Chapter 36

The Darke Kingdom was silent except for the night breeze and a distant whistle like an airplane overhead. But a blue glow started in the sky outside the gates, and when the fabric of time ripped open, a ball of blue flame erupted from the hole left behind.

Always dressed for a party no matter where she roamed, her perfectly kept black open-toed shoe wiggled its way from the fire.

While she wiped the dark vapors from her coppery skin as she walked from the blackened mist and the tiny scraps of blue embers that floated away in the wind, Tessa sauntered in her slow, sultry, hip-switching way past the Sentry's post. Little bony fingers wiggled at him, and thick black lashes winked her emerald, green eyes.

Her smooth Southern accent dripped from her tongue like sap from a tree as she turned her head slightly and put her hands on her hips. "Good evening, honey. How is my favorite ole Sentry in the whole wide world?"

It wasn't often that her men allowed Tessa to leave the gates of the North Woods unescorted. As the townspeople caught a whiff of the beguiling charms of seduction the Fates blessed her with while she passed them by, it was clear why a constant male relative by Tessa's side was necessary.

Even the stoic, always faithful Agamori was not immune to her enchantments and gave his best tight-lipped grin and bowed his head as she came up the cobblestone path. "It is always lovely to see you again."

Her arm slid through his as he escorted her to the stairs of the castle, and Tessa scrunched at her hair as she scanned the landscape for something else to entertain her. "Why thank you, Agi."

She caressed his arm with her fingertips as she flirted with him like she didn't already have too many lovers. "I do so love this place. You know, when I first got here, Daniel invited me to come live in the castle and I just might take him up on that." She stopped him, and her shoulders rolled as she wiggled her chest to his, and her fingers slid down his cheek. "Because I'd just love to be able to see your handsome face every day."

His pale, translucent skin flushed as he rolled his eyes away to the guards who waited for their turn with their favorite witch. "You are such a vixen."

Her blood-red lips met the tip of his nose, and she slapped his cheek with the pads of her fingers. "You better believe it."

She was like summer strawberries and champagne, and the door guard took a deep breath of her as she passed him. "Thank you, baby."

He would have known it was her even if he didn't hear the clicks of her heels against the stone floor. The guilt of Tessa's downfall sat in her brother's chest like a cancer, and he rubbed at it as he held out his hand to her. "Good evening, Sugar."

From the other side of the thickly built walls, Mory flinched as Tessa's gravelly voice echoed through the foyer and into the Dining Room. "Alright goddamn it, where is she?"

Even though she was warned of what to expect, when she saw the little beauty come around the corner, her heart skipped a beat.

The dining hall was silent, and every soul that stood in the path that separated them parted as the firebreather strolled to her prey. And when she locked eyes with Mory, Tessa's hand slapped to her chest. "Great balls of fire, would you take a look at her?"

She rubbed at Stella's shoulder, but her eyes took in every inch of her stepmother as her other hand swatted at her face. "That lucky old bastard sure did find himself a looker, didn't he?"

And like the world didn't exist to her at all, Tessa's body atomized into tiny droplets as she moved through the table between them. Once she passed through the wood and the food and cups, she made herself whole and dropped onto the bench beside Mory.

Her nose hovered above the human's skin as she sniffed at her hair. And like a kitten, she purred her sweet breath across Mory's ear. "I'm so happy to meet you, beautiful."

"That's enough." A piece of bread slapped Tessa's chest as Teddy sat down across from her. "Let her get settled before you start acting like an ass."

Her pouty lips curled at her brother, and he kicked her foot as he apologized to Mory. "Sorry about that. I'll get you a newspaper to smack her with if you want."

An elbow draped in black thumped to the table, and Tessa's cheek rested on her hand. "I got to hear everything, baby girl." Two thin fingers snapped together, and it echoed through the entire hall. "Chop. Chop."

A huff of air shot from Mory's mouth, and her eyes bounced back and forth between the twins, but when Tessa's fingers tapped at her arm, she couldn't help but want to do as she was told. "Everything, go on. I'm waiting."

"Tess." Teddy shook his head at his sister and warned her with the pointy end of his fork. "Leave her alone. You got the whole evening to drive her crazy. Let the girl eat."

A hand waved between the two of them. "It's alright." Mory swallowed the last of her wine and pressed herself up from the table. "I'm all done. Let's go."

Tessa's hands clapped together as she giggled, and her forked tongue shot out at her brother as she rose her palm to him. "In your face."

Tessa's fingers wiggled at nearly everyone she passed like a pageant queen on a float in a parade, and once they left the dining hall, she gripped Mory's hand and swung it between them like they were two girls on the playground. "Okay. Spill it. I want every ugly detail, the dirtier the better."

The skirt of her dress spread out as Tessa threw herself onto a sofa by the fireplace and patted the seat beside her. And when Mory pressed her back into the cushion, Tessa put her arm around the back of the couch behind her. While her palms rubbed back and forth the front of her jeans, Mory blew air through her mouth and widened her eyes. "Where do you want me to start?"

Time meant nothing to the witch, and if she had to keep her new mother there all night, she would. Her arm bent to wrap a lock of Mory's hair around it, and she brought it to her nose. "Birth."

Although family and friends came and went through the evening to try to pry her away, Mory never left Tessa's side. And even though she'd kept nearly every aspect of her life secret from everyone, somehow she couldn't stop spilling them all to her daughter.

She sank back into the cushion beside Tessa and tossed up her hands. "So, that's everything, I guess."

Her fingers interlaced with Mory, and she gazed at the firelight. "I'm so happy for you both. If anyone in this universe deserves to be happy, it's him. He's the best man I know. I mean, I love my Daddy and Teddy, but Haldir took care of us when he didn't have to."

Her glassy eyes rolled over the ceiling before she turned to Mory. "He could've just dropped us off here and been done with us and gone back to being that dirty old Viking he used to be, but he toughed it out. He was there for me when no one else in the whole world was."

While she pushed the tears off her face, Tessa licked her lips and glanced back to Mory. "He's been there since the day I was born" —her finger poked at her thigh — "and I'm telling you, there's not a better man in this world or any other."

Mory gasped and no matter how she tried to hold it back, her entire body trembled. "I know it. I just wish I knew where he was."

Little bony fingers gripped her chin. "He's on his way, you can be sure. That man hasn't ever let me down, and he sure as hell won't ever let you down, Mory."

Tessa yawned and snuggled a little closer as she pulled the blanket up to her chin, and she was already snoring softly, when Mory rested her head on her.

And like an old movie projector being plugged in, the door of Tessa's mind opened, and every long-forgotten memory played out before Mory's eyes. They were her horrors now, and there was no unseeing it.

When the worst of it came to her, Mory's hand slapped to her mouth to stop her from screaming.

Her hands balled into fists, and her teeth clenched together as she cried silently, but when she got control of herself again, she kissed the top of Tessa's head. "I'm so sorry. I won't let anything happen to you again."