Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

CATALINA

T he morning light spilled over the sprawling Duvall mansion, casting long shadows across the lush gardens. Catalina had expected to come home to peace, to find her sisters and maybe even her Aunt Maeve waiting. She hoped Maeve could offer some kind of explanation, something that could explain what she had done and allow her nieces to forgive her. But the instant she stepped onto the grounds; her heart sank. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. The air was thick with magic, but it wasn't the protective, comforting kind that had always surrounded the estate. No, this was twisted, dark, and malevolent.

She slipped into the back courtyard and hurried up the stone steps, her senses on high alert, and as soon as she reached the French doors that led into the house from the patio, they burst open. Savannah rushed out, her face pale and her eyes wide with alarm.

"We're under attack!" Savannah yelled; her voice laced with fear.

Catalina's heart leaped into her throat. Without hesitation, she pushed past her sister and ran inside. The mansion, their sanctuary, was a battlefield. Magical entities, their forms shifting and warping, filled the air, attacking with relentless fury. The very walls of the house seemed to tremble under the strain of their power.

Geneva and Phoenix were already fighting, their combined magic surging through the room like a storm. Their green and gold magic intertwined with her and Savannah's violet and blue magic as the sisters summoned everything they had to hold the creatures at bay.

"What the hell are these things?" Catalina shouted as she joined the fray, her hands crackling with lightning. She unleashed a bolt of energy at one of the entities, watching as it twisted and screamed, its body dissipating into smoke.

"I don't know!" Phoenix yelled back, sweat glistening on her forehead as she focused her magic on a particularly vicious creature. "They just appeared out of nowhere. The wards—they're completely down!"

The wards? Catalina's stomach clenched as realization dawned on her. Their home had always been protected by powerful magical wards, a fortress against any threat. Those wards could only have been lowered by someone inside the family.

"Maeve," Catalina whispered, her voice thick with betrayal. "She's the only one who could have done this."

Geneva cast a glance at her, dodging a blast of magic as she threw up a shield. "Are you sure? Aunt Maeve would never?—"

But Catalina didn't need to hear the rest. She was sure. Maeve had always been the only one with access to the wards besides their mother. The only one who knew their intricacies and how to manipulate them. It had to be her.

The battle raged on, and as the sisters fought, Catalina's anger boiled over. She threw herself into the fight, her magic surging through her with a ferocity she'd never felt before. She wasn't just fighting the creatures. She was fighting the betrayal that twisted like a knife in her chest.

Together, the Duvall sisters unleashed a final, devastating wave of magic that obliterated the last of the attackers, leaving the mansion eerily silent. The air hummed with residual power, and the sisters stood in the wreckage, their breaths coming in heavy gasps.

Catalina's gaze swept over the destruction, her heart aching. Their home—the place where they had grown up, where they had been safe—was in ruins. And it was Maeve's doing.

"We need to find her," Catalina said, her voice hard and cold. "She's behind this. She lowered the wards and made us vulnerable."

Savannah looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. "You can't be serious. Maeve's our aunt. She would never?—"

"She already has," Catalina snapped, her voice sharper than she intended. "She's already sat in judgment of me on the Fae Council and ambushed me." The look on her sisters' faces went from shock to anger to grief in the space of a heartbeat. Catalina wished she could have spared them that pain. "She's working with Cipher. It's the only thing that makes sense. I don't know what he's promised her, but she's been feeding him information. She's the reason we were attacked."

Geneva's face paled, and Phoenix clenched her fists, her magic still crackling at her fingertips. "Then we have to stop her."

Before they could even begin to formulate a plan, a familiar presence filled the room. Catalina turned, her heart pounding as Maeve stepped through the wreckage, her face serene, as if the chaos around her meant nothing.

"You've grown so strong, my girls," Maeve said softly, her voice dripping with a mixture of pride and something far darker. "But you don't understand what's happening. Cipher is going to change everything."

Catalina stepped forward, her anger boiling over. "You lowered the wards, Maeve! You made us vulnerable. What the hell are you doing?"

Maeve's eyes flickered with something—regret, maybe, but it was quickly masked by resolve. "I'm doing what needs to be done. You're too young to understand. The fae realm is fracturing. The old ways are breaking down. Cipher is offering us a new path."

"A path to what?" Catalina demanded, her magic sparking dangerously at her fingertips. "Destruction? Chaos? You're destroying everything we've built—all for what, a promise of power?"

Maeve's lips pressed into a thin line. "You think you can stop it? You think you can hold onto the old ways forever? The realms are converging, Catalina. This world, the fae world—they're merging. There's nothing you can do to stop it."

"And killing us does what? Make it easier for Cipher?"

"Killing you? I'm trying to keep you safe. To ensure you survive. If you're stripped of your magic, he'll leave you alone."

"Safe? Look around, Aunt Maeve, there's nothing safe here, and stripping us of our magic only makes us an easier target. You and Cipher won't win. We won't let you."

"We can stop Cipher," Phoenix said, her voice hard. "We will stop him."

Maeve shook her head, sadness flickering in her eyes. "No, you won't. It's already too late. Cipher has the power now. You have no idea what he's capable of."

"Then why help him?" Savannah asked, her voice trembling with emotion. "Why betray us?"

Maeve's expression softened, but there was a steel edge to her words. "I'm not betraying you. I'm trying to protect you." Catalina snorted. "This is the only way to survive what's coming."

"No," Catalina said firmly, stepping closer to her aunt. "This is the only way to destroy everything we care about. Cipher is using you, Maeve. He doesn't care about the fae or the human world. He only cares about power."

Maeve's face tightened, and for a moment, Catalina thought she had reached her. But then, without warning, Maeve turned and fled, disappearing through the ruins of the mansion.

Catalina lunged forward, but it was too late. Maeve was gone.

The sisters stood there in silence, their hearts heavy with the weight of Maeve's betrayal.

"We need to replace and reinstate the wards," Phoenix said after a long moment, her voice thick with emotion. "We can't let her do this ever again."

For the rest of the day, they worked together, repairing the damage and strengthening the magical protections around their home. It was grueling work, but it had to be done. They couldn't afford another attack. Not with Cipher's plan already in motion.

By the time night fell, the wards were back in place, stronger than ever. But as the sisters stood in the quiet aftermath, they all felt it—the growing tension in the air, the sense that something terrible was coming.

Catalina's phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen—Riker.

"We need to move," he said without preamble when she answered. "The city's going to hell. Some of the smaller demons are pouring in through the weakened barriers. It's starting, Catalina."

Her heart skipped a beat. "I'll be right there."

She hung up, turning to her sisters. "It's time. We need to rally everyone we can. The barriers are weakening, and if we don't act fast, we'll lose the city."

Phoenix nodded, her eyes flashing with determination. "We're with you."

T he streets of New Orleans were chaos. The barriers between realms had weakened, and demons of all shapes and sizes were pouring through, wreaking havoc on the city. Humans, who were blissfully unaware of the supernatural world around them, fled in terror as buildings burned and the sky filled with the stench of sulfur.

Catalina and Riker moved through the chaos, fighting side by side as they rallied every magical being they could find. Shifters, fae, vampires—anyone with power was pulled into the fight. The city was under attack, and there was no time for old grudges or prejudices. They needed everyone to stand against the invasion.

Savannah and Geneva rallied with the wolf-shifters from Rivière du Loup—Gautier had called on his friends and with the help of two of the Duvall sisters and several other magical entities they knew, they had surrounded the city in order to ensure whatever demons got past those in New Orleans didn't find their way out into the greater human world.

Riker's massive bear form tore through a group of lesser demons, his claws slicing through them like butter. Catalina followed close behind, her lightning magic crackling through the air as she took down any stragglers.

"We need to get to the Crescent Nexus Tower," Catalina shouted over the roar of battle. "That's where Cipher is. If we can stop him, we can stop this."

Riker shifted back into human form, his eyes blazing with determination. Catalina had him clothed in the blink of an eye. "Thanks. Lead the way."

They fought their way through the streets, gathering allies as they went. By the time they reached the tower, they had a small army at their backs. But as they approached, Catalina's heart sank.

The building was no longer the sleek, modern structure it had once been. It was twisted now, corrupted by dark magic. A swirling vortex of energy surrounded it, distorting reality itself. To human eyes, it might still look normal, but to Catalina, it was a nightmare.

"This is it," she said, her voice filled with dread. "This is where we make our stand."

But before they could advance, a figure appeared from the shadows—a familiar figure. Maeve.

Catalina's heart skipped a beat as she raised her hands. Maeve stopped but did nothing to thwart her niece's implied threat. As she stepped forward, her aunt's face was pale and drawn.

"I was wrong," Maeve said, her voice shaking. "I was so wrong. Cipher… he's not what I thought. He's going to destroy everything."

Catalina's jaw clenched. "You should have talked to us before you allied yourself to his cause or at least listened to us this afternoon."

"I know," Maeve whispered, tears filling her eyes. "But it's not too late. I can help you. I can get you inside. I know the wards, the defenses—Cipher's using them against you, but I can undo them."

Riker stepped forward, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Why should we trust you?"

Maeve looked at him, her expression pleading. "Because I've seen what he's planning. I know what's coming, and if you don't stop him, the fae realm, the human realm—everything will be lost."

Catalina studied her aunt for a long moment, her heart torn. Maeve had betrayed them once, but the fear in her eyes was real. She wasn't lying about Cipher.

"Fine," Catalina said finally. "But if you betray us again?—"

"I won't," Maeve promised, her voice barely above a whisper. "I swear."

Catalina wasn't afraid as she unfurled her wings and flew to the top of the tower to get a better view of what they were facing. She had her sisters keeping the other demons at bay and Riker and her Aunt Maeve by her side. They were stronger together than Cipher could ever imagine.

With a battle cry, Catalina unleashed her magic. The final confrontation was about to begin.