"Blood of the family, blood of the one that broke it, blood of mates to bind, to beat, to breathe," Delphi said, slicing his palm open, and then her own. She took his hand, smearing their blood together, and holding it out to the centre of the sigil on the floor. Scarlet drops fell onto the pale marble, and magic scorched the air.
Tenebrys stared in awe as their blood ran thick and fast through the lines carved on the floor that connected the graves like arteries to the central heart. For a moment, the world stood still and held its breath. Then power drove them to their knees.
A deep thumping beat echoed three times in the cavernous room before everything went white.
Tenebrys didn't know how long he had been knocked out, but he came to moments later on the floor with Felix shaking him. Delphi was still unconscious and sprawled out on the stone.
"Are you okay?" Felix asked, his eyes filled with fear and worry.
Tenebrys was about to say yes and then stopped. For the first time in almost three decades, he could feel the château alive and pulsing with power.
Delphi still hadn't moved, so he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He couldn't smell any wounds on her except for the blood on her hand.
"We need to get her out of here," he said and moved carefully between the graves. Their blood was still glowing in the lines that made up the spell, and he watched where he stood so he didn't disrupt them. "Lady Rosemerta, the heart is beating again. Our blood, our bond…it broke the curse. At least, that part of it."
They were still in their twisted hybrid forms, but to get the heart of the house to beat again was a miracle all on its own.
Both Tenebrys and Felix took a deep breath of relief as soon as they were back in the main hall. The doors were still open to the outside world, the night dark and deep around them.
Felix grabbed his arm and yanked on it. "Look at that."
Tenebrys was more concerned about his mate, and then, in the corner of his eyes, he saw the flickering light blue and gold light between them and the Mistwood.
"Holy goddess, the wards are back up," he whispered.
At one time, they had been powerful enough to repel any enemies that tried to invade their territory. He wasn't sure what they would be capable of now, but at least they were back in some form.
"That kind of power coming back to life, the fae would have felt that," Felix said, a touch of panic rising in his voice. "If just walking in the woods let Plagues know that Delphi was here, imagine what that would've done."
Tenebrys growled, soft and menacing. "I need you to do two things for me tonight. First, find Luna and have her track down Narcisse. Plagues has a connection to him, which means he will be able to possess him and use him as a human agent. I don't trust that lordling either. He's too ambitious and greedy, and Plagues will know exactly how to manipulate him. The second thing I need you to do is tell all the others that the wards are up, and they need to come home.Now."
"What about the gateways?" Felix asked, his ears flattening. "If we don't guard them, who knows what will come through?"
"Plagues isn't that stupid, especially if he is desperate enough to act straight away to get Delphi. He needs to conserve his magic and not send any more lackeys through. If the fae come before the next full moon, it will be in force, and we won't be able to stop them alone. Pull everyone in, and then we can make a plan," Tenebrys commanded. He stared down at his still unconscious mate, knowing that their whole survival dependedon her and that they needed to protect her at all costs. "Go now, Felix. We need to prepare for a siege."
30
Delphi spent the following day alternating between the library and the crypt. Tenebrys had finally been convinced that she wasn't about to disappear and had gone to track down his shifters.
She could remember what had happened the previous night, but not the words that she had spoken out loud to complete the ritual. She had heard music and whispers of a woman's voice, and the knowledge of what she had to do had flowed through her like wine.
She could now see why Tenebrys had never wanted to show the heart of the house to her father. This kind of power, the strange nature of the magic, would have been even more tempting to Narcisse than it already was. Despite that, he had still managed to destroy it somehow.
"And I was the key to bringing it back," she mused aloud. "There has to be a way to break the rest of the curse."
Delphi looked back over her notes and added in a few details about how her parents had summoned a fae lord, and not a demon after all.
Had he told him how to syphon the heart's magic? There was no way Narcisse could have come up with it on his own. If Delphi could figure out how they had destroyed it once, she could ensure that it never happened again.
Obsessing over the wards and the heart stopped her from standing in front of a mirror and staring at all the changes that mating with Tenebrys had wrought.
Delphi had been feeling self-conscious about it when she had awoken that morning, wrapped carefully in Tenebrys's arms. She had become less so when she had felt a rush of longing, adoration, and a healthy dash of lust from him. She didn't know how she was going to get used to being tied to him in such a way.
Magic was the only explanation she had for her new set of horns and the fangs and claws that seemed to come out when she was angry.
One thing was certain: Delphi would never be accepted in the human world again. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. For one thing, she had never really been accepted anywhere she had lived. She had always been afraid of her witch blood, of being different, and was tired of having to hide who she was.
At least she now had a home, a place to belong, and a lover who adored her.
