Page 20 of Branded By Shadow
In the end, Dr. Caldwell gave Alexander every single drop of information he could have wanted. The words came spilling out without him even meaning them to. Names, locations, interests.He even spoke about her dream to turn silphium into the miracle all Omegas needed.
By the time the recording ended, at least an hour had passed. Helena deactivated the stone and slipped it back into her coat. “Cora, I know that was very difficult for you to hear, but it was necessary. So you can understand what we’re dealing with here.”
“I do,” Cora replied, and each syllable was visibly a struggle. “Perfectly. Thank you.”
Helena gently brushed her fingers over Cora’s cheek. “Thank me when this is all over. For now, remember this. You are stronger than you know. And you are not facing this alone anymore.”
She rose, her posture straightening, the warmth she had shown Cora evaporating as she turned to face me. The shift was absolute, her face becoming an unreadable mask of political will. “I expect your full cooperation, Damon. Our networks will be in contact within the hour to coordinate surveillance protocols.”
“My House has always taken safety seriously, Helena,” I answered. “You know that.”
Helena narrowed her eyes at me, the same way she had when I’d been a child, first learning to master my gift. “Stormwright has overplayed his hand. Don’t you do the same.”
It was an order wrapped in the language of advice, a reminder of the political chessboard we now stood upon.
“He will regret it,” I assured her, the promise a raw, dark thing in the quiet room.
She gave a single, sharp nod, accepting my vow. Then, with one final glance at Cora, she headed toward the door. In her wake, she left only a faint scent of lavender perfume, and the devastation her revelations had inadvertently caused.
The click of the latch was the loudest sound in the world. I remained where I was, standing behind the desk, listening to the ticking of the grandfather clock. The fire crackled, each pop and hiss an unnaturally loud intrusion in the dead air. On the recording, Alexander’s voice had been a corrosive agent. Now, the silence that followed felt almost as dangerous.
Cora hadn’t moved from the chair. She was a crumpled figure in the heavy leather, her head bowed, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. The scent of her grief was a sharp, acidic intrusion, a sour note that cut through the satisfying scent of my claim on her. Every tremor that wracked her body was a testament to Stormwright’s skill.
“I did this. My research, my ambition… I presented it to the world. I put him right in the path of a monster.” She looked up at me, and the life seemed to have drained from her eyes, leaving them hollow and swimming with a terrible, dawning guilt. “This is all my fault.”
Stormwright’s venom had worked perfectly. He hadn’t just threatened her friend. He’d made her the weapon.
Her eyes went wide as a desperate thought took hold. “It’s not too late,” she blurted out. “I can find a solution. I can fix this.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Fix this how?” In my heart, I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her own mouth.
She shot to her feet and took a desperate step toward the door. “I can reason with him. He’s a businessman. I can make him a deal. Offer him the formula, sign over the patents. If I give him everything he wants, he’ll have no reason to hurt Theo.”
A cold rage, sharp and absolute, settled in my gut. She would go to him. After hearing the proof of his treachery, her solution was to walk directly into the serpent’s den and offer her own throat. She had no concept of the danger she was in, no understanding of what he would do to her once he had her.
Even with all her brilliance, she was unbearably naive. Or perhaps, so frightened her intellect didn’t matter any longer.
I moved, blocking her path in a single, silent motion. She came up short, her chest nearly brushing against mine. She tried to sidestep me, but I shifted, a wall of flesh and will she could not pass. The scent of her panic was sharp and thin, like the air just before a lightning strike.
I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t have to. “No. I will not allow it.”
Her desperation finally boiled over into fury. “You have no right to stop me! This is about Theo, not you! It’s the only way to fix what I’ve done!”
“Everything that concerns you, concerns me,” I growled. “You are mine. And I won’t stand by while you attempt to deliver yourself to my enemy.”
“This isn’t a solution, it’s a prison!” she screamed. If there had been any plants in this room, I had no doubt they’d have tried to eviscerate me.
But this was House Hades territory, and she just had to accept it. “The Blackwood estate is a fortress. One you refuse to appreciate.” I took a step, then another, forcing her back until she was flush against the unyielding wall. “You think you are negotiating for a patent. You’re wrong, Cora. He’s negotiating for the source. He wantsyou.
“Your cage kept you alive. It kept you mine. Now I am offering to extend that cage around everything you care about. You should be thanking me.”
If I’d actually expected that to happen, I’d have been disappointed.
Her eyes blazed with fury, the same defiant anger she’d tried to weaponize against her own heat. “You arrogant…”
She swung at me, just like she had so many times, in the suite. She couldn’t match my speed, couldn’t compare to the power Iwielded. I could have easily caught her again. Instead, I let the blow land, turning my head with the impact.
The sound of the slap cracked through the room, sharp and absolute. In the ringing silence that followed, I could hear the frantic, rabbit-quick beat of her heart. A sharp sting bloomed on my cheek, a surprising heat that had nothing to do with physical power.
