AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re just like everyone said you were. A brutal killer,” she threw the harsh words of accusation right at me.
I didn’t know what I could say in response. She was right. I was a cold-blooded murderer who slaughtered people in a brutal fashion. She had just witnessed the way I fought firsthand. There had been no beauty or mercy in the combat we had just concluded. There was nothing clean to the way I had killed all these vampires.
The fact that they had been our enemies didn’t matter; not to the terrified Grace.
What mattered was that I had just proved my awful reputation to her by murdering people in a disgusting way right in front of her.
How could I ever have expected Grace to accept the harsh reality of my violent potential? How could I have ever held hope that she would take me as I was?
Accepting the truth hurt more than I had ever imagined it would.
“Hey,” Luke said. “Grace, Silas was just protecting us. He…”
“No,” she shook her head. “No, don’t say anything more. Just… finish what you have to do, and let’s go back to safety.”
“But-” Luke protested.
“Let’s do as she says,” I interrupted him. I took the stake in my hands again and pushed it into the heart of the nearest enemy.
I continued to do so until Luke and I were sure every enemy was completely dead.
When I stepped close to Grace and extended my arms to her, she hesitated before letting me pick her up. It hurt me to see how unsure she was around me now.
The trust between us was broken.
I was the one who had destroyed what we’d had, and I’d done so by being myself. The fact that my wife couldn’t accept me was all my fault.
Chapter Seventeen
Grace
We returned to the Estone forces’ encampment. As we walked through the camp, people’s eyes widened. Silas and Luke were covered in blood from head to toe; the blood of our enemies. They hadn’t failed to protect me, but they had definitely managed to scare me in the process. Silas, who had killed so many vampires with cold efficiency, had especially rattled me. What had really made me afraid was seeing the blank look on his face as he had slaughtered enemy after enemy.
Had Silas felt anything while killing those people in cold blood?
The idea that he actually didn’t feel affected at all by the murders he had committed scared me. How could taking so many lives over the course of his life – breaking necks and ripping out hearts - not faze him? The blank look on his face during the ambush made it seem like he had no regret or remorse for his brutal actions.
All this time I had thought that deep down Silas was like me. Sure, I knew we were of different species, but I’d spent some time around various vampires lately – Silas, Lukas, my teachers, the King and Queen – and had gotten to know them better. They all seemed to be kind people. They had checked in on me and asked me questions about how I was adjusting to my new role. Still… they were vampires, and I had forgotten what that fact meant.
Vampires valued strength and power. They were strong and powerful. That was why they led our society. They respected humans, but they were far different from us deep down.
Vampires killed without remorse, just like how Silas had killed without a second thought.
Everyone had told me Silas was a cold-blooded man, someone who had used brutal actions to end the previous war between Estone and Rosworth. Yet, the more I’d learned about Silas and the more time I’d spent around him, the more I had grown to think that assessment of him was wrong. I saw someone else in him – a kind, gentlemanly person with a warm smile. Now, however, I had to wonder if being a vicious soldier was his true nature and his kindly husband act was nothing but a lie.
It must be a lie, for a kind man couldn’t also be a dangerous killer. Those two personalities didn’t coexist in a person. Silas couldn’t be both versions of himself.
I now had to believe what people had told me about him. After all, it made sense that he couldn’t deceive the whole country into thinking he was a kind and caring person, but deceiving me had been almost effortless for him. I felt so stupid, so naïve.
I couldn’t believe that the kind side of Silas was genuine anymore.
Silas put me down inside our tent gently. There was a bedroll on the ground and a table with two plastic chairs nearby. Our clothing and most important possessions sat in a chest. We only had the bare necessities here in the war camp.
I hadn’t minded earlier. All I had cared about was getting to be around Silas again. After all, I had enjoyed his company; that lie of a personality he had shown me.
I felt so betrayed now.
“Grace,” Silas looked at me with a concerned expression.
