Page 27 of Fate of the Fallen
Blood boiled in my veins at the thought of it.
“We do not know what greater purpose this child will serve, which is precisely why we need to be certain the Liberator does not succeed again,” Hilda went on. “Among those of us in this room, there needs to be an understanding.” She paused and came closer, her gaze landing on those still standing in this room.
“What we may all be driven to do will force us to go over the Elders’ and High Council’s heads if they do not act quickly enough. If it comes to that, the act may cost us our lives, but that child must be protected,” she declared. “While I understand we’ve newly formed an alliance with a few members of the Stokes family, blood is blood,” she whispered only to me. “They will always fight for Nicholas’ survival, which means they’ll turn their backs on us the moment they realize we’re not of the same mind. If this child is to live … Nicholas is on borrowed time.”
She held my gaze and said more.
“Believe me, I’ve tried everything I could think of to change this, including things I have not shared with you or the others, right down to holding Maisy here in Seaton Falls as a prisoner under the Elder’s watch.”
This news came as a surprise to me, but I suppose it shouldn’t have. Turning Maisy loose after using her to complete the restorative spell that brought Elise’s sons back would have been negligent.
“I thought I might be able to force her to fix this because she originated the spell,” Hilda explained. “But dealing with her only enforced what I already believed—what Nick is cannot be undone. The likelihood of there being a remedy for the darkness within him is slim. Therefore, if one is not discovered by the time Evangeline gives birth,” Hilda declared, “Greater measures must be taken.”
Her stare stayed trained on me for a long while. It was unlawful to knowingly take the life of a supernatural being without a proper trial and sentencing. I wasalsoaware that the wages of such a crime was death, but the thing was, there might not have been time for such formalities. If it came down to Nick or my child, oranyoneI cared about for that matter, I would always choose family, regardless of alliances.
Hilda spoke again, and when she did, she looked deep withinme as she assigned a charge I dutifully accepted.
“The two—your child and the Liberator—cannot coexist,” she said firmly. “And where it may become complicated is when it comes to his family, including those you now consider comrades.”
My gaze stayed trained on Hilda as she made the circumstances even clearer.
“Losing him at the hands of a member of this household will undoubtedly create a rift, one that can’t be mended and could result in retaliation. So, I ask you this: how will you respond when that happens? What are you prepared to do to protect your family?”
My vision, clearer than it had ever been, tinted a deep crimson, shading the edges of the room in red. An unfamiliar sensation filled me from head to toe, a deep-seated ferocity that controlledmemore than I controlledit. I took Hilda’s question to heart and answered from the very depths of my soul.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Chapter Eight
Nick
I couldn’t tell if time was really passing this slowly or if I was losing it. I was certain it hadn’t been more than a few hours since I’d seen Richie. He dropped in for a second visit after a meeting a few levels above, in the Elders’ chamber. Still, I was pacing the length of my cell like it’d been months.
A caged animal. That’s what I was.
My thoughts wandered as I paced, but mostly they lingered on Roz. When we spoke, she shared that something was going on with her. I guessed that, if an Elder and the Chancellor had gone out of their way to visit, it was serious.
She’d experienced a lot of changes lately. Most notably, that she was no longer fully submitted to her father. On several occasions, she’d been able to break the sire bond and act of her own free will. The obvious reason was that she was transitioning, taking on the role as alpha of their small pack of only two. But I wondered if there was more to it, a larger picture I hadn’t been able to discuss with her because I was …stuckhere. That meant she’d have to face whatever it was without me.
A pang of guilt hit because, through everything, she’d been right beside me. Even when no one else could be.
When no one elsewantedto be.
Among the manythings that had me on edge, a growing concern was that no one had bothered to feed me. I could have complained to Richie about it, but didn’t. In a way, I suppose allowing myself to be starved was a means of self-punishment. By now, I should have been weak, seeing as how I’d gone without sustenance for so long, but weak was the exact opposite of what I felt. In fact, I couldn’t remember a time I felt stronger.
Which wasn’t a good thing.
The magic that had made leaving this place feel like an impossibility didn’t exactly feel that way anymore. I noticed it maybe an hour ago, but there was definitely a change. Before, it was like my limbs were weighed down by an invisible force, one I couldn’t overpower. Now? I wasn’t even completely sure I couldn’t pry the bars of my cell apart if I tried hard enough.
At the thought, I eyed them, those wrought-iron posts that separated me from the free world. They kept me from my family, friends … Roz.
They also kept me from hurting someone else I cared for deeply. Someone who, at the thought of her, I wanted to feel the tendons of her throat in my mouth as I ripped it to shreds.
I crouched and held my head, wishing there was a way to rinse my mind clean of this darkness, but … there was no remedy. I felt that harsh reality all the way down to my bones. This feeling, this thirst for her death, wouldn’t be quenched until the job was done.
Until she no longer breathed.
“Doing all right over there, friend?” came that odd, raspy voice that sent chills down my spine every time I heard it.