Unless… the cursemadehercare for me. Compelled her to go through the motions of child-rearing.
Because who could love a monstrous child like me unless they were forced to do so?
Suddenly, there’s only a deep, dark pit of nothingness within me.
“It was lies,” I whisper against the keeper’s chest. “It was all lies.”
His voice rumbles in my ear. “I’m taking you away from here.”
The scent of his skin becomes fiery a moment before dragon wings form smoothly at his sides and he wraps them around me.
“I’m taking us all away.”
The now-familiar pressure of the mist envelops me, and I wish it could fill the cracks in my heart.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The keeper’s warm wings part, one of them remaining wrapped around me, supporting me as I open my eyes.
I see my new surroundings as if I’m far away and removed from them.
My bare feet settle onto the wooden boards of a wide porch that overlooks a pristine beach and a vast ocean. It was morning back at the apartment in New York, but it’s nighttime here. The air is salty and the sky is clear, a deep darkness that’s sprinkled with stars.
I’m aware of Lucian, Anarchy, and the three male panthers arriving at different points along the porch, the mist clearing from their bodies as they find their feet.
There’s a sense of space within the building behind me. Diaphanous, white curtains swoosh softly where they billow at wide windows and multiple wide doors, but the sound they make may as well be a million miles away.
“Where are we?” I ask, my voice wooden. “Are we back in Australia?”
The keeper’s arms remain around me as he shakes his head. “This is an uninhabited island off the coast of Japan. Dark creatures once lived, fought, and died here.”
Nearest to me, Anarchy shivers and the panthers are on alert as they edge toward the front of the porch in the direction of the vast beach.
“What kind of creatures?” Anarchy asks, her head tilted and her nostrils flaring, as if she’s trying to access the sharp hearing and sense of smell she must have possessed as a panther.
“Dead ones,” the keeper reiterates.
Her eyes narrow at him.
Without further elaborating on the creatures that once lived here, he says, “There’s a jungle at the center of this island. Your brothers will enjoy hunting in it.”
She sniffs. “It’s true. They’re hungry. As am I.” She continues to glare at the keeper. “We need to hunt and eat.” Her expression softens as it passes across me. “But we won’t go far.”
“As you like,” he replies.
I’m not exactly sure what food Anarchy will consume now, but I’m certain that the panthers are in need of raw meat.
I expect them to take off immediately, but they all look at me, quietly approaching to nudge up against my legs.
“You don’t need my permission,” I manage to say.
With a final nudge each, the strength in their bodies pushing me harder into the keeper’s side, they leap down the porch steps and disappear along the white beach. Their black bodies are like shadows as they run like I’ve never seen them run before—like they haven’t had a chance to run since they were liberated—all sleek and elegant as they stretch their legs.
Anarchy gives me a determined glance. “If there are any threats on this island, we’ll take care of them.”
The keeper huffs. “I placed a protection spell over this entire island the moment we got here.”
“Very well.” Some of the tension leaves Anarchy’s shoulders before she leaps off the porch and onto the sand.
