“Malinium,” Roman repeats. “It works in a similar way to the metal infused in the walls of the prison in Mortem. It protects the Balance by constraining power.”
Haldi and Galvin nod vigorously, and Adriel says nothing—in his charming way.
I consider the silver sheen that covers the glass, which seems to hold the joints together and adds to the brightness of its surface. Thefloriatumfrom Mortem’s prison constrained Malia’s power and trapped her and Taniya within the prison’s ever-changing walls—and nearly trapped me too. But if the Stella Astrum version is the substance that coats the frozen lake, then Malia has already proven she can defy it.
She could use her power to get him out. Or at least, she could try.
But even if she succeeds, that is only the first step.
How to restrain the beast he has become is the larger problem.
I keep my thoughts to myself while Haldi continues to explain the nature of malinium. “It’s a very powerful elemental metal,” she says. “It has allowed us to constrain the Demon King’s power and keep him caged.”
Before we can ask any more questions, Jareth smashes himself against the glass again. His black eyes meet mine, and I recoil when he smiles.
“I know you, bitch!” His voice is a deep rumble—monstrous—and it has the same effect as the scraping of nails across a board. It’s so unpleasant that I shudder and wish I could block my ears.
“You look like your whore of a mother.” He lifts his head and cackles, all of his pointed teeth glinting in the light. “I can’t wait to rip out your throat and drink your blood.”
I tell myself that this is not my father. Not as he would be with a soul. This is pure darkness and the worst of demons.
But no matter how much I repeat that within my mind, I can’t halt the tightness squeezing my chest. Can’t push it away or compartmentalize my feelings.
I’ve hated my father for most of my life. When I found out more about him and discovered the possibility that he might have truly loved my mother, my feelings toward him began to change. I even mourned not meeting him. Then, when his soul helped me and my sisters escape the prison, I started to believe that he might one day be part of my life.
Not like this. Not as he continues to spew venom at me, words of hatred. Words of death and destruction. So vehement that his speech merges in my hearing and becomes a wash of hatred.
Roman steps in front of me, blocking Jareth’s dark gaze.
His presence gives me a second to breathe before he thumps his fist against the side of the cage.
“Enough,” Roman growls at Jareth. “Don’t make me open this cage and tear you to pieces, old friend.”
Malia and Taniya press in on either side of me, and I can feel my wolves behind them, all of them no doubt sensing my distress. Apparently, I’m hiding it even worse than I thought.
“Don’t listen to his bullshit,” Taniya tells me, squeezing my arm.
Jareth growls louder and there’s another crash, but I can’t see what’s happening as Roman continues to shield me.
Taniya responds to the nextthudby stepping to Roman’s side. Her harpy springs forth as she snarls. “Fight me and I’ll show you who’s the fucking weak one.”
Jareth stops snarling as suddenly as he started, and I’m about to step around Roman to see what my father is doing, when Jareth says, “Now here is a creature I can relate to. A beast born of the same bloodthirsty savagery as I was. You and I, harpy, are the same.”
Whatever pain I was suffering fades as my fury rises. Taniya is nothing like this leathery bastard. Nothing.
I’m worried about her reaction, but she’s cold and in control. The rage of a harpy tempered by the reason of a wolf.
“We are not the same,” she says, a low whisper that seems to command Jareth’s attention. She presses her palm against the cage, the tips of her talons tapping it lightly as she speaks with the confidence of someone who knows she’s loved. “I have a pack. You’re alone.”
She takes a step back and he watches her every move, his large, black eyes flickering from her golden talons to her face, which is tinged with caramel while she’s partially shifted.
Her voice softens a little. “That is, until we can reunite you with your soul. And then you have a family waiting for you to help them.”
Jareth immediately thumps his fists against the glass. “My soul made me weak! It made me foolish! If you seek to reunite me with it, you will only fail.”
My heart sinks with every passing second. I didn’t imagine that we would find my father like this. Our plan was to take him back to Mortem, return to the prison, and—somehow—reunite him with his soul. I never dreamed that he would fight against us.
I turn and find Koda standing back from my pack, his face pale as he stares at the cage. “That demon is nothing like our father,” he says, shaking his head while his bliss power dusts the air around him. “We have to help him.”
