Chapter 21 – Lilith #2
I don’t even try to deny it. I went from hating him to barely being able to be in the same room as him, to tolerating him, to messaging him, to him somehow consuming me. “When he was staying for security,” I mutter.
“And?” Evelynn presses.
I turn to face her. “And what?” I shrug.
“Well, it must have been incredible for you to go from loathing him to being this distraught over him lying and being held captive. I don’t just mean he gave you orgasms. We can do that ourselves; I’m talking something spectacular.
Earth-shattering, soul-connecting, life-changing.
” She gestures with her hands far apart to emphasize how big a deal she means.
The corner of my mouth curves up. “It was earth-shattering,” I nod. “Connected on a level like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” I add, swallowing, my eyes automatically trailing back to Velmora, like a dark, evil beacon calling me.
“I’m going to say something, and right now you may think I’m out of line.
” She pauses, only for a split second. “You can feel upset about the lies. You can be pissed, absolutely. And it’s the loss of your family, of course, that will live with you forever.
But everything Silas did, he did with good intentions,” she states. “More than good intentions,” she adds.
“It still doesn’t—” She holds her hands up, halting me.
“He betrayed his own brother for you. Kept the club’s secret.
He did what he thought was right, without knowing they’d make it an initiation like that.
He never would have agreed otherwise. And you know it,” she says firmly.
“And now he’s sacrificed himself for you.
Everything he’s ever done comes back to you.
While you’ve been hating him, blaming him for hiding Morbius—blaming him for your family’s deaths—he’s been loving you.
Silently. From a distance. He never cared that you didn’t love him back.
He let you hate him because he thought that’s what you needed.
Someone to carry it. Someone to take the blame so you could grieve, so you could move on.
He just never cared how much it would break him. ”
Her words crash through me like a tsunami; everything he has done is for me. At the same time, I’ve been hating and blaming him. Tears sting my eyes again. “Why did he have to lie?” I whisper.
Evelynn gives me a sad smile. “Because men, mortal or vampire, are fucking stupid.”
I cough a laugh, sniffing back my tears. I wipe my cheeks with my hands and stand. “Let’s go see what the plan is.”
Evelynn gets off the bed. “Yes, and have them try and tell us we can’t go. I look forward to putting Luci in his place,” she smirks with a smugness.
I give only a small smile back, not really feeling like laughing right now. “I just want to take some days away to process everything. All of this—all of it—is a lot to take in, in one day.
We make our way downstairs and into the main restaurant area attached to the B&B.
Lucian is yelling, his tone furious. “What the hell?” Evelynn mutters to me.
Her eyes wide as mine, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, feeling his rage pulsating throughout the room.
I look amongst the brothers, and no one else is arguing with him.
As we take a tentative step forward, I spot it retreating out of the fire exit.
My gaze darts to Lucian. “A vessel,” I murmur.
Lucian’s head jerks towards us, only suddenly realising that we are here. His anger was dimming just a fraction.
“What is it?” Evelynn asks, not going to him. Not from fear, but she’s still pissed and not about to let him forget anytime soon.
Lucian lifts his hand, holding up a note. “Morbius has requested our presence,” he seethes through gritted teeth.
“Why has that got you so angry? You must have known that he would know you are here,” I point out.
His eyes flare, his jaw set so tight I’m surprised it hasn’t snapped. “He said it’s so we can say our goodbyes to Silas”, he growls.
“The arrogant, cocky mother fucker,” Hex fumes.
My throat burns as I fight back my emotions from surfacing. Now it is not the time.
“How do we break the blood oath?” I ask.
“We need to kill Morbius, but there is a chance…” Viktor pauses. “There is a chance that in killing Morbius, Silas dies too.”
My body jolts, my undead heart lurching against my ribcage. “How will we know?” I ask, my voice a fractured whisper.
“When we kill Morbius,” Viktor sighs. “It’s not like Silas will be in a fit state to tell us. And even if we can kill Morbius, there is no guarantee that we will do it in time to stop him turning vessel.”
Evelynn gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “That’s a lot of what ifs,” I mumble.
“It’s all we have,” Cain answers, his red eyes full of dread and sorrow. He doesn’t think we can save him.
“Load up, we leave immediately,” Lucian orders.
“Petal,” he calls Evelynn, his eyes softening.
She goes to him. He pulls her into his arms, his mouth whispering in her ear.
I’m not sure what he said, but it has her holding on to him tight.
He presses a soft, long kiss on her temple before she walks back over to me, her face soft, but sadness pouring from her eyes.
“What is it?” I ask.
She gives me a tight smile. “That we need to be prepared that Silas won’t make it. The cards are stacked against him.”
She says it softly, so softly, like she thinks I will break.
I shake my head. “No. He can’t go in there thinking like that.
He needs to go in there with the mindset that we will succeed, that we will save him,” I hiss vehemently.
I swallow. “I need to be pissed at him. I need to be angry at him. I can’t do that if he’s dust. So, I need him to pull through.
I need him to survive this.” I state it with a determination I’m not quite sure I believe.
But I can’t give up completely, not yet.