her waist held a katana and a dagger embellished with a gold dragon. It was a present from the Draconis’, the family she had sworn to protect.
“Mom!” I said in disbelief, throwing myself into her arms.
I nestled into her shoulder and breathed in her familiar scent, not wanting to let go. It had been close to four months since I’d seen her last.
Mom ran a hand through my hair and stepped back, her eyes drinking in every inch of me. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Katerina.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I said, trying not to cry. “I didn’t know when I’d see you again…” I trailed off, at a loss for words.
There was no way I could ever resent my mom for being dedicated to her work. She was a respected SRECON agent who sacrificed her own life to protect an influential demon family. She lived with the Draconis’ full-time, away from our own home and from Dad. She only had time off on holidays and tried to make the most of it with Dad and me.
My dad was a normal human with no ties to the supernatural world, but he knew about us and had always been supportive of Mom and me. It was clear that sometimes the living arrangements got to him, but those were the sacrifices we had to make in order to be a part of the supernatural world.
Mom clasped my face in her warm hands. “If you ever need me, you just say the word and I’ll be down here within the hour.” Her blue eyes were firm and reassuring. “I have a couple of teleporter friends who owe me,” she added with a wink.
“Is that how you got here?” I wondered. “An angel teleported you?”
Mom shook her head and walked into the room. I shut the door behind us and followed her to my bed where we both sat down. “Troitan informed me as soon as you’d returned. Your dad was ready to jump at the chance to see you, but I wanted to wait a little before we came to see you. We couldn’t risk showing any involvement in this.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” I said, and I meant it. The last thing I wanted was to get my parents into trouble.
Mom was the one who’d directed me to Madriel, who in turn was supposed to lead me to Valeska. She had cleverly sent the information in Dad’s hands when he’d come to visit me after I’d been accused of Melkane’s murder. No supernatural had ever suspected a powerless human like him of giving me the information that had brought about me running away.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked.
“It was too difficult to get the clearance for him to visit,” she responded, clearly saddened by this decision. “Parlum has stepped up security everywhere and it’s even harder for humans to have access to our world. He said he’d see you as soon as your probation ended.”
Screw Parlum and their laws. Those archaic jerks needed to get over their superiority complex.
We sat in silence—I was fuming—for a few minutes as Mom clasped my hands. Being close to her reinstated to me how beautiful she was. There was so much I had to tell her, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment just yet.
“Katerina,” Mom finally said, breaking the long silence. A sad smile was on her face and I already knew what she was going to say. “Before SRECON gets here, we need to talk about your trip .”
“What if Veritas is listening in?” I asked.
“I took some precautions.” She pulled a strand of auburn hair out of her pocket.
“Angel hair?” I asked in a whisper.
Mom nodded as she put the angel hair back in her pocket. “Don’t worry; Veritas will not be reading our minds. You can speak freely as long as you keep your voice down.”
My shoulders sagged and I sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to meet her eyes. How could I tell her that I’d failed? That I’d made a deal with a witch? That I was on a quest to find a legendary object because a prophecy had told me to? I hated that this would be weighing on her mind, distracting her from her work.
“Valeska couldn’t tell me anything,” I began. “She couldn’t
“Mom!” I said in disbelief, throwing myself into her arms.
I nestled into her shoulder and breathed in her familiar scent, not wanting to let go. It had been close to four months since I’d seen her last.
Mom ran a hand through my hair and stepped back, her eyes drinking in every inch of me. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Katerina.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I said, trying not to cry. “I didn’t know when I’d see you again…” I trailed off, at a loss for words.
There was no way I could ever resent my mom for being dedicated to her work. She was a respected SRECON agent who sacrificed her own life to protect an influential demon family. She lived with the Draconis’ full-time, away from our own home and from Dad. She only had time off on holidays and tried to make the most of it with Dad and me.
My dad was a normal human with no ties to the supernatural world, but he knew about us and had always been supportive of Mom and me. It was clear that sometimes the living arrangements got to him, but those were the sacrifices we had to make in order to be a part of the supernatural world.
Mom clasped my face in her warm hands. “If you ever need me, you just say the word and I’ll be down here within the hour.” Her blue eyes were firm and reassuring. “I have a couple of teleporter friends who owe me,” she added with a wink.
“Is that how you got here?” I wondered. “An angel teleported you?”
Mom shook her head and walked into the room. I shut the door behind us and followed her to my bed where we both sat down. “Troitan informed me as soon as you’d returned. Your dad was ready to jump at the chance to see you, but I wanted to wait a little before we came to see you. We couldn’t risk showing any involvement in this.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” I said, and I meant it. The last thing I wanted was to get my parents into trouble.
Mom was the one who’d directed me to Madriel, who in turn was supposed to lead me to Valeska. She had cleverly sent the information in Dad’s hands when he’d come to visit me after I’d been accused of Melkane’s murder. No supernatural had ever suspected a powerless human like him of giving me the information that had brought about me running away.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked.
“It was too difficult to get the clearance for him to visit,” she responded, clearly saddened by this decision. “Parlum has stepped up security everywhere and it’s even harder for humans to have access to our world. He said he’d see you as soon as your probation ended.”
Screw Parlum and their laws. Those archaic jerks needed to get over their superiority complex.
We sat in silence—I was fuming—for a few minutes as Mom clasped my hands. Being close to her reinstated to me how beautiful she was. There was so much I had to tell her, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment just yet.
“Katerina,” Mom finally said, breaking the long silence. A sad smile was on her face and I already knew what she was going to say. “Before SRECON gets here, we need to talk about your trip .”
“What if Veritas is listening in?” I asked.
“I took some precautions.” She pulled a strand of auburn hair out of her pocket.
“Angel hair?” I asked in a whisper.
Mom nodded as she put the angel hair back in her pocket. “Don’t worry; Veritas will not be reading our minds. You can speak freely as long as you keep your voice down.”
My shoulders sagged and I sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to meet her eyes. How could I tell her that I’d failed? That I’d made a deal with a witch? That I was on a quest to find a legendary object because a prophecy had told me to? I hated that this would be weighing on her mind, distracting her from her work.
“Valeska couldn’t tell me anything,” I began. “She couldn’t
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