Chapter 83

• Only you have the power to save them... a sweet voice reminded me...Save them all
• The memory of my mother reared up before me, so intense that for a minute the greens of the forest plundered in my vision, the image of it transposed over the frozen horror to come. I smelled the rain, felt the coolness of fresh air running through my face and hair. I remembered the feats my mother has performed with her gifts, the stance she took when she chose to heal ravaged the recesses of my mind. The bearing of her breath in the cold night when she helped dying animals and plants, the isolated moment I saw her drain ichor from a coyote that stole her goats. The sigil atop my palm glowed hot and sang to every memory. And finally, I understood what the power my mother had left in my protection did. What it meant and why it was converted by many. All that power resided in me to create balance and the frozen picture before was not harmony. Single strands of bright red exploded from within me, pure and relentless, flooding over the entirety of the room before twisting to where Lilith stood. Before the vampire queen could dagger my mate with the force of her fingers, the threads wrapped around her and held her in place. Almost immediately, the frozen image before me came to life. Jason swooped Satake up and turned to face Lilith. The threads held her in place. Blood streamed out of her flesh the further she tried to shrug off the cords of fate. Using the threads as a collar holding a stubborn dog, I commanded Lilith towards me. The power within me rose ten folds as I peered into the eyes of the famed countess of blood.
• "What is this?" She hissed, struggling to stand her ground. The more she tried to root her feet to the ground, the deeper my threads cut; inflicting wounds that would never heal.