She was beautiful now.

Dark brown hair fell past her shoulders, framing her oval face. Her skin was slightly darker than mine, more olive in nature. She looked like me, but better—more refined and beautiful—and her eyes were a bright, emerald-gem color. Even in the darkness, I could see them, was drawn to the warmth in them.

I staggered a step forward, pulling free of Aiden’s grasp. “Mom?”

“Baby,” she said, and a little of my world shattered in response to her voice. “You shouldn’t be here. You can’t be here.”

I didn’t care about “here” or whatever. All that mattered was that it was my mom, and I neededher—needed to feel one of her hugs, because they made everything so much better and I’d been needing one for so, so long.

I stumbled up the incline, dropping the sickle in the prickly weeds. “Mom. Mommy…”

“Alex,” Aiden called out, his voice pained, and I couldn’t understand why.

He should’ve been happy for me. To get to see my mom again was something I’d secretly hoped would occur while we were in the Underworld, so to see her so soon, before we’d even made it through the gates, was so…

Then I remembered Apollo’s warning. There would be spirits, but my mom? I drew up short, standing a few feet from her. That… that was too cruel, even for the gods.

She cocked her head to the side, a small and very sad smile forming on her lips. “You shouldn’t be here. Turn away before it’s too late.”

I blinked, unable to move. Was it really her? Or was it some kind of ploy? Heart racing, I opened my suddenly dry mouth, but then her form flickered, much like Caleb’s had in the cell. She was a shade—so there’d be no hugs—but was it her?

Aiden came up the hill behind me, stopping short of standing by my side. “Alex, it’s…”

“Don’t say it.” I shook my head, because I couldn’t deal with this right now. I tried and was failing to see this objectively. “ Pleasedon’t.”

My mom’s form flickered again. “You must turn away. Leave this place before it’s too late. You can’t go there. You’ll never come back.”

My throat worked to let a sob loose. Lowering my chin, I squeezed my eyes shut. It was her, but it… it wasn’t. Déjà vu, I thought bitterly. I could almost see it—Mom and me standing there, me holding the gun pointed directly at her, my arm trembling, unable to do what needed to be done.

And we could’ve died right then or over the course of the time in Gatlinburg. Caleb could’ve died then, instead of months later, within the false safety of the Covenant. I had failed then and was on the verge of failing again. And this time, would it be Aiden who died because of my inability to see past what was the truth?

This wasn’t my mom. This was just an it—a ward to keep us from reaching the gates. Chest constricting, I lifted my damp lashes.

“You’re not my mom,” I said, voice hoarse.

Her delicate brows furrowed and she shook her head a little. “Baby, don’t do this. Whatever reason why you think you have to do this, you don’t. Turn away, before you lose everything.”

It sort of felt like I’d already lost everything.

Aiden placed his hand on my back and I drew strength from the simple gesture. I sucked in a deep breath and let it slowly. “This isn’t going to work. You’re not my mom. So… I don’t know. Go do whatever you’re supposed to do.”

An exasperated sigh, so much like my mom, came from her. For a moment, I doubted myself. Maybe this was her and I was making a terrible ass out of myself. But then she changed.

Face fish-pale, veins slithered under her papery skin like baby snakes. Her eyes were sunken, black pits, and when her mouth opened, razor-sharp teeth filled them. “Is this better?” she asked in that sweet voice of hers.

“Gods,” I whispered, horrified. “That’s so wrong.”

Her lips formed a twisted smile. “You’re going to have to go through me, and baby, we know you don’t have it in you to do it again.”

My stomach sank with understanding. “Crap…”

Aiden moved to stand in front of me. I saw him raise the dagger and I knew that he was going to do this—take care of this for me. As much as I appreciated that and really wanted him to do it, I couldn’t.

I placed my hand on his arm, stilling him. “I… I have this.”

My mother’s cold laugh was like a Shockwave.

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked.

The grim set to his jaw told me he didn’t want to listen, but when I nodded, he stepped back and handed me the sickle blade I had dropped. I felt cold as my fingers wrapped around the handle. I hated the fine tremble in my arm and the heavy weight of the weapon.

Most of all, I hated what I had to do.

Mom watched me curiously. “Aw, baby, you really want to do this?” She took a step straight throughthe rubble, stopping in front of me. She laughed again. “Kill your mother twice? Wait. It’s actually three times.”

“Shut up,” Aiden growled.

But this thing—whatever it was—was on a roll. “She died—at least in all ways that mattered—in Miami. And that was to keep you safe. So, that was also your fault. Three’s a charm, eh? And you think you can do it? So what? Doesn’t mean anything. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

The back of my throat burned as I took a wobbly step forward, lifting my arm.

“You bring nothing but death to those around you,” she continued. “You should’ve never been born, because you will kill the ones you love, one way or another.”

Those words dug in deep, shattering in the depths of my heart. Without saying a word, because I knew it wouldn’t matter, I brought the blade down.

It swept clean through her. There was a dull flash of light, and then her form faded away as if she was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Within seconds, it was like she’d never been there, and only the cruel, punishing words lingered.

“Well,” I said a bit unsteadily. “Can’t get any worse than that.”

And it did… within a heartbeat.

Two forms appeared beyond the broken foundation, quickly taking shape. Having no idea what or who the gate was going throw at us now, I stood by Aiden and waited as the ghostly shadows became two people.

Aiden sucked in a breath and went ramrod straight. I didn’t realize the significance at first. The two shades were strangers to me, a male and a female. Both were tall and elegant-looking, carrying the air of pure-bloods. The woman had springy, curly hair the color of spun corn silk, and the man was dark-haired, with shockingly familiar silver…

I hadseen them before… in a photo frame back in the room in Aiden’s home—his parents’ home.

The man and woman were his father and mother.

“Oh, Gods,” I whispered, lowering the sickle blade.

Seeing Aiden’s parents—the appearance of our deceased loved ones—suddenly made sense. It wasn’t a physical fight that guarded the gates, not like with the guards and hellhound. This was on an emotional and mental stage—a different tactic to get us to turn away, because if we didn’t, we had to face the unthinkable.

Aiden said nothing as he stared at them. I’d never seen him so still—not even after the first time he’d seen me cleaned up, after I’d punched him in the face, and then kissed him. Or even when the furies attacked the Council, or after he realized I’d killed a pure-blood. Not even when he stood above my bed, waiting for me to wake up after Linard had stabbed me.

I’d never seen Aiden like this—his face utterly devoid of emotion, but his eyes churning in gray and silver. Tension radiated from every locked limb. After witnessing what I had just gone through, he knew this wasn’t going to be good.

And I wanted to stop it before it even got started—spare him the pain of brutal, hurtful words that would lance open old wounds. But when I stepped forward, he snapped alive.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice thick. “I want to hear this.”