Page 115 of Hellbound

There were plenty of false explanations for Vale’s presence at the gala and everything in between, but she couldn’t come up with an explanation for how Stellan, an indestructible being, had ceased to exist. Or how Daniel Eaves, a normal human man, had vanished into thin air. Literally.

It was only a matter of time before Vale’s ruse came crashing down. And the look Paul had shot Marian when she found him on yet another phone call in the garage assured her that all was not well.

He thought he would go home a free man last night. Give him a break.

Marian found that she could. Did she resent him still for the part he’d played in this secret? Absolutely. Was his frustration warranted? Definitely. Two things could be true at once.

But she didn’t expect to feel so brittle today. A tempest raged in her chest, her heart pounding furiously even when she was at rest. As the day dragged on, her dread only intensified. She’d put all her energy toward shutting out the instant replay of the night before. By evening, she was all frayed nerves and one skipped meal away from shutting down completely.

Tori found her again at some point, and Marian had no idea what she’d said to the traveler in response to her greeting. Her own voice sounded miles away. Tori looked at her like she’d started bleeding from the eyes, but she seemed to realize Marian was best left alone with the spider-like blobs that had convened in the corners of Marian’s room. The only person in her circle who wasn’t pissed at her had come to see if she was OK, and Marian couldn’t get her shit together to respond properly. She’d done virtually nothing all day, but as soon as the sun vanished from the sky, she started to come apart.

The whip-crack realization that another anxiety attack was imminent had her flying out the door, the shadowy blots scuttling away as her shoulder caught on the doorway. The edges of her vision were already blurring before she was halfway down the stairs.

Panic clawed at her extremities, bringing with it the first tingles of that foreboding numbness. She needed a little liquid help. Thanks to Tori’s petty vengeance, she knew where Vale stored the good shit.

She kept the lights off as she skulked into the sprawling kitchen and surveyed the liquor cabinet. The shelf was bare save a single unopened bottle of Don Pedro. She cracked open the bottle and searched for a glass. She found a coffee cup first. Yeah, that’ll do.

Marian poured a fifth of tequila into a white ceramic mug and knocked it back. It burned the whole way down, making her wince. Only after she’d stopped grunting, groaning, and slamming cabinets did she detect a sound that made her go rigid.

Ethereal crooning drifted from the living room—a familiar melody she’d not heard in ages. Marian turned around slowly; eyes wide as she searched the shadows until she spotted the twin blue lights glowing in the dark above the sectional.

Leather creaked as Vale sat forward, his spectral gaze on Marian.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He said with a voice like gravel.

Marian’s fingers tightened around the bottle. “Drinking your tequila,” she replied quietly. Her voice worked, but her words didn’t sound like hers; they were too soft. “Why are you sitting in the dark listening to Enya?”

The sound of ice colliding with glass told her that he’d had a similar idea. But he didn’t answer her question. “Drinking on an empty stomach is a surefire way to have a terrible night.”

She wondered if he could see in the dark. Probably. Fat chance that he couldn’t see the way his disapproving drawl made her shoulders sag. Where was her will to spar? There were no barbs poised on her tongue. No slights to sling, though he deserved a good verbal thrashing.

“Yeah, that’s going to suck for me,” Marian sighed. “Here’s hoping I don’t remember it.”

She poured herself another shot and downed it quickly.

After a long pause, the cushions hissed. Vale’s silhouette rose up, and Marian couldn’t help the way she openly stared at the sheer size of him.

“Why did you give Stellan his memories back?”

“I believe it was you who said killing a being with no recollection of its crimes was ‘fucked up.’ You’re welcome.”

Marian snorted. “Oh please, nothing you do is for me.”

Even in the dark, she sensed his growing disapproval. It had her struggling not to squirm under the weight of his otherworldly gaze. Years of living under Daniel’s fist conditioned her to expect a scolding after a look like that.

But Vale only sighed, paused, and began again.

“A long time ago, back when mortal life in my world was only a concept, I made a pact with the Argent. All things must end, we agreed; what is born must also die or else succumb to the darkness that brought my kind into existence. But in time, the Argent determined our pact was unjust. Why should they be forced to part with their mortal creations when they had the power to preserve them? We did not see eye to eye. Without unanimity, the laws of our world would not change. I became their enemy. Mortals began to fear me as an enemy of life, and the Argent stoked those fears. Mortals, alongside the Argent, imprisoned me in darkness for so long, I can’t quantify it. And there I remained until the ixyura—an amalgam of pain and never-ending life—took shape. A few penitent mortals gave themselves my mark and freed me. But it was too late. The ixyura had corrupted everything.”

The quiet remorse in his voice. The mental image of Vale locked away in the shadows for eons filled her with such unexpected empathy.

“I truly cared for my world and its people,” he said so quietly, Marian found herself holding her breath to hear him better. “And I know what it’s like to be despised by those you can’t help but love. To crave their acceptance despite the pain they caused.”

His words skewered her through the heart. For one agonizing moment, she forgot how to exhale. Memories she’d tried to shut out all day rattled around in her skull. And somewhere deep inside her, a festering wound reopened.

“I never wanted Daniel to love me. I hated him as much as he hated me,” she said quickly.

Blue eyes flicked toward her. “Then why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance? Why only Stellan?”