Grabbing the metal railing, I pulled myself over. “They killed Dad.”

Berget sucked in a sharp breath and stared down into the water.

Alex, Erik, and Amelia appeared at the far end of the walkway with India and Kyle. Amelia was stumbling, her hands buried deep in the ruff around Alex’s neck, no doubt for warmth as much as stability. He waved a paw at me and gave me a grin that showed off his teeth. Nothing ever truly fazed him for long.

Amelia’s head was lowered so she didn’t see me, nor did she see Berget.

“I have to go. I don’t want her to know I’m alive,” Berget whispered and in a flash only a vampire could accomplish, she was gone.

Amelia slowly lifted her head, saw me and stiffened. “You couldn’t be content with killing your little sister; you had to murder your father too.”

“Shut up, you ungrateful wretch,” Erik snapped, and I was intensely appreciative he defended me. But it didn’t stop the emotions that engulfed me.

My guts clenched and I fought the instant pang of guilt that sliced through me. Mostly because she was right. If I hadn’t gone to see them, there was a good chance Robert and Amelia would be home having their nightly drinks, discussing their day.

Teeth gritted, I ignored her, turning my back to her. That had always been the best way in the past. The best way to deal with her accusations.

“That’s right, you did it, you killed him,” she said.

Alex whimpered. “Rylee not bad.”

Amelia jumped as if just noticing her companion was a twisted werewolf who could talk.

Alex, oblivious to her surprise kept talking. “Rylee good, you are bad mom to be mean to Rylee.”

If nothing else, I did have my supporters. Ignoring Amelia, I crouched to check on Pamela. She blinked groggily up at me. “What happened?”

“I think you got a backlash that was meant to kill you.”

Frank nodded. “I saw it coming, saw it was tuned to magic users. Death magic doesn’t bother necromancers, so I—”

Pamela’s eyes shot wide and her hand covered her mouth. “He kissed me.”

He blushed. “Thomas told me that some sort of exchange would have to happen if I was to stop death magic on someone else. Something like a kiss or blood. I didn’t have time to draw blood on her or me, I swear!”

I held up my hand. “Thank you, Frank, for taking care of her. You did the right thing.” I reached down and helped Pam to her feet. She wobbled and leaned on me, pushing me back into the railing. I glanced down. Nope, that wasn’t Pamela making me sway. The boat listed hard as a rush of water swelled through the broken hull.

“Time to go.”

Amelia let go of Alex and I gave a nod to Frank. He stepped close to my mom and let her lean on him, leaving Alex free to move near me and Pamela.

“Mean mom.”

“Alex, enough,” I said, though there was no force behind my words. I was battered through and through and so fucking confused with what Orion had done that I barely knew what to think. India ran to my side and slipped an arm around me. “There are so many spirits here, Rylee.”

“We’re going, kid. Kyle, you okay?”

“Yeah.” That was all he managed and I wasn’t about to ask more at that particular moment. He looked as bedraggled and done in as I felt.

We wove our way out of the ship as it tipped even further into the harbor. Lucky for us, the boat listed so that once we were on deck, all we had to do was hop across the railing and we were standing on the dock. Solid ground beneath us. Kinda.

Amelia threw my coat at me even though the snow was still coming down. “I will see you in jail for this.”

I caught my coat with one hand, but didn’t put it on. It was still warm, or warmish, from her body and I wondered if she cared that I’d almost died in there. That all of us had almost died and it was a miracle only Robert, my dad, hadn’t made it out.

I knew my brain was stalling, filling with other things so I didn’t look at my mom and start crying right there. A part of me was amazed she still had so much power over me, could still cut me to the quick.

And then something shifted in me and my spine stiffened. A memory of the desert and the very first salvage I did on my own surfaced. Reminding me of the strength it had taken to face down someone I thought had loved me when I realized he had been a total shit. That had been the turning point for me; how could I go back to that girl who was still so eager to please that she would give up everything? That’s right, I wasn’t going there again. Not. Ever. Not even for my mom.

“You fucking well do that, Amelia. I didn’t kill Berget, and I sure as hell didn’t kill my dad. You saw everything that happened in there, you almost got possessed by a demon and I SAVED YOUR ASS!”

My voice echoed across the docks and Amelia shrunk away from me. But I wasn’t done.

“You didn’t deserve to have me or Berget.” Okay, that was a seriously low blow, but it felt so fucking good to finally say it. To turn on your child when they needed you the most, and give up on the other? No, that wasn’t a mother. At least, not a good one.

My rag tag group hobbled down the dock, each passing Amelia as though she didn’t exist.

Amelia didn’t try to catch up with us, and I didn’t really care. At the far end of the dock where the true dry land met with the wooden pilings there was a flash of bright blonde hair. Berget stepped out to meet us just as Amelia ran up from behind.

“Rylee, don’t you turn your back on me—”

Amelia’s voice died as she spied Berget, who had also gone very still.

Well shit, it really had nothing to do with me now at all. I’d said my peace and for the first time felt the past slide away from me, no longer tugging at my emotions. I ignored Amelia and kept walking.

Berget looked like she’d swallowed a hunk of troll flesh and was about to throw it back up. “I thought she’d be gone.”

I shrugged but said nothing, felt nothing as I walked past her. Berget’s hand snaked out and she grabbed me. “Don’t leave me with her.”

As she asked, I stopped. Pamela let out a deep breath. “Let me try and stand on my own.”

Letting go of her, I slipped my coat back on, the scent of Amelia’s perfume floating up and around my nose. It didn’t make me nostalgic anymore, just ill.

“Berget, my baby, is that really you?” Amelia stumbled forward and I felt more than a little voyeuristic, and just a tad bit jealous. I couldn’t help it; who wouldn’t want their mother to love them?