Leo frowns. “Working, unlike you.”
“That’s part of the job, fucker,” Granddad Al retorts arrogantly. “Right, I’m going to go tell Kiara that our little bottle of poison has gone to another fucking world. That shit doesn’t even make sense.”
Jaddati closes her eyes and sighs. “May they be brought back safely, all of them. Raihana?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you alright?” Jaddati asks her.
“Yes, I’m going to go get some work done,” Mom says, trying to keep herself together, but she won’t be able to for long. I’ll ask Jaddati for leave and go to her.
“So, what exactly do you know about all of this, Tatum?” Leo asks. “When did they start planning, and how did they contact a god? We need all the details. Once I’m home, I’m calling you.”
Clearly, he can’t speak properly wherever he is.
Great, because he’ll be sorely disappointed as I know a lot less than he’ll probably want to know, and that will just piss him off.
It’s a whilelater, and I now stare up at our home, a house I haven’t stepped into since Dad died and we moved out shortly after. The memory of that day causes my chest to tighten.
I take a slow breath and continue down the pathway, glad Jaddati allowed me to leave; she was worried about Mom, too.
Memories of Dad in this place are around every corner. I look around the garden, remembering tossing a ball around with him here. We sometimes jogged around the length of the property whilst we caught up on how our day went. It was just our time before dinner…
I reach the front door and key in the code, Dad’s voice echoing in my head as he tells me to hurry up and open the door because he’s carrying two huge bouquets, one for Mom and the other for Heaven.
Shaking my head, I step inside, forcing myself to calm my emotions. Mom’s scent lingers, and I follow it up the stairs. She’s not in their bedroom. I walk down the hall and pause when I realise she’s in Dad’s office.
Does she know I’m here yet? I knock lightly on the door before opening it.
Mom looks up, brushing her hair back. “Tatum, what are you doing here?” she asks. So, she knew I had arrived, because she had wiped away the tears already, but her bloodshot eyes are a dead giveaway that she’s upset. She must have seen methrough the cameras.
“I thought my mom might need me,” I answer softly as I walk over to the armchair she’s sitting in. “She’s going to come back, alright?”
She doesn’t answer, wrapping her arms around my waist, and I hug her tightly. She’s silent, but her heart is racing. I stroke her hair. “It’s ok to show others how you feel, Mom… Let me be there for you, for once.”
Her arm tightens. “I wish she had talked about it with me. I could have gone instead. Why did she feel she couldn’t come to me or any of us?” she whispers. “She left a letter… she’s been working on this for so long, and she even traded her voice for Hades’ favour. Why would she even think she has to be the one to make all the sacrifices?” Mom continues, her voice muffled.
I frown. What? “What do you mean she traded her voice?”
Mom pulls away and picks up a letter from the table. “It was delivered to me by magic courier a few minutes after our call. I didn’t even know she knew how to send messages like this. It’s an old practice, one that, as far as I know, no one can even use. I didn’t even know my daughter knew how to… There’s so much I don’t even know about her.”
“You know her, Mom. She just…” I sigh softly, looking down at the letter. “She just needs to spread her wings herself. She had to save Si; we all would do it willingly. They’ll be back; she was confident.”
“I know… I hope she returns to us. Those three were- are inseparable. Read the letter.”
I look over the letter, skimming through it.
She begins by informing Mom about the plan; I’ve heard that part already. Then she moves on to her voice.
I made a trade with Hades, Mama, because he’s the only god who would willingly help. He may be seen as a villain, but there’s a lot more to him than that. I traded my voice, Mama, in return for safe passage to and from the Realm of the Gods. I can still do spells, so don’t worry. This is a small price to pay to bring Sienna back. And you know I’d pay it willingly.
I read the passage and sigh.
Fuck, Heaven, you paid such a high price.
Mom sighs. “I want Sienna back; I’m just so scared we won’t see any of them again… And Ahren, the quints, not to mention Allie! You guys are the future; we’re the ones who were supposed to take risks, not her, not them.”
“Maybe Uncle Liam is right; you guys just need to give us the best training possible, so when she returns – and she goddamn will – then you need to teach her everything you know. Give her the power to become stronger with everything you have. It won’t do any harm to help her.”
