Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

He couldn’t believe his eyes, and his heart bled at the sight before him. She was pale, with scratches and bruises all over her face and body. Without her magic, he had no doubt that she was in a world of pain.

No one knew where he was, and he’d tapped into some ancient magic in order to be where he was – but looking at her, he knew that deep down, he’d done the right thing.

Something told him he needed to do it.

She heard a shuffle and she looked up, not believing her eyes. She’d been tortured for what seemed like an eternity, that she was sure that this was the final punishment she’d be receiving before they finally killed her.

“This is cruel, even for you creatures,” she said to no one in particular.

“What is?” he asked.

“That you would create a mirage of the one person who has never given up on me to torture me,” she replied.

“I’m not a mirage Dessa. I’m really here.”

She scoffed. “And I’m supposed to believe that not only are you in this place of all places, but that you’ve actually come for me?”

“All I’ve ever done is prove my love to you, time and time again, even when you didn’t deserve it of me,” he defended.

“Even if I believed that you’re really here, you helped them put me in here,” she spat.

“I am not here to fight you Odessa. I’m here to get you out,” he told her.

She let out a chilling laugh. “All the more reason why you’re not really here. Merlin Beinvenido would never break any rules, much less for me of all people.”

He was getting annoyed. “I sometimes wonder why fate would be so cruel as to give me a wife like you, but despite everything, here I stand and yet you continue to mock me. I should just ignore the warnings and leave you here then.”

That caught her attention. “What warnings?”

“I keep seeing images of a dragon and I get whisperings telling me to come and get you out of here, but since you don’t want to leave, I’ll just go,” he replied, turning to leave.

“Did you just say a dragon?” she asked.

He nodded. “It’s a huge red dragon. Balthazar encountered it a couple of years back and said it turned into a man with long red hair and a raspy voice. He insisted he’d been to The Vaulsino when he saw this man, except this man told him otherwise. He didn’t have any essence on him that suggested that he was there, and this man not only knew who he was, but he promised that they’d see each other again.”

“How long ago was this and what else did he see in this vision?” she asked.

“A village perishing under this shapeshifter, and it happened before the last time we were at the stream together,” he relayed.

She was pacing, saying things to herself. “What is it Dessa? Speak to me. Let me help you.”

“He’s here,” she whispered, fear in her eyes.

“Who’s here?” he asked.

“The man who made me what I am – he’s here, and he’s going to go after our son to make me suffer. If not our son, everything and everyone he cares about. He will stop at nothing until I am completely ruined, and he already knows that you and Balthazar are my weaknesses,” she responded.

It was the first time she was being honest with him about that, and he was especially surprised at her concern over their son.

“You’re actually concerned about Balthazar?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

The hurt in her eyes blindsided him. “I thought you knew me better than that Merlin. Balthazar didn’t survive because of your genes. He survived because he’s my son. Despite whatever evil you think I’m capable of, none of it can win against my love for you and Balthazar. It’s the one thing that drives him mad.”

“What are you saying Dessa?” he questioned lowly.

“He’s had trouble with tracking the two of you for centuries simply because I have used most of my powers to protect you both and throw him off his trail. If he has been in contact with Balthazar, it only means that he’s that much stronger. He’s coming for everything Merlin, and he will stop at nothing until he has it.”

“If I get you out of here, will you finally tell me everything?” he asked.

She looked into his eyes, tears shining in hers, before she shook her head. “I don’t deserve you Merlin, and I definitely don’t deserve to leave this place. Maybe I should just let him find me and kill me like he wants to.”

“Kill you? Don’t you work for him?” he asked.

“I have never willingly worked for him, and I turned on him in the worst way possible. I took his most prized possession and made it my own, though I’d like to believe that he’s taken it back by now. If he’s here and he finds me, he will kill me for sure. I’m the one person who has the knowledge on how to truly take him down,” she informed.

“Then we’re getting you out of here without question,” Merlin declared.

She shook her head. “I’m going nowhere with you if all you’re going to do is look at me with hate in your eyes. I’d rather die Merlin. The whole universe could hate me, and I’d still live, but if you hate me, I’d rather die by that evil man’s hand than have the only man I’ve ever loved hate me.”

He sighed. “I have never looked at you with hate in my eyes Dessa – hurt and disappointment maybe, but never hate. I could never hate you.”

“I’m tired of fighting Merlin. I’m especially tired of fighting alone. I’ll tell you everything, and if you choose to leave me after that, I will finally set you free,” she ended on a whisper.

He finally reached out to touch her, caressing her cheek. He softly ran his thumb over one of the bruises as a lone red tear slid down her cheek. He wiped it away before putting his arms around her. She held onto him tightly, not caring about the wounds she was aggravating.

Using the last bit of the power that he’d taken to get there, he got them both out of there – hoping and praying that all things would work out from what he’d done.

***

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Ophelia said in frustration.

She was sitting in the lounge with her mate, her son, his mate, Balthazar, and Gail. Everyone else had gone to do something to help – Mark and Faith had gone back to their pack, Dante, Orion and Maya had gone to find out what they could, Boris and Auriela were still in the house somewhere, and Domitius and Crystal had returned to their kingdom to help out.

“There’s absolutely nothing we could do, even if we tried. We’re completely cut off from the kingdom,” Rixon told her.

“Completely? What do you mean?” Balthazar questioned.

Rixon shifted uncomfortably. “There’s something happening, that much we know, but it’s also something quite powerful. I have been cut off from the kingdom completely, so I can only guess that the same can be said for Phi. I cannot link anyone, not even her.”

“Can you link me?” Jacob asked him, to which he shook his head.

“Mateo cannot possibly have that much power. This is starting to sound like black magic,” Gail commented.

“Except where would he have accessed black magic? Only my father knows where it is,” Balthazar reminded.

There was a great war amongst the witches, and when the sorcerers found themselves drawn into it, all councils involved agreed that something had to be done before the species wiped each other out.

One of the covens had discovered how to create black magic, and many died before they were willing to give up their dangerous creation. It was agreed that the magic would be contained, and given to the only person strong enough to handle it to take it away.

It was stories like this one that served to remind Balthazar of just what a powerful man his father is.

It’s the one thing that made him proud of his father – unlike his mother, his father hadn’t let the power get to him. He’d done right by different species for years, gaining all their trust and friendship.

Except much like he didn’t truly know his mother, he didn’t know it then that he didn’t really know his father either.

“Maybe your mother got to him?” Gail suggested.

He shook his head. “The magic is locked away wherever; I’m sure of it. Whatever’s going on with Mateo has nothing to do with black magic.”

The werewolf royals were sceptical of the man’s insistence of his point, but before they could bring up their concerns, they watched as confusion shadowed the mate’s faces. “Mom, dad, I’m coming home.”

“Juniper?” they responded.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m coming home and I’m bringing some people with me. I would really appreciate it if you’d bring everyone together in Rome. It’s important. It’s quite literally a matter of life and death,” Juniper replied.

“Where are you?” Gail asked.

“I’m safe, and we’ll be there in a couple of hours. Please make the necessary arrangements and we’ll explain everything.”

The link was shut off and Balthazar could only breathe in deeply to rein in his emotions. “What’s going on?”

“It would seem our daughter’s free, and she’s headed here with some people. She asked that we gather everyone here for an important meeting,” Gail relayed.

“Did she say what it’s about?” Anastasia asked.

Balthazar shot her a look. “If you truly know my daughter, then you know the answer to that question.”

“So, what now?” Rixon asked.

“Now, we prepare ourselves for whatever storm we know our daughter is bringing with her.”

***

“Your daughter?”

“Yes – my daughter Cordelia Rose Aquarius,” he confirmed.

“Hold on one minute! Are Saelone and I the only ones who don’t have children?” Khal saw fit to ask.

Because you know, that was the most important question that needed to be asked then.

“It looks like it. I’m confused though. How is Rose your child Draex? And where’s my sister?” June asked him.

Grief overtook his features. “He killed her right in front of me after she gave birth to our baby girl.”

I caught her just as her knees buckled. “No.”

“I failed her Laen. I failed her, and I failed you,” he whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek.

“Draex, Rose is only nine. Have you been alive this whole time?” Khal asked him.

He nodded. “Isisily and I went into hiding like we’d all discussed, but the two of us only found out much later that it was you two who had lied to us about that because you knew that I would try and stop you from whatever stupid plan you had. We’d long given up Atlantis to the Ocean lineage, so we stayed in our hiding place. We’d come to land to try and find you, but we found out much later that the six of you had somehow disappeared from the timeline. Isisily suffered from grief from losing her sisters, and it took her years before she was remotely ok again. When she fell pregnant ten years ago, I was sure that it was our chance at a new beginning.”

“I’m so sorry Draex,” June sniffed.

I wrapped my arms around her, turning to my brother. “How did he find you?”

“Isisily needed help with giving birth, and with it not being my expertise, I took us to land. I went to Deondrameda for help, and we got through the birth just fine. He must’ve tracked me then. I didn’t even see him coming. I just felt myself go cold, and I turned to see the blade right through Isisily. It missed Rose, and before her dying breath, Isisily transferred all her powers to our little girl. I managed to grab them both and disappear before he could kill Rose too, and I learnt that Isisily also cast a protection spell over her. I buried the love of my life, and I’ve watched over our little girl since,” he explained.

We were stunned into silence. We’d already lost so much thanks to him, but looking at my brother, I realized that none of us had it worse than him. He was a shell of a man – a man who had lost everything.

He may still be watching over Rose, but he can’t truly live with her – not while the danger exists.

“That explains why Rose is so powerful. It also explains her bond with Marissa, Mateo, Roman and I,” June commented.

Draex nodded. “She’s known from the moment she met you who you were, even if she couldn’t quite explain it.”

“But what about her Oracle side?” I asked.

“Marionessa and Isisily worked on the Oracles together. Marionessa found that she connected with the witches better, and Isisily worked with the Oracles. She’d harnessed and perfected the power over the years. She transferred it to Rose, together with all her other power,” Draex explained.

“Which means Rose is a hell of a lot more powerful than we thought,” June commented.

“You said we need to find her. When last did you sense her?” Khal asked.

“Two days ago – she went to Atlantis with Draxlon. The young prince insisted that something is going on in the Underworld, and he felt they’d be safer in Atlantis. I could still sense her there as I lurked around the castle, until I felt her send out an SOS of sorts. I haven’t been able to sense her since,” Draex replied.

“So, she’s in the sea?” Khal asked.

“That’s my greatest guess, except I don’t know how he’s made it into the castle. Isisily made sure that we protected it before handing the kingdom over,” Draex said.

“Someone let him in – someone who has Tristan wrapped around her evil little finger,” June hinted.

“Akola? You think she’s behind this?” I asked.

“I know she is. Who else would want to harm Rose? She and Draxlon have a connection, and that alone is enough to have the woman hate her. She wants Drax to suffer at all costs,” she pointed out.

Draex looked livid. “I will kill her.”

“She will get her day Draex, but we need to be careful here. Rose’s life depends on it. If we’re doing this, then we’re going to do it right, and we’re going to be prepared. We are going to defeat him, but this time, we’re doing it together. Look where lying to each other got us,” June stated, her tears rolling down her cheeks as she fought to stop them.

“What do we need to do?” Draex asked.

“We were talking about fetching Marionessa’s body, but we didn’t know who would be staying here. Tero won’t let Juniper go alone,” Khal informed.

“I’ll go with her,” Draex offered.

“I’m not comfortable with letting her go. I just got her back,” I argued.

“This isn’t the time to be sentimental babe. There’s too much at stake,” she said to me.

“She’s got a point. Besides, she’s still got Marionessa with her, so really, you don’t fully have her back. The quicker we carry this out, the better for everyone. She and Draex can go to Vistas, and I’ll go and see about freeing Dess. You need to stay here in case your family decides to show up. I’m surprised they haven’t yet,” Khal commented, scowling.

That had me curious too. If there’s one thing I know about June and I’s family and friends, it’s that they’re just as erratic as I am – something they’ll all deny without skipping a beat. They’re just as quick to overreact to situations, so Khal had a point.

But then again, life does have a way of aligning itself.

“Mateo, what have you don- June?”

We looked to the new people in the room and I only recognized one of them. From how closely she was standing to him, I could only guess that Max had finally found his mate. I couldn’t help but be happy for him, despite the clear rage he’d brought with him.

“You were saying?” I taunted.

He ignored me, instead focused on his other best friend. “June, when did you get here?”

“Couple of minutes ago,” she said vaguely.

He crossed his arms. “And how did you get here? The magic shouldn’t have allowed you through.”

“What magic?” my brothers and I asked.

At our voices, the girl’s eyes widened. “Max, there’s three of them.”

He frowned. “So, the plot thickens.”

“Why do you not seem as shocked as you should be?” I asked him.

“Because Roman confessed to me that he looks exactly like you, except with white hair and red eyes. It was his way of trying to explain why Marissa may have recognized him as her mate. I’m guessing you’re all related?” he questioned.

Khal nodded. “Brothers – the first of our kinds.”

“And what about June and Marissa?” Max asked.

“Sisters – the first of our kinds. Star and I are Mateo and Zeus’ mates, and Marissa is Roman’s mate. I only have one other sister since our other sister was brutally murdered,” my mate ended on a whisper.

It was tearing me apart seeing her in so much pain.

“Wait, are you guys reincarnated or something?” Max’s mate asked.

“Or something,” we replied.

Max looked like he wanted to say more, but settled for a slight tip of the head. “Well, I’ll start with introductions. Guys, this is my mate Aerie. Aerie, that’s my best friend Juniper Santiago, and her mate and husband, as well as my best friend, Mateo Santiago.”

“It’s lovely to meet you Aerie,” my wife said softly.

It looked like Aerie could pick up the mood as she returned a small smile. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“I think we all wish that. I share my wife’s sentiments on meeting you. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all glad Max finally met his mate,” I commented.

She sent a full smile this time as my best friend blushed. “Yeah, I’m getting that a lot.”

“Well, I guess I’ll do the introductions on my end. This is my brother Khalel Vampyr, first King of the Vampires, and my brother Draexylon Aquarius, first King of the Ocean. I’ll reintroduce myself as Zeumatero Lycan, first King of the Werewolves, and my mate Stalaenys Lycan. She’s also hosting her sister Marionessa Daemon, mate to first King of the Underworld, Tagoromaen Daemon. My mate’s other sisters are Saelone Vampyr and Isisily Aquarius,” I presented.

The mates looked at us in awe, and I wasn’t quite sure what they were thinking, until Max spoke up. “Lycan? Lycans are real?”

“They are, but it takes intense training and a conversion done by Khal and Romaen to make you a Lycan. Back in our time, the Lycans made up our armies,” I explained.

“Why were Khal and Romaen needed for the conversion and not you?” Aerie asked curiously.

“Because I trained with them, it was believed that I could sometimes be biased with my choices, so we needed an outside perspective on things. It also gave the whole thing more prestige for everyone to know that they would be judged by other great kings,” I explained.

“And I take it you and Star are Lycans?” Max asked.

“Correct. We can take on most creatures, dragons included,” I confirmed.

Khal narrowed his eyes at Max. “You said Juniper shouldn’t have been able to leave the Underworld. What did you mean by that?”

Max sighed. “When we first got to the Underworld, Marissa and Roman sealed it off. As time went by, I helped, until Roman and I realized that no one would dare to come, so we took away our magic. When Rissa gave birth to the twins, she was distracted, so her magic went away too, except that’s when Roman and I noted the other barrier of magic around. He doesn’t know where it comes from, so we couldn’t exactly trace it. One thing we knew for sure was that it was out to keep us in the Underworld.”

“So, how did you get out?” I asked him.

“I’m kind of a little bit more powerful than I originally thought,” he said vaguely.

“You’re also speaking in riddles,” Draex told him.

“He’s Odezzia’s son, and we believe he inherited Oden’s powers,” Aerie spoke up.

“Dezz has a child? Sheesh! Sae and I are really the only ones who don’t have kids,” Khal complained.

“Shut up Khal! Wait, so that means I’m Max’s aunt and cousin?” my mate whined.

Draex laughed a little at that. “Ah yes, you were brought back as Dessa’s grandchild.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Max admitted with a laugh.

“So, Dessa killed Oden and his essence found Dezz’ son. Do you know who your father is?” I asked him.

“I only know that he goes by the name Ramsey and it’s possible that he’s a werewolf Alpha,” he informed.

I frowned. “He has an English accent?”

He nodded. “How did you know?”

“Because that means you and Dante are cousins. Ramsey Charleston was Europe’s greatest Alpha, until he passed the pack on to his sister and her mate, Fiona and Marcos Iglesias. He disappeared, and it’s rumoured that the only people who know where he is are Dante’s parents,” I explained.

“For once, life has given us something easy,” Khal commented.

“Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It will only be the case should it turn out that Dante knows the secret as well, considering his parents were killed on the day of his takeover,” I added.

“We can only hope he knows, because I have a feeling that only my father knows where my mother is,” Max noted.

“How did you figure out that they were your parents to begin with?” Draex asked him.

“We saw the day that they decided to split. Odessa had gone to attack them, and Ramsey told Odezzia that it would be safer for them to split,” June seemed to recall.

“You were there?” I asked her.

She nodded. “It took a powerful spell for Max to go back to that memory – a memory he didn’t live. Those are the most dangerous to revisit, so Rissa went back with him for moral support. It’s actually what drove us to childbirth.”

Zeus growled lowly. “So, Marionessa put you, and our kids, in danger?”

“I mean, she has no attachment to the babies, so she wasn’t seeing it in that way,” she tried to defend.

“And yet she was willing to save Max by killing our children?” I joined my beast in questioning.

She was about to say something but Khal stopped her. “Don’t bother Laen. Nothing you say will make him see the situation in any other light. Nessa has to explain herself, and I’m pretty sure she’s not about to make an appearance any time soon.”

“You can’t harm my sister Mateo. I don’t care what she put us through, but you can’t harm her,” my mate warned.

“She’s right Tero. You have to keep your head cool here. The babies are alive, and that’s all that matters,” Khal pointed out.

“Except if Nessa cared, my children wouldn’t be missing right now,” I snapped.

“Missing?” the mates asked.

June huffed. “That’s how I’m here. One of the servants came to tell Roman that the twins are missing, and Star lost it. I guess her anger was greater than the magic.”

“Avan and Zak probably have them, except where could they have gone?” Aerie said to herself.

“Who?” we asked.

“Aerie and Auriela’s human friends,” Max replied.

“Human friends?”

“Auriela?”

“Yeah, a lot has happened since Scandinavia,” he said before filling us in on everything.

I was happy that Boris and Auriela had been reunited. I could remember how forlorn he was when he told me about her, and about Odessa’s role in the whole ordeal. I didn’t have my memories then, and now that I do, the more I learn about her, the more I have a hard time believing Marionessa when she says that Dessa’s not evil.

I just can’t see any good in all that she’s done.

“So, Tero and Laen’s kids are with these humans who happen to fear no one, and were followers of Dessa?” Draex asked

“Well, yeah,” Max agreed.

“And you find nothing wrong with that?” my wife questioned.

“Look, I met them and I trust them. They have a way with the twins. Rose already spelled the twins, so no harm can come to them. If anything, I’d like to believe that they are truly safest with Zak and Avan. You’ll understand it once you meet them,” Max responded.

I raised an eyebrow. “And so, what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Accept that our new-born children are out there somewhere with strangers?”

“I’d hardly call us strangers, especially with the beautiful speech Maxie here just gave in our honour.”

Where the hell do these people keep popping up from?

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” Khal asked the two men in the room.

“Uh, Khal, I think that’s Zak and Avan,” June said.

“How sure are you?” he asked.

“The babies you dimwit!” she snapped before walking over to the humans.

“Oh, right! I totally knew that,” Khal recovered.

I chuckled as I walked over to my sons. “Sure, you did.”

“Momma and Poppa Santiago, meet your sons.”

The love of my life had the one son in her arms, while I took the other. The son in my arms had calming blue eyes like his mother, while the son in his mother’s arms had eyes as hazel as mine.

“That’s Donatello, and that’s Diego,” one of them told us.

Diego just so happens to be the baby with my eyes, while Donatello has his mommy’s eyes. They both have my hair, though I imagine that will change with time. I couldn’t describe the feeling coursing through me, and when I looked up and met my mate’s teary eyes, I knew she felt the same.

“We did it babe,” she whispered.

Using my free arm, I brought her into my side and kissed her forehead. “We did it baby doll. I’m so sorry, for everything.”

I knew she would know what I was referring to.

“So, what’s everyone been up to?” the other guy asked.

“Where have the two of you been, and why did you leave the Underworld?” Aerie asked them.

“Evil has settled in the Underworld,” the second guy said casually.

“What?” we shouted, causing the babies to cry.

These fearless men glared at us before actually taking the twins away from us so that they could stop their crying. “We were tossed into a vision of sorts and we saw The Vaulsino settle above the Demon Castle. Lightning struck the other three castles, but nothing happened with the Demon Castle. Instead, smoke covered it, and then the ground swallowed up the other three. There was a loud roar from the Demon Castle before a dragon took off into the sky. The name Rome also appeared there, and once the vision was over, we knew that it was time to go – or at least time to get the twins out of there.”

“And before you ask, we let the twins lead us here. Don’t ask us how. We just knew where to go with them,” the first guy added.

“Before we even start dissecting what you just said, who’s who?” Khal asked.

“I’m Zak,” the second guy said.

“And I’m obviously then Avan,” the first guy replied.

“Good! Now that that’s out of the way, what do you mean evil has settled in the Underworld, and what does it have to do with The Vaulsino?” June asked them.

“The smoke, the roar and the dragon were our biggest clues, especially since the other castles were swallowed up. In no scenario can that mean anything good for the Underworld. Also, when we last saw Roman, there was a weird vibe around him. He looked confused, and it probably has to do with the vibe,” Avan explained.

“So, June and Nessa were right. He doesn’t completely remember who he is, but he definitely is starting to. That must be the reason for the confusion,” Khal pointed out.

Taking our son back from Zak, my mate smiled at him before looking back up at the human men. “So, you just took the twins and left? How did you get here?”

“The twins led us straight here,” they replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “June got here over an hour ago looking for them, and this after she’d looked for them for a while in the castle. Why’d you only get here when you did?”

“We took a little bit of a detour,” Zak confessed.

“How little is little Zak?” Aerie interrogated.

“We went to see an acquaintance of ours about something,” Avan said vaguely.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Does this acquaintance have a name?”

“Of course, he has a name. What kind of question is that? Do you really think he just goes around nameless?” they asked simultaneously.

The sad part here is that they were actually serious in their questioning.

Aerie released a long sigh. “Wrong place and wrong time guys.”

“We went to see Ramsey. He’s a friend of ours that we made while we were at Lady Odessa’s place. We were checking in to see how everything was going there now that she and Saila aren’t there to run things. It’s not going as badly as we’d expected it to. Everyone’s still there, and they have high hopes of Lady Odessa returning,” Zak elaborated.

I was pretty confident that the same part stuck out to everyone else as it did me. “Ramsey who?”

“Charleston – he’s Lady Odessa’s right-hand man.”