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I opened my mouth but then closed it, trying again and shaking my head. “I wasn’t in Australia when she said she…”
“What?” Kristof pushed.
“That was when I was in South Korea,” I muttered. “I had a bender—I thought it was a bender, but I did wake up somewhere and didn’t know how I got there. But I had been in South Korea for a while since they weren’t hit as hard. They had those defenses in place against North Korea, and given they’re a peninsula—”
“It worked out well for them,” Branko muttered. “And they were a big player but not a big enough player to hit. So they closed their borders fast and—they might have been one of the least hit countries, but who knows what it’s like now without backup or resources.”
“Something to check into later,” Trisha muttered. “So you had been there, Aether snuck you out to rescue Inez, wiped your memory, and stuck you back so you thought you had a bender, but you missed a month? Without knowing?”
I sighed, scrubbing my hand over my head. “I was in—I’d lost my whole family, Trisha. The coven was a crater from a bomb. I was just going through the motions and helping the people there. It’s honestly all a blur of killing corrupted and trying to save people from the human monsters.”
She moved closer and gave me a half hug. “Yeah, I remember that feeling well. Sorry.”
“Clearly, it was the right move,” Kristof muttered, focused on Jaxon. “What do you mean training? Brainwashing?”
“It makes sense,” Inez whispered from the chaise lounge.
In a flash, we all were by her… Except Jaxon who was still too much of a mess.
“I’m sorry I failed you again, My Princess,” Jaxon rasped, before breaking down crying.
“Jaxon, it’s not your fault. Please, don’t—I remember how bad the visions were,” she forgave, trying to go to him, but her legs weren’t responding right.
Sebastian and Ceawlin got the idea though and brought Jaxon to her. She let him lay on her lap, running her fingers through his hair as he tried to recover. She couldn’t seem to meet any of our gazes though, focused on what she was doing as if it was safe and she was embarrassed.
“I saw Darius take me away,” she said so quietly it hurt my heart. “He saw that woman slap me privately and I didn’t react normally. I was like a doll. I apologized for upsetting her and blessed her for giving me life, swearing that my life was hers to do with as she wanted for the honor of being born to her. It was creepy. I felt creepy seeing it.”
“Because you don’t remember it?” Kristof asked.
“No, because I knew it had really happened,” she muttered. “It felt like—I remembered the feeling of being slapped in that moment even if I was watching it like an outsider. I remembered how I instinctively said that instead of like—it wasn’t like I thought of what to say to get out of trouble like with Safie. It felt reflexive. Like hearing that man’s voice.”
I cleared my throat. “I have something to tell you.”
Inez nodded, letting out a slow breath and meeting my gaze, tears in her eyes. “Aether made it clear not to blame you. That you were doing Her will and were thinking of fighting Her because you knew I wouldn’t like it. I forgive you. I don’t understand what’s been going on, but I forgive you.”
“I don’t deserve it,” I rasped.
“For this, you do.” She shook her head when I went to argue. “Darius, I remember that fear of the visions. She showed me you all dead if I told you about taking over Bahati. That fear doesn’t just leave.” She swallowed loudly. “You felt that, right?”
I nodded. “It’s been clawing over my soul even in warning. I couldn’t tell anyone and—”
“I’m so sorry,” she choked out. “I’m so sorry you suffered that because of me. I can’t imagine how you’ve been dealing with that for months. Aether made it clear it’s been a while.”
“I don’t care about that as long as you’re not angry with me,” I promised as I moved closer and knelt at her feet. “If I can help you get through this as easily as possible, then I don’t care about me, Inez.”
Fuck, it was worth it when she took my hand and made me feel like I could be let back into her heart again. Aether could do whatever She wanted to me if I was of help to Inez and the love of my life might give me another chance.
Or just to help Inez. I loved her so much that I didn’t care what happened to me as long as there was less pain in Inez’s life.
Eddie repeated what he’d told us, and Inez bobbed her head as she listened.
“She recognized me. She let it go for the moment thinking she could—she knew they controlled me or whatever and gave them a chance to—so she found them? We need that answer.”
“We’ll get all of the answers we need,” Kristof promised as he came closer and gave her a soft kiss. “But those people do not have your best interest at heart, so I want you ready for the eventual outcome.”
I swallowed loudly, but Inez took it in stride.
“From what I already saw, they are horrible, and even if my mind was wiped, my body was still terrified to hear their voices. What they did to me was that bad. Our fucking Goddess had me abducted from them. I’m fine with the ending of that story. We just need more information and answers first.” She met his gaze. “Never leave me—”
