Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(82)

I sighed. "I'm not sure that a letter from a mother I have never met is really anyone else's business."

Isis scoffed. "It is if it might give us insight into every other crazy ass thing that's happened lately. I get you would want to keep this private, but we're all involved now." Her voice softened with empathy I didn't know she had.

"Considering everything that's happened lately, I wasn't sure I would get another chance to read it. If it affected the rest of you, I would have told you, but this is hard enough as it is."

Isis nodded in what I hoped was understanding, before she and Ash exchanged looks and turned back expectantly.

I held the letter with both hands, afraid that it might disappear from my grasp. Waves of raven hair swam into my vision, reminding me of the mother I had known, and I shuddered. She had to be better than her, right?

My hands tightened in fear, but I quickly released them in fear that I may damage the aged contents. Though Maye had already opened it, the closing was still caught against the wax seal, leaving me to gently slip my finger beneath the surface to open it.

I was astounded at what fell into my palm from within the envelope. It was an iridescent charcoal gray and blue feather. It made sense that it would be from her wings. The texture was similar to a bird’s, but with an unparalleled softness. A gentle scent drifted across my senses and Kit awakened, excited at the prospect of something new. It was familiar to me, but the knowledge of where I had come into contact with it lay at arm's reach.

I caressed the feather between my thumb and pointer finger, using Kit’s enhanced senses to try to pinpoint the memory, but nothing came to me. I handed the feather over to Isis, who held it as if fearful of catching a disease from it.

Ash barely quelled his laughter, as he relieved Isis of the feather to examine it himself. "Isis, her mom's an angel, not a leper."

Shaking, I unfolded the letter and stared at the font without taking in the words. A few minutes passed before Ash cleared his throat, startling me from my stupor. Speaking aloud, I read the letter.



My Sweet Miracle,

Right now, you are little more than a concept within my mind, and yet you are more real to me than every nook and cranny of my tiny world. In a sense, that's what I know you will one day become. My world seems miniscule now because you have yet to become a part of it, but once you do, I know that it will expand to the furthest reaches. I know this, because while I may not have grand dreams for myself, I imagine such amazing delights and adventures for you.

Already I think of you and smile, my heart reaches out to you, straining against my ribcage in the hope that the extra inch may be the difference between absence and togetherness. I know that we can't be together at this moment. I have spent so long dreaming of you, but it's not to be. We must await our time, and I know that when that moment comes, it will be worth all of the tears and heartache I have endured.

You are my essence; the very heart of who I am and the best pieces of me. I have given you my dreams, wishes, and future. You need but ask and I will give you more. I will never feel complete until we are one, until I can gaze into your eyes and see your soul reflected back in mine. That solitary moment when a mother and child meet face to face is extraordinary, but in our case it will be more so because of the ordeals I have undergone to find you.

It has been a struggle, a battle of wills and fate, but I can't give up because you are there, waiting for me in my vision of a possible future, and it is the only one in which I can achieve happiness. I will not bear or comfort you in my own womb, but my spirit is with you always. Be safe, my daughter. Know that you are loved and that I will be looking upon you, awaiting the day when I can take you into my arms.

Always & Forever,

Your Mother, Brielle



I wasn't sure how to react. My heartbeat accelerated, blocking all sound, and my vision went black. I was fully aware of the words I had spoken aloud, but rather than gazing at them on the paper, I saw them against the backs of my eyelids, fused in the very depths of me.

As I gained awareness, panic swelled. Isis and Ash were screaming, as if I had parted from my body for some time. My first instinct was to put them at ease, but pandemonium set in, when I became aware of earsplitting sounds from outside Ash's room. Terror resonated through the cottage, bouncing off of walls and slithering through the cracks of the door to encompass me.

I hoped that Isis had been right; the Draconians and Hellhounds were letting off some steam. Though, I knew better, as did Kit. His form was distinct against the fabrication I was trying to construct against the reality around me. The furniture splintering against walls and the utter drowning of fear, prevented me from denial.

Kit growled at the door, alternating between a guard cat with a need to protect those inside the room, and a predator, who wanted nothing more than to tear into our enemies. He sought my eyes for assurance, startling me with the rage emanating from him. He was normally passive, comforting, and more similar to a domesticated cat, that sometimes I forgot his true nature.

Something crashed into Ash's wall and I jumped as it caved inward in a distinctly inhuman shape. Kit growled, backed away, and nudged against my legs. Worried, Ash caught me around the waist, but I was hardly aware of his touch.

The war had followed me here. They had come for me and bloodshed was their preferred method at getting what they wanted. Demons weren't about compromise or treaties. They would create a massacre, if it meant that they could torture me for Asmodeus's death. I shuddered.