Children of the Fallen: Bloodlines (BOOK #3)

Chapter 48: Emotions Are Hard

Morgan Sinclair

"Call the others and make sure they're okay." I tell Scarlett, who's already calling Bash and Chloe who is surely sending a text to Sterling.

As the guards removed the bodies of Azrael's puppet and the other hunters I turned to the others standing in tentative silence. Chloe, awaiting a response from Sterling now has her eyes locked on the puddle of blood on my marble floor from the decapitation. "Chloe." I call for her, pulling her focus away.

"I'm good." She nods as Grayson makes his way over to me. My head urges me to step away from him, tell him to stop coming closer, push him away, but instead I stood there. Ignoring the crawling under my skin and the damaged part of my brain telling me to flee. I let him walk up next to me as I turn to Victoria. With death still in her eyes, she walks off. Chloe and I share a glance as she leaves.

I could feel the warmth of Grayson's body behind me. He put a hand on my arm, brushing the pad of his thumb over my skin while I watch Victoria disappear up the stairs further into my palace. I caught Aurelia's glare- felt it before I saw it. Her red-eyed gaze is glued to the markings trailing up my arms and my stomach forms knots within seconds. Thanks to the short sleeve shirt she can see them, there's no hiding them.

"They're fine!" Scarlett announces. "All is well."

With that confirmation everyone started disbanding. Chloe goes off in Victoria's direction and shortly after Grayson says, "I'll give you two some space." He offers a small smile as he heads up the stairs towards his bedroom leaving me alone with Aurelia. I already miss his comforting hand on my arm and him just being here, a consistent presence of calm which would be nice to have for whatever this is about to be.

The massive throne room makes his footsteps echo- each one more distant yet louder. The thousand pound silence sinking into my very being. When the footsteps stop the only sound in this room is Aurelia and I's heartbeats and breathing. Her eyes have yet to change back to their dark blue, nor have they left my markings. "He used demonic magic on you." The regality naturally in her voice, was joined by a deep rasp- anger straining her vocal cords.

"Yes." I respond feigning an aloof attitude betraying the sudden tension coiling itself around every inch of body. I think I'm nervous.

I'm nervous.

She took a breath, deep and trembling as tears form in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

With a shrug I say, "It's fine."

"No it's not." She presses her lips together in a thin line then to stop her bottom lip from quivering. "I should've been here for you. I should've," she thinks for a split second, "chained him up and dropped him in the middle of the ocean. Wage war against him if need be, anything so I could have been in your life when you needed me. Instead, I made choices based off of fear and-," she sharply inhales taking in my markings once more and more than I ever have before I feel vulnerable, too vulnerable. She storms over to me taking my hands in hers tears falling down her face as she stares right at the scars marring my skin and I do nothing to stop her. I can't do anything, can't bring my limbs to move, my mouth or my brain to form words, I just stood there. She says in a frail whisper, "My baby."

Something inside of me cracks as all the air exits my lungs and I'm forgetting how to breathe. More than a phantom pain, this is... this just hurts. I swallow, "I'm okay."

Even as tears fall, an icy rage overtakes her face- one that makes me feel as though I'm looking in a mirror. "I will not ever fail you again." Her sincere gaze was a weight on my being, crushing me. The woman I was sitting on that throne just a few minutes ago felt distant as I stand here feeling as small as possible. Every voice in my head screaming 'weak,' recoiling at how meek and shaky I feel. Every instinct in me roaring to walk away, one foot in front of the other and get away from this but I stand here with limbs that must have turned to lead. "You are my daughter and I am supposed to protect you."