“Yeah, thanks,” I said, and then shut my mouth. I wasn’t interested in talking about Gage right now. I’d slipped past denial and gone straight into the anger stage of my grief.
“Where are you headed off to?”
“I need to make a stop at the bank,” I said curtly without slowing my stride.
“The bank?” Dash looked over at me with a question in his gray eyes.
I nodded. “My gran gave me a key to a safety-deposit box that my mom left me. I’m going to check it out.”
Mission “save my mom” was back on. If there was even one piece of information in that safety-deposit box that could help me bring her home, I needed to know it.
“Would you mind some company?”
“Depends.” I lifted an eyebrow and shot Dash a side-eye. “Are you coming to support or guard me?”
Dash wasn’t the type to just want to hang out. This was probably the most he’d spoken to me since we met. Something was definitely up, and I knew after that level ten attacked us a second time that Aurelia might want to put some restrictions on me. Even though Aurum and I had killed her, Apollyon could easily send another demon. I wondered if Aurelia sent Dash to babysit me.
He smiled. “Can’t it be both?”
I barked out a short laugh. “Honesty, I like it. Sure, you can tag along.”
Dash and I were mostly quiet the rest of the way to Lower Manhattan. Dash was a man of few words, and I was lost in my thoughts, so we paired well together today.
After we climbed the stairs that led to the bank’s front door, I waited in line to speak with a teller. I fiddled with the key in my pocket while we waited, rubbing my fingers over the notches. Dash was like a silent sentinel next to me the whole time, and I found it oddly comforting.
I showed the key to the teller when we reached the counter, and gave her the number Gran had given me, as well as my ID. She waved over one of her associates, a young redheaded man, who could escort me to the vault where they kept the safety-deposit boxes. With a kind smile he asked that I follow him. I took a couple of steps after the bank employee before I noticed Dash wasn’t following.
“I’ll wait here,” Dash said when I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Seems like something you should do alone.”
He was probably right, but suddenly I didn’t want to be alone. I nodded anyway and jogged to catch up to the employee, who hadn’t noticed I lagged behind.
Within five minutes I was standing in the vault staring at a metal box roughly the size of a shoebox that sat on the small felt-lined table in front of me. After pulling the correct box, the redheaded employee had told me to take as much time as I needed. He showed me a button to push when I was finished that would call for his assistance, and then left.
I sat there for a full minute just staring at the box while I processed the fact that there was going to probably be something life changing inside. You didn’t put something in a safety-deposit box for nearly eighteen years if it wasn’t important. My hands shook as I finally inserted the key in the lock and turned it. Slowly pulling the lid back, I stared inside, surprised to see that the only thing inside was an envelope with my name on it. In it was a single sheet of paper.
Great, another letter. After Gage’s note from last night, it was hard not to feel triggered. I don’t know what I had expected. A family heirloom like a ring or some precious jewel… but a letter? I unfolded the page and fingered the pretty handwriting that was similar to Gran’s with its curly script.
Taking a deep breath, I started reading.
Tatum,
If you’re reading this, it means I’m probably dead.
My throat tightened at the severity of the first line, but I forced myself to keep reading.
I hate that I have to write this letter. Part of me wants to bundle you up and run, but I know that won’t solve anything. He would find us, kill me, and take you. I’ve placed a hidden protection spell on you, but when you come of age, he’ll be able to find you anywhere, so I need to stop him first.
My mom was talking about Apollyon, she had to be. This entire time I’d had a hidden protection spell on me?
I hope you will never have need to read this, but if I fail, there are things you need to know. Most importantly, I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world. I made a lot of mistakes the last few years, but I can’t regret them because if I’d taken a different path, I wouldn’t have had you. The moment you opened your beautiful blue eyes and looked up at me, I realized what true love was and I knew I’d do whatever it took to keep you safe. If I don’t make it back to you, I know your gran will raise you in a loving environment.
I paused, reflecting on the fact that, yes, Gran had raised me in a loving environment, but with the curse placed on her it had been anything but an easy childhood. My mother couldn’t have known what Arthur would do though.
By now your gran has told you who your father is, Apollyon. I hope you don’t judge me too harshly. I didn’t know who he was when we first met. I thought he was a powerful Shade. I was young and naïve, and I thought I was in love. He is the reason I became a Shade. I followed my heart and betrayed my family in the process. What I didn’t know was that he was using me. He needed an heir, but not just any heir, he needed a child who would inherit both light and darkness.
Chills broke out on my arms as I read that last line. I truly was a child of both. I knew my mother wouldn’t have chosen to become a Shade for no reason. Could I fault her for falling for a Shade? Hadn’t I done the same? It was obvious by the way my mom thought Gran had told me that my father was Apollyon that she didn’t know Gran was cursed by Arthur all these years.I took in a deep breath and kept reading.
We come from one of the oldest lines of Lumen Watchers in existence, a chain I broke when I became a Shade. Apollyon targeted me because of my Lumen pedigree. I had always intended to choose Lumen, but when I met Apollyon, it was like a love spell had been cast over me. He was charming and handsome, and convinced me I should become a Shade. Only after we were married—
