Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy, #6)(82)

“It’s easy to dismiss her as rage or fear. You can conquer both, yet you can’t suppress the harpy. The harpy is love.”

I paused the recording.

Love? The screeching enraged creature with black wings was love?

“I told you,” Alessandro said softly. “You are still you.”

I restarted the video.

“The harpy will protect those she loves at all costs,” Linus said. “She isn’t particularly efficient about it. She isn’t complicated. She is an elemental force that screams and destroys her enemy’s soul. Her victims still have an intact brain, but the complex tangle of thoughts and emotions that makes them who they are is destroyed. It is the permanent obliteration of the ego. If they can neither think nor feel, they can no longer hurt you.”

That’s what I’d suspected. By the time Michael’s darkness had devoured Gunderson, he was already dead.

“Historically sirens attempted to find a balance between the two aspects, a middle ground between protecting others and allowing themselves a little selfishness in love. The ideal wing color was grey that lightened or darkened depending on which power was used. You have done the opposite. Your aspects are abnormally well developed. It makes you the most powerful siren on record, but it’s a double-edged sword. You denied yourself for a long time, and the harpy is fueled by the fierce, unstoppable love for those you hold dear. To protect them, she will burn through all your magic, beyond the acceptable threshold, and then she’ll cannibalize your mind so she can keep screaming. If that happens, you will die. We both know who the harpy’s favorite is.”

I knew.

Linus drew his hand over his face as if trying to wipe away some terrible worry. His eyes were haunted. “I don’t know when or why you’re watching this. I hope I’ve succeeded in neutralizing Arkan, but most likely I haven’t because I would’ve destroyed this recording and we would be having this conversation in person. Catalina, it’s essential that you don’t allow the harpy to kill you. Even if he does what we all fear, you must survive. The future of your family depends on it.”

Linus slumped in the chair.

“I am a terrible father, but I loved my son. It is my greatest regret that I never knew him. I love you and your sisters and your cousins. The five of you are precious to me. You are the heirs to everything I own and to my legacy. You must live, Catalina. That is my last request to you.”

The video stopped.

Alessandro sat up, pushed the laptop closed, and looked at me.

“Am I the harpy’s favorite?”

“Yes.”

“What is he talking about? What will I do that makes all of you afraid?”

The fear inside me uncurled and raked me with its sharp claws.

Alessandro dipped his head to catch my gaze. “Catalina?”

I faced him. “You aren’t rational when it comes to Arkan.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve been trying to kill him for so long. You’re obsessed. You will clash, soon. If you realize that the only way to kill him is to sacrifice yourself, you will do it. It terrifies me. My grandfather knows that I will do anything to keep you alive. I love you so much, Alessandro. He’s worried that if I know you’re about to die, the harpy will take over and burn through my magic and my consciousness to try to save you.”

There. It was all out in the open.

He reached for me. His arms closed around my shoulders, and he pulled me to him as if I weighed nothing.

“I love you more than I hate him,” he told me. “Killing him and losing you would leave me with nothing. If it was a choice between your life and his, I would let him go.”

“That’s not . . .”

“And if it was a choice between killing him or staying alive with you, I would stay alive. I give you my word I won’t throw my life away for this revenge.”

He hugged me tighter.

“If you want me to promise you that I won’t try to fight him, I can’t do that. I want to kill him. I want to see the life go out of his eyes, and I want him to know it was me who took it. But it will not be a suicide mission. I want to live well and be very happy, Catalina.”

“Promise me.”

“Te lo giuro.”

I swear. He was saying all the right things, but I was still scared.

We sat for a while, him holding me. His scent was all around me, comforting and tempting.

“I should’ve told you about Christina,” he said.

“When did it start?”

“Two months ago. My grandfather called me and told me it was time to put away childish things and come home. I would be forgiven. It was all very grandiose. He had arranged another marriage.”

“What did you say?”

He sighed. “I was preoccupied at the time, so I told him exactly what I thought about it. He took offense and told me I had a responsibility to the family, I didn’t like his tone, so I asked him if he thought about prostituting himself. I suggested that he should consider a discount since the merchandise was rather worn and in poor condition.”

“Cathartic, but unwise.” Alessandro was calculating in his responses, except with me and my family. His grandfather must’ve really gotten under his skin.

“Unfortunately, I knew he would take it out on my mother, and he did. That’s when the phone calls started. I know that my mother is making them under duress. She’s being supervised. First, she speaks in Italian. My mother always spoke English to us. Second, she sounds like she is reading a script. Usually, when parents tell you what a terrible son you are, they put more emotion into it.”