Page 41 of Embers of Fate
He straightens, returning to his seat, but his words linger in the air between us, a pronouncement of doom that makes my blood run cold.
“He’s not a monster...” I mutter, my voice small and broken, but filled with a quiet defiance.
Gavriil starts, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Excuse me?”
“No more than you and I are monsters,” I add, my tone gloomy and resigned. I know better than to meet his gaze, to challenge him openly.
“Samara!” he snaps, his voice cracking like a whip, silencing me. I jump, my heart racing in my chest. “You will never see him again. Is that understood?”
He searches my face, looking for some sign of acquiescence, but I refuse to meet his eyes, knowing that it will only fuel his anger. He’s the alpha, the leader of our clan, and his word is law.
I nod in silence, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks as I blink, too tired and heartbroken to explain that there’s nothing left between Nik and me anyway. He broke up with me, pushed me away... and the pain of it is almost more than I can bear.
“Say it,” Gavriil insists, his voice cold and unyielding. He’s become so cruel since Luciana’s death, so hard and unforgiving.
“Understood,” I say through gritted teeth, a low growl rumbling in my throat. I’m so furious, so hurt and angry, that I’m growling like a bear... and suddenly, the memory of Nik calling me his Little Bear floods my mind, bringing with it a fresh wave of grief.
Oh gods... what has he done? What havewedone?
I lose my composure completely, sobbing into my hands. Then I hug my arms around myself, as if I can somehow hold the broken pieces of my heart together through sheer force of will.
Gavriil nods, satisfied. “Good.”
As the SUV drives down the long entrance to the property, the evidence of last night’s chaos is everywhere. Burnt trees and carbonized stone arches line the way, boulders and rubble piled up near the road. It looks like a war zone, like something out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.
“Look at the state of this place,” my brother sneers, his lip curling in derision as he surveys the destruction. “The Drakens truly must be ruined if they can’t even afford good landscaping.”
I remain silent, too lost in my own misery to respond.
“I bet it’s that warlock’s fault, Bram,” Gavriil continues, his voice dripping with contempt. “He’s been splurging through the family’s fortune ever since he took over their clan. Some lousy leader he turned out to be, wasting his money on booze and women.”
Still, I say nothing, my gaze fixed on the world outside the window, a world that feels as bleak and empty as my own shattered heart.
“You’re better off away from them,” Gavriil adds, his tone softening just a fraction, as if he’s trying to comfort me in his own twisted way.
I bite my lower lip, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. Because the truth is, Nik feels exactly the same way. He thinks I’m better off without him, that I’m safer and happier far away from the chaos and danger of his world.
And maybe they’re both right. Maybe I am better off alone, without the constant threat of dragons and bears and the weight of centuries of hatred and mistrust.
But as the car speeds away from the only place I’ve ever truly felt at home, from the man who holds my heart in his hands... I can’t help but feel like I’m leaving a piece of myself behind, like I’m abandoning the one thing that makes me feel whole and alive.
And I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same again, don’t know if I’ll ever find my way back to the happiness and peace I found in Nik’s arms.
But I do know one thing, with a certainty that burns bright and fierce in my chest.
I will never stop loving him.
26
SAM
I’m lying in my bedroom’s bay window, my eyes fixed on the snowflakes that drift past, slowly painting the driveway a pristine white. The cold seeps through the glass, chilling my skin, but I barely feel it. I’m numb, inside and out, my heart frozen in the aftermath of losing Nik.
It’s been days, maybe weeks, since I last left the beach house. I’ve lost track of time, the hours blurring together in a haze of misery and despair. What’s the point of keeping count, when every moment is a reminder of what I’ve lost, of the love that’s been ripped away from me?
The buzz of Yule preparations fills the household, the excitement all but tangible in the air. The Deveraux witches are hosting a dinner party, and we’re invited—a summons that cannot be refused. But the thought of facing the world, of pretending to be happy and whole when I’m shattered inside... it’s almost more than I can bear.
Gavriil, of course, has made it clear that I have no say in the matter. No surprise there. My brother has become a tyrant, a man who demands obedience and compliance at every turn.
