Page 78 of Twisted Bonds
The roar of the hearth subsides to a subdued crackle as her form dissipates like smoke. Silence falls like a curtain after the final act. But this isn’t the end. It’s an intermission, a brief respite before the storm resumes. My fingers dig into the fabric of my dress, knuckles white. Tairyn is working with Malicryn. Serving Yurghen. Now and always.
When I asked how he knew about Yurghen’s plans, he simply said sources. When he admitted he had previously worked with him to get back his Chroma, I assumed that meant being the center of Yurghen’s sadistic experiments for a while. I felt sorry for him.
The reality of it is a cold splash of water, sobering and chilling. My pulse still drums a frantic beat, but now it sings a different tune—one of resolve and the fierce protectiveness that has grown roots deep within me.
His footsteps are slow finding their way back to my alcove, presumably to release me, but maybe he’ll just slit my throat now that I know his secret.
I can’t believe this.
thirty-eight
Tairyn
This wasn’t part of the plan. I never thought it would come to this. My heart races as I walk towards the hidden alcove, where Mira is waiting. A part of me wants to turn back, to pretend like none of this ever happened. But I know that’s not an option. I pull her out from her hiding spot, feeling a mix of guilt and fear wash over me. The shadows seem to cling to her like a protective cloak, shielding her from what’s to come. I can see the anger and suspicion in her eyes, and it only adds to the turmoil inside me. What have I done?
I can and I want to, she had said.
I scrub my face viciously with my palms, as if the friction can wipe away the memory.
“You deserve an explanation,” I say between my fingers, trying to keep my voice steady.
Mira narrows her eyes at me, crossing her arms over her chest. “You think?”
The door slams open, and suddenly Sunder, Bobble, and Callum are in the room. I barely have a chance to react before they leap between me and Mira, forming a protective barrier.
“Stay away from her!” Sunder snarls, his chestnut eyes blazing with anger. Bobble, the gentle giant sandwiched between my nemesis and me, looks concerned but determined. His amber eyes flicker between Mira and me, as if trying to take in the situation. I’m not sure if he’s here to protect Mira from me or me from Sunder. Maybe both.
For once, I’m too tired to play the game. To goad and taunt. Not when all is so clearly lost. The room tenses, wrapping around us like an unyielding vice. Sunder inches closer, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. I can see the rage simmering beneath the surface.
I can’t blame them. I hang my head, running my hand across my forehead and through my hair. Mira watches me with a mix of rage and hurt.
“Explain yourself. Now,” she demands. The ice in her voice stabs me through the chest. The others look between us warily.
“I…” My voice sounds strange, foreign to my own ears, like a man condemned. Gulping down the emotions that surge inside me, I start again. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out,” I say finally, pinching away the headache forming at the bridge of my nose. “I was going to tell you. All of you.”
A huff of tired air expels from me as I slump down into my desk chair, not caring that my usual mask of indifference is slipping away. Everything is ruined now anyway. What does it matter?
“It started long ago, when I first awoke in this body. I approached Malicryn, trying to get information. I knew she wouldn’t have acted alone when she shattered my soul. Our soul, I suppose. That path led me to Yurghen.”
I pause to glance at the Shards, to see the mild surprise flash on their faces. Internally, I roll my eyes.
Yes, idiots. Of course he helped her. How would she have known something like that on her own? I bite back a snide remark.
“I made a bonded bargain with him. I’d work for him as his apprentice, let him run… experiments on me, help with his plots.” I don’t try to suppress the grimace at those words. The awful memories. “Working with him offered me everything I wanted at the time. He had a way to give me access to my Chroma again, despite my predicament. He promised he’d teach me how to make myself whole using a similar ritual to the shattering once my role with him was complete. It was all dangled in front of me like a carrot and information given so sparingly that my resentment grew quickly. But it didn’t matter. The deal was made.”
My eyes refuse to meet Mira’s as my thoughts race and my words stumble out in a jumbled mess. “I was selfish. And desperate. But mostly, I was angry. I started working against them, while working with them. It was a futile act of rebellion though. Nothing more. Importing things from the human realm, taking over some of the portals. It was nothing more than a nuisance to them and the other High Elves.”
Sunder scoffs as he crosses his arms, clearly not believing anything I say.
“A convenient change of heart,” Callum chimes in, his blue eyes narrowed.
“Eventually, I realized that Yurghen didn’t have everything he promised me. There were things he still didn’t understand, and our bargain was a gamble for him. But I kept my place among them, believing he’d find it, eventually. Malicryn took over micromanaging me somewhere along the way. She gave orders, and I’d follow them in my own ways. It was a game we played to vex each other.”
With a heavy heart, I finally meet her gaze, but all I see is a mask of confusion and seething anger. Unable to bear the weight of her hatred, I hang my head once more, refusing to look into those eyes that used to hold something akin to compassion for me. But I must tell her the final piece of the truth, the darkest and most shameful part that will surely destroy all our future prospects.
This is a turning point in one of the vision’s web of possibilities. But where will it take me?
“When Sunder found you, Mira, everything changed. I didn’t realize at the time why, but Malicryn and Yurghen both contacted me constantly. Demanding I find you. They claimed that you were the missing piece. The last thing they needed from me. Once I delivered you to them, they’d give the last bit I needed to complete the ritual and make myself whole.”