30. The Confrontation #4
His shoulders shake with full blown sobs as he clasps his hands behind his head.
"Did you not ever wonder why her compulsion no longer worked on you?" He looks up at me in shock and I offer a sad little smile.
"I crafted a bracelet with parts of us," I say softly, my voice echoing in the quiet hall.
"Archer's wolf fang—broken in a skirmish.
A few drops of Rhazien's blood. Silas's shed fur.
Ifrinn's shattered claw. Azael's feather.
Bazrosh's fallen scale. And my own heart's blood, woven through it all as a talisman against that evil bitch. "
I pause, swallowing the lump in my throat, the weight of the truth settling around us. "It shields you from the worst of her pull...but I’ve to keep reinforcing it. With my blood."
A hush falls like velvet. Alistair stands frozen, tears streaking down his chafed skin. Some stare at him with open pity, others with disbelief. But they look at me too—eyes wide, full of awe...and aching regret.
"I had it forged in dragon's gold that I borrowed from Bazrosh.
A powerful witch glamoured it for me. I put it on you while you were asleep.
" Alistair runs his fingers over the thin gold bracelet on his wrist, almost in a daze.
Speaking about it would break the concealment spell––the witch had told me.
"It constantly draws energy from all of us to keep you safe from that creature's clutches. I coaxed you so many times, to open up to me.
"I've been bleeding for you, again and again, just to keep you safe.
I didn't realize the first time it happened.
Perhaps we were courting at that time. You seemed off.
But when I found out, I was furious and devastated on your behalf.
I wanted to set that whore on fire. I even had someone put a curse on her so she'd never get to climax, but couldn't harm her beyond that, since she is protected by natural fae laws.
Alistair keeps looking at me like I’m his salvation, but it’s too little. Too late.
"I've been conspiring with her sister, Sunflare, for the past couple of years to overthrow that cunt."
Alistair staggers toward me with a reverent look, but I raise my palm and he halts. I have to get this off my chest before I start crumbling.
"Sunflare even helped me find an ancient fae tome before Veilmoon. There may be a way to permanently free you from her compulsions. But I don't care to try it anymore." I declare resolutely.
"Aleiraah! You must help him!" Archie pleads.
"Why?" I ask dispassionately.
"Because that cunt is raping him!" He growls.
"Just like you all did to me?" I utter quietly and the ensuing silence is deafening.
"I'm sorry, Aleiraah. I'm so, so sorry." Alistair breaks down, crying uncontrollably. The other six move toward him, squeezing his shoulders, offering comfort. Archer hugs him.
I wish I could hug him too, but there's too much water under the bridge.
"We misjudged you, Aleiraah." Silas rasps, resembling a male ready for the gallows.
"No. I misjudged each one of you. I thought I had found love. That too, seven times over. I considered myself the luckiest female on Mytherra. But it was all just a mirage. At the first hint of a storm everything vanished." I sound hollow even to my own ears.
"Please...don't say that, Kitten." His voice wobbles, desperation lacing every word.
"I love you—Gods, I love you. We all do.
I can't live without you, Aleiraah." He clutches his chest as if the guilt is physically crushing him.
"It's killing me. It guts me every time I remember the way my panther hurt you.
I'm so sorry—I swear I'd take it all back if I could. "
"You can't." Anger swirls in my chest at the repeated declarations of love.
He drops to his knees with a thud, the air leaving him in a choked gasp. Shuffling forward on the cold floor, he reaches for me with trembling hands. "I'm begging you. Have mercy," Silas whispers, broken and tear-stained—the portrait of a male completely undone.
And it's the last straw. The dam breaks, obliterating my patience and the need to face them while hiding my wounds. Because they lost the privilege to see them.
"You don't love me! You've never loved me!" I screech and something dormant unfurls. "Empty words mean nothing! Your actions spoke to how much you really care. You didn't show me an ounce of mercy. You destroyed my trust, my love, my sense of safety that I felt with you. All of you!
"You're worse than my enemies. At least with them, I know where I stand. But you—all seven of you worked your way into my heart, waited until I dropped my guard, and then drove a dagger through it. Repeatedly. And laughed while I bled. You didn't just hurt me—you enjoyed it."
The hall echoes with my shouts as I tremble from inside out.
I look around, an oppressive silence pressing in—broken only by the sound of my harsh breathing, sharp and uneven.
The air feels charged, like the aftermath of a storm. Every gaze is fixed on me—wide-eyed, unblinking. Shock ripples through the room, edged with fear and wonderment.