Another tear escapes, but this one is full of relief. I take a deep breath and let it out in a forceful exhale, the weight on my chest lifting with it. A wobbly smile flints across my face, and he offers me a smile back. This time, I notice the way his eyes crinkle with the smile. I’ve decided, this is my favorite smile. He may call me sunshine, but that’s what he is for me. The light that dispels my darkness.
I lean forward slowly, never once glancing away from his eyes. I kiss him—a soft lingering press of my lips against his. We don’t deepen it, but this exchange of affection says so much more than a deeper kiss could. It’s a thank you, a recognition of what he’s done for me. It says, I see you, and I accept this connection. It says I’m not ready to want you yet, but please be patient with me until I am.
I don’t know how I can feel this way when I’ve already found my mate, but I can’t deny the truth of the statement.
When I pull back, I feel like a new person. I’m not in this alone.
Chapter 5
Marcellus
Five Hundred Years Ago
Ihate having to leave my mate behind, but I made it as safe as possible for her. Certainly a lot safer than allowing her to stay near Silas. Who knows what he’ll do now that he wasn’t successful; I didn’t even know what his plans were this time before he was actually doing them. Had I known what he had planned, I would’ve made sure Cecily was as far away from him as possible.
I scrutinize the front of his castle and really take in how oppressive it looks. My whole life, I’ve always felt better about myself the moment I step foot outside. Now I possess knowledge previously unknown, and see what’s in front of me with new understanding. It’s easy to think back and see the naivety of my actions. Silas has always been controlling of my life, dictating everything I can or can’t do. He’s tried to mold me into being the exact person he wants me to be. And I let him.
My mistakes led me down a path that resulted in the one thing I’ve ever wanted for myself to be irrevocably hurt. There’s something about her that instantly made me feel more like myself. I gained more confidence around her, and I think it’s the only reason why I was able to retaliate against Silas.
That, more than anything, is probably why he acted when he did. He’s been rapidly losing his control over me as I’ve been learning the truth from Cecily. And now, he’s tried to take her away from me. If he thinks this will gain his control over me again, he couldn’t be more wrong. I’m on a mission to make sure he fails at every attempt he makes to achieve his goals.
I straighten my spine and roll my shoulders back, holding my head high. Cecily has given me something no one else has, a reason to fight with everything I have, including my soul. With a sense of determination, I stride forward into the castle to find Silas. I head right for the dungeon, to his spell room that doubles as a torture chamber. I now question every instance when he’s had someone down here, and what his goals were.
I walk into the spell room and find him standing over the puddle of blood left behind from when I sliced Cecily’s throat against my will. “Silas.” At the sound of my voice, he turns around. He seems more like the version of himself that I’ve known my entire life. He doesn’t appear like someone on the cusp of madness anymore.
“You’ve failed me, Marcellus. I’m very disappointed in what a weak-minded individual you’ve turned out to be. All this time I thought I chose the better one, but apparently, I couldn’t be more wrong. I expect you to rectify your failures.” Silas’ words would’ve wrecked me just a few weeks ago. He was my hero for so long. Everything I ever did was to make him proud of me and to prove myself in his eyes.
Now his words mean nothing to me. I’ve seen who he really is, and he isn’t worthy of my devotion, much less a second thought to what his opinions of me are. That being said, I won’t learn anything from him if he doesn’t believe I’m here to do his bidding like I did in the past. I try to remember what my reactions have been in other situations where he expressed his disappointment in me.
“I did my best, Uncle. I’m sorry I disappointed you. What can I do to rectify myself in your eyes?” I bow my head, trying to appear as if his words delivered the blow he intended. I hunch my shoulders a little to really sell the point. I peek at him from the corner of my eye and see a triumphant twinkle in his gaze, like I gave him exactly what he wants.
He approaches me with quick strides, and puts a hand on my shoulder, but I don’t move, knowing he likes to feel like the most powerful man in the room. “You can fix this, Marcellus, I’m sure of it. Just follow everything I say this time.” I control the sneer wanting to appear on my face, and instead, I peer up with pleading eyes.
Silas eats up the look I give him, thinking he’s put me in a place where I’m desperate to be in his good graces again. “What did you do with her body, Marcellus?” In expectation of this question, I contemplated what my answer would be the entire walk back from where she’s hidden. I couldn’t figure out what my answer would be, until an image flashed in my mind.
“I felt ashamed that I was possibly the reason why your plans didn’t work. I thought if cutting her throat didn’t work, then maybe I should build a pyre in the woods and burn her body. So that is what I did. I watched as she became ash. I think I got it right for you this time, Uncle. I hope you can be proud of me once again.” I expected some kind of reaction from Silas, but shock wasn’t one of them.
He steps back from me, and his eyes go wide while his mouth opens, but nothing comes out for a moment. “You watched her ashes blow away?” His voice sounds breathy, and I want nothing more than to punch him, until he can no longer chew food. I know I need to bide my time and make sure there isn’t anyone else who’ll take up his cause as soon as he’s out of the way. The enemy you know is better than the enemy you don’t know.
“I did,” I confirm for him. There’s a wildness in his eyes I can’t quite discern. I wait to see what his reaction will be. No matter what it is, I won’t be telling him where Cecily really is.
“Yes, without her body, there can’t be an anchor. Maybe it just takes time to fall into place. Yes, I think you figured it out. Well done, my boy.” He paces back and forth, plotting his next moves, while trying to process this new information. I’m relieved he accepts my answer, instead of questioning my story for further details. Who knows what I would’ve said if he asked how I was able to burn her alive while she had some magic.
“I’m going to need you to mobilize our troops, and get them ready to march against the royal family. With the Alpha Queen’s power having begun to transfer over, the Queen Mother will be less powerful, and we can finally take them down. Everything we’ve been working for is falling into place. I’ll send letters to the other packs that are with us to start preparing for attack as well.” I always knew he had some plan behind his reason for me to relentlessly train his soldiers, I just never knew he expected us to someday attack the royal family.
This plan is absolutely ridiculous. Even if Cecily’s mother is less powerful now, she’s practiced the art of magic just as relentlessly as Cecily has, if not more. And when Cecily linked her mind with mine, I saw just how much time she spent working at it; and her strength, stamina, and power were astronomical. Not to mention, how much support they have with their own soldiers.
I need to figure out some way to stop this from happening, but until I can, I need to play along. I spent so long mulling his plan over, that he’s paused his pacing to glare at me. “Right away, Uncle,” I say quickly, trying to cover up the fact I didn’t jump on his command immediately after he gave it.
Leaving the room, I make my way to the training yard where all of my men should be. I’ve never tried to learn where their overall loyalties lie, but with the way Silas acts, and knowing he handpicked every one of them, I’m willing to bet they’ll all be on board with attacking the royals and all of their supporters.
I’ve spent my entire life training with a platoon of soldiers who end up fighting against something that’s pure and good. I’ve trained men to rush into battle, just to ultimately face their deaths. Never having known the power behind magic and what it’s capable of, until now, I didn’t know I needed to train these men how to defend against it.
The path my thoughts led me down causes me to question if Silas’ plans are for them to all die, or if he’s so disconnected with reality that he doesn’t see the truth of the situation? Upon my arrival at the training yard, I issue commands to the men, sending them in different directions to begin preparations to depart for the royal castle on Silas’ command.
I can’t wait for this day to be over so I can make it back to Cecily, and see if she’s awoken yet. I wish I knew some way to help her recoup her magic faster. The more I’ve learned about this world I’ve been shielded from, the more frustrated I become at how little I know in important situations. I also need to find a way to send word to the royal family of everything that has happened. We’re going to need their help to get this disaster under control.
My gaze lands on the men performing the duties I’ve assigned them, but what I really see is Cecily’s face when she found out we were going to be picking strawberries. The joy shining from her eyes that day, and all the moments that followed. Most of all, her reaction when the tree honored us with a permanent reminder of what it had witnessed.
