Chapter 42 #2
When I reached Raul’s estate, the sky had darkened into a murky shade of ink, scattered with pale stars. An uneasy stillness hung over the land, melancholy wrapping the house.
I dismounted, heart hammering in my chest, and approached the front door.
Only one window glowed faintly with candlelight.
The rest of the house was dark.
I hesitated at the threshold, my hand hovering over the heavy iron knocker. Once I struck it, there would be no turning back.
With a sudden resolve, I seized the cold iron and slammed it hard against the oak door. The sound echoed through the evening like a warning bell—loud, final. I waited, breath held, the silence that followed stretching out like a noose.
No answer.
Frustration burned in my chest. I pounded the knocker again—once, twice, three times—until my hand throbbed and the cold bit into my skin—still, only silence.
Then, finally, the door creaked open.
A plain-looking woman stood there, modestly dressed in a long linen skirt and fitted bodice over a simple blouse. Her hair was tucked neatly into a linen cap, but her wide eyes betrayed her fear.
“Um, ma’am?” she said softly, wringing her hands. “Are you here to see the master of the house?”
“I am,” I said. “I’m here for Master Costa.”
Before she could respond, Raul appeared in the hallway behind her, moving like a storm barreling toward the coast. His expression twisted the moment he saw me—an ugly mixture of fury and disbelief that drained the color from his face.
“Noemi,” he barked, “get away from the door. Now.”
The maid flinched and vanished down the hall without a word.
Raul turned back to me, and the years melted off him for a brief second. I saw the man he once was—before it hardened into grief and ruin.
“You,” he spat. “How dare you show your face here?”
The rage in his voice made the air crackle.
Even in his forties, Raul retained his former handsomeness, but time and tragedy had carved bitterness deep into his face. His features were drawn, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes wild with pain.
“It’s… good to see you, Raul,” I said, forcing a smile, though fear pricked beneath my skin.
He lunged forward and grabbed me by the throat, slamming me back against the doorframe.
“You bitch,” he hissed. “You set me up! Because of you, Balthazar murdered my son. My son! He stole everything from me—my wife, my name, my peace. I have nothing left because of you!”
His grip tightened.
“You played me for a fool.”
His voice rose with every word, each syllable crashing against me like a battering ram. It wasn’t just rage—it was fury forged in betrayal. The hatred in his eyes burned so hot that it scorched straight through me, leaving me breathless and afraid.
“Raul, please—let me explain!” I gasped, gripping his hand where it clamped around my throat.
With a guttural growl, he shook me hard and shoved me back. I stumbled, barely catching myself before tumbling down the stone steps behind me.
“Please,” I repeated, my voice breaking. “I cared for you—I always did. But I couldn’t stay. Balthazar is a demon, Raul—a treacherous, soul-eating monster. I lived in fear every day with him. He’s hunting me now… That’s why I’ve come. To beg for mercy—to fix what’s been broken between us.”
I touched my aching neck, heart hammering in my chest.
“Mercy?” Raul roared, his voice shaking the very air around us. “You want forgiveness? I should slit your throat where you stand—just like any Timehunter would do to a traitor like you!”
Before I could reply, he seized my arm and yanked me away from the door.
I stumbled after him, tripping over roots and weeds in the overgrown yard. He dragged me behind the estate and flung open a heavy door, revealing a narrow staircase that spiraled downward.
He hauled me into the depths of his home like a man possessed.
At the bottom was a circular chamber bathed in the eerie glow of oil lamps.
Dozens of them lined the stone walls, casting a dancing amber light that gave everything the shimmer of a fever dream.
A round table dominated the center, its surface gleaming like polished bone.
Daggers were arranged in the shape of a sunburst, each weathered by time, their cracked hilts whispering of violence.
Raul didn’t stop.
He snatched a blade as we passed and shoved open another door, dragging me into a chamber that reeked of death.
Bones.
Bones were everywhere—scattered across the floor in heaps and piles, some so small they could’ve belonged to children.
The flickering torchlight made the scene shift and pulse like something alive.
The walls were lined with skulls, their hollow sockets staring blankly, eternally frozen in silent screams.
He forced my chin upward, making me look.
“Behold,” he revealed. “These are all who dared to betray us. Timebornes. Timebounds. And soon… you.”
My knees buckled, and I collapsed. My body shook, my voice filled with terror.
“Raul… don’t. Please, I’m begging you.”
Raul hauled me to my feet with brutal force, his face contorted in a feverish rage. His eyes burned with a manic glint, veins bulging at his temples.
“My people demoted me!” he roared. “Balthazar stood in my home. He should have been my kill, not the other way around. I was supposed to rise higher than any Timehunter before me, and instead, I was reduced. Stripped of everything. But killing you—you treacherous little viper—will be my ticket back to the top.”
He gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly, the metal catching the torchlight like a promise of blood.
In a desperate act of survival, I yanked open my shirt, baring my chest. The cool air met my skin as I stepped forward, unflinching.
His body stiffened—marble carved in tension and lust—and heat radiated off him like wildfire. His breath hitched.
“I love you!” I cried out. “I ache for you. I always have. You were the only one who ever truly saw me. You helped me poison my parents. You made me powerful. Let me be your queen again.”
His fury faltered, hovering on the edge of desire. I could see it—the war behind his eyes. He wanted to believe me.
I stepped closer, sliding my hands up his chest, feeling the stone-hard planes of muscle beneath my palms. I trailed down his torso, tracing the dips and curves of his abdomen and hips.
He shuddered beneath my touch.
His jaw clenched. His breath grew ragged.
And then he gave in.
Raul’s defenses crumbled as his hands gripped my waist, pulling me to him with greedy force. His mouth crashed against mine, and a sudden spark ignited an inferno between us. I clung to him like a lifeline, every inch of my body pressed against his as he devoured me.
His kiss was raw, desperate, possessive.
When we finally broke apart, gasping for air, his face had softened—no longer the face of an executioner, but a man drowning in old want.
“Raul,” I whispered, breathless, quivering with calculated need, “I can’t take it anymore. I need to be with you. I’ll do anything to make this happen.”
His eyes glinted with hunger.
Fire. Possession. Madness.
“Anything?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous, curled around a sinful promise.
My breath caught, freezing in my lungs. Raul’s eyes bore into mine, dark with hunger. He licked his lips, like a predator toying with prey.
I braced myself for a confession—some dark fantasy, some obscene pleasure.
But instead, he said, “Promise me you will bear me a child.”
The words slammed into me like a wave of ice. Every muscle in my body went rigid, a cold jolt of dread shooting through my spine.
“A child?” I echoed, stunned. “Raul… why would you want a baby with me?”
His face darkened, eyes blazing with old grief and vengeance.
“Because of you, I lost my son,” he snapped. “Because of you, my entire family was ripped away. If you give me a child, I’ll make you queen of this house—but only if you swear to never time travel again. If you break that vow, I will drag you to the Timehunters myself.”
I hesitated, then bit my lip and forced a trembling nod. “Okay… I’ll do it.”
What would it cost me? I could carry his child long enough to escape. I had lied before. I could lie again.
“But,” I added, lifting my chin, “if I promise you this, I need something in return.”
Raul chuckled darkly, his upper lip curling into a sneer. “You’re in no position to bargain, darling.”
“It’s a small request,” I said, voice smooth but steel-laced. “I only need some of your poison.”
His brow arched. “Poison?”
“There’s someone I need to kill,” I replied calmly. “She lives far in the future.”
He tilted his head, his tongue grazing the corner of his mouth as if savoring the idea—savoring his power over me.
“We’ll see,” he said at last, voice thick with implication. “Let’s see how things go between us. Then… I might grant you this one favor.”
I exhaled, concealing my revulsion behind a mask of compliance. I had no other option. Not yet.
But one day, he would regret making me play this game.