“I won’t hate you.”

The flames of her making silhouetted her as fire tore through Casino City, and she admired the chaos she’d created. “You shall.”

“You’re not worth it.”

“Oh, but I am.” Her hands still dripped with the blood of the hearts she’d stolen. The scent of sulfur and seduction wafted off of her. My stomach clenched in nausea. This demon claimed to be my mother.

The flames took a breath and roared, engulfing Leila. Her wings unfurled as she soared free of the casino’s island, leaving me amidst the towering inferno.

Perhaps I should hate her. Instead, I missed the woman I’d wished her to be.

A tower tilted and fell. Sparks erupted. Embers singed my blistered skin. What remained of the abandoned child I’d been prayed she’d return.

Searing heat fluttered around me as the half-fae May landed. The mechanical wings I’d built folded against her slim back. “I hate her enough for the both of us, Buford.”

The clippity-clop of hooves preceded my housemate, PJ the satyr. “I’ve hated her so long, it’s become a hobby. I can show you how to get there.”

Another tower fell into the river, crushing the dreams and desires of those my mother had fed upon. Those towers had drawn in gamblers to drain them dry. Their lights had lured fae to their deaths. A hard not formed in my chest.

I turned my back on her chaos. “Thanks, but I think I can get there on my own.”

[Photo by 0fjd125gk87]