Chapter 625

Duskmoon Hollow
Layla stepped into the room to see her twin, Lauren, playing with their sister Enya while Ziva paced anxiously up and down. It wasn’t a surprising sight. Their sister Ziva had the worst temper and often showed it in her violent outbursts.
In such a mood, Ziva was highly volatile and could transfer her anger to anyone in sight. Layla wisely kept her mouth shut, scared of drawing Ziva’s attention. Instead she slipped into the mental link she shared with Lauren.
Coming to sit beside her twin, she asked mentally, “What’s going on with her?”
Lauren answered without moving her eyes from Enya. “She can’t reach Hannah.”
“Hannah?” Layla’s curiosity sparked.
For a while now, Hannah had been missing. The one time Layla raised the issue, Ziva told her to let it be. Of course, Layla knew something was off, but since Ziva seemed unconcerned, she had chosen not to dig deeper.
Not that it affected her much. With Hannah gone, Lillian — lowest in the family hierarchy — now handled the dirty work like feeding Bree. Still, Layla had been curious about Hannah’s absence, and it seemed she might finally get some answers.
“Why? What happened to Hannah?” she pressed.
Lauren sighed audibly through the link. “Apparently, our dear sister sent her to spy on Violet.”
” Spy on Violet?” Layla’s mental voice rose. “But didn’t Father warn her She stopped short as realization hit. Ziva had gone behind their father’s back again. No wonder she didn’t want anyone prying into Hannah’s disappearance.
Good thing their father, Angus, barely acknowledged Hannah, considering she was the weakest of them. Otherwise, Ziva would have a lot of explaining to do. But if Hannah stayed missing much longer, even he would notice.
“So where did she disappear to?” Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by
” No idea, ” Lauren said.” She’s not responding to Ziva’s summon and it’s driving her insane.”
As if on cue, Ziva screamed, “Hannah! I swear to everything living and dead, if I ever get my hands on you, you’ll wish you were never born! I’ll peel your skin and roast you like a pig!”
Lauren and Layla exchanged a look but said nothing. They were used to this by now.
It was Enya who finally interrupted with the blunt honesty of a child. “Sister Ziva.”
Ziva turned, and the rage melted from her face instantly, replaced by a gentle, almost motherly smile.
“My sweet Enya,” she cooed, beckoning her over.
Enya hopped off Lauren’s lap and ran to her, proudly holding out a small glass bottle filled with fluttering insects. “I did it, Sister Ziva!” she said excitedly.
The bottle had once been filled with lifeless bugs which Ziva had gathered and tasked the girl to bring back to life.
Now she took the bottle and watched, eyes narrowing with pleasure as the creatures buzzed inside it — some crawling along the glass while others fluttered in eerie synchronization, their tiny wings stirring the air. A faint smoky glow surrounded them, pulsing with traces of dark magic at work.
A huge smile broke across Ziva’s lips. “Good girl,” she murmured, lowering herself to Enya’s height and stroking her silky black hair. “Go find Lillian. Tell her to bake you cookies. That’s your reward.”
“Cookies?” Enya’s eyes widened with joy. “Yes!” She dashed out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.
The moment Enya disappeared, the warmth in Ziva’s face evaporated. Her smile turned to stone, her gaze dark and menacing once more. Layla and Lauren shivered, not because the room was cold but because the sudden switch was just too startling.
Their sister was quite scary.
She came to stand before Lauren and Layla, who waited anxiously for whatever their sister had in store for them next.
“I can’t seem to summon Hannah,” she said flatly, then moved to her worktable where a map was spread out, a single drop of blood marking a specific spot.
Ziva hovered over it, murmuring to herself. “I can’t seem to track her either. Her last location says the North Pack, but that’s all Her eyes narrowed. “It’s as if she vanished off the surface of the earth.”
Layla and Lauren exchanged a nervous glance before Lauren gathered the courage to ask, “Is that even possible?”
Abruptly, Ziva turned to her. “Yeah, it is, if she’s out of this realm.”
Layla’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to say—”
“Hannah must be in the Fae realm,” Ziva finished for her.
“Then Violet’s mother finally revealed herself!” Lauren gasped in disbelief. “Father would be delighted—”
Ziva hissed sharply, her eyes flashing with warning. If looks could kill, Lauren would’ve dropped dead on the spot. Lauren’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.
Ziva’s face twisted with ugly jealousy. “Father will not hear a word of this. If he does… ”
“What if he already knows?” Layla interrupted, her tone challenging. She hated when Ziva tried to intimidate her twin.
“He wouldn’t,” Ziva snapped confidently.
“The both of them were mates, Ziva. There’s no way she’d appear in the human realm without Father sensing it,” Layla shot back. “I’d rather tell him myself than face his wrath later, especially because your jealous ass can’t handle a little competition.”
Barely had the words left her mouth when Ziva hurled her hand, and a gust of wind slammed into Layla, knocking her flat on the floor.
Before she could stand, Ziva was upon her. She grabbed her by the front of her shirt and yanked her up effortlessly. Layla tried to reach for Ziva’s forehead to paralyze her with her mental ability, but Ziva caught her wrist midair and twisted it cruelly. Layla screamed in pain.
“Ziva!” Lauren cried out, trying to step in, but one look from Ziva froze her in place.
Ziva leaned close to Layla, her voice venomous. “Just because you’re my blood sister doesn’t mean I’ll spare your disrespectful ass. I could snap your neck right now, and with one word from me, Father wouldn’t even blink. You know why? Because I’m the one he needs the most. I’m the one he trusts. And do you know how I’m sure he doesn’t know about that Fae bitch? Because their bond was severed years ago. He told me himself.”
She pushed Layla away with a disgusted scowl.
Lauren rushed to help her twin up, relieved Ziva had stopped. Layla only straightened her rumpled clothes with quiet fury.
Before either of them could speak, the door swung open and Lillian stumbled in, breathless. “Sister Ziva, Father is back.”