Pickup Styx (22 page)

“Well, hell, you’ve let me hide from the real world in your
castle
free of charge. We’ll call us square,” Katrina said.

“You don’t owe us anything. This is what family does,” Devin said and the others agreed.

These human witches never failed to amaze me with their amazing loyalty and unyielding love for one another. Maybe elves had quite a bit to learn from humans. Sebastian returned with Edith. I stepped into the circle and he followed me. “What are you doing?”

“Coming with you,” he said.

I shook my head. “You should stay here. Help protect them.”

He nodded but didn’t leave the circle. “I probably should, but I’m coming.”

“Sebastian—” I started.

“You know what I’ve learned from this?”

“What?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

“That these women have the right idea. They don’t try to out maneuver one another. They don’t speak in riddles. No doubt every one of them has somewhere else they should be, but they’re all here because their friends need them. Sometimes you shouldn’t worry about what you should do and just do what feels right. This is where I need to be. The coven is capable of taking care of themselves—”

“Damn right,” Jessica said.

“And my friend needs me.” He looked me directly in the eye. “What I said earlier was true. You and Selene are my friends and my family. I would do anything for either of you, whether or not it’s logical. Did you really think I’d let you go into battle alone?”

Not able to bring myself to object, I shook his hand. “I’m glad to have you along.”

Sebastian had fought by my side more times than I could count. Beneath my resentment of his earlier betrayal, I still trusted him more than any other man I knew. I smiled, readying the hunter within me. My senses heightened and all my worries and fear evaporated in anticipation.

“You ready for a fight?” I clapped my hand down on his shoulder.

His eyes glittered and he made the same gesture. “Always.”

“Men,” Katrina muttered, shaking her head. The women began the spell. I kept my eyes open and my fingers on my hilt. Streams of color swirled around us, faster and faster until they began to blend into black. When the darkness faded, we stood in castle’s garden maze. I pulled my sword and Sebastian did the same. I indicated that he should go in the opposite direction as me, and he gave a single nod. Silently, I crept through the maze, ready for anything. Anything but what I saw.

Bella’s ghost stood in front of the rosebush that had been planted in memory of our mother. She didn’t move. She just stood there, weeping. My heart clenched. The blood was my sister’s. I didn’t know how it was possible, but here she was.
It isn’t my sister
, I reminded myself, but my legs refused to walk away.
My sister is dead,
the voice said in my head repeated. I knew I shouldn’t engage the elverpige, but seeing Bella once more was almost too much. It was like she’d been waiting for me to come and tell her stories about when Mom was alive. Hopelessness was thick in the air, along with pain and suffering. I stepped forward, my heart breaking. Maybe I could reach her.

Her shoulders stopped moving and everything stilled around her. I stopped as well, my heart thumping loudly in my chest.

“Bella?”

She turned, her eyes ablaze with hatred, and hurtled toward me. I slashed my sword through her and she dissipated. I turned in a slow circle, waiting for a fresh attack. She rematerialized behind me. I whirled around and backed up. “Bella, you know me. You don’t want to hurt me.”

She lunged again, but I avoided her. “I’m Cheney. Your brother.”

She cried out, diving for me. I sliced my sword again, but this time she avoided it, adapting. We stared at each other, rotating in a slow circle.

“I’m sorry this happened to you.”

She swiped at me.

I needed something to make her listen. The rosebush she’d been mourning by came back into view. “I remember when that rosebush was planted—the same week you were born.” She paused. “I was so happy to have a baby sister. I was the first family member to hold you.” That was because Mom had died and Father had been distraught, but that didn’t matter right now. “You used to come out here and talk to her like she was standing in front of you. You said you thought she could hear you here. I always liked that.”

She glanced back at the rosebush.

“Mom would’ve been so proud of you.” Her hand reached out toward the plant. “She wouldn’t have let Father—”

Bella went into a flurry of rage. Screaming and snarling, she attacked me. She disappeared and reappeared almost faster than I could keep up with her. Slash to my right, stab behind, slash to my left, and then across my body. My hands worked faster than I could think, reacting rather than planning. Then it happened. A mistake. I went left, but she appeared on the right. I barely tumbled out of the way, and her hand grazed my right forearm, leaving an ashy gouge where the family crest burned into my arm. Her lips pulled back in a grotesque line that was somewhere between a snarl and a smile.

We squared off again. “I won’t let you hurt them, Bella. Please don’t make me hurt you.”

There was no recognition in her wild eyes.

“Do you know who he has you killing?
Your family
. Children he had with non-elves and never claimed. He’s using you to clean up his messes after never supporting your human choice.”

She came at me again with renewed hate and anger. My arms began to tire.

“Stop feeding the rage,” Sebastian yelled, and Bella disappeared as he slashed her from behind.

Standing back to back, my arms heavy from exertion, we waited, ready for the next attack. “Don’t tell her things that will make her angrier. Tell her stuff that will make her remember who she was,” he said.

Of course, my mind was blank of any such memories. She reappeared, taking in her new opponent. Sebastian sucked in a breath. The sky rumbled overhead; a storm was moving in. She made a couple quick attacks, testing us. A bolt of lightning lit the sky.

“You’re afraid of storms,” I said.

Bella’s head tilted in an expression I had forgotten. An expression our mother had also used. “You used to hide under my bed until I came home when it was storming. Your governess would be frantic looking for you, but you were always there. You always came to me when you were scared or frightened.”

The flames in her eyes muted, but she still circled us.

“Keep going,” Sebastian muttered.

“I taught you to hunt and to use a bow.” Our father didn’t have much to do with Bella. She always seemed to be more of a nuisance to him, or maybe she just reminded him too much of Mom. Regardless, I was the one who looked after and protected Bella, and she’d died when I wasn’t there. “I would bring you back to the house dirty and bruised, and the governess—oh, what was her name?”

“Winithral,” Sebastian said.

“That’s right. Winny. Winny would scold us—
you
for not acting like a proper princess, and me because I should know better than to take you to the forest. She’d wag her bony finger and you’d giggle, only making her madder.”

A slight smile curved her lips, and she mouthed the word, “Winny.”

“As you got older, I told you tales about hunts I’d gone on. You sat on your bed and listened to my tales like they were the best things you’d ever heard. You begged me to take you with me.” But I didn’t. Not even once. She hero-worshipped me and fed my ego, but I left her home because it wasn’t worth to hassle to argue with my father about it. My heart squeezed.

“Even when you were living as a human, I stopped by to tell you of my latest adventures. Your eyes always sparkled, but never more than when I told you about our mother.” My voice broke. I was ripping open ancient wounds trying to connect with her. “She was beautiful just like you were. Her laughter was like a gentle breeze through the trees and her smile warmed everyone it touched like the sun. She would have loved you so much, Bella.” I swallowed. “I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job protecting you.”

The lump in my throat prevented me from speaking further.

“You weren’t beautiful,” Sebastian said quietly. She looked at him. “You were mesmerizing. I don’t think you ever noticed me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. The room changed when you walked in, and I was gone from the moment I saw you. The first ball you went to, you danced every dance and everyone who didn’t get to be your partner was envious. I never saw anyone embody happiness the way you did. You lived it and couldn’t help but pass it along. It was as if you floated on clouds and the rest of us could only look at you in awe. No one could take their eyes off of you, least of all me.”

That wasn’t how I remembered it, but her eyes were wet. She blinked. “Cheney,” she whispered and a tear spilled over my cheek.

“Bella,” I said.

“What’s happening?”

I looked at Sebastian, not sure if I should tell her. He nodded, but neither of us relaxed our weapons. “You died.”

Her eyebrows pulled together. “No. I was cursed.”

I nodded. “Someone turned you into an elverpige.”

Her frown deepened. “Where is Henry? He can lift the curse.”

“Bella, Henry died after he killed you.”

She looked startled. New flames sparked in her eyes. “He didn’t kill me.”

I readied to fight again, searching my mind for another memory I could share.

“What happened?” Sebastian asked.

“We were going to run away. There was a plan. He had a witch at the church. She cursed me so I would appear dead. Then Henry was going to wait for Father to find me. Once everyone thought I was dead, all Henry had to do was kiss me and I’d come back. It was simple—and the only way Father would let me go.” She looked up at me. “I was going to tell you, but . . .”

But she couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t tell Father. In retrospect, I couldn’t be sure of that either. I shook my head. “I’m sorry I left you.” Why hadn’t I taken her back to the castle to be buried at the very least? Why hadn’t I questioned why her body hadn’t disappeared more? Sebastian would have. How could I have let Father control me like that?

“What happened to Henry?” Her soft voice brought me back.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. He was dead on your grave when I arrived.” I only knew what my father had said happened. I had no reason to question it. A new hope took residence in my chest. “Are you saying you’re still alive? We could still bring you back?” Joy filled me. “How can I help you, Bella? How can I stop this? Who did this? Was it Father?”

The flames brightened. “I can’t hold on much longer. It’s stronger than I am, Cheney.”

I struggled to think of anything good to tell her, but the bad memories were so much stronger in my mind. My mind raced with possibilities. After all these centuries, I could still save my little sister. “You are stronger than it,” I said. “Think of our mother, think of me, think of Winny. Don’t let Father continue to poison you.”

She nodded, but the Bella I loved was fading.

“Cheney is married,” Sebastian blurted. “To a half-elf and he took the throne from your father. It was quite the scandal. Still is.”

She smiled. “I knew he couldn’t fool you forever. You will be a great ruler. What is she like?”

“Strong, curious, and playful,” I told her. “She never gives me a moment’s rest and she doesn’t accept anything at face value. She always digs deeper. So basically—she’s a lot trouble.”

“Cheney is the best version of himself with her,” Sebastian added. “You should see the two of them together. She keeps him honest. Your brother has even started a governing council, made up with representatives from each of the races. He is making history.”

“She sounds perfect,” Bella said. “I wish I could meet her.”

“You can. Just hold on. I can bring you back.”

“Really?” The flames in her eyes flickered and dimmed a little. “Yes. You will love her and Selene would love to meet you.”

Her eyes flashed in recognition and the fire rekindled. “I know that name. I’ve heard it. He wants her.” She clutched her hands together. “He wants Selene.”

“Who?”

“Father.” She closed her eyes, but her lips curled in anger when she said his name.

“If he wanted Selene, why curse our bloodline and not hers?”

“He couldn’t curse hers. He didn’t have access to her blood, so he cursed his own to distract you. Go to her. Stop him.”

“But you’ll—“

“Go!” she shouted.

“I’ll keep talking to her and feeding her memories,” Sebastian said, waving me on.

The guards’ absence from our room flashed through my mind. Was he already there? No one knew the castle better than my father, and despite my taking the throne, many of the guards were still loyal to him. I transported in a blind flash.