And in the end she would have . . . what?
Proven she was worthy?
To whom?
Herself? Her father? Roke?
Not that it mattered.
She wasn’t Wonder Woman.
She was a terrified witch who couldn’t control her own magic and she’d managed to put Roke smack-dab in the path of a demon who could kill him before they could get out of the portal.
Trying to ignore the fear that raged through her, Sally instead concentrated on the powers that remained locked deep inside her.
“It’s not working,” she muttered from between clenched teeth.
“Patience, child,” her father’s voice echoed through her head.
“We don’t have time for patience,” she snapped. “Roke can’t hold off the Nebule forever.”
She sensed her father’s confusion that Sally would even consider Roke’s welfare.
“Your vampire is capable of taking care of himself.”
“He’s vulnerable to the demon’s powers.”
“This is our only opportunity,” her father chided. “You must free me.”
She grimaced at the man’s self-absorption.
Okay, he’d been imprisoned for a very long time. She got that.
But, so far he hadn’t revealed even a hint of concern for her or her mate’s danger.
She gave a shake of her head, resisting the urge to glance in Roke’s direction. She had to concentrate on freeing her father so they could all get the hell out of there.
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she said, pressing against the invisible wall as she tried to tap into seething powers that just waited to be released. “The barrier won’t let me through.”
“It was specifically designed to repel my magic, which is why I’ve been unable to escape.”
She frowned at the explanation. “Then why did you think I could help if my magic is the same as yours?”
A faint glow became visible around her father’s prone body and Sally felt an answering heat begin to spread through her veins.
“Because they will cancel one another out,” Sariel assured her.
As if that answered everything.
Her frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“Once we synchronize our powers they will work as one.”
She could almost feel the pulse of his magic as it struggled to align with her own. A faint glow beginning to spill from beneath her skin.
“But it will still be the same power,” she said, needing to understand what was expected of her. How else could she use her powers to help?
“Exactly.” There was a patronizing edge to her father’s voice. “While it is forced to keep you from passing through, it will not be able to sense as I slip out.”
Sally briefly hesitated before giving a nod. “I suppose that makes a weird sort of sense.”
The glow around her father brightened, his power battering into her.
“You must trust me.”
A laugh of disbelief was wrenched from her throat. From what she knew of this man he’d deliberately seduced her mother, allowing her to leave with her mind stripped of memories so she could have a child whose only purpose was to return and save him.
It was hardly the reunion story designed to give her a case of the warm fuzzies.
“Trust you?” She gave a shake of her head. “I have no reason to trust you.”
“I am your father.”
“No. You were a sperm donor.”
She sensed his astonishment at her blunt accusation. “You are blood of my blood.”
“Sally, you’ve been recognized,” Roke’s fierce voice sliced into her dark thoughts and she glanced to the side to see the Nebule was staring at her in horror.
Oh hell. How could she have allowed herself to be distracted for even a nanosecond?
Watching Roke move to stand between her and the demon, Sally turned back to her father, desperation clawing through her.
“Tell me what to do,” she hissed.
Sariel’s frustration sizzled through the air. “I cannot synchronize our magic if you will not allow me in.”
“I’m trying.”
“There is a wall you keep around you.”
Sally clenched her hands. Of course she had a wall. She’d been trying to protect herself for as long as she could remember.
How else did she survive a childhood of neglect followed by years of being hunted like an animal?
Trust was the enemy.
Now she bit her bottom lip until the blood flowed as she struggled against her most deeply ingrained instincts. She’d kept herself cut off for so long it was no simple matter to simply lay herself open.
There were no tangible walls. Nothing she could physically get ahold of and tear down. Instead she had to mentally will herself to stop fighting against the press of her father’s magic.
Something that she discovered was much easier said than done.
Sweat dripped down her spine, her heart racing with fear. Blessed goddess, she felt like she was being smothered.
This was never going to work, she realized with a stab of dread. She couldn’t do it.
It was at last the sound of Roke’s grunt of pain as he was attacked by the Nebule that shook her out of her swelling panic.
She could do it, because she had to do it.
If not for her father, then for Roke.
The same surge of adrenaline that had released her powers against Brandel pumped through her blood, allowing the magic to expand through her.
“That’s all I can do,” she managed from between clenched teeth.
Her father’s magic began to weave through her, intruding in a way that made her stiffen before he gave a startled hiss.
“You’ve actually mated with the vampire?” he demanded. “Unacceptable.”
Her teeth were gritted against the need to shove out the unfamiliar invasion.
“Is it really important right now?”
“His claim on you is interfering,” Sariel complained, his tone almost . . . peevish. “Can you convince him to release you?”
She grimaced.
Not only was it an impossible request, but she was fairly certain in Roke’s current mood he’d kill her father before he’d release his claim on her.
“No.”
The magic continued to weave with hers, a slow and surprisingly painful process.
“You are making this more difficult than it needs be,” her father accused.
There was another groan from Roke and Sally banged her hand against the invisible barrier.
“I’m going to make it impossible if you don’t hurry up,” she warned.
The glow around her father spread outward, his hair floating as if on a breeze she couldn’t feel.
“You lived too long as a mortal.” The disgust in Sariel’s tone assured Sally that wasn’t a compliment. “It is why I discouraged our people to mate with lesser beings.”
Anger exploded through her.
Was he kidding? She’d risked Roke’s life, not to mention her own, to try to rescue him. A man who was nothing more than a stranger. And all he could do was complain?
Jackass.
“And yet you were quick enough to mate with a mere human when it suited your purpose,” she rasped.
“My other children are not nearly so quarrelsome,” Sariel complained. “They understand that I am to be given the proper respect.”
All thoughts halted as her world tilted to an unexpected angle.
His words shouldn’t have been unexpected.
The fey had the same low birthrate of most demons, but when you had an eternity of sex, there were bound to be a few children.
But after a lifetime alone, the casual mention that she had brothers and sisters had thrown her seriously off-balance.
“I have siblings?” she asked, hating the yearning she couldn’t keep from her voice.
“Of course.”
There was a grunt as Roke landed only inches from her feet, his face covered with blood and his skin ashen.