Page 131 of Eternal Obsession

“Alex, you will not stay here. I will not allow it.”

“Alex, looks like you’ve been put in your place.” Orpheus smiled.

Alex peered up at me. “I just need some time to figure some things out . . .”

“I am not leaving without you!” I said.

“Deny that you have never drank from an innocent!” Alex said.

I glared at Orpheus. “You bastard, you⁠—”

“All these years you forbade me to do it,” Alex said. “You made me drink from evildoers, and in doing so, I have taken their dark thoughts into me. Now I know that you had something to do with that girl they found at Stonehenge, which I was blamed for!”

“Orpheus put her there!” I snapped and then reluctantly added, “The first time.”

This unfolded like a dark comedy, a cruel play where no one emerged victorious. The pain settled in my chest, relentless and raw, as if each breath reminded me of the loss of him, my beloved brother. I was meant to shield him, yet I had failed. A cold weight of guilt pressed against me, whispering that every misfortune, every pain, were born for my own hands.

Orpheus shrugged. “Do you want to hear more, Alex? Surely you have heard enough.”

I lunged for Orpheus.

Alex stepped in front of him, protecting Orpheus from me.

I drew back.

“Jadeon, get out,” Orpheus said.

“I cannot bear it. Jadeon, leave!” Alex said. “Let me stay here, I just need more time . . .”

“Staying is not an option.” I again tried to work out what had got into him.

“You cannot stop me,” Alex said.

“I believe that’s your cue to leave, Jadeon.” Orpheus opened the door and gestured for me to exit.

“No, not like this. Not without you, Alex.”

“Someone’s not listening,” Orpheus said.

“Alex, after everything we’ve been through, everything he’s put us through?”

“You slept?” Alex asked.

“What?”

“For the longest time,” Alex said, tears streaming. “You slept while I was alone at St. Michaels, fighting off pirates and other invaders . . .”

“I slept by day, yes, but never longer than that.”

“Too many lies, Jadeon,” Orpheus said.

“And you spoke with Catherine?”

“I just saw her now for the first time.”

“And yet you fail to tell me this?” Alex said, anguished.

I reeled. “I’m trying to get you out.”