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In this new era, I was one of her half-sister’s royal mates, and she was a princess who was about to give the power she’d experienced and protected to its rightful owner.
Our broken connection couldn’t be fixed.
It would have to start from scratch, and I believed she knew that.
"Can I ask why you did what you did?” She wasn’t referring to me not fighting to return or even why I didn’t immediately come to them after we’d stabilized Willow to discuss the elephant in the room.
When Willow was stable and I’d been one of the first to wake up from our forced unconsciousness, I came right to this very roof after ensuring Willow was safely recovering. That should have been enough of an answer to prove where my priorities had drifted towards, but I guessed she’d never be satisfied without a solid answer.
Typical of a Phoenix.
“Are you asking me why I went to great lengths to use my reaper power to save your sister from death?” I might as well ask for clarification, even though I knew without a doubt it was.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ve been in close calls near death. You never once pulled off that move.”
Her hint of jealousy made me smirk.
“If I did, you would have fallen in love with me,” I voiced the truth. I wondered if she was glaring at me now, the intensity of her gaze on me only encouraging me to keep staring at the sky while the truth left my lips. “I should have killed her. My mission was to kill her. I was the reaper that should have stolen her soul from her body and delivered it to our Goddess with my very hands. That was my purpose, Ruby. I knew long before kidnapping her that I’d lead her to her end.”
I knew it surprised her from the shift in tension in the air, but she needed to know what I’d been sent to do. What that Vile Bitch had truly sought for me to accomplish with my intervention in this mission.
“Do you believe I was sent to take her after the Russians pulled that surprise attack? I don’t do timed bullshit, no matter if I’m in the very clutches of that Vile Queen’s domain. I earned my right to have some sort of control of when to interfere, and I made a choice the moment Willow awakened her connection with that Master warlock. I knew she officially gained the seat on the High Court, and I could either involve myself and ensure she was dead by the time she landed on Mount Marcy or killed her in front of her men like she was but a pesky fly.”
“Yet you did neither,” she muttered.
“Did you wish for me to kill your sister?”
“No, obviously,” she seethed. “But you went against the orders of the Vile Queen for her.”
“Not necessarily,” I confessed. “By interfering, I changed the timeline. I involved myself knowing that by doing so, I’d just fucked up what was predicted. None of the comrades I was working with would figure it out. In fact, they went along with it knowing I’d never go against the owner of my life. I’ve lived these last ten years a click away from death, Ruby. Nothing was going to fuck it up for me.”
“Until her,” she whispered, and when she looked my way, I ensured I met her gaze with boldness. “You fell in love with her at first sight.”
My smirk couldn’t be more daring. “I’ve never been a romantic. Though, it is a turn-on to see a woman wrestle a bear naked because it looked at her the wrong way.”
She gave me a ”you’re a fucking psycho” look before she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“You’ll fit perfectly in her harem of Forbidden fuckers.”
“Now, now. Don’t be mad,” I reasoned.
“I’m not mad,” she grumbled but whispered, “I just wish I had that power.”
“That power?”
“For people to see or be around me and suddenly realize their potential. To grasp that they can get everything they seek if they push through what’s holding them back and be true to themselves,” she revealed. “Watching in the background made me realize that Willow possesses that very superpower. No matter if it was Viktor, the Forbidden, the fae prince, or even you, she doesn’t need to try hard to inspire or empower any of you. All she does is strive for her own goals in life and voilà. You’re under her spell and ready to give your all in what you believe will bring you freedom.”
“I guess that’s true.” I couldn’t agree more. “That’s what changed you, right?”
Her eyes never left mine as I continued. “It had to if you’re willing to forgive a fucker like me.”
She tried to fight off the tears that brewed in those magnificent eyes of hers, but a single one escaped as she smiled.
“She’s the reason why I decided to live a double life. One where I showed the world that I’m the perfect puppet in this theatrical play called life, but within the shadows, I can make my own foundation. I found those who pull out the crazy parts of me and are able to adore them, but I guess you’re right,” she reasoned. “That’s probably why I can easily forgive you.”
“Do you regret it?” I inquired.
“Forgiving you?”
