The Dark Side of Family (The Dark Side, Book 1)

Devils' Deal

           Kylie and Raina sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Kylie was…broken. Her life had changed so drastically in so little time…startled, she thought of just how much her life had changed. Blain had come back for her, she found out Jasper had killed him, she saw him lose his wings, and she saw him killed. She had finally gotten out from under Jasper’s thumb only to be kidnapped twice – once by Spencer, allowing her to meet her biological father, and once by Satanail and his minions, allowing her to find out her mother was dead. She tried to wrap her mind around all of the things she had learned in the last week. She tried to understand that supernatural beings weren’t just characters in books and stories; she tried to wrap her mind around the fact she was a witch with very rare powers. It was all just so…overwhelming.

            “Kylie?” Raina said after a few minutes.

            “Yeah?” Kylie asked, her eyes focusing back on her mom.

            “Satanail wasn’t lying, you know. He just…didn’t know how to find me; he probably didn’t think I’d come, even if he had, considering he’s supposed to be an arch nemesis of mine now.”

            “What?” Kylie squeaked, her voice at least two octaves higher than normal.

            “Satanail and I…well, we’ve been friends for a lot of years. When I was just a little girl, he saved me from another cabal. I don’t know if he did it just to start a truce with the coven, because my father was the leader at the time, or if he had other reasons. Honestly, I think he did it because I reminded him of the daughter he lost, though he rarely talks about her.”

            “He saved you?” Kylie asked, astonished.

            “Yes…he did. He remained very protective of me afterwards, too…and as I grew older, I fell in love with him. In spite of the truce, though, I wasn’t allowed to be with him – if a coven leader has a daughter, she must be betrothed to the next coven leader. My father picked Isaac, and as a result, I was forced to marry him. I never wanted to live that life, and then…then I found out I was pregnant with you.”

            “So you ran away? What about my father, didn’t you think he had the right to know his own daughter?”

            “Our relationship was not a good one, Kylie…though you’re right. Isaac did deserve a chance to know you, and he probably would have been a good father. I couldn’t leave you in that world, though, Kylie. In spite of a coven’s best effort, half of their children don’t make it to puberty…and I couldn’t let that happen to you. Tension had been rising between the Cabal and the Empyreans since Isaac had taken over, and the coven would have become a target of every other Cabal in North America once they found out about you. If they didn’t accomplish killing the coven, Cabals worldwide would have found out about you…and so I ran.”

            “You ran to protect the coven?” Kylie asked, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to internalize all of the information her mother was throwing at her.

            “Yes…and to protect you, inevitably. You were safer in the mortal world, especially while your powers were binded. That’s why they didn’t develop sooner – Satanail and I binded them.”

            “I…why bind them? Wouldn’t I have been even safer if I’d been able to protect myself?”

            “Because, Kylie…your powers were so strong that they could be sensed. To bind them kept you safe – made it impossible to track you because of your magic.”