“You want me to kill Kyan?” I ask, horrified, but Kaif shakes his head.
“There is a reason that the talisman was always kept by the Octavians, in case they had to kill me if I couldn’t break the curse and gave into the darkness. I am done losing mates, I’m done losing my children. If we can’t wake Dominic, you use the dagger on me.”
“I am not killing Kyan. Are you insane?” I shake my head at his suggestion. No way in fucking hell.
“It won’t kill Kyan, but it will kill me if used on me in this form,” Kaif stresses.
I shake my head again. What he is asking is insane. “Mara would never allow that,” I tell him.
“That’s why I asked you and not her. You are my guardian, and if it comes to choosing between them and me, you choose them. You won’t let me kill her, and I won’t have her kill our child,” Kaif says, snatching the book out of the bag. He storms past me.
“She can handle the darkness, Kaif!” I yell at him.
“That child is the darkness. Marabella isn’t a normal wolf. She is a Gemini twin. That baby she is carrying has more power than anything I have ever seen before,” Kaif retorts.
“What do you mean?” My eyebrows furrow at his words.
“Dark and light, Jonah, that’s what a Gemini is, but what happens when darkness meets darkness?” I am really struggling to try and understand, let alone actually understand his words.
“Octavian bloodline has demi-god-witches, though?” I ask.
Kaif nods. “And she is the daughter of the Moon goddess. That baby is the first in history. He’s a Gemini God.”
“Huh? So like Eziah and Marabella?”
“No, she is the Dark Side of the Gemini. Kyan has celestial shadow magic like me. That baby doesn’t just harness the shadows or the touch of death. He’s both! Complete Darkness incarnate. And power like that. That is the sort of power that can not only destroy the world but bring down the realms!” Kaif tells me.
Eziah stops on the steps, and Kaif’s eyes flick to him. And so do mine. Kaif growls, turning his attention back to me. “Octavian bloodlines stem from the Gods, and so does hers. Let’s just hope it has your temper. God help us if it has mine,” Kaif says, walking back up the stairs toward the third level. Eziah quickly steps aside, staying out of his way.
Kyan
I refuse to let myself have hope. I would know if there was a way for him to come back, right? Yet, watching Kaif in control, the way he skims through the grimoires flicking through pages, his finger running down the pages…
It seems like he knows exactly what he is looking for, though I have never glimpsed this grimoire before. My father always told me not to touch it, so I always left it alone when I went through his room or cleaned in there.
Pressing closer to the surface, I peer down at the pages, looking out of his eyes. “What are you looking for?” I ask him.
“The incantation used to create the stones,” Kaif answers. I can feel Jonah hovering behind us, watching us. Kaif, also feeling him, looks over his shoulder at him. He stands leaning against the door, waiting for permission to come in.
Jonah knows what boundaries he can cross with Kaif, and Kaif never lets people into this room. Although Jonah has been in here with me, Kaif always forbade him from entering. Kaif hated even me being in here, but he had no choice, seeing as we share a body.
He knows this place haunts me. It was the first time I witnessed what a monster Kaif could become. The vibe of this room is dark, and my power thrives in here, but so does Kaif’s, making us a beacon for the shadows to overtake us.
“You can come in, Jonah,” Kaif tells him, and he pushes off the doorframe and wanders over to us. “Eziah?” Kaif asks him.
“I told him to stay off this floor,” Jonah tells him, and Kaif nods, returning his attention back to the book.
Kaif flicks through the pages, stopping on a page I can not read, yet his eyes move over the page quickly, and I can get a sense of understanding from his thoughts, which tells me whatever the pages say Kaif can read.
“So the stones, if they can kill you. Now don’t take this the wrong way. I am glad you’re not dead, but why wouldn’t you use the dagger on yourself and end the curse?” Jonah asks.
“Because the curse wouldn’t end just the bloodline. Luna would still be trapped in the shadows along with my son; I wanted to at least free him. By the time I realized I couldn’t break it, too many were trapped there. I couldn’t walk away. I would be trapped in there, too. The Octavian bloodline would end, everyone would be trapped, their souls never to rest,” Kaif answers.
“But you would do it for Mara?” Jonah asks.
“I wanted to fix my mistakes; I still loved Luna despite everything. She didn’t deserve to be trapped in the shadows, and neither did the Octavian bloodline. None of them did, and I could set them free.” He whispers.
“What’s changed, then?” Jonah steps a little closer. I can feel his curiosity though the bond and so does Kaif, but it seems that he doesn’t feel bothered by it.
“Mara changed everything. She forgave me. I won’t let her be the next Octavian woman trapped there. She fought to save me, even after everything we had done… She forgave the unforgivable; I can live with their hate, but I won’t let it destroy her or you,” Kaif answers.
“What do you mean? I am not Octavian,” Jonah says.
“You were Octavian the moment I marked you. The bloodline will continue with the child she carries, so if it means me dying to stop me from killing her, I will take it from her,” Kaif announces. His voice echoes off the walls, it’s so loud that it proves how determined and serious he is.
“So what if she is wrong? What if we can’t bring him back?” I can feel his worry at that. What if we open it and it and it is for nothing? What if we open it and find bones and nothing else?
“Trust me, Kye. If she believes he can be brought back, I believe her,” Kaif tells me.
“Kaif?” Jonah asks, and Kaif sighs. He is careful with the book, careful not to tear the pages. “We need celestial power and an anchor. Eziah and Marabella can open the casket, but they need to channel something.”
“The ruins?” I ask.
“It could work,” Kaif says out loud.
“What could?” Jonah asks.
“We need to get Dominic to the ruins. Just one problem,” Kaif says.
“What’s that?” Jonah asks.
“The power needed to open that casket. Marabella can’t channel that sort of power without running the risk of it killing her,” Jonah chews his lip, looking down at the grimoire.
“I can channel her, but you can’t take on that sort of magic either, Kyan. I can, but I can’t enter the ruins in my form, and you can’t channel me once in there,” Kaif quickly tells me.
“I can channel her power,” I tell him.
“Not without an anchor to stop the shadows from taking you over,” Kaif growls at me.
“We have no choice unless you know another witch?” I snap.
“You could become lost in the shadows; it could send you insane,” Kaif tries to argue.
“If there is a chance my father is alive, I am doing it. And I am not risking my mate or our child to do so!” Kaif thinks for a second when Jonah touches him, drawing his attention away.
“You alright?” Jonah asks.
“Yes, just arguing with Kyan,” Kaif tells him.
“So what’s next, then?” Jonah continues.
“We get Dominic to the ruins,” Kaif responds.
“Eziah and I will go. You stay with Mara,” Jonah says, gripping our shoulders. Kaif nods, turning back to his grimoire when he suddenly blocks me out, completely stuffing me further back into the pits of our minds so I can’t see what he is doing.
“Kaif!” I call out to him. Eventually, I feel him let me take control, and I am back in my room. Ella is laying beside me, and I blink, looking around.