Chapter 12 #2
I was gone too much, away from my family, so I could afford to stay a little longer with him.
Glancing outside, I noticed the sky deepening into a rich indigo, the first bright stars beginning to peek through.
It was a beautiful sight, a reminder of the normalcy I craved amidst the chaos of my life.
“Sorry if I come off pissed all the time,” I murmured, the weight of everything I’d been carrying pressing heavier than usual. Drew gave me a nudge; it was light and quick.
“I know, man,” he said, eyes serious beneath the usual mischief. “I just worry, you know? One day, all this playing soldier for Vesperas is going to get you killed.”
I didn’t answer, jaw tightening.
“She’s got you on a leash, Darian. And it’s not just me—Daleyza sees it too. You haven’t been yourself since that manipulative bitch slithered her way into your life. And don’t even get me started on Sera. She gives a new meaning to toxic.”
I snorted under my breath, eyes fixed on some dirt on the ceiling.
Ah, Sera, now that’s a little complicated.
She was trouble, pure and simple. I let her in, thought I could move on from someone who was in my life before joining the Veilguards. Turns out Sera opens her legs for anyone who looks her way.
She didn’t get on with anybody in this house, tried turning us against each other. There’s no escaping her, though; she thinks she has a right to me, doing everything possible to get back into my life.
I think the fuck not.
“I know she’s toxic,” I said, voice low with frustration. “But she doesn’t get it. It’s like chaos feeds her, and I can’t do anything about it because she’s a woman.”
Drew shifted. That shit-eating grin is creeping onto his face. “So, get yourself a woman and let her knock Sera’s teeth in. Problem solved.”
I laughed, throwing my head back at his ridiculous suggestion, although the thought of letting another woman into my life didn’t sit right with me. Nothing serious could ever happen between us.
Even if I could, they would have to be seriously special for me to lower my guard. Plus, I didn’t want to drag someone I would genuinely care for into the turmoil I was dealing with.
I wasn’t an easy person to love. Hell, I've already had my one that got away—and I'm still carrying the weight of it.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said just as Daleyza’s bedroom door creaked open.
She shuffled out, all sleepy eyes and a smug little grin, wrapped in cat-print pyjamas and slippers. Her curls were piled on top of her head in a messy bun that defied gravity, and somehow, she still looked like sunshine.
“Look who finally emerged from her royal chambers,” Drew said, flashing her a grin as he flicked one of her curls. She shook her head, then dropped herself right between us.
I counted silently, trying to forget the slight brush of her leg against my skin.
She raised her hands to sign. I waited so I wouldn’t walk into one of your fights.
I quickly squeezed her hand, then placed it back in my lap, my usual edge softening a fraction.
“Not today, D,” I push to my feet with a stretch that cracks half my spine. “I’ve got shit to do. Drew's on babysitting duty.”
“We aren’t kids.”
I looked at them both, ignoring that. “If the fridge is empty—which it probably is, just use Kieran's card to order something, he won't notice.”
That fridge is never full, Kieran devours half of it whenever he's drunk, and Ronan… Well, Ronan is Ronan.
Drew snorted from the couch. “He’ll notice when there’s no money left for his stupid, expensive whisky,”
I smirked. “Then maybe he’ll finally drink water like a normal person.”
Daleyza tapped me. I helped Ronan bake a load of cupcakes yesterday. There are some leftovers if you want before you go.
I nodded, grateful for the thoughtfulness.
Before heading to my room, I swung by the kitchen and gave it a once-over—spotless, thankfully. I stepped back and immediately caught the looks on their faces. Drew was trying not to laugh, Daleyza smiling way too innocently.
“What?” I grumbled.
“Nothing,” Drew said, way too fast.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why was he baking cupcakes, and where the hell is he?”
They exchanged a look. Drew's smirk widened. “Think he has a lady friend, and they’ve been gone since the meeting you went to.”
“They haven’t been home?”
They both shook their heads, and I clenched my fists. Daleyza stood up and stopped by me. “Please eat before you go. I’m heading to my room, goodnight.”
Turning to Drew, he was already looking through a takeaway menu.
“I hope Ronan’s getting laid, at least one of us should be having fun.” Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle at his dramatics, the weight of the day momentarily lifted by our banter.
I left Drew in the living room, quickly slipping into my gear, making sure my weapons were fastened in place. Once I was satisfied, I stepped back out, ready to leave.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I shot him a pointed look as I opened the door.
Drew gave a lazy salute, smiling. “Yes, Commander Killjoy,” he drawled, flipping me off as he slouched deeper into the couch.
Really mature.
I rolled my eyes and tossed the gesture right back at him as I walked out, his laughter trailing behind me like the pain in the ass he was.
The walk to the woods was peaceful, the night air crisp and cold, only a few people wandering the streets, wrapped in scarves and bundled against the chill. Usually, I would take the car, but I needed to clear my head.
With Christmas approaching, the neighbourhood I lived in was aglow with twinkling lights strung across porches and trees, their colours reflecting off the fresh blanket of snow that had begun to fall softly to the ground.
I paused at the edge of the whispering woods when I finally made it, the familiar tug at my chest intensifying, urging me to step forward.
As I stood beneath the canopy of trees, a few Shadowstags drifted past—silent, watchful, and utterly uninterested in me. I was just about to step deeper into the woods when movement caught my eye.
Kieran and Ronan emerged from the shadows, both looking like they hadn’t slept at all. Kieran gave a curt nod. Ronan, of course, went for dramatics—slapping a hand to my shoulder hard enough to make me shift my stance.
Boundaries.
“Look who finally decided to show up,” Ronan said with a crooked grin. “Missed your brooding face.”
“Status?” I asked flatly, eyes narrowing as I scanned their faces.
Ronan glanced at Kieran, then back at me, shrugging. “Nothing. Woods are dead. Might as well head back home.”
He’s lying.
His voice was too casual, but I knew he was lying. I caught the shift in his eyes—flicking to Kieran, who still hadn’t said a word.
My attention shifted to him next. He didn’t speak, and I know he wasn’t much of a talker unless he had a drink in him or was trying to fuck a girl, but his silence said enough.
“Try again,” I said. “And this time, don’t bullshit me.”
“We aren’t,” Ronan defended, crossing his arms.
I levelled a finger at Ronan. “You’re a shit liar.”
Then I glanced at Kieran. “And you haven’t said a damn word. That alone tells me something's off.”
He didn’t bother looking at me—just stared out at the treeline like it might offer him an escape from this conversation.
The silence stretched. Thick. Tense
“I’m going to beat it out of you if you don’t tell me.”
The wind picked up, and the scent of cherries hit my nose. Just then, a thud hit the ground in front of us—light, controlled.
A woman just dropped from the damn trees.
I ran my tongue across my teeth before I could stop it. Fuck.
She was… lethal. Wavy white hair spilt down her back, catching the moonlight like silk.
Her silver eyes locked on me—shimmering with an eerie violet flicker that screamed power cloaked in pretty packaging.
That black jumper dress hugged every curve like it was designed to test my restraint, tailored to distract, to pull my focus where it shouldn’t be.
She looked like sin wrapped in silk and shadows, and every instinct in me screamed trouble. Kieran shifted in his spot, barely perceptible, and Ronan tensed just enough to confirm what I already suspected.
They knew who she was.
She looked at me with those silver eyes, and they sliced straight through me, dragging up pieces of memory I’d buried years ago and sworn to never touch again.
The scent—cherry and vanilla—hit me again, cloying and familiar, like a ghost from someone I thought I had lost forever.
The freckles, that scowl, that fucking hair.
My jaw clenched. A slow rising heat crawled up my spine—not desire. Anger. And judging by the way her smirk stretched across her face, she knew.
“Hi, Darian.”
My hands curled into fists at my side.
“You.”