44. Aurelia

Chapter 44

Aurelia

M arduk drops us off at the place he and Scythe agreed upon, two blocks from Naga House. Entering the familiar serpent territory for the first time in over six months makes my skin crawl and my heart sink. We pile out of the SUV and Marduk drives quietly away, leaving us and Eugene in the silence and cold.

No crickets chirp tonight, no birds make their call. Perhaps they sense predators are afoot. Perhaps their hearts pound a rickety beat like mine does.

Since I know this area best, I take the lead with Savage at my elbow. Eugene is right by his bare feet, Scythe is at my back, and Lyle is behind him. I surround the five of us with seven of my shields. The only shield I leave out is the mating mark shield I used to wear religiously for so many years. I won't have to wear that one for my safety ever again. But pulling all the other shields around so many people is new to me. It will take a toll on my energy, but if it's only for a few hours, I can manage.

"It doesn't stop sound," I mentally remind my three mates, "nor stop the serpents from detecting heat and vibration."

"There's no one outside their house," Savage tells us.

"Make sure we check the trees," Lyle says.

We move quickly down the sidewalk, watching for every movement in the houses we pass. Two cars whirl past us and we all hear them well ahead of the headlights showing, time enough to slip behind trees and bushes.

Savage stops me with a hand on my lower stomach as we come up to the perimeter of Naga House, telepathically checking in with Raquel and the Dabu pack.

My childhood home looms before me, a monolith against the dark, cloudy night sky. There's no moon out tonight, making the entire place seem all the more eerie and I am reminded of the cold, strange quiet of a graveyard. My skin recognises this place, and in some ways, I had yearned to see it again. To feel its grand presence towering over me, strong and sure. But whatever comfort I'd found in this place, where all of my memories of my childhood are housed, had been corrupted.

This place is now haunted, its spirit keening to be let free.

And I will grant her wish tonight.

"All clear outside," Savage says, placing a hand on my shoulder like a bodyguard. "Scythe?"

Our shark's energy breezes past me in an icy wave, and in the dark distance, a squelch and a choke sounds.

The hidden entrance guards.

"Inside is clear. Move out," Scythe says.

Even if I wanted to, I couldn't have resisted the overt command in his voice—even though the vow between us had been completed with Sabrina's return, his quiet, near arrogant confidence calmed the frightened bird fluttering under my skin. All three of them did that for me. Savage's feral prowl and Lyle's quasi-rabid sort of swagger. I'd never thought I'd come to a point where I'd rely on their instincts so much. We'll need all our wits tonight.

The four of us and Eugene pad up the sidewalk until we see the gate. Naga House is bordered by a tall, black rendered brick fence all the way around, breached only by the gothic, cast iron gate at the front. Two rearing cobras are depicted, declaring their dominance over all who enter.

As we come right up to the gate, the whisper of dark power brushes past my skin. It has the feel of an exploration, an assessment, but not finding purchase on its target, it fades into the dark.

"Are you alright, angel?" Lyle asks.

"I felt it, but it didn't hurt me," I reassure him. The Dabu pack's spell had worked.

As I lay my hand on the front gate, a pang of sadness slithers through my heart. Taking a deep breath, I push it open, and without any guards to see or stop us, we all slip silently through.

Scythe comes to my side, and I know he's assessing the electrical activity of any pounding hearts nearby. Any serpents who saw us would need to be rendered unconscious, if not dead, and I prayed no one was looking out the many windows tonight.

We stride up the circular drive, a pristine white concrete that practically glows in the dark. It stands in great contrast to Naga mansion, which had been made during the same time as Animus Academy. It had been the reason why I'd felt emotional when I'd first arrived there, freshly caught and partly feral. It had the same Victorian architecture, many black steepled roofs, curling cast-iron balconies kissing each window on the second and third storeys. The only newer addition were black Grecian columns making for a grand front entrance, which had been my father's contribution to the home after he'd taken the serpent throne. Halfeather's mansion had the same columns, just in white, and I think it's a part of whole crime lords one-upping each other with displays of their wealth. Recognising that now, a flutter of nervousness travels through my chest as we come up the five steps to the tall wooden front doors.

"You're up, baby," Savage says.

It takes me all of five minutes to break the serpent lock on the door. It's similar to the way I read serpent blood contracts, except this one is made to be unravelled. After Scythe's all clear, we open the door and head inside. There are two security cameras outside the main doors, but once we get inside, there are none. That was a specific decision on my father's part. He didn't want footage in existence for someone to use against him.

The first thing I notice is the scent. The smell of my childhood home has not changed in all these years. The varnish of the wood, the metal of the brass Naga sigil mounted on the wall, the cleaning mixture used on the tiles. It hits me in the sternum harder than anything else. I pat a hand against my heart.

It's okay, I tell myself. I'll be alright.

And then Savage's ancient pine and earthen scent wafts up my nose, and I smile faintly. My mates are here. I will be fine.

Walking past four fallen security guards, I make my way to one of the entrances to the underground portion of the house.

I know this house like the back of my hand. Even after all these years, my father has not changed a physical thing. Even the decor, the paintings hanging in the entrance, the black fountain that greets us, bubbling away. It was here I used to ride my tricycle and play hide and seek. I had run around every part of this house, except the forbidden darkness beneath.

The forbidden door is a simple black and white wooden affair that is unlocked. Scythe clears us to enter but Savage opens it cautiously all the same. I expect to be greeted by a dark and cobwebbed passage, the worst my child's imagination could come up with. Instead, we find a warmly lit, clean corridor, and a cushiony blood-red runner. The corridor is long and has a bend in it. A multitude of scents pepper the air, including a familiar one that is fresher than the others.

I'm speed-walking down the hall, pushing Savage's warning hand off me.

"Wait a minute," I say to Scythe as I reach the bend in the corridor and turn sharply left.

Because standing guard at the end of it, against a second entrance door, is a round-faced male I've known all my life. My most loving relative and one of Aunt Charlotte's two mates, my Uncle Ben.

Scythe's lethal power rolls past me.

"Wait!" I shout into the group chat.

I sense Scythe's irritation, but he stops his power just in time.

"That's my uncle."

But Uncle Ben is already raising his walkie-talkie to his mouth and saying, "I see something."

I'm sprinting down the corridor, throwing my invisibility shield off me and frantically waving my hands. Uncle Ben's eyes widen and he drops the device with a heavy thud.

"Lia?" he whispers.

I reach him and he grabs my forearms, voice panicked, eyes wild. "What the hell do you think you're doing? How did you—" His eyes slip past me, over my shoulder and widen with terror. "Holy shit!"

"They're my mates and I love them," I say quickly, surprising even myself. "But we're going down there for Mum, and you're not going to stop us."

Uncle Ben's eyes lock on mine, his shoulders sagging, his eyes glistening with sudden, raw emotion. His voice breaks as he whispers, "I'm so sorry, Lia. So sorry."

My own voice is hard as steel. "How long have you known?"

"We don't have time for this," Scythe rasps.

"He's right," Uncle Ben says, stepping away from me.

But I do have time for this. By the very air I breathe, I need to know. My voice drops into a fierce hiss. "How long have you known?"

Uncle Ben swallows, inhaling a shaky breath. "Charlotte let it slip a few months ago."

Of course Aunt Charlotte had likely known from the beginning. She was just as culpable as my father. Anger rises up in my veins, making my senses painfully sharp.

"Let us through and don't tell anyone," I say quietly.

Uncle Ben's eyes dart to the three terrifying males behind me, his mind appraising. He sees we are deathly serious. That people may die tonight. Uncle Ben has always been far too kind for this world. So instead of trying to convince us to leave, he holds my face in both hands and kisses my brow. "If you want to make it out alive," he says. "You'll need help. I'll distract the?—"

"Uh-uh!" Savage says, plonking a heavy hand on Uncle Ben's shoulder and taking off the swipe card from around his neck. "You're coming with us." He puts the ID card around his own neck with an amused chuckle.

"I don't want him to get in trouble," I say quickly.

"It's alright, love," Uncle Ben says quietly. "I can help you get a little ways in at least."

"Let's move," Lyle demands. "Shields, regina."

Uncle Ben's brows shoot up and he stares at me as if he's never seen me before. I smile sheepishly and prod him ahead of me, enveloping us in my invisibility again.

"Radio them to say you made a mistake," Lyle commands in his deputy headmaster voice.

Uncle Ben hastily complies, then glances at me.

I try to smile. "Lead the way, Uncle."