“Definitely gonna need your help,” Henry said. “All the pieces had to be in place before it would work, Sawyer.” Henry wiggled out of Dakota’s embrace and ran back to the bed. “Your plan is coming together. Can’t you feel it?”
Sawyer wanted to let Henry’s excitement flow through him, to fill him with hope, but he couldn’t ignore the pain he could see in his newest guardian’s eyes.
Dakota glanced at him, golden eyes locking on his. “Your brother tried and failed to hold me.”
That caught everyone’s attention. Sawyer pushed up, moving the book aside. “What?”
“I’m caught in a war between brothers. But I will lose.”
Sawyer scrambled off the bed. “No, you won’t.”
Dakota laughed, but it was dark and bitter. “You know nothing.”
Sawyer moved to him. All of his mates gathered behind him, each of them wanting the answers Dakota clearly possessed. Even Henry’s excitement had waned with Dakota’s words, a less than subtle reminder that lives were at stake.
“I don’t know a lot, you’re right,” Sawyer said. “But I know that I won’t hold you here against your will. You can leave anytime you want. I won’t force you to do anything. That’s not what I want from you. Or what I want for you.”
“You knownothing,” Dakota repeated.
“So tell me, Dakota. Tell us.”
“You play at a game and do not know the rules. You flaunt your mates, and yet do not question why others are so desperate to find theirs. You pity the children who were tortured, and yet you do not question how they came to be or why. You love and laugh and are adored when others must hide in the shadows, frightened and tormented because of you.”
“Enough,” Draco yelled.
Sawyer reached for him, accepting the hand Draco reached out to him, but stopped Draco from intervening further with a look. His mate fumed, but Sawyer wanted to hear what Dakota had to say. He needed to hear the words.
“Tell me,” Sawyer said once more.
“Your mage is not the only one who sees,” Dakota snarled. “I see as well, and my visions showed me what choices you made and the consequences. Oh, noble chosen one, who sacrificed his magic to protect the world from his big bad brother. Is that really what you think? No, you were a petulant child, determined to beat your brother and prove that you were strong, that you were worthy. You cared not of the consequences. And your brother,” Dakota scoffed, “all he wanted was to steal enough power to defeat the Mother and take her place. You cared nothing of that, only wanted to be better than him in her eyes.”
Dakota’s breath came in pants, his anger filling the room. Sawyer’s mates were all livid, ready to strike out on his behalf. They all waited for him to defend himself. But he knew better.
“Sounds like me,” Sawyer said softly. “Do you know how much I used to torment Nick and Mikey, trying to get their attention, desperate to get them to see me? Well, I guess your visions probably didn’t show you that, but it’s true. There’s just one difference, Dakota. My brothers weren’t evil, and they helped me grow stronger and smarter. They taught me how to look outside of myself and see what others around me needed. They taught me to care and to love. Can you say the same about him? I’m sure I made mistakes. I have no doubt that I did. I know I have an ego, and I really like to win. I still do. I also know that I love with all of my heart, and if I tried some desperate measure, even if it did go wrong, it wasn’t with evil intentions. I may be an idiot, but I wouldn’t do that.”
Dakota turned away and looked out the window.
“Tell me what he did to you,” Sawyer asked softly.
“To me?” Dakota answered, his voice dull and without emotion. “Nothing. His minions came after me, and they caught me. I thought it a game, at first. To me, it was. They didn’t know what I was. How could they? They were human, imbued with stolen powers to give them a boost. I played along, laughing at them the entire time, knowing I could walk away with little more than a thought.”
Sawyer looked out the window as well, waiting for Dakota to finish. The pain in his voice echoed in Sawyer’s mind, reaching a place deep inside of him. For the first time, he truly understood the depth of what was happening outside the bubble he lived in, surrounded by wards and mates and guards.
“But it wasn’t funny. I wasn’t the only one,” Dakota said. “They were all so scared. They thought I was there to hurt them more. They’d been hurt enough, though. Experimented on until it wasn’t even clear what they’d been at the beginning. I got them out of there, hid them away, and kept them safe. And then the visions came. Visions of you and your brother. Of a war that had no purpose, that should not have been. Magic destroyed, lives ruined, because two brothers played a game with their magic without a care for the consequences.”
If it was only anger in Dakota’s voice, Sawyer would probably be able to shrug it off a little easier and leave it to the decisions of the past-him. Choices he wouldn’t make this time. He could turn into Draco’s arms and be sheltered from all of it. Ward would hold him close and his cool energy would soothe the anger being thrown his way. But the heartbreak, the desolation and frustration, Sawyer couldn’t walk away from those. He couldn’t deny that he’d hurt Dakota deeply, even if it hadn’t been intentionally. Even if he didn’t remember any of it. He’d still done it. He was still responsible.
“Why did you come?” Sawyer asked.
Dakota laughed, dark and bitter. “That’s the crazy thing. I had to come. In order to escape you, I had to come to you and be set free.”
“Then consider it done, Dakota. You’re free. You can go.”
Another laugh. “You still don’t get it, do you? I can no more leave my mates than the dragon over there can.”
“You have a choice. You always have a choice.”
“You’re not really so naïve as to believe that, are you?”
