Chapter 53
Mila
“ So your mother was traded like a war trophy?”
“ No.” His growl is a warning to tread lighter. “ My father and mother were in love, but since they fought on opposite sides, it could never have been unless one of them changed sides. Dad decided to turn his back on his family and pick mom’s side, and he convinced my uncles to fight alongside him, too. But it wasn ’ t so simple. Power never is. Because of my grandfather ’ s betrayal, the Kings lost their seat of power. My uncles wanted it back. The Rites of Passage refused to give Uncle Lucas the ruling seat his father once had, but they did offer it to his firstborn if he, along with his brothers, could pass a test and prove their loyalty. Once Titan was born, the test started. They wanted to make sure greed didn ’ t run in the family, so they ordered our fathers to pay the ultimate price for my grandfather ’ s betrayal. To give up not only their power but their lives for the cause.”
“ So, Titan ’ s dad willingly sacrificed his life so Titan could gain this seat of power. And your dad, along with Damian ’ s, also died, so you and Damian could be part of this society?”
“ I never said we were a normal family.” He sarcastically snorts. “ Now Titan has to pass a test in order to get this throne of power.” Fear ebbs and flows in his voice. “ He bears the burden for us all because of what my grandfather did.”
“ What if he doesn ’ t want it? Can he turn them down?”
His snicker scrapes over my exposed skin. “ No. And they are so powerful we ’ d be fools to try to fight them. How can I hate a man who sold his soul to get the woman he loved? My dad and mother loved each other, Mila. They loved each other more than they loved me. I always resented them for that, but now I understand.”
His eyes are claws holding my heart. I try to block out the emotions; my heart shudders and flops like a fish out of water, trying to escape his grasp.
“ Not every romance has a rose as its symbol.” I tell him.
“ What do you think is our symbol?” He sounds like the boy who first revealed his heart to me all those years ago in our dorm room.
“ A candle,” I reply. “ When we ’ re lit, we burn, melting everything in our path.” A shadow pulls at his face as he smiles, but the dim light conceals his lips from me. “ But when the turbulence in our life grows too strong, we are snuffed out.”
“ Candles can be relit.”
“ Not if all the wick runs out.” Don ’ t do this! Don’t you dare come back to me as the heartbroken prince, then emerge the King after we make love to one another.
“ I don ’ t want to be a weak flickering flame that can only mold something as weak as wax; I want to be a roaring fire that burns anything that tries to come near it. I want to be unstoppable.”
Our eyes meet halfway between the emptiness in the room. “ I guess it runs in my genes,” Dash mutters. “ Loving someone you shouldn ’ t have, but are willing to die for.”
“ No.” I shake my head. “ It died with your father. You ’ re not willing to turn your back on your family for me, Dash. You ’ re a candle. Your father was a wildfire.”
The shadows claim the light in our eyes as we continue to stare at each other. “ I will always love you, Dash.” My heart beats loudly in my ears, “ It ’ s just that my love is not enough to vanquish your fear, and I can ’ t live like this. You need to stop coming to me. Just let me go, leave me be in this cage you have made for me.”
I hear his tongue running over his teeth as he sucks in his breath. Slowly, he pushes up, then stands still like he ’ s accepted death by a firing squad. “ How do you live without your eyes?” He voices his final goodbye to me. “ Wake up each day to see nothing, only darkness, no light. How do I breathe without a heart, a heart you own?”
“ You did this to us.” I cry, “ You think this is easy for me?” I grab at my chest, trying to pound out the incoming pain. “ I love you so much it hurts. So much that I don ’ t know who I am without you. I love you more than I love myself, Dash. Don ’ t blame this on others. It ’ s you and you alone who made the decision that tore us apart.”
I lean forward, pushing my chest into my nails, grasping it. “ I would rather die standing by your side than alone, trapped by guards. But you won ’ t allow that.”
“ You ’ re right!” His shadow grows tenfold. “ I won ’ t allow you to die by my side.” He stomps to the door, “ because I ’ m not brave enough to witness it.” He whispers before he slams the door shut.