They look just as animated and uncomfortable as they usually do when they’re within striking distance. Turns out, good old Candy girl and the Prince of Darkness once had a mean fling that ended badly. And when I say ended badly, I mean that for everyone on the planet more or less. But as of late—AKA after the faction war—they’ve tried to be amicable. Or at least as amicable as you could be without setting the world on fire.
Suffice it to say, she and Demetri have quite the sordid history. Like I said, they were a thing until they weren’t. Hearts were broken. A certain Fem spent centuries groveling. A certain Caelestis spent centuries making sure he was miserable, and the twisted beat goes on and on.
I squint that way, trying to get a better picture of what might be happening. My mother’s face glows an eerie shade of crimson, her fists balling up at her sides, and she’s leaning his way, expelling some serious verbal wrath from her mouth—so much so that his hair blows back in her wake.
Honestly, it’s sort of impressive.
But it does beg the question,what the heck is this about?
I guess there’s only one way to find out.
“Duty calls,” I mutter, rising from my seat.
“Want backup?” Logan asks, already halfway to standing.
“I think I can handle this one,” I say, passing both him and Gage by. “I’ll just have a quick little mother-daughter chat.”
“Try not to start a war,” Marshall mutters just as Em, Nat, and Michelle flock to him like a bunch of smitten kittens. Some things never change. My money says one of them, if not all three, will be undressed and in his chambers tonight, bearing riding crops as offerings. Rumor has it, they’re not above doing a little begging, either.
I make my way across the sand, trying to look casual while speed-walking toward what appears to be a brewing celestial storm.
Demetri notices me first. His face shifts from defensive to relieved, as if I’m the exact divine intervention he was hoping for—which is rich, considering our history.
Demetri is older—like centuries old—but handsome enough to steal the heart of my earthly mother and hold it hostage despite her marriage to another man. Demetri is tall and menacing, he has dark hair, dark eyes, and he has an even darker soul.
“Perfect timing,” he says smoothly, while backing away from the crazed lunatic my mother has just morphed into. “I have somewhere to be. I’ll leave you two beautiful ladies to catch up.”
Coward.
He disappears faster than free food at a faction meeting, leaving me alone with Hurricane Candace, whose anger hasn’t diminished one bit despite his exit.
“Do we have a problem?” I ask, looking at the woman who birthed me. Problems seem to have plagued us ever since.
Candace lifts her chin. “We don’t have a problem. We have solutions.”
Why do I get the feeling her solutions are going to be a very,verybig problem for me?
Her eyes flash a supernatural shade of blue that makes my skin prickle. “I need to attend to some matters, Skyla. We’ll speak more of this later.”
“Mother—” I start, but she’s already dissolving into a glittering mist.
Showoff.
The bonfire winds down as the stars claim the sky. My friends collect their sleepy children, goodbyes are exchanged with promises of getting together again soon—as if we don’t all see each other nearly every day anyway. The perks and curses of island life. But there’s not a soul here who would trade this haunted island for anything. Paragon is home, it’s family, and it always will be.
The last guests take off, leaving just our immediate household, and Logan and Gage approach from opposite ends of the beach like perfect celestial bookends. Very hot, very delicious-looking bookends. And as Chloe Bishop might point out, very much mine.
“So, what was that about?” Logan asks, nodding to the spot where Candace once stood.
“Honestly? No idea.” I shrug, watching Eden twirl in the dying firelight, seemingly immune to bedtime fatigue. “And I really wish I had one. My mother was angry at Demetri—which isn’t exactly breaking news—and then she mentioned solutions in that cryptic way that probably means I’ll be losing sleep for the foreseeable future.” And maybe a body part.
Gage frowns, and those storied dimples of his dig in. “Solutions to what?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” I blow out a breath while leaning into Logan as he wraps an arm around me. “She didn’t elaborate before pulling a disappearing act.”
Logan’s arm tightens around my waist. “I have a feeling you’re about to find out in the most spectacular way.”
“And something tells me we won’t like it,” Gage adds, watching the kids with that protective gaze that still makes my heart swell.
