In a flash, his fangs were bared and hovering at her neck, just above her collarbone. The amber in his eyes had given way to those endless pools she’d seen once before. He sniffed up her neck and along her jawbone, stopping at her ear. She didn’t dare move. Hardly chanced breathing for fear he might snap.
Nothing could have prepared her for what he said next.
“You want to know who did it so you can, what, help me avenge my sister?” he whispered against her ear with hot breath that made the hair along the back of her neck stand on end. “Then take this dagger and plunge it into my heart. Avenge Sylvie and right the wrongs I’ve done in this world.”
The confusion written into her features must have been question enough, for his next words were in answer to that which went unspoken…
“It was me.”
THE TEST
Hazel recoiled as though she’d been slapped.No, that’s on me,she thought.I should have seen this coming. He’s a dangerous monster. This is what he does, and I let my guard down.She backed away from him slowly, hand rising to touch the locket.
He grabbed her other wrist and held firm. It didn’t hurt, but she yelped, nonetheless.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Just let me explain.” His eyes were remorseful, but once again, her mind was screaming at her toget away.
How? How does one simply explain murdering their own sister?She said nothing aloud, only stared into his eyes, fearful and searching.
Slaide’s grip slid down to her hand. Hazel glanced at their clasped hands, her insides roiling with conflicting emotions. When she looked back up at him, his eyes were pleading, so she offered a silent, consenting nod.
He walked back to the boulder overlooking the lake, tugging her gently behind him. He sat facing her and pulled his hand from hers.
“I never meant for it to happen. If you understand nothing else I tell you tonight, please believe me when I say that.” Slaide released her then.
He ran his hands down his face.
“As far back as I can remember, they’ve been telling me I was special, filling my head with delusions and making promises that would never be fulfilled. I entered combat and weapons training from a younger age than you can possibly imagine.”
Hazel crossed her arms over her body, cradling herself.
Slaide continued. “I spent my entire young life as the bastard. The weapon. The beast. The odd one out. It became unbearable.” He looked into Hazel’s eyes, his own glassy and full of sadness. “I fought tooth and nail against what they were trying to turn me into. I was just a boy. I wanted to play with the other boys in the castle yard, harass the young maidens as they often did, and practice sword fighting. But I wasn’t allowed to be normal.
“I tried—on more than one occasion, I tried to escape this fate I’ve been dealt, this life I’ve had no choice in. I thought if I could just remove myself from this world, then I could undo some of the harm my existence had caused. And do you know what I learned? I can’t even die like a mortal. I’m blessed, so they say, with advanced healing capabilities. Some blessing that is, when you don’t want to live.”
Hazel’s heart was ripping in two. This man was dangerous. He was a trained killer who’d shown no remorse for his victims. However, hearing him admit he couldn’t continue on, that he’d rather die at his own hand than face what the future holds? She wondered if maybe he wasn’t as hardened inside as he’d led everyone to believe. That perhaps he showed them what they wanted to see while he suffered within.
“My life improved for a bit when they introduced me to Sylvie,” he said. “I’d had no idea I had a sister, let alone a twin. They’d kept us separate to prevent us from forming abond as siblings do, insisting this would be a hindrance on missions. Which was laughable at best because when I met her, the connection was immediate. Her presence lit a long-dormant beacon in my soul, one I always knew existed but never knew how to light. All they’d managed to do was to delay the inevitable. She was not just the only family I had, but my other half. The missing piece of my soul. I finally had someone who understood the struggles of being what we are. For once, I wasn’t alone. We shared in each other’s hardships and burdens, and having her in my life made the days seem just a little bit brighter.”
He took a deep breath before continuing.
“It was short lived. The rest is a blur, except the bits and pieces that are burned into my memory. The Magistry cooked something up in the Citadel. A potent serum that causes the user to return to their base instincts and magnifies any special abilities, be it magic, strength, or ferocity. The Archmages paired this with a magefire-infused obsidian collar—one they could control with a flick of their fingers—and it gave them the ability to wield powerful beings like weapons.
“Sylvie and I were used for late-stage testing. I remember seeing Gammen’s smug face as they led us into an arena and forced us to slaughter scores of men. They’d forced us both to take the serum. I never tired. Nor did she. But then it was just us remaining… and I… I didn’t have a choice. She was Hel-bent on killing me and if not for the serum… I would have let her. But I couldn’t.”
He was staring at the ground, but Hazel heard the choked sob in his voice. Her eyes welled, too.
“She smiled at me just before she went limp in my arms. No one rushed to us or offered help. They just watched from the stands like they were watching a couple of caged animals fight.”
Hazel’s eyes spilled over, and when Slaide looked up at her, a single tear ran down his cheek. She stepped forward and cupped his face, brushing the tear away with a swipe of her thumb. He grabbed her wrist and held her hand in place.
“You needed to know. I saw the look on your face. The fear. It fits the narrative, doesn’t it? Slaide Elias, the monster. And you know what? They’re right. I am all those things and more. Because after Sylvie’s death, I made a choice. I became everything they feared I would be. Every whispered rumor, every assumption made behind my back. I brought it all to life. I altered my entire essence to become their nightmare, and I never looked back.”
He looked up and Hazel stared at him as though she could see into his soul. And after he’d laid himself bare, maybe she could. She watched his eyes follow a lone tear as it traced a line down her pink-tinged cheek, and then he was moving, pulling her close. She didn’t balk at his firm touch, didn’t pull away. Instead, she stepped in to Slaide and swung her leg over his thighs, straddling his lap.
He reached up, hand trembling, and cupped her cheek, wiping the tear away with his thumb. She closed her eyes at his touch and her cheek warmed under his caress, the pink in her cheeks deepening.
She opened her eyes again and let out a breath before reaching up and covering his hand with her own.
