“So far we have what?” Kayden’s question rescued me before I let my mind spiral.
“The first half of the prophecy I’d already told you about and now this.” I opened the book where I’d found the rest of the prophecy on the page of the original text and showed it to him. “The second half.”
“Is it in the same Eastern whatever demonic language?”
“Eastern Ethereal, but much to my surprise, it’s old Angelic not Demoniac.”
“Why the surprise?”
“I assumed it was specifically related to Damien and his kingdom, but I was wrong. This prophecy is as ancient as time itself.”
“You mean before the fall?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s even moreseriousthan we thought. No wonder they’re rather perturbed, sending an asshole archangel and all that to stop it. They didn’t do anything when Rena was dying, or when we had to make the deal with Damien to save her or when she made her deal with him or when he stole those evil babies, but they interfere now. Typical Heaven behavior.”
I frowned. I couldn’t agree more with the last part. Heaven never cared about us. To them, we were unworthy of their attention. The cursed and the damned and the evil. Why would they care? However, there were a couple of thing he said that piqued my interest. “Why are you saying your cousins’ babies are evil?”
“If you’ve seen the way she behaved when she held one of them, you’ll know.”
“But you said she wasn’t in her usual control around blood before she held the baby. I thought it was Belle’s dark impulsive side that was taking over because of Damien.”
Kayden shook his head. “She was fine when we got off the truck. Something only ticked in her when we got in that clubhouse, when she was getting closer to those babies. And don’t forget that Damien chose those girls in particular to raise in Hell. There must be something overly dark about them. You should’ve seen how their mother reacted when Belle asked why those babies were chosen by Damien.”
“What did she do?”
“She turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and kept saying her children weren’t evil. They were half human, half shifter, and that was it. They had nothing to do with the devil or our issues with Heaven.” Kayden flipped a page in the book he was reading. “If you ask me, she was lying. Damien told her more than she revealed, and she was hiding it. Those girls are evil, and they have a lot to do with Damien and, most likely, Heaven, too.”
I rubbed my chin, soaking it all in, and then I leaned forward, grabbing another book. “I think I’ve found something here that could support your theory.” I opened the right page and showed it to him. “Here. Children of unholy parents, who are conceived under unholy circumstances and are first touched by the devil are doomed evil in so many cultures, and even in some are publicly called Children of the Devil.”
His thick brows hitched. “This can’t be a coincidence or word play. Didn’t you say the first part of the prophecy involved an offspring touched by the devil?”
“Yes. So far what I presumed to be the translation of the first part goes like this. Touched by the Devil, they rise. An offspring with the power to unite darkness against light. The Devil’s cursed passion tumbles the kingdoms of heaven and hell with equal force.”
“So iftouchedmeans exactly that, then my cousins’ girls are that offspring?”
“It’s a valid possibility since Damien went through all that trouble to facilitate their conception and then deliver them himself to take them.”
“If that’s true, what do they have to do with Belle and whether she has a baby with Damien or not?”
“The Devil’s cursed passion. That could either be them, figuratively, or Isabella, literally. I’m more inclined to believe it’s Isabella.”
“So the girls have the power to unite darkness against light, but Belle is the one who can tumble Heaven and Hell?”
I tapped my fingers on the table, and then I closed the book. Everything changed now in my head. I ran the possible theories and they didn’t add up. If the girls were the ones Damien needed for the prophecy to happen, why was Heaven scared of his offspring from Isabella?
With a frustrated sigh, I grabbed the textbook with the second half of the prophecy. “Listen to this. Thesomething, I couldn’t find this word anywhere, builds and destroys until there’s chaos, no dark or light. Whose side they take shall have the power to again rise.”
Kayden gaped at me. “I’m so confused right now.”
“Me too. None of this makes any sense.”
The front door opened as Alec came in, snow falling off his naked body. One of theperksof living with two werewolves was watching them come home naked every time they forgot to pack something to wear after a run. I should have made one of Isabella’s notes to self to always keep a couple of spare jeans outside the cabin for the wolves.
Fuck. Nothing could distract me now after reminding myself of her sweet quirks.Why did you have to go, my love? I’m worried sick about you, and I fucking miss you already.
“Any luck?” Alec mumbled.
