Dark Divine (The Divinities Book 3) Read online

  And protect the last of her family. Lydia relaxed and tugged her mom into a hug. “You’re right. I have nothing to worry about. Logan will be cared for and safe. Why do I feel like a bad mother?”

  Angelica laughed softly. “You are a mother. It is our instinct to protect and care for our children. Which is what you’re doing.”

  Her mom was right. Lydia was doing what she could to ensure that Logan was safe and out of the demons’ reach. Now she’d be free to put an end to Khan and his evil plans.

  “Dia, don’t be reckless.”

  Lydia blinked at her mom. “I’m not going in alone, don’t worry.”

  Vanessa approached with a sleeping Logan in her arms. “Are you ready?”

  Lydia nodded and followed the Elder along with Mel and the others to the basement where Noah’s man cave, as Zach called it, was located. It was also where most of the private rituals were performed.

  Usually, the basement was a comfortable, lounge-like room. The center of the room would be the sitting area with a sofa and chairs. Tonight, the furniture had been moved to the outer edges of the space, replaced by an altar.

  Lydia followed Noah and Vanessa to the center of the room, much like she had during Jacen’s passing over ceremony. But she wasn’t burying anyone today. This is for his protection.

  A moment later, Mel took her place next to Vanessa. Lydia met each of their stares briefly. “Mel said this would be temporary.”

  Noah nodded, his smile was gentle, and his silver-blue eyes shone with wisdom and strength. “Yes. I wrote it so the spell would break upon Khan’s death. I figured that would be for the best.”

  Lydia agreed, although, deep down, she panicked. What if they never killed Khan?

  “Are you ready?” Mel asked softly.

  “Yes. Should I hold him?”

  With a short nod, Noah answered. “If you wish.”

  Glancing around, Lydia noted everyone in the room. Kalissa, Khloe, Ayden, Zach, Kristof, and her mother all stood in a circle around them. Each one radiated love and support. This was her family. She might have lost her dad, brother, and husband, but she’d gained so much more.

  Kalissa stepped forward, placed a coal disk in the ceramic incense burner and lit it. After the coal glowed hot, she blew out the flame and then placed a pitch of frankincense on the coal. Fragrant smoke rolled out of the top of the incense burner as Kalissa moved around the circle, purifying the space.

  Noah spoke in a soft but clear tone where everyone would hear him. “I’m not going to bind Logan’s powers. Instead, I’m going to do a spell similar to the one I did to mask Zach’s power. It’s more like a dampening spell. I altered it to include a protection element. By the power of three”—he indicated himself, Vanessa, and Mel—“the spell will be unbreakable.

  Lydia remained silent. Her belly was wound in knots, and she had to fight to stay in place. “This is for the protection of your son.” Ayden’s voice filtered in her mind, only giving her a little comfort. Being surrounded by empaths was worse than being bound to her telepathic brother. A new ache tightened her chest.

  Jacen is one of the reasons I’m doing this. The demons would not take another loved one from her.

  When she met Noah’s gaze, she relaxed. Wisdom, strength, and love lit up his silver-blue eyes. She could see why the other Divinities loved him so. Being around him soothed her fears and made her believe that everything was going to be fine.

  With a deep breath, she stepped closer to the trio. Each Elder kissed Logan on the forehead before joining hands, combining their powers into one ball of white energy. The room filled with an electric charge that made the hairs on Lydia’s arms stand on end.

  The Elders raised their arms in the air above Logan, and Noah spoke the incantation. “By Earth and Fire, we draw strength. By love and compassion, we give Logan Rayners absolute protection from Khan and all bad intentions for all his days. Punishment will come to anyone besides his grandmother, Angelica, and mother, Lydia, who removes him from the Maxville Coven for as long as Khan lives. With the power of three, we ask the goddess Hecate to mask the young Dark Divine’s powers from all with evil in their hearts so he may live safe, loved, and protected.”

  The electric current flowing around them intensified. A swirl of light and dark magic twirled around them, closing in until it formed a bubble around Lydia and Logan. The smell of rosemary and earth filled Lydia’s senses. Hecate. Although the goddess didn’t take physical form, she was there, granting her strength for the spell.

  “Thank you, Goddess,” Lydia whispered just as the bubble tightened around them, then expanded out, only to snap back a moment later. The power vanished faster than it had appeared.

  Glancing down, Lydia noted a small purplish mark in the center of Logan’s forehead. Noah leaned in and whispered, “Only we can see the mark. It’s a warning to the demons.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  Vanessa wrapped an arm around Lydia’s shoulder. “Let’s have some tea and cookies. And watch that sweet baby sleep.”

  A smile lifted Lydia’s lips while an unconditional love bloomed in her heart. Family wasn’t just blood. Family was everyone who would love, protect, and accept each other without question or judgment.

  The one thing she’d missed while married to Mikal.

  Her gaze met Zach’s, and longing made her ache for his touch. Not just sexually, but to just know she belonged. They had a lot to clear up between them. Since his secret was out of the bag, it was time she confessed hers.

  “Do you mind taking him? I need to talk with Zach alone.” Lydia’s words were soft so only Vanessa heard them.

  The other witch smiled wide and nodded. “Of course.”

  Ayden, Noah, and Kris moved the furniture back in place while the women gathered around Logan. Lydia made her way to the stairs where Zach waited. She’d been so used to Jacen reading her thoughts growing up—not because he pried into her personal space but because he couldn’t turn the telepathic ability off—she didn’t mind that Zach could read her by her emotions.

  Zach’s empathy was comforting in a way. She welcomed it, welcomed him. No more running and guarding her heart. It was time to go after what she wanted.

  She wanted a family and a magical mate to spend her long existence with.

  Another thing she wanted was to burn Khan alive, make him pay for all the pain he’d caused the magickin communities. But she wasn’t going to do it alone. She didn’t have to. She had Zach and the Divinities.

  “How do you feel?” Zach studied Lydia, unable to get a clear reading on her emotions. It wasn’t because she was blocking him. She seemed to be numb.

  She stopped walking and faced him. “You can’t tell?”

  He shrugged. “I feel numbness.”

  “I guess. It’s more like the calm before the storm.” A spark arched within her green and blue eyes as she stared at him. A moment later, she said, “What about you?”

  He frowned. He’d hidden behind a spell and glamour for so long, he hadn’t allowed himself to feel true emotion. The fear of losing control still haunted him. “This is where I usually say ‘cool as ice.’ But you know better.” Taking her hand, he led her to the playground next to the community center. “I used my dark magic once before. Well, I let it use me.”

  Lydia tightened her fingers around his and then tugged him to sit on the merry-go-round. “It’s hard for me to believe you let anything control you.”

  He let out a bitter laugh. “Behind the playful, sarcastic Zach you met, is darkness.”

  “We all have a darkness inside of us.”

  He raised a brow at her. “What’s yours?”

  She drew her brows together. “You first.”

  Fair enough, he guessed. “I was eight, and my dad was on one of his power-drunken binges. Usually, he would just verbally abuse my mom, but that night, he was different. He hit her, over and over. I feared he’d kill her. Bethany was at a friend’s house.” Zach took a deep breath, fe
eling the magic flowing in his blood. The thought of his bastard father touching his mom made Zach want to kill him all over again.

  Lydia brought his hand to her lips. A pulse of healing power soothed away the pain he hid from everyone. He met her gaze and was lost. Papa was right. Lydia could help him. “I killed the bastard. I blasted him with a power so dark it scared me in the end. I just raised my hands and thrust all the rage and dark power I had inside at him.”

  “You did what you had to do to protect your mom.”

  He leaned into her, pressing his forehead to hers. “That’s what Mom and Papa keep telling me. Bethany says I saved her from doing it.”

  “Was that the first time your dark elf powers showed up?”

  “Yes.” Like a light coming on, he realized where she was headed. “I didn’t know I had that kind of power. We’d all trained in magic since we were born, like all witches. And with the Divinity bloodline running in my family, there was always a chance that one of us would develop a gift. Besides, Mom didn’t know until that night that my father was a dark elf. Sure, she knew he was of elfin descent, but...”

  Lydia smiled. “But she didn’t know to train you to control dark magic.”

  Zach studied how her eyes twinkled in the moonlight. “I guess I need to stop hiding and man up.”

  “It’s about time,” she teased.

  In the next moment, he was kissing her. A groan escaped him between their lips. When she threaded her fingers into his hair and tugged him closer, he grew rock-hard. The urge to teleport them to his condo was intense. The only reason he didn’t, was the feeling of being needed at the coven or close to the Divinities. It was odd.

  Breaking the kiss, he held her gaze. “So, what’s your secret?”

  Nervousness mixed with fear rushed out to him. Lydia turned to give him her profile and stared off into the night. “I…you have to understand that I’ve lost my husband, father, and brother all within a short period of time.”

  Moving to his knees, he knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. “Whatever you did, tell me. We’ll move past it.”

  She made eye contact and breathed in, then out. When she opened her mouth, Ayden’s voice entered his mind. By Lydia’s wide-eyed look, she’d also gotten the message. “There’s been a demon sighting downtown. Time to rumble.”

  “We’ll meet you at Friendship Fountain.”

  Zach stood and tugged Lydia with him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he smirked and said, “Saved by a call to go demon hunting. But don’t think you’ll get out of spilling your dark secret.”

  Then he teleported them to Friendship Fountain on the Southbank of downtown Jacksonville.

  Chapter Ten

  A bloodthirsty need to hunt fueled Lydia’s desire to get to Khan and end this war. He always seemed to be a step ahead. Enough was enough.

  She and Zach materialized about twenty feet from Friendship Fountain, masking their presences in case humans were around.

  After making sure no one was there to witness them pop in out of thin air, they lifted the glamour that helped them hide from the humans when performing magic. Although they tried to not use too much power in public, the demons seemed to care less about exposing themselves.

  Bastards.

  Lydia fisted her hands at her sides. Her skin tingled, telling her there was dark, demonic energy nearby. And it wasn’t from just a few demons. “There has to be a dozen or so of them in the area.”

  Zach nodded beside her. “It’s odd. What are they up to?”

  A moment later, Ayden, Jagger, and Khloe rounded from the front side of the fountain. Khloe sniffed the air while the guys flanked her. When they reached Lydia and Zach, Khloe said, “Talk about a meeting of the ugly and stupid. What the hell? Is there a demon convention?”

  Jagger growled. “They’re not here.”

  “Is your demon sniffer broken?” Zach asked, then added, “Getting weak in your old age?”

  The corners of Jagger’s lips twitched, and the Death Demon flipped Zach the bird. “Okay, elf. Stretch out your senses beyond the fountain.”

  Lydia pressed her lips together at the taunting between the two men. Apparently, Jagger no longer saw Zach as a threat since Khloe and Jagger had mated. They’d resorted to taunts and insults over the last month.

  When Zach stiffened beside her, Lydia frowned and focused on the energy. She reached out as far as it went, which was about a fifty-foot perimeter around the fountain. “It’s a trap.”

  Suddenly, a baby’s cry sliced at Lydia’s heart. She followed the sound without a word to the others. The terror in the crying tore at her soul. And sounded too much like Logan. No. She picked up her pace and went into a jog, then a run.

  Several yards down the Riverwalk, she found the baby wrapped in a bloody blanket in a basket by a dumpster. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her hands shook as she reached for the bundle. Pulling back the blanket, she burst into tears that quickly turned to rage.

  She stood and faced the others. “It’s a doll and a tape recorder.”

  When she stepped around the others to teleport to the other side of the river and hunt down Demetrius, Zach stopped her with a hand on her upper arm. “They want you to react. It was a trap for you. Why?”

  He narrowed his eyes, telling her that he suspected something. “They need to be stopped.” She jerked her arm from his grasp and turned just as Samoan and two Regals materialized.

  “Hello, huntress. I have a gift for you.” The demoness thrust out a hand, and a black ball of energy flew from her palm. “You crave blood so much…now, your thirst will rule you. Factus lamia.”

  Too late, Lydia realized that Samoan had thrown a curse at her. She twisted, but it was no use. The black ball hit her in the back, coating her, soaking into her clothes and skin. Pain burned in her gut and rapidly spread throughout her body. She was on fire.

  Sinking to her knees, she gripped her head as power rushed around her. It was like being trapped in the center of a cyclone. Buzzing and sparks of heat zipping and zinging around her, through her. She screamed but wasn’t sure if anyone heard her.

  Lifting her head, she saw Jagger, Ayden, and Khloe fighting demons. Zach was nowhere near. Pain arched inside her head, forcing her to close her eyes.

  A moment later, she felt as if someone lifted her off the ground. The world spun, and for a moment, she thought she was being dragged through jelly. When the sensation stopped, she smelled…Zach.

  “Vampire.” She tried to warn him, but with the humming in her ears, she couldn’t tell if the word was spoken out loud.

  The scent of his blood tingled her nose. The pain in her head lessened, and only then did she dare to open her eyes. Relief washed through her as she recognized Zach’s room at his condo. Scanning the space, she focused on Zach coming from the bathroom with a wet washcloth.

  His gaze met hers, and he frowned, his brows bunching together as his lips pursed. The thump, thump of his heart mixed with his earthy scent. She groaned as he closed the distance.

  When he sat on the bed beside her, she flew—with a speed she’d never possessed before—to the other side of the room. “Stay away.”

  He let out a sigh. “Don’t make me force you. Jagger said you need blood. Mumbled something about us being mates and that it could help you.”

  She shook her head while her stomach tightened and twisted with a painful hunger she was sure wasn’t for food. “I’ll hurt you.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Zach crawled onto the bed to kneel, facing her. “Neither do you.” He stretched out a hand. “Now, come here. I’d rather your first feeding be with me than a helpless human. Or your son.”

  Cold fear punched her in the chest. Zach was playing dirty. Using her son to strike a nerve. It worked. She snarled. “Leave Logan out of this.”

  “Then come here.” He tore off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Sun-kissed, lean muscles covered his torso. The vein
in his neck pulsed, and she swore she could actually hear his blood flow under his skin.

  Fuck.

  She pushed off the wall and stalked toward him. “What if I can’t stop?”

  He closed his eyes briefly. “Then I will have to…hurt you. But we are magical partners. Theory is that we can’t harm each other without suffering the same pain ourselves.”

  He was right. However, she wasn’t sure she wanted to test it.

  Zach jumped forward and grabbed her hand and tugged her to the bed. Pinning her to the mattress, he smirked. “Now, bite me.”

  Gods, she was weak. And hungry. She struck, hard. Her fangs pierced his throat. The rush of warm, tangy blood flowed into her mouth and down her throat, soothing away the fire raging inside her.

  Zach slid one arm under her and ground his hips into her core. A different kind of fire ignited, flaring into a desire for something besides his blood.

  Mine.

  Yes, he was hers, as she was his. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to feel him. A growl rumbled from her throat. She extracted her fangs from him and snarled, “Too many clothes.”

  Zach stared back at her, his eyelids half closed as if he were drunk on desire. A lazy, yet seductive smile lifted his lips. “You have some explaining to do about hunting demons alone. First, I want to taste you.”

  Oh gods, yes. Glancing at his neck, she spotted a small stream of blood from the puncture marks. She licked the bite out of instinct, and because she couldn’t let the bit of blood beading at the holes go to waste. A moment later, the small holes closed.

  A smile lifted her lips while her gums ached. But before she could move to bite Zach, he nipped at her bottom lip. “It’s my turn to taste you.”

  His tone was playful and a warning at the same time. A growl rumbled from her throat as need intensified the desire to possess him. Without warning, Zach tore her clothes from her body, exposing her to him.