Page 49 of Secrets of Ruin

“Sahira said something to me earlier….”

Brokk frowned as her words trailed away. He shifted his attention to the black pool and rested his cheek on her head as he tried to piece this new information into what little he knew.

He recalled Sahira’s words about this not being a happy story, but she couldn’t have said something that would create this, could she?

Things hadn’t been great between Sahira and Kaylia when they first met, but they bonded over their mutual love for Lexi and became good friends.

Did something happen while I was unconscious to change that?

“Sahira’s the reason you’re so upset?” He tried to keep the ire from his voice; the last thing she needed was to deal with that too, but it tinged the words coming out through his gritted teeth.

“Yes… I mean, no. This isn’t her fault; she… just… she saw something I… I never did.”

Her voice hitched while she spoke, and another tear ran down to wet his shoulder. He hated her suffering more than his own and wished he could pull her closer to protect her further, but they were as close as they could get.

“What did she see?” he asked.

“Fabian.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

In halting words, she told him what happened. She revealed what the black pool was and the horrible thing she’d discovered today, except horrible was too kind a word for what that monster did to her.

Brokk’s fangs extended, and fury vibrated through him while she talked, but he managed to keep it hidden from her, or at least he hoped he did. She needed compassion and love now, but if that bastard had still been alive, he would have hunted him down and torn him limb from limb.

He would lock Fabian into a dungeon and do what the ophidians did to them repeatedly, except he’d make sure the warlock never broke free. He would keep Fabian locked away and make him suffer twice as long as Fabian made Kaylia, and he’d relish every second of those centuries, as well as the screams the man released.

“I feel so stupid, so weak,” she finished in a whisper. “I should have known something was wrong.”

Brokk had to unlock his clamped teeth to speak. “This is not your fault. You couldn’t have known what he was doing to you. He was more powerful than you; how were you supposed to know he was a monster?”

His rising anger wasn’t helping the situation, but her words had rattled him. She couldn’t blame herself for this.

“I wasn’t some young witch,” she said.

“But you still weren’t as old as him. What he did to you should never be done to another. He was an abomination that never should have walked the realms.”

“I understand that, and I know it’s all true, but I still feel like I should have known or seen something to indicate what was happening.”

Brokk didn’t know what to say. He knew his words weren’t enough to pierce through the haze of her devastation right now.

All he could do was constantly reassure her none of this was her fault, and he would do so every chance he got. Hopefully, one day, she would believe them because she didn’t deserve this on top of everything she’d been through.

“I wasted so much time in the crone realm,” she murmured. “Yes, we ended up building a wonderful place for those who sought sanctuary there, and I’m glad for that, but I spent far too much time angry and grieving a man who didn’t deserve one second of my tears. And there were so many tears.”

He hated the bitterness in her voice. “But you’re now free from the crone realm, Fabian, and the ophidians. I promise you, Kaylia, I will give you everything you deserve in this life. I will be here for you no matter what, even if you need space to figure things out⁠—”

“No!” she interrupted.

“This is a huge shock to you and a giant betrayal. I know you’ll need time to come to terms with it, and I’ll give it to you, but I’ll always be here. Always.”

“I don’t want time away from you, Brokk. Fabian’s already ruined so many years of my life and kept us apart for too long. I hated you and Sahira for no reason. I won’t pretend I liked vampires before I was told one killed him, but I didn’t hate them with the same intensity as I did afterward. I wouldn’t have been as vicious and hateful toward you if it wasn’t for him.”

He kissed the top of her head. “You made winning your heart more of a challenge, and I do enjoy a challenge.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, as he’d hoped it would. “I wouldn’t have wasted so much time feeling guilty about my desire for you in Doomed Valley if it wasn’t for him. I would have given in to it and been happy about everything afterward. Instead, I grew to hate myself and vowed I’d stay away from you, but I couldn’t.

“Fabian got so deep inside me with his magic that I almost didn’t drink Sahira’s antidote. Even after Sahira led me to have doubts about him, doubts that grew bigger and bigger, I contemplated throwing the antidote out the window. It’s been centuries since I saw him, but he still had that much control over me. I think that’s the most terrifying part of it all.”