Chapter 24 #4
“Maybe I should’ve told you,” he mumbles under his breath.
Told me what? I want to ask, however, he has his hands on my chin, forcing our faces together before I get the chance.
“I kept you in that place because I could control the outcome. I knew who and what had access to you. You think because I was born in Halo, I agree with the bullshit they spout?”
Synapses misfiring, I’m in shock. What did he say? Is he telling me he is against the hollow? I’m missing the punchline.
Ashen grey mixes into swirling silver, his magic close at hand. “Wife, not only do I hate the fae, but I also hate the fucking chosen people.”
I’m at a loss. Melek sits on the council. He is the commander of the Halo armies. “But you go to war for them?”
“I go to war to protect innocent people. I do what I can for humanity. I’ve sabotaged more missions than I’ve run.” Running a finger up my neck, he meets my lips, pushing it in.
Shit. My mouth is hanging open again. I bite down softly. Melek growls, and I release him, allowing his finger to brush faintly down my chin.
“As a boy, I was beaten for going against Halo, so I realised very quickly that the only way to help was to become one of them. I didn’t have a mother to care for me.
Nannies and my father were it, corporal punishment my only form of discipline.
My father was a very vocal advocate for Halo, the empire.
His death was my catalyst. He was the only person who knew my true thoughts of that wretched city-state.
That’s why he told me about my fae heritage.
Because he knew I would be willing to keep his secret.
I have ties to both sides, and I have alliances with none. ”
“Melek, why didn’t you say anything to me? I’ve spent the last twelve years thinking you wanted that life for us.”
“I did want that life for us. It was the only way I could keep you safe. I needed to keep up the pretence. The empire is always watching.”
“Don’t you mean you are always watching?”
He shakes his head. “Wife, you don’t even know the half of it. I am a puppet. Halo is an experiment.”
The more he talks, the worse it gets. We have to be better off in the Fairy Lands. We just have to be. There’s nothing that he’s told me that’s dissuaded me from that knowledge yet. “What are you talking about?”
“Everyone in Halo is as much a serond as the people working in the factories.” Surely, this is some joke.
“The hollows took everything from this world, and you want me to believe someone is pulling their strings?”
In disbelief, I drop my hands, leaning back from him. Melek takes one look at me and pulls tight so we are nose to nose. “They believe they are gods, yet they are the true evil of this world.” Metallic sparks in his eyes. “If we stay in this place, we’ll all die.”
I try to pull back. “What do you mean, Melek? The Fairy Lands are the only safe place on this godforsaken planet.”
He lets out a loud, aggravated sigh. “No. The safest place was our house in Halo. It was the only place I could guarantee you and Sunny would be safe.”
“What are you not telling me, then, because I still don’t understand how the horrible place that keeps seronds and kills people for breathing is safe.”
Opening his eyes, he looks fierce, not quite beastly. Grasping my thighs, he digs in, halting any further movement. “Fine. You want to know?”
I gasp at his rough contact. “Yes, I want to know.”
“The Elysian Empire—the name you’ve only heard of in passing—our true lords, who pull our strings from their safety underground, are planning on destroying this world again, levelling the whole upper layer and starting anew.
” Speaking doesn’t come easily, so I continue to listen, trying to understand what this means for our safety.
“New Halo is the only place I can guarantee yours, Sunny’s, and Phoenix’s continued survival.
There’s a whole other world underneath Halo Storm.
Have you ever thought about why there are so many rituals?
They have been stockpiling solence for the end of the world as we know it.
The fae are not the oldest people in this world.
The Elysians are. They are consumed by nothing but power and greed because they have everything they could ever need at their fingertips.
They want the perfect society, and they will stop at nothing to see it come to fruition. ”
Bile is on the tip of my tongue. I swallow the acid down before speaking. “No.” I gasp. “How is that possible?”
“Wife, when you have no morals and value power and greed over love and life, anything is possible.”
Head spinning, I run on instinct. Sunny. I have to get to him. Trying to pull my leg from Melek’s grip, I’m met with resistance. “We have to tell Ren what they’re planning. Let me up.”
“In the event of my death or capture, the question of how long this world has left falls into the hands of every other Airiel Council member in Halo, who, in turn, reports to the empire. If I don’t return in forty-eight hours, they will bring Operation New Halo to a vote.
All those people on that council are sick bastards who want nothing of the current Halo.
They are impatient for the new world. And I was the one person standing in their way.
I was the one fucking thing holding them back.
I had to sabotage the bombs. I slowed the food progression into the empire.
I killed the fae who were being drained.
Small things, but they bought us a few years, and now only months. ”
“Melek.” My tone is small, barely recognisable. I battle between wanting to crawl out of his lap and throwing myself at him. How is any of this possible?
“I’d say we have a week, if I’m being generous, or three days, if I’m being pessimistic, before plans fall into place and this land is totalled,” he admits, utterly devoid of emotion, his nails marking my skin.
“Melek, there has to be something we can do. Something the fae can do?”
“We have to go back,” is his non-pulsed answer.
“I’m not going back to that place.” I’m vibrating on top of him. We have to warn everyone. The fae have magic. They can stop this.
“I agree with you. That place is horrible. But it’s the only hope we have of surviving this as a family.
The fae left on this world will be sacrificed.
They are stuck. Their powers will not help them outrun their fate.
If I can get you and Sunny back in time, we can take our place in the safety of the underground empire as planned, alive, before the bombs go off. ”
No longer confused, I push Melek’s hands aside.
He doesn’t concede right away until my ire seeps through.
Comprehension dawns, and he lets me stand before him.
“Let me tell you something important, Melek.” It’s my turn to stalk the length of the room semi-naked.
I walk on tired limbs, letting out some of my frustration, stopping in front of my husband’s wide-legged stance on the couch.
No shame in sight. “I would rather die. Yes, I would rather fucking die than go back to that place, let alone take my children to some horrid underground world where they have no rights.”
Thick-corded thighs boost him into standing, rage pulsing through his veins. “While I’m still alive, death will never find you or our children.”
Pursuing him, I push at his unrelenting abs.“Well, maybe that can be arranged, husband.” Grabbing the back of my hair, his eyes flicker silver, a hint of leathered spice wafting my way. His fae side calls to me—mate.
At that exact moment, Seraphina bursts through the door and shrieks. “Well, well, well, you two have been busy,” her voice rings.
“Sera, now is not a good time,” I amplify my voice, so it makes it around the man, trying to keep his beast in check. Talking of my death sets him off—good to note for next time.
“I would leave, Stormy, but Sunny wants to see you.”
Rising on my feet, I grasp Melek’s face. “Look at me, husband.” His flickering metallics shift to steely greys and find my eyes, hypnotising me. “Good boy. I’m not going anywhere. I’m safe. Your babies are safe. Come back to me.”
Pushing up and kissing his chin, I see his eyes gradually wash back to unrelenting grey. “I want to see Sunny,” he replies lucidly.
“Good, because I do too.” I push him to arm’s length, sweeping his imposing frame from head to toe. “Hmmm. First, we need to get dressed.”