Peter
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
I shrug against the chill that caresses my scalp as we trek forward through the dense forest. The faint memory of smoke and sulfur attempt to invade my senses, but Sorrow and I both know that the pungent scents of that fire are long gone.
Nature has a way of doing that. Growing. Replacing the past with a new future. Death with life.
I'd believed, at first, that we would've already concluded this trip two weeks ago, but something about the change nature brought about kept sending us in circles.
Or rather something about the lingering presence of magic.
Patience grunts as she sweeps her snout across the fresh soil. My eyes linger to her soft fur as a shiver runs through her spine. I remember a time where I could think of the deep blue eyes of the mate I'd lost decades ago. But now the memory of Natalie was replaced with the warm presence of Stephanie.
Even as we stroll into a past I'd thought I left behind, she reminds me of the future I carefully constructed. A way of life that upon the moment I laid eyes on her, she shattered instantly.
I am truly a lucky man.
However, everything comes with a price.
And Desmond paid it.
If I were him, I'll be angry enough to fuck with the head of the man who took my wife out from under me as well. I breathed deeply, inhaling the new life nature granted to this place. Is that what this is?
Revenge?
Hatred?
Anger?
A way to get back at me?
If only I could read Desmond like I could Stephanie. But I doubt that man has any intention on getting close to me. Hell, if he did, Sorrow might've killed him already.
A human, a judge - as Christy put it, knows things that no one should. Who, within a simple letter, could unravel every emotion, every damn memory spent carefully contained over the course of years. That power, in and within itself, is dangerous.
Regardless, I don't regret a single thing I did. Even if all of my choices might've just led us into a trap.
Tensing, I pulled Sorrow closer to the forefront. If anything happened, he could react faster than I could. Patience drew her head up from the earth, sensing the shift between Sorrow and I. With a kind glance, he reassured her that everything was okay. But in reality, it wasn't.
We didn't like lying to our mate, but we knew she was already tense enough as is. From the moment we entered the forest, she'd spent the entire time in fur searching the ground for any signs of Desmond.
It didn't take a genius to know that she was searching to find out whether his presence was here. Whether he had anything to do with the murder of Natalie and Elijah. I couldn't blame her, ever since she received the letter, that thought has ran through my mind more times than I'd admit.
My only fear is what she'll do if or rather when we discover the truth. When she learns that her ex husband might be apart of the coven of witches that burned my family alive. Where would we go from there?
It was a devastating question, that hung over us both. Merida included, especially where Mia was concerned.
But that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we get there.
I told Merida that the truth changes nothing. But I knew better than anyone that it'll still change something. The truth will always be there, like a shadow haunting every corner of every room. Lingering, taunting, laughing without ever making a sound. Every day, until it breaks you.
The truth might break us, it might even pull us away from each other.
But Stephanie is a patient woman. And Merida...stubborn. My mate would wait for me. But my daughter has no intentions on letting Mia go. That in itself, is a problem I can deal with later.
The earth levels out as we finally come to a clearing in the forest. The open space has become overgrown with moss and wild flowers. Nothing is like it was before, The ruins, the ashes, the charred remains of my late wife--
Patience takes off in a deadbolt to the left of us but I make no move to stop her.
Looking out over the clearing, I move to the middle of it. "I'm here Desmond, so what is it you want me to see?" I call out.
I stand over the spot where that stupid broken window I couldn't seem to fix once was. Nature had overtaken the area but there are things that even time can't rid itself of. The broken shards of a glass window is one of those.
Squatting down, I move my hand over the earth, unveiling various sizes of glass shards. Carefully picking one up, I examine the piece. Turning it over and over again in my fingers, the light catches it giving the shard a strange orange aura.
"What the--?"
"Let me go!!" A small voice shrieked behind me. Holding on to the piece, I turn around to find Patience stalking towards me, a struggling creature about the size of a gnome shrieked curses at her as she held the back of it's shirt with her mouth.
"I'll curse you for this." It said pathetically but I knew from its mere presence alone, that the lesser fae didn't hold enough power, neither to curse her nor to cast the barrier that gave us hell these last couple of days.
The being stood at about a foot tall and a few inches. Its grey face was scrunched up in disgust as it moved in Patience's hold. If I were a human, I would've thought the thing was a garden gnome dressed up in an outfit made of leaves and moss.
She dropped it on the ground in front of me as I leaned over to pet the top of her head. "Good girl." I praised.
Leveling myself with the fae, it struggled to get up but stopped short the moment it caught the sight of me. "You-- you." It stuttered. I sighed, forgetting about the effect I have over certain things as a demigod. When you spend so long dealing with wolves who respect you and witches who want to use you, it's quite the scene to deal with creatures who fear you. "You're the--"
"Yes, I know." Holding up the glass piece." The main thing to remember when dealing with fae: if it's lesser than you, you command it, if it's greater than you, you respect it. "In respect of my father, lesser one, I need your assistance."
The fae bowed its head slightly, and then righted himself. "In respect of Lykos, I'll do what I can."
I navigated my words carefully, "This shard, there's something here."
The fae looked over the shard, reaching out to touch it, he snatched his hand back quickly. Patience growled as the fae trembled violently. "Spell." It said. "I was spelled not to speak."
My jaw tensed as I pushed. "You stand before me, everything else is second. My father does not recognize a spell."
"Years ago, he cursed me, demanded my silence." The fae shook its head. "But it's been years."
The truth lingers before us, the bridge is in sight. "There was a fire." I told him, drawing on the strength of an ancient magic, hoping it's enough to combat the magic Desmond could've used.
"Yes," he nodded. "A great one, raging, yes."
"There were witches here." I pushed. The truth was so close.
He nodded.
"The one who spelled you, he stood among them. He was there as they killed my wife and child!" Did he do it? Did Desmond kill my family?
"No," It screamed trembling. "He-he told me not to speak of it. But-- he came after. The witches had left, but the fires still raged."
The anger of my past burned inside of me. The truth was there, right over the chasm, right in front of my face. The bridge swung slowly taunting me with its unmasked reality. "Tell me what he did."
"He went to the window." It said quickly. I saw the scene clearly in the back of my mind. The house on fire, the window cracked and loose. "He used magic, powerful, to move the flames, he--"
"Tell me." I commanded.
The fae shook his head once, and then twice. "He pulled out a child. Small thing, alive, wrapped in a blanket."
Everything crashed down on me all at once. The world stilled. My mouth went dry as I tried to process what the fae just said. This was worse. So much worse.
"Tell me his name." I shook with the strength of a rage so profound, I could've ripped a tree off its roots.
"Guardian to the Unseelie Queen, Glimmer. Second of his name, Blaze, son of Blaze."
My leg hit the nearest tree before I even felt my body move. The great oak snapped in half instantly and crashed onto the forest floor, driving every living thing away from it.
I gripped the glass shard with so much force it tore into the palm of my hand as Sorrow howled in the midst of my anger. The pain of that truth was too great to bear. My son is alive. This is what Desmond wanted me to know.
Elijah is alive.
He's alive.
He didn't die in that fire that night. I could feel like somewhere deep down. But in the moment of grief, I didn't care enough to confirm it. Like an idiot I'd assume. Because assuming he was dead was better than the thought of him being alive. Of being used, just like I had.
But the truth slapped me right in the face. My son's alive.
Warm arms wrap around me as I shook, all the emotions I've long since buried with Natalies ashes resurfaced in a rush. I drop to my knees and my mate followed, keeping me trapped in her presence. Stephanie held me tight as the revelation sunk in.
The truth was revealed. The bridge crossed. My son is alive. And in the hands of the dark fae. Desmond knew of this.
Desmond, the anomaly that can change everything with the drop of his hat. A presence that can alter the course of everything. A human who can bring a demigod to his knees.
Desmond, who wanted me to discover that my son is still alive.
Desmond, the one who seems to have all the fucking answers.
Where the hell do we go from here?
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