JAX EAGERLY TOOK MY booze and helped me sneak into Cade Dixon’s room at Magnolia House.  At least I didn’t have to scale the outside and crawl through his window this time.  I pushed opened the door without knocking, peering in.

Maybe I should have knocked.  He could be doing something private.  That would be embarrassing as hell.

“Cade?” I whispered.

A large lump was lying on the bed.  The curtains were drawn, blocking most of the sunlight.  The dim room smelled like laundry detergent.  I slipped in just as he began to turn over. 

His hazel eyes met mine.  “You always come in through the window.”

I scoffed.  “That was one time.  Do you really expect me to pull a Spiderman every time I want to visit you?”

He squinted and reached over, cutting on the lamp.  “Kory?”

“Who else would be bothering you while you were sleeping and on a strict, no visitors allowed punishment from Nurse Ratched?”

A smirk tipped the edges of his lips as he sat up, leaning against the pillows.  “Not many.”

I inched closer.  “You good to talk or should I come back?”

Cade patted the bed.  “I couldn’t send you away after all the trouble I’m sure you had to go through.”  He winked.

I sat on the edge of the bed.  Cade seemed relatively okay.  Hopefully he didn’t go screaming at the top of his lungs in a few minutes.

He motioned his hand toward me.  “Go ahead.  Ask away.  I’m sure that’s why you’re here.”

My brow arched.  “Really?”

“I can’t promise I’ll answer, but you can ask.”

I nervously twisted the ends of my hair.  “Why did Cordelia have the Liber de Sanguine?” 

His face immediately paled at the mention of my mother’s real name.  Of course he didn’t know she was my mother.  After a lengthy pause, I’d given up and was going to ask another question when Cade finally spoke.

“She wanted to keep the Book of Blood away from Lucius.”

I knew that much.  “Why?”

His head tilted, probably wondering why I wasn’t surprised by the mention of the very first demon.  He licked his pale lips.  “Because she wanted to keep him from finding out who his last living direct descendant was.”

Those missing pages must have held that information.  Did she rip them out and destroy them?  “Do you know who it is?” I asked.

Cade slowly nodded.  “Her.”  He swallowed hard.  “Cordelia.”

Ice sank to the bottom of my stomach, freezing my core.  I blinked, shaking my head.  He had to be mistaken.  That couldn’t be true because that meant… it meant that I was his last descendant now.

This was the reason Lorne wanted me for—something.

“Kory?  Are you okay?”  Cade’s warm hand was on mine, chasing away the horrific images trailing through my mind.

I was descended from the evilest creature in the world.  No wonder the darkness in me was so strong.

“I’m fine.”  Liar.  “What happened after she got the book and found out?”

“She ran away.  She couldn’t let him find her.”  He shook his head.  “She got away.  Cordi’s safe.”

My lips thinned.  “No, she isn’t,” I blurted before I could stop myself or the anger from bubbling up.  “She died because of Lucius.”  There was no doubt in my mind it was his fault.  If he wasn’t the one to literally rip my parents’ lives away, he was still at fault.

“You’re wrong.”  Cade shook his head.  “She visits me.  All the time.”  He motioned toward the window, his eyes beginning to lose focus.  “She visits me at night.”

Uh-oh.  I’d pushed his crazy button.  Cade was confusing me for my mother.  It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Cordi visits me.  I’m telling the truth.  I’m her best friend.”  He continued softly muttering to himself.

I patted his hand.  “It’s okay, Cade.  I know she visits you.”  If I got the chance to kill Lorne, I’d do it.  I’d shove my knife through his heart so he couldn’t hurt anyone else.

A knock resonated on the door, and I tensed.  Oh crap.  I was busted.  Rex was going to kill me when he found out.

A head of sandy blonde hair poked through the crack, a pair of dark, gold-flecked irises meeting mine.

Relief exited my lungs, and a haughty smile curled my lips.  “Well, well, look who decided to drop by for a visit.”

Ian’s face fell, and he cursed under his breath.  “What are you doing here, Kory?”  He walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

“Just visiting an old friend.”  I motioned toward a mumbling Cade.  “You?”

He shook his head.  “You set him off.”

I scoffed.  “He told me I could ask questions.”

“There’s a reason he’s not allowed visitors, especially nosey teenagers who don’t know when to stop digging for answers that will get them killed.”

I stood and crossed my arms over my chest.  “Well, according to Cade, I’m as good as dead.”  I marched toward Ian.  “I’m Lucius’s last living relative.  Before my mom died, he was after her, and now the same goes for me.”

Ian’s lips thinned into a tight line.  “He shouldn’t have told you that.”

“Why?” I hissed.  “It’s my life, and I should know what my enemies want no matter how big and bad they are.”

 He gripped my shoulder and pulled me toward the other corner of the room.  “Don’t worry about Lorne.  He won’t get to you.  He won’t use you.”

“Use me?” 

Ian cursed at his own slip-up.  “Just stay at Amarose and stay with Rex.  You’ll be safe.”

My face turned incredulous.  “Do I look like I’m good at staying where I’m supposed to?”  I motioned around Cade’s room, pointing out the obvious.  I wasn’t supposed to be there.

Ian closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.  “No, in fact, you’re not.  You’re probably the most reckless and disobedient teen I’d ever met.”

Was that supposed to be a compliment?

His eyes opened, landing on my wrist where I now had over seventeen broken infinity marks.  “You’re also the only teen capable of backing up her ridiculous arrogance.”

I smirked.  “Tell me what Lorne wants.”

“No.”  His brows knit, his face turning serious.  “And that’s final.”

Final?  Did he know who he was talking to?

I crossed my arms against my chest.  “If you don’t tell me, I’ll seek out Kye again.  I’m sure I could eventually persuade him to tell me the truth.”

Ian’s jaw dropped, and his head snapped back as if he’d been physically stung.  “You’re bluffing.”

I motioned toward my marks.  “I can cash the checks I write, remember?”

Ian cursed and began pacing the room.  His resolve was wavering.  He didn’t want me putting myself in unnecessary danger, and he hated Kye almost as much as Rex did.

Finally he came to stand in front of me, his expression sour.  “Fine.  But I’m warning you, don’t do anything stupid with this information.”

What did he think I was going to do?

“Lorne wants to become a ferrum again,” Ian said point blank.

A humorless laugh escaped my lips.  “Is that even possible?”

He gave a quick nod.  “He’s found a ritual for it the same way he found one to become a demon.  It’s dark and just as twisted.”

My brow arched as trepidation sank to the pit of my stomach.  "What do I have to do with this?”

Ian licked his dry lips, hesitating. 

Spit it out already.

“He needs to suck your life force completely out, shattering your soul in the process.”

Suck it back in!

My feet backed up until the edge of a chair hit my knees, and I dropped into it.  All the blood drained from my limbs, leaving me cold.  Lorne wanted to suck me dry and destroy my soul all to become what he had thrown away.

Son of a bitch.  This was bad.  No wonder no one wanted to tell me.

“Blood of my blood,” Cade said, rocking back and forth on the bed.

Now that made sense.  Lorne needed the blood of his blood to become a ferrum. 

“Why?” I whispered.  “Why does he want to be a ferrum again?”

Ian sighed.  “I guess he finally realized what a monster he really is.  He thinks doing just this one bad thing can turn him good.”  He sank to his knees in front of me.  “Mostly, I think he misses Aurora’s light.”

“Screw her light,” I hissed.  “Why can’t she stop him from doing this?  She’s a goddess for shit sakes.”

“It’s not that simple.”  Ian grabbed my hand.  “But I won’t let that happen.  We’ll find a way to stop him before you turn eighteen.”

My brow puckered.  “I have to be eighteen for it to work?”

Ian nodded.

Lorne had referenced my age and how time was running out.  “What’s stopping him from storming into Amarose and taking me?” I asked.  “He’s had plenty of opportunities in the past.”

“He couldn’t until you knew what you were and had truly accepted your path as a demon hunter.”

I blinked.  “So if I had never found out about this world, killed that demon, I would’ve been safe?”

“Yes.”

If my parents had succeeded in keeping me in the dark about who and what I really was, my life wouldn’t be in jeopardy.  I also never would have met Rex.

A sick feeling twisted my gut.  That was something I wasn’t willing to give up no matter how much danger it put me in.

“And he hasn’t taken you now because you have a caetera,” Ian said, interrupting my dizzying thoughts.  “If he takes you too soon before you turn eighteen, Rex will have enough time to find you through the caetera bond.  He has to wait until your birthday or close to it.”

Only a few more weeks until I turned eighteen.

“Thankfully you’re not the only thing he needs,” Ian said.  “He doesn’t have the trifecta completed.”

My brows knit.  “Trifecta?”

Ian nodded.  “He needs two other people, but I’m not sure who they are.  It probably has something to do with bloodlines.”

I swallowed hard.  “He has to suck the life force from two other people besides me and destroy their souls?”

“No.”  He rubbed his forehead.  “Your soul is the thing that will restore his light.  The others are only there for their life force.  Their souls will remain intact.”

Oh great.  I was the special ingredient in this screwed up recipe.  The identities of the other two bloodlines could probably be found in the book.  My mother hadn’t just hidden it for her lineage. 

My hands trembled as I ran them through my hair.  “How do you even know this?”

“Demons talk,” Ian said, his dark eyes shaded with mystery.  He wasn’t going to give me any more information.  He was protecting his source. 

Fine.  How he was getting his info wasn’t important.  My soul remaining intact was.

But there was also one other glaring issue now bouncing through my mind.  Lorne needed my mother so he wouldn’t have killed her.  Ian admitted Kye wasn’t the one who murdered my parents.  Was there someone else who wanted them dead?

 

Nighttime blanketed the small farm Magnolia House sat on before we finally exited Cade’s room.  I didn’t want to leave him so riled up, but I hadn’t intended on staying after sunset.  Rex was going to kill me.

My eyes flickered toward Ian as we marched down the stairs.  At least I was with a teacher this time.  Ian stopped by Nurse Emily’s desk, shooting her a smile.

“Hello, Emily.  How are you doing tonight?”

Her green eyes narrowed on me before she turned back to Ian.  “Fine.  I’d be a lot better if I knew how this one keeps sneaking into Cade Dixon’s room.  I’m assuming that’s where you’ve been, Kory.”

I shrugged nonchalantly.  “No comment?”

Before she could respond, a loud crash echoed from deep in the house followed by a scream.

I bolted toward the origin of the sound, my body acting on instinct.  Ian was close behind.  Cold air rushed through one of the living rooms from the opened door.

No.  It wasn’t open.  Part of it was hanging off the hinges while the rest was splintered on the floor.  The cloying scent of licorice mixed with the wind.