“Why do you keep calling me that? I’m a lot of things, but I’m no queen.”
“But of course you are. Why else do you think I’ve sought you for so long?”
“Because my ancestor sealed the Hellgate, and you needed my blood, and Alex’s, to open it. Since that’s long passed, now you just need us out of the way. And you probably want revenge, since I’ve made you look stupid once or twice.”
Annoyance flashed across her features. “While all that’s true, my motives have shifted. I do not need you now becauseMorganis your ancestor—but because someonefarmore powerful is.”
Far more powerful than Morgan Le Fay? Besides Merlin, I couldn’t think of a single witch in history, and they were basically equals who excelled at different things. And there was only one other strong witch throughout history in my family bloodline.
“If you’re talking Deliverance Dane, I hardly think she’s more powerful than—”
“Not the Salem witch!” Ishtar spat. “That side of your lineage isnothingto the other branch. Don’t you remember what I told you so long ago? How the world has always judged women more harshly? Even now, you default to your father’s line, when your mother’s blood is that of royalty. The blood that carries that of Isis herself.”
“Isis?”
“Isis! Hekate! Freya! Many more goddesses, all the same, all the progenitor of magic.”
I froze. What Ishtar said was so similar to what Merlin had preached back in his English cottage. And while I might not have known who Isis was off the top of my head, Hekate was a name I could not mistake.
“The . . . goddess of magic? You’re saying I’m her descendant?”
Ishtar nodded. “In blood, as well as magic, which few witches can claim. It took me a while to understand, but now that I’ve seen it, I would recognize her power within you anywhere. It, just as much as the ghost in your head, is keeping me from entering—from possessing you. You don’t need the mind witch, just like you never truly needed the little trinket you wore for protection.”
“But you almost possessed me before,” I argued.
“Almost. With anyone else, it would have been instantaneous, but something in you always stopped me. It’s why you’ve been able to evade me more than any other, though your skills werelacking.”
My lips pursed. She wasn’t making any sense.
“But Morgan—”
“She didn’t know. Her birth was already shrouded in so much mystery. Was she the daughter of a fae king as they said? Or perhaps just the offspring of a common witch? No, your ancestor never delved into her past as she should have. Perhaps she was too preoccupied with others’ pasts and lives. It was one of her few mistakes.”
“But . . . I . . .” I fell silent, unsure what that meant for me. “Does that mean I’m a godling? If so, how come I’m not more powerful?”
The demon queen smirked. “Technically, yes, you are a godling. As for your abilities, youcouldbe more powerful if you learned the ways of the old gods. Ways that I know.”
She patted the throne of bones next to her. The one I suspected had been Xaphan’s seat of power. “We’ve had an opening in the underworld. Join us, and I’ll show you the way to unlock all the power within you. I’ll show you how truly great you could become.”
My lips trembled. No way did I want to join her, but I did want to know. Dammit, I wanted to knowso bad.
“I can’t. I—”
A roar flew from the demon soldiers around us who had been standing by quietly, and suddenly, half of them fell to the ground and dissolved into nothing.
My breath hitched, realizing that could only mean one thing.
Another royal had fallen.
CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR
The Queen of Hell’s intense crimson gaze scanned the room, her blue lips parting slightly as she took in the fallen all around us.
If I move now, I can strike while she’s unprepared. This will be the easiest shot I’ll get.
I leaned forward just enough that my heel separated from the ground, and Ishtar’s eyes snapped back to me.
My moment of easy victory vanished.
