39. Alina

Where are we?I wonder, looking around at the garden. Why can't I hear my mates?

It's like I'm in a bubble.

A very colorful, vibrant bubble filled with flowers.

The sun is warm overhead, which confuses me more because it was nighttime in the Elite City.

"I can't believe you're here," my sister says as she pulls back from our hug. "How are you here?"

"Where is here?" I ask her.

She frowns. "We're in Demeter's Gardens."

I blink at her. "Whose gardens?"

"Mine," a feminine voice says to my left as a woman with white-blonde hair dressed in white glides toward us.

Literally glides.

Like floating on air.

Because she's not walking at all. Her feet are about an inch off the ground, and her legs are not moving at all.

"Hello, Alina," the woman greets me, her arms spreading wide. "How lovely of you to finally join us."

I stare up at her—because she's tall, like Orcus-level tall. "I'm sorry; were you expecting me?"

"Yes. For a while now. But the Duke and those idiot Village Protectors all failed me." She rolls her eyes. "Men are predictably frustrating."

Her feet touch the ground before us, her hand stroking a nearby flower.

"It all worked out in the end, though." She smiles. "I knew you would understand and follow the note. You just needed a little push to grab the Duke's attention for the selection process. Of course, you did a little too well since he sent you to Monsters Night. Alas, it all worked out in the end. And now… you're here."

"You sent the note?" I ask, confused. "I thought Serapina wrote it."

"She did," Demeter replies. "But I sent it to your room."

"Oh." I swallow. "And you did this so the Duke would pick me as an Offering." It's not a question since she's already stated that, but I needed to reiterate the words out loud. "Because you wanted me to come here," I add slowly. "Why?"

"To hide you, of course." She tips her head back on a sigh, the sun illuminating her otherworldly features. "It's very frustrating, honestly. Your mortal encasings, I mean. You all die so soon, forcing me to begin the hunt anew. Then I have to take on unpleasant roles to find you again."

I glance at my sister, curious as to if she has any idea what this woman is rambling on about. But she has this dreamy expression on her face like she's not even listening, her focus on the flowers to our right.

My brow furrows as she kneels to pluck a wilting petal, then she moves it to the ground and buries it beneath the dirt.

"I'm sure Persephone would love to introduce you to your new life here," the not-so-sane woman says. "Isn't that right, love?"

"Yes, Mother," my sister says, causing my brow to furrow even more.

Persephone?

Mother?

What the heck is going on?

"Excellent," Demeter says, clasping her hands together. "Show her how to make a flower bed as well. I'm sure she'll want to rest soon." Her bright blue eyes meet mine, a twinkle shining in their depths. "Welcome home, my darling. May your soul be at peace once more."

She reaches for my arm to give it a squeeze, and I nearly step backward, but a shock rolls through us both that causes her to stumble away in alarm, her eyes growing wide.

"That's not possible," she breathes, looking at her hand and then back at me. "That's not possible." She charges forward to grab me again, but the same thing happens and she shrieks with rage.

Serapina immediately jumps to her feet, her expression no longer dreamy.

"No," Demeter says, her focus going to my belly. "No!"

She lunges for me, only for my sister to jump between us.

Demeter shrieks again, and the ground begins to shake.

What in the?—

A large boom sounds above as the sky cracks.

I gape at it, then jump sideways as a shard of what looks like glass comes tumbling my way from above.

"Alina!" Serapina screams.

She darts in the other direction, her arm going up to shield her as more pieces of sky fall all around us.

I duck around a bush and run toward her, then pull her behind a nearby tree while Demeter's screeches echo all around us. She's disappeared, but I can feel her just as well as I can hear her.

"What the heck is going on?!" I demand.

"I don't know!" my sister shouts back. "I?—"

The path we were just on moments ago splits wide open, causing both of us to leap backward. The world is trembling all around us.

Flowers are dying.

The sky is crumbling.

The trees… are shifting colors and shapes.

Is this a nightmare?I wonder, spinning around in confusion. It feels so real.

But none of this should be possible.

Darkness swoops in as the sun blinks out of the sky, the greenery turning black. Serapina clings to me as others scream in the distance. I don't know who they are, or where they are, but their fear pierces my heart.

Where am I? What is happening?

Alina?Orcus's voice in my head makes me blink. Alina, where the fuck are you?

Alina!Reaper and Flame say at the same time. Where are you, pet? Reaper inquires as Flame asks, Are you all right, little panther?

I… I don't know, I reply, hoping they all can hear. Everything is dark.

But my sister is still here. Her arms are around me as the world continues to rumble.

I can feel her… and my mates.

Not a dream,I think. Unless…

It's not a dream, Alina. Now focus and tell me everything,Orcus demands.

I was in a garden,I whisper to him. There was a woman. Or something like a woman. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. She said her name is Demeter, but my sister called her Mother.Then she touched me and…

And I don't know.

I can't define what just happened.

So I show him instead.

His growl is furious in my head, making my legs quiver as I fight to hold myself upright.

We're coming,he promises me. No matter what you do, do not let her touch you again. She might try to hurt the baby.

My eyes widen. What?

Trust me,he says. Wherever you are, I want you to hide. Do you understand me, Alina? You need to hide.

His words send a shiver down my spine, my throat suddenly dry.

Because there's true fear in his tone.

And the warning about what Demeter might do to our child… is very real.

Okay, I say to him. I… I'll hide.

Only, I have no idea where to go because I can't see anything.

"Alina," my sister breathes.

"Shh," I hush her, needing to focus on my other senses.

Where to hide, where to hide, I think, closing my eyes to calm my mind.

We're somewhere dark.

Old.

Warm.

I inhale, my nose instantly curling at the familiar scent of burning. But underneath that, I recognize the hint of fir trees. Not from Flame, but from something else.

From home,I realize, my lips curling down. It smells like the mountain side.

Except it reminds me more of my cabin than being outside.

I toe the ground, my tennis shoes helping me to note the texture. Soil or carpet would have some give. Wooden floors or tile would not.

The latter applies here.

We're inside somewhere,I tell Orcus. Maybe near the village. But I'm not sure.

Swallowing, I open my eyes again.

There are silhouettes now. It's still dark, but not pitch black like before.

The trees… are now wooden pillars. Or maybe the better term for them is support beams. Regardless, we appear to be in a massive great room.

There are windows along one wall, allowing in a glimmer of moonlight from outside. But it's not much, which is why the majority of the room is cast in shadows.

"Oh, Alina," a voice tsks. It's not feminine, but masculine. "I knew something was different this time around, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Now… now I've touched it. A bond. A. Fucking. Alpha. Bond."

Goose bumps pebble along my skin at the anger underlining that voice.

It's familiar now.

A voice that haunted my nightmares until I met my fae.

The Viscount.

I have no idea what he's doing here or how he plays into all of this, but I don't want to stand around and find out.

We need to hide. Just like Orcus told me to do.

"I have no idea how he found you or who he is, but I'll deal with him when he arrives," the Viscount continues. "Then I'll fix you, too."

My stomach twists at the notion of being fixed.

But I'm also confused as to how the Viscount thinks he'll deal with Orcus.

The Viscount is human.

Unless…I frown. I was human… with an Omega soul.

And now I'm no longer human, but a Mythos Fae.

A mated Mythos Fae with a life growing inside me.

None of that should have been possible, yet here I am.

Is the Viscount an Omega, too?I wonder.

The Viscount is Demeter in disguise,Orcus tells me, obviously having listened to my thoughts and perhaps even having heard what the Viscount said to me.

Demeter was a woman, though,I say, frowning.

Either she's disguised as the Viscount, or she's controlling him. Regardless, I need you to hide, Alina. Do not let Demeter find you.The urgency is back in his tone, making me want to move.

But I don't.

Because I don't want to make a sound either.

"Over two thousand years without an incident. But now…" The Viscount sounds disappointed. "Do you have any idea what this means, Alina?"

Sera squeezes my hand beside me, reminding me of her presence.

She hasn't spoken, but I can feel her tension. I have no idea what she's been through. Maybe Demeter kept her in that garden this whole time. However, she called her Mother.

What does that even mean?I wonder again.

But there isn't time to consider it now.

I need to focus on the Viscount and his voice.

He's talking about having to start over now, his irritation palpable.

"If the Alphas have found this dimension, it's no longer ideal," he's saying. "But it's going to take time to find a more appropriate place to begin anew. Not to mention the work involved in gathering all the souls hidden throughout this dimension."

I shift a little to the side, my night vision almost completely in focus now.

The Viscount doesn't appear to be in this room at all, his voice coming from all over. A speaker system, perhaps?

Regardless of where, Sera and I can't just stand here in the center of the room.

We need to go outside,I think, eyeing the windows. Into the woods.

Because we're likely in the Viscount Manor, which is high in the mountains, several miles from the village. But Sera and I grew up in that forest. If we get outside, we can run.

I take a tentative step, my breath holding in my lungs. When the floor doesn't make a sound, I exhale a little and move again.

Sera creeps along beside me, clearly following my lead.

It reminds me of how I used to lead Sage through the village to meet with the Protector to bargain for medicine. She used to mimic my movements, too, striving for quiet. Then mimicked my confidence when we bartered with the man.

"I'll be killing you last," the Viscount informs me flatly. "That way, you're reincarnated last. It's not that I want to punish you, darling, but I need to ensure your bond is broken. Like the others. It's the only way for us to hide."

Hearing the Viscount call me darling has me cringing. But the rest of his words make me frown. Hide? Hide from what?

"Has your Alpha told you our history?" he asks conversationally. "How the Alphas tried to enslave our kind to meet their baser needs? To force us to procreate against our will?"

My steps slow, my eyes blinking. The Alphas enslaved Omegas?

Don't listen to her,Orcus tells me. Demeter is full of lies.

What's she talking about?I ask him. Why would she say these things?

Because she hates the Alpha-Omega dynamic.

"There were more Alphas than Omegas. So their solution was to manufacture a system. One where Alphas created circles—or packs—and each pack was assigned a single Omega slave."

She's lying,Orcus insists. You know me, Alina. You can hear my mind. See my memories. Use me to poke holes in her manipulation.

"The purpose was to breed the Omegas in the hope of making more. But Alphas are far more common, so really, they just produced more monsters." The Viscount hisses over that last word, his voice full of distaste.

Sera and I have reached the windows now, but I don't see one we can slip through.

I'm also… listening.

I can feel Orcus's vow that Demeter is lying, and I believe him.

But the Viscount—Demeter—seems to believe this truth, too.

Almost like… it happened.

Orcus…

Hide, Alina,he demands. I know she's convincing. I… I just need you to hide, little one. Please. We're coming.

It seems strange to me that he's not already here.

He can portal at will.

Why isn't he here yet?

I almost ask, but a cold touch to my shoulder has me spinning around to find the Viscount standing right before me. His dark eyes burn into mine. "Hello again, Alina. Let's go teach that Alpha of yours a lesson, shall we?"