Chapter 25 Malik #3
“I had finally moved on. Or at least, I told myself I had.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “I convinced myself that I had done enough damage. That you were better off without me.”
A bitter chuckle escaped me. “And that was probably the worst decision I ever made.”
I turned to the fire, watching the embers smolder like dying stars. “Because as I was leaving, something kept pulling at me. A voice, a force—something—urged me to turn back.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “I resisted. For too long. And by the time I finally heeded the call… it was too late.”
I lifted my gaze to Olivia.
“Your home was already engulfed in flames. And you—” I exhaled shakily. “You were outside, screaming, cradling your dead husband.”
The air in the room thickened, charged with something unspoken, something neither of us dared to name.
Olivia’s breath hitched. Her voice was heavy with sorrow, trembling with the memory she had not fully grasped until now.
“I can almost remember it,” she whispered, her eyes distant, lost in the echoes of another life. “I was screeching. Thrashing against an unknown force. Desperate to protect my child.”
Her gaze locked onto mine, shimmering with grief. “I begged you to save her. I screamed at you to do whatever it took to keep her safe.”
I nodded. “I wanted to help you. I truly did.” My voice was heavy, laced with an agony I had carried for centuries. “But I hesitated. I stood there, thinking, wishing I had never come to your home at all. That my presence had only brought misery and destruction.”
I swallowed hard. “And then… your pleas broke me.”
I exhaled, my hands curling into fists as I relived the moment. “I raced through the flames, pushing past the smoke and heat. The Timehunters were already there. They had the baby.” My jaw tightened. “I didn’t think. I acted. I cut them down where they stood and tore the child from their grasp.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
The turret clock chimed, its lilting melody drifting through the heavy air.
At last, I spoke again.
“When I emerged from the house… you were dead, Olivia.”
I turned to her, watching as the words struck her like a blow. “You lay beside your husband, as you always have, as you always will—forever committed to him across time.”
My throat tightened, but I forced myself to continue. “Your other three children were close by.” A bitter smile touched my lips. “Even in death, your love for one another was undeniable.”
Olivia’s eyes shimmered with tears. Without hesitation, she clutched Roman’s hand as if anchoring herself to the present.
I looked away.
The rejection, the eternal reminder that I was an outsider—a mere witness to their love—still stung as deeply as it had that night.
“I raised your child,” I murmured. “I was miserable. Bereft. Hollow. But I protected her.”
I swallowed past the knot in my throat. “Seasons passed. And then, Alina came to me.”
My body tensed at the memory. I pushed to my feet, crossing to the fireplace, throwing another log into the flames with more force than necessary.
“She had given birth to a child,” I continued, my voice quieter now. “She had given birth to you, Olivia.”
I turned slightly, glancing at her over my shoulder. “But I didn’t yet know you were Isabelle incarnate.”
I braced my hands on my hips, staring into the fire as it consumed the fresh wood, crackling hungrily.
“Alina had come with more than news.” My voice darkened. “She told me she had found a way to destroy Balthazar. That she had brought me the Sun Dagger.”
I shook my head, a humorless chuckle escaping me. “But by then, I didn’t care. I had no interest in vengeance, no desire for war.”
I turned fully to face them, my expression unreadable. “I cared only for the child I had sworn to protect. That was my purpose now. That was all that mattered.”
A shadow passed over my face. “Alina wanted to give me her journal. She insisted it held knowledge I would need. But I wanted no part of it.”
My voice dropped into something raw, something fractured.
“I only wanted her to leave.”
Olivia and Roman stared at me, their eyes full of something that felt like sympathy.
Pity.
A flicker of condescending compassion that made my blood boil, rage curling inside me like a caged beast.
I hated their glances—how they looked at me as if I were something broken, something to be pitied rather than understood. Their eyes were knives, piercing through the fragile skin of my restraint, cutting deeper than I cared to admit.
Worse still, the longer I met their gazes, the more I felt myself drowning in despair.
I clenched my fists. “When I saw that Alina left the journal behind, I threw it against the wall. I didn’t want it.”
My voice softened, a bitter laugh escaping me. “But a picture slipped from its pages and fluttered to the ground.”
My gaze locked onto Olivia. “It was you.”
I exhaled, my lips parting slightly as I savored the memory. “I stared into the eyes of Isabelle.”
Something had stirred within me for the first time in years—something reckless, something foolish.
Hope.
I bit my lip, reliving the moment as though it had happened. “I thought I must be hallucinating. I shoved the picture back between the pages, stuffed the journal into the side stand drawer, and tried to forget it existed.”
I crossed the room, sinking into my chair, letting a strange peace settle over me.
I had told them everything.
The truth, raw and unfiltered.
For the first time in centuries, I had stepped out of the shadows and laid my soul bare before them.
I leaned back, letting the moment sink in.
“What happened to this child?” Olivia’s voice broke the silence, her grip tightening on Roman’s hand.
I met her gaze.
Then shrugged.
“You’ve already met her.”
Olivia sucked in a sharp breath.
Roman’s body went rigid. “What?” He leaned forward, eyes sharp with disbelief.
A satisfied smile spread across my lips. I tilted slightly, letting the revelation unravel between us like a secret in the dark.
“The child I have cared for ever since you both died…”
I paused, letting my words sink in.
Then I whispered, letting the truth land like a dagger.
“Is Rosie.”
Silence fell, thick and electric.
Olivia gasped, her free hand flying to her mouth.
Roman’s eyes darkened, his breath leaving him in an exhale.
And me?
I sat there, my smile lingering like a fox that had just revealed its grandest trick.
“That’s not possible!” Olivia’s voice trembled with disbelief. “I found her by a stream near a broken carriage. The occupants… I assumed they were her parents. They were dead.”
I let out a breath, then tapped my chest. “And who do you think left her there?”
Silence thickened the space between us.
I leaned forward. “I came across that wagon first. The couple inside—already gone. It was the perfect setup.”
I tilted slightly, watching as realization dawned in Olivia’s eyes.
“Rosie is brilliant. She loves intrigue; she loves games.
So, I told her, ‘Two young women are traveling this way. They will take care of you and bring you back to me. But you must never tell them that you know me. This is a game, a secret between us.”
Olivia pressed a hand to her mouth.
“I raised her as my own for five years.” My voice softened, the edges of my words carrying something almost reverent. “I taught her everything. I was the only one there to care for her, to keep her safe.”
A breath hitched in my throat, but I pushed forward.
“I held her when she cried. I soothed her nightmares and calmed her when she screamed in the middle of the night. I taught her how to walk and how to talk. I fed her and clothed her. I must have lost countless hours of sleep tending to her, but I never minded. Not once.”
I exhaled, staring past them, lost in memory. “And then the plague came.”
A shadow flickered over my face. “I couldn’t risk her life. I wouldn’t. So, we traveled—jumped through time until we reached the 1800s. I swore to protect her, no matter what.”
I shook my head, my voice quieter now. “But no matter how far I ran, the past followed. I still bore the guilt of her parents’ deaths. Of your deaths.”
I lifted my gaze, locking eyes with Olivia.
“But Rosie… she was a gift. Through caring for her, I learned what love truly is. What sacrifice means.”
For a long moment, neither Olivia nor Roman spoke.
Olivia’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nor do I,” Roman murmured.
I let out a breath and turned toward the window.
A blush of pale-apricot and pink peeked over the horizon, bleeding into the sky like the promise of a new beginning.
“When Rosie and I arrived in the 1800s, I found you.”
I exhaled, my chest tightening at the memory. “You were all together, sitting around a campfire.”
I closed my eyes briefly, feeling the ache of that moment all over again. “I knew you both the instant I laid eyes on you. And I nearly wept with joy.”
My fingers curled into fists at my sides. “It was a second chance. A gift from fate, an opportunity to make amends.”
I clasped my hands against my thighs. “So, I did what I had always done. I watched over you. I protected you. It came naturally—I had done it before, and it filled the emptiness inside me to do it again.”
Something unreadable crossed Olivia’s face. Roman sat still, his expression carved from stone.
I leaned forward slightly, searching for the right words.
“I began plotting, planning, trying to find a way to bring us all together. It felt like destiny, finding you again.” My gaze flicked to Roman.
“I carried you from Balthazar’s lair when you were broken and bleeding.
I time traveled you to Olivia’s place of origin when you were dying on the battlefield because I knew they had the kind of medicine that could save you. ”
A heavy silence followed.
Roman’s brow furrowed deeply as if struggling to absorb it all. Olivia’s fingers twitched against her lap, her expression unreadable.
I leaned back, letting them sit with the truth. “I’m surprised you remember so much, Roman.”
His gaze snapped to mine, blazing with curiosity.
I nodded at Olivia. “And you… I think you push the truth from your mind. You fear it. But you no longer need to be afraid.”
I hesitated, then let my gaze drop to my lap. “You’ve seen glimpses, Olivia. I know about the nightmares. I know what they show you. And that night, when you asked me if we had met before…”
I swallowed hard. “I lied.”
Olivia stiffened.
“I told you no, but the truth? I was shocked. Your dreams—your memories—were trying to wake up. I wasn’t ready to tell you then. Not without Roman.”
I exhaled, settling my palms on the arms of my chair. “But I’m ready now. I will prove my intentions to you both. You will remember.”
I nodded encouragingly. “I want to make things right this time. I swear it.”
I brought my clenched fist to my chest, a vow forged from centuries of regret.
For a long moment, Olivia stared at me, her expression impossible to decipher.
“I’m stunned, Malik,” she finally whispered. “I don’t know what to say. My mind is in a muddle over everything you’ve told me. I… I need time.”
I inclined my head. “Of course. But you wanted the truth, Olivia, and now you have it.”
I held her gaze, letting my voice drop into something raw, something unshakable.
“I love you to the depths of my soul. Even though I will never have you, I swear to you—I will die before I let harm come to you.”
Then I turned to Roman.
“And you, Roman. You are my true brother. No matter what has passed, I will always stand by your side. To protect those we love.”
Roman let out a breath, his features tense. “I, too, am shocked, Malik.” His voice was careful, measured. “What happens now? Where do we go from here?”
A smile curved my lips.
“Now?” I leaned forward, intrigue flashing through my eyes.
“Now, we must find where you hid the Moon Dagger.”