Page 39 of Fade With Me

I didn’t know what I’d expected him to say—but it wasn’t that. “Reggie?” I choked, my heart pounding so loudly it nearly drowned out my thoughts. The world seemed to crack apart around me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, just sat there, reeling from the explosion of truth.

Zeke nodded, his eyes briefly flashing with rage as he spoke through gritted teeth. “Reginald James. Son of a human mother and a father with weak magic. He’s never known true power, so he resorts to tricks, illusions, and manipulation.”

The world felt like it tilted on its axis. “So…Reggie’s behindallof this?”

Why am I surprised? Reggie has always been behind every problem in my life. It’s like some twisted game I can’t escape. He’s always calling the shots.

He looked down, his lips pressing into a thin line. “He’s the one orchestrating it all, steering the course, dictating every move. He clouded your memories, drained your powers, and made you believe you were nothing more than a mortal.” His mouth twisted in disgust. “And Salvador Blackwood, your boss. He’s been helping him. Sold his soul to the shadows, chasing empty promises of wealth, and became Reggie’s loyal lapdog.”

Everything around me seemed to blur, my mind struggling to catch up. My breath caught, and the rustling of the trees felt distant, like I was hearing it through a fog. “Sal?” I whispered, disbelief flooding over me. “He’s involved too?”

“Yes. He’s been keeping an eye on you. Making sure you don’t stray from Reggie’s plans.”

I clenched my fists, a surge of fury twisting deep inside me. “So Sal’s job is to keep me in line? Tospyon me?” My voice shook with heat, the words sharp and bitter.

He studied me, his gaze narrowing. He hesitated, choosing his words. “In a sense, yes. But it’s worse than that. Reggie and Sal aren’t just dangerous. They’re calculated. Ruthless. I know you’ve seen glimpses of what they can do, but if they ever found out you knew the truth…” He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand across his mouth. “You wouldn’t just be at risk. You’d be marked. Reggie isn’t just evil, Bryn. He’s something else entirely. A man who made a deal with the devil—and there’s no going back from that.”

Zeke’s earlier words reverberated in my mind, each one more disturbing than the last: Destruction. Death. I couldn’t escape the vivid images they conjured—the devastation, the violence, the aftermath that followed in their wake.

Had Reggie’s hands been stained with innocent blood? WasIhis next target? Could he truly be capable of such brutality, of unleashing havoc upon the world?

The thought sent a wave of revulsion crashing over me, a dark tide rising from the depths of my soul. My stomach clenched, nausea churning as I struggled to fathom the sheer scale of it all. Every part of me screamed in denial, but the truth clawed at me, relentless, impossible to ignore.

Reggie wasn’t just dangerous. He was a monster. A cold, calculating predator in human skin. His cruelty wasn’t a twisted side effect. It was who he was, buried deep inside him, as natural as breathing.

And the only way to stop a monster was to destroy it.

fourteen

The revelation that Reggie wasn’t mortal either was a bitter pill to swallow. The meticulous way he had concealed my powers felt like a betrayal that burrowed deep, sharp and unforgiving, like a blade sliding between my ribs.

But one question gnawed at me: Why? Was his deceit born of petty jealousy, a need to keep me weak and dependent? Or had he known I’d never accept the horrors his guild inflicted on the innocent and kept me in the dark to tighten his holdon me?

Reggie had never been the man I thought he was. And in a way, I realized he had never even pretended to be. He was always controlling and manipulating, but I had deluded myself into thinking it was just his way, that some twisted form of love was buried in there somewhere.

But no.

There was no love in Reggie’s eyes, no warmth or kindness hidden beneath that cold, calculating façade. There had never been anything but the urge to dominate, to bend me to his will. I had mistaken his control for concern, his cruelty for care, because that was all he had ever shown me: an endless stream of commands and a constant tightening of the chains that kept me bound to him.

For years, I had convinced myself I was just being too sensitive, that he couldn’t truly be as heartless as he appeared. I told myself he was only trying to protect me, that his constant manipulation of my thoughts and choices was “for my own good.”

But now, with the truth exposed, I couldn’t keep up the lie any longer. I had been trapped in his web of deceit, forced to confront the darkness that had taken hold of him. The poison of dark magic had seeped into his soul, warping him beyond recognition.

Maybe he’d been lost to it for so long that any trace of goodness was gone, along with my memories of who he used to be.

I paused, the pieces slowly clicking into place. “So, let me get this straight,” I said, my gaze unfocused as I worked through the tangled thoughts. “Reggie was…a good man when we first got married, but then his thirst for power led him down this dark path, and the magic he tried to control ended up consuming him?” I let out a breath, frustration and realization tightening in my chest. “Is that what you’re saying?”

I studied Zeke closely, watching for any hint of deception before pressing on. “Aaaand…you said I’m the queen, so…he must’ve been the king, right? He turned to the dark side, was banished, and then, in some desperate attempt to keep me, stole my memories so I wouldn’t leave?”

That sounded like Reggie, all right.

I shook my head, the absurdity of it all settling in. “This sounds like something straight out of a superhero movie,” I muttered, “minus the cool costumes.”

Zeke stared at me, confused. hen his face twisted in horror. His eyes widened. “No, Bryn.Oh God, no.”

He dragged in a shaky breath, chest rising and falling with each ragged inhale.

“You’ve got it all wrong,” he said, his hands lifting in a frantic, almost pleading gesture. “You and Reggie were NEVER married.”

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