Chapter 12 #3
“I asked you a question, my love,” he murmured. “Did you miss me?”
His teeth gleamed unnaturally, catching the dim light in an eerie, almost supernatural way.
“So,” he continued, “tell me where the journal is. I want it.”
I said nothing.
I couldn’t say anything.
My throat locked, my body frozen.
Balthazar clicked his tongue, his wicked grin growing wider.
“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” His eyes danced with sadistic glee.
“Or were you so stunned by the depth of love I shared with your mother that you can’t muster up a snarky little retort?
” He chuckled darkly. “Didn’t we have the greatest relationship?
The true love of a lifetime—so much passion and fire… ”
The words snapped me from my torpor.
“My mother hated you,” I spat. “She despised you. You murdered her entire family.”
Balthazar waved a dismissive hand. “Lies. No matter what happened between us or what tragedies she endured, she still loved me. She wanted me until the end of her days.”
“You think I’m going to hand over the journal so you can twist the knowledge inside? Never.” I struggled to remain neutral. “With the truth I’ve uncovered, I will kill you. I don’t fear you anymore.”
Balthazar barked out a chilling laugh.
“You think you don’t fear me?” His eyes glowed with cruel delight.
“Look at you.” He gestured to me, sweeping over my frame.
“You are broken inside. I broke you.” His voice dripped with sick satisfaction.
“You stand there shaking before me, your hands quivering, your breath short. The strong Olivia I once knew?” He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my cheek. “She doesn’t exist anymore.”
Before I could react, his hand shot out, his fingers clamping around my throat.
I gasped as he shoved me back, my spine slamming against a tree. Bark dug into my scalp as he pressed harder, his grip tightening.
“You think Malik will save you?” he sneered. “Where is he?” His fingers dug into my throat, just enough to remind me he could crush it in an instant. “I don’t see him anywhere.” His lips curled. “All I see is fear in your eyes.”
I gritted my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
“How do you even know Malik is here?” I forced out, my voice strangled against his grip.
Balthazar chuckled. “I know everything.” He tilted his head, watching my struggle with perverse amusement.
“Malik fears me. That’s why he’s been hiding all these decades.
He knows he can’t stand against me.” His fingers tightened just slightly, enough to make my pulse hammer against his palm. “So, tell me… where is he?”
I side-eyed Rosie, who huddled close to Emily, her small hands clutching Emily’s sleeve.
Balthazar’s gaze followed mine. His lips curved into something that might have passed as a smile if not for the malice lurking beneath it.
“What a beautiful child,” he cooed. His voice was soft, deceptively gentle. “Come here, sweetness.”
He stepped away from me, his grip loosening just enough for me to skitter out of reach, my hands instinctively flying to my sore neck.
Rosie shook her head furiously, burying herself against Emily, who held her tighter, protective and fierce.
Panic surged in my chest. Where was Marcellious? My eyes darted wildly. Where did he go?
Balthazar tsked. “Were you trying to hide this lovely little girl from me? I love children.” He extended a hand. “Come here, sweetness.”
Rosie recoiled, pressing herself deeper into Emily’s embrace.
“I won’t hurt you,” Balthazar promised.
“Don’t believe him,” Emily whispered, covering Rosie’s ears.
Then, leaves crunching behind me.
I whipped around.
Marcellious stood there, his face void of emotion.
And in his hands—
My mother’s journal.
My blood boiled.
What in the goddamned hell happened to Malik? How could he do this? Did he stand in the doorway, journal in hand, and give it to Marcellious?
Balthazar’s smirk deepened.
Marcellious lifted the journal slightly, waving it like a prize. “I’ve got the journal, Master. We can leave now.”
Emily staggered upright, still clutching Rosie against her legs. Her voice was pleading. “Please, don’t do this. You won’t do this if you love me—even a little. We can be a family. We are a family.”
Marcellious let out a derisive laugh. Then, he turned his head and spat into the damp earth.
“I never loved you.” His words were ice, cutting, and final. “It was an act from the moment I met you.”
Emily swayed slightly, her chin quivering. “You… never loved me?”
Marcellious sneered. “Not one bit.” He stepped closer, eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. “It was all a ruse. You were nothing more than a pawn in the game.” He let out a harsh chuckle. “You don’t even know how to please a man. I had to sneak away to get some real satisfaction.”
The words landed like a slap, shattering something in the air between them.
Emily’s breath hitched—one, two, three sharp gasps.
Then—nothing.
Just silence.
A thick, suffocating silence.
Rage coursed through me like molten fire. I wanted to destroy them both.
Balthazar let out a hideous, gleeful laugh.
“Oh yes, let’s tell them everything,” he drawled, rubbing his hands together.
“It’s the perfect time for sharing secrets.
” His eyes glowed with wicked delight. “Did you know, Olivia, that Marcellious has worked for me ever since you landed in the Americas? How do you think I always knew where you were? Marcellious was my spy.”
I stiffened as Marcellious stepped forward, his chest puffed out with sickening pride.
“How else would I know about John James? About your marriage? About when Emily and Marcellious tied the knot?” Balthazar’s grin widened, eyes flashing with pure malice.
“How do you think I found your campsite? How I razed the village to the ground?” His voice dropped to a purr.
“How I ensured Roman was injured just enough for him to die?”
My breath hitched.
Balthazar beamed at Marcellious like a proud father. “It was all thanks to him. He fed me every detail—your every move, every weakness. You were all blind to him.”
Something inside me snapped.
Marcellious.
It was him.
He had betrayed us. All of us.
He had led Balthazar to Roman, to all of us.
Roman nearly died because of him.
My stomach churned with disgust. He was just as vile as Balthazar, carrying the same twisted darkness in his blood.
If only Roman knew.
A growl ripped through me as I snatched the walking stick from the ground, gripping it like a bat. My vision tunneled, focused only on Marcellious.
I charged.
Balthazar merely chuckled, waving a lazy hand through the air.
The stick flew from my grip, spinning wildly before crashing uselessly into the mud.
I gasped.
Emily let out a wretched, grief-stricken howl. “You’re a barbarian! A savage!” Tears streamed down her face. “You’re nothing but evil, Marcellious! I hate you!”
Marcellious threw his head back, laughing, his mirth blending seamlessly with Balthazar’s.
The sound made my skin crawl.
My throat burned with fury. “What would Roman say about you?”
The laughter stopped.
Marcellious’ expression hardened, his eyes turning ice-cold. His head snapped toward me.
I took an instinctive step back.
“I don’t give a fuck what Roman thinks,” Marcellious shouted, his arms flailing wildly. “I was supposed to kill him on the battlefield in Rome. But then you happened.”
His words sent a fresh wave of fury crashing through me.
“So, you lied to Roman. To me. To everyone.” My voice was cold, edged with steel.
“Nothing you ever said—none of it—was real. I knew you were evil. I knew the bastard you are would never change.” I turned to Emily, my voice filled with anger.
“He’s been lying to us, deceiving us all along.
He is his father’s son—a monster. And a monster born from darkness will die a monster. ”
Emily clutched Rosie tighter, her body racked with sobs.
I lunged for the walking stick again—
But before my fingers could close around it, a hand snatched my wrist, nails digging into my skin.
A soft, sultry voice cooed in my ear.
“Don’t hurt my lover.”
I jerked my hand away, whipping around to stare into Dahlia’s cold, gleaming eyes.
Marcellious let out a cruel laugh. “Why did I waste my time with you?” he sneered at Emily, “when the darkness could have pleasured me?”
His gaze slid hungrily to Dahlia, and she strutted toward him, her lips curling into a seductive smile.
Without hesitation, she draped her arm around his shoulders.
Marcellious grabbed her jaw, tilted her head, and crashed his mouth against hers.
The kiss was exaggerated, and loud.
Dahlia moaned into it.
Emily wailed. “Don’t do this to me, Marcellious! I loved you!”
Something inside me snapped.
“You two are despicable.”
I grabbed the walking stick and swung—hard, aiming straight for Marcellious and Dahlia.
But before the strike could land, a hand intercepted it, catching the stick in a swift, fluid motion.
Balthazar.
His grip was like iron as he wrenched it from my hands with terrifying ease.
“You’re a fucking monster!” I screamed, my fury bubbling to the surface.
“I don’t give a damn what you think about me,” Balthazar said coldly. “Now that I have the journal, I no longer need you.” His lips curled into a twisted smile. “I’ll end your misery and give you the painful death you deserve—then I’ll finally be reunited with my beloved Alina.”
A bolt of terror shot through me.
“Emily, run! Run!” I shouted.
Emily snatched Rosie’s hand and, without hesitation, took off.
I turned back to face the three demons standing before me.
This was it.
My final battle.
But I’d die fighting.
I tugged up my skirts, retrieving the dagger hidden beneath, and slashed the air in front of Dahlia and Marcellious.
Balthazar merely watched, amused, as if I were nothing more than entertainment.
A thunderous roar tore from my throat as I drove my heel into Marcellious’ thigh with every ounce of strength I had.