a fierceness I've never heard from him. "Not ever ." He pushes past Lyle and Savage and comes up to me, filling my vision with his intensity. "Children are not responsible for saving their parents. They are not responsible for protecting their parents. Whatever the adults around you did, their actions were their own." He reaches up as if he wants to touch me, but seems to change his mind and drops his hand. "And the repercussions are also their own."

"But my mother was good," I say softly. "She didn't deserve this."

"No," Scythe agrees, "she didn't. But she couldn't save herself either. That's not your fault."

That dark coil of shame eases a little. I didn't realise how much I needed someone to tell me that. "Thank you," I say softly.

"The cruellest thing your dad did," Savage says, coming forward and taking my hand, "was tricking you into thinking you were weak. Was making you forget who you are." He beams at me. "Lucky you have me to remind you that you "—he bops my nose—"are a chompy, and not a nimpin."

A fresh strength eases into my bones at his words.

"And," Lyle says, frowning at me, "Celeste is still surprised that you ruined her elevator."

"I'm not!" Savage exclaims. "You should ruin more elevators, baby."

I chuckle.

"Are you ready to go see your old house, Aurelia?" Scythe says, seriously regarding me. "Are you ready for what needs to be done tonight?"

I take a deep breath and nod, thinking of my mum's face as I remember it. "I'm ready."

We leave quietly, stealthily, on dragon-back because we can't have Damien or anyone else suspecting our departure. It's Raquel's first time riding, and they put on a big show of looking unbothered, but I hear a muttered curse every now and again from where I hold onto them at the front of our line. They borrowed Minnie's ski goggles and blanket-hoodie thing because winter is well and truly upon us and it's freezing up in the night sky. The flight is just over two hours, and by the time we land in the chosen park a little way from the serpent district, the Dabu pack have already built a bonfire and set up for the night.

We get off Xander, with Lyle efficiently levitating Raquel and me off his back, before we make our way over to the bonfire, around which three tall figures stand.

Their regina, Hyacinth Dabu, walks out to greet us. She is a brown-skinned woman, tall and athletic. A gold brow piercing glints next to her family tattoo, a lotus flower and grass pattern coiling around her temple and cheekbone in a semi-circle. She's dressed in a grey jumper and jeans. Her mates are smaller women, also brown-skinned. One wears a multicoloured woollen shawl, the other is a bleached blonde with dimple piercings and a purple hoodie.

"Mr Khakorous," Hyacinth says, her voice deep and melodic. "I cannot thank you enough for sending Savage to free us."

Scythe nods. "It was our pleasure." He glances at Savage, who grins.

"Any chance for a big bang!" my wolf says.

The three women chuckle darkly.

"Meet my regina," Savage says eagerly, stepping up next to me and taking my hand. "Lady Boneweaver."

"Call me Aurelia." I say, offering my hand.

Hyacinth takes my hand and shakes it firmly. "I think Savage would rip my throat out if I did that. Lady Boneweaver it is." She smiles and gestures at her own pack. "These are my mates. Sifa and Teylani."

Both women smile and nod at me.

"Is this the spell?" Marduk asks eagerly, striding forward to sniff at the black cast iron pot I've only just noticed sitting above the bonfire. It looks very much like a witch's cauldron.

"It is," Hyacinth says, showing us the brown concoction with a ladle.

"I have the hair you asked for," I say, bringing out a Ziplock bag full of some strands I'd pulled from my hairbrush this afternoon.

Hyacinth takes the bag from me. "Can you shift into a hyena, Lady Boneweaver?"

"I can," I confirm. "We had quite a few hyenas visit my father's place."

Hyacinth's eyes darken. "I'm sure you did. But come and see me sometime. I'll teach you some spells."

My brows shoot up. "Will I be able to kill my enemies with these spells?"

Hyacinth barks a laugh. "Weaken. Incapacitate, perhaps, depending on the strength of your will, but spells like that are dangerous and take their toll. I'd teach you protective spells and tonics for a UTI, things like that."

I laugh. But then I frown, my mind flagging her response. I glance at Scythe meaningfully and he nods ever so slightly as it hits me: my mother had been weakened before her so-called death. Even in Scythe's memory of her, she appeared woefully tired. A powerful hyena could very well have induced something like that. And I had a good idea who had the means and motivation.

"We'll get started," Hyacinth says. "The spell will last two hours, no more. If we come up against something, we will let you know." She nods at Raquel, who nods back.

We take our leave of the hyenas and Raquel and Scythe lead us onto the dark of the road where an SUV awaits us.

My heart pounds as I get into the back seat. This is it. We'll be there in twenty minutes.