Read Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) for Free Online

my mom."
    Elyssa nodded. "The golem called you the Cataclyst. You're no pawn in a chess game. You're a queen."
    "I guess it's time I came out of the closet."
    She rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't send you to your death if he thinks he has a chance of controlling you."
    "Yeah, but what if he doesn't think he can control me and this is a convenient way to have me dispose of myself?"
    She quirked her lips. "Sure, he might get rid of you then. But so far, I don't think he's determined if he can control you or not. If you go, he'll think he has you." Elyssa tapped her chin. "We also have another unused resource in the dungeons."
    "Rusty chains?" I said.
    "No, silly, the arch."
    Ezzek Moore and the original Arcane Council had used the arch in question to hide the Cyrinthian Rune from Daelissa by placing the rune into the arch here beneath Ezzek's mansion, and closing off both ends with shields to keep it from coming out either end. Unfortunately, the result of the rune pinging back and forth between each end of the traversion tunnel over the centuries had caused a pulsar of malignant aether to build up which might have eventually gone nuclear and husked everyone in Queens Gate.
    We'd stopped it, but Jeremiah Conroy had stolen the rune right out from under our noses.
    "Cinder calculated that the arch's destination is in Antarctica or the North Pole," I said, giving her a confused look. "Why would we want to go there?"
    "We never actually explored it," she said. "What if it goes to another control room?"
    She brought up a good point. After surviving another close call, we'd all been busy enjoying life instead of carelessly throwing our bodies into the unknown. "I hadn't thought about it." My mind ran through the possibilities. "We'd have our own private control room full of gateways."
    "Exactly."
    I pursed my lips and regarded her. "Since when did you become the instigator of dangerous adventures? Usually, I'm the one ready to lead us off the cliff."
    "You've been slacking lately," she said, poking a finger in my ribs. "It's time to spice things up."
    "Oh, yeah?" I tickled her tummy, causing her to giggle and guard it with her arms. "I know how to spice things up."
    "I know you do," she said, and disarmed me with a kiss. Her smile faded. "In all seriousness, I think we should check out the arch in the cellar. I also think we should talk to Bella about putting together a small group to look at El Dorado."
    "You're just as curious as I am, aren't you?" I said.
    A smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. "Maybe."
    "You've been hanging out with me too long."
    Cutsauce yipped in agreement.
    I dispatched an email to my inner circle—Shelton, Bella, Nightliss, and others who'd been with my through thick and thicker—requesting a meeting for that evening. Nightliss was the first to show. She still looked a bit wan and pale from her ordeal with Daelissa's deadly curse despite Ivy healing her.
    I gave the petite angel a hug, and even Elyssa seemed glad to see her feeling better.
    "Have you felt any different since Ivy removed the vampling curse?" Nightliss asked me.
    I shook my head. "Aside from sprouting wings in front of the Lady of the Pond, I haven't noticed anything else to indicate my angels powers are ready to shine."
    She sighed. "It's frustrating. Instinct has guided me all this time, but made me a poor teacher. And even if I wanted to teach you, I am still too weak."
    "I feel fully recovered since Ivy healed me," I said. "Did the curse permanently damage you?"
    "Perhaps not permanently, though it may have set back my recovery from the Desecration by a few years." Her brow crinkled.
    I touched her hand. "You'll bounce back. Nobody comes that close to death and makes a complete recovery in a couple of months." Truthfully, though, I'd expected her to be back to full power by now. The Desecration had severely weakened her just as it had Daelissa, and it had taken them centuries to recover. Even half strength for an angel was like double