Page 37 of Inheritance
The floodgates now open, she continued, "He kidnapped me and held me there against my will, and I was so angry. But he is also so fucking broken and just wants to find his once-in-a-lifetime love. It's heart wrenching, but at the same time, I wanted to stab him in the eyes countless times."
"I'm sure Fin will love to hear that," I joked, lightening the mood so she knew I wasn't angry with her for talking about her time with Luce.
I didn't like that he’d taken her from us. No, that was an understatement—I hated him for doing that, to us and to her. However, with all of my own fuck ups, I couldn't bring myself to cast judgement until I knew the full story. He had ended up returning her to us safely, in the end.
"Were you just angry that he took you?" I asked, trying to help get to the root of the problem.
"No," she answered, so much sorrow imbued into that one word that I knew she was on the verge of tears. I held her tighter and kissed the top of her head as she explained, "He is a selfish man. He thinks only of his own wants and needs, and he is the reason the hybrids were hunted to near extinction in the war. He incited the rage and violence because he was jealous of everyone finding their fated mates. He said he felt if he couldn't have one, then no one should."
Fuck.That was a lot of guilt to carry on your shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "He wanted his realm to match his anger. He thought it would make himself feel better, but by the time he realized it didn't, it was too late. The damage had been done, making this unbreakable divide between hybrids and pure-bloods."
She sniffled, "He's the reason I grew up knowing so much hate."
My heart broke thinking of her life growing up, having seen how she was treated at the Summit and then experiencing just the smallest taste of it in Impurus. Her whole life she had battled it, with just her dad and Zurie on her side to keep her going.
"The worst part is that he thinks he atoned for his sins by selecting the heads of the houses for Pura and giving the hybrids a new territory with one gifted line to protect them. As if that erases the thousands of innocent people killed."
Yeah, the dude had really fucked up. Damn, had he not realized how personal that would feel to Ama? Had he really expected her to just forgive and accept him? Not our little mate.
A humorless laugh bubbled out of her, "And to top it all off, he went to fucking sleep and didn't even bother to wait around an ensure that the realm recovered from the war he incited! He's a coward."
I wasn't sure how exactly she wanted me to react to this, so I tested the waters with my question, "But you feel a pull to him, yes?"
She let out a shrill scream and pushed from my chest, gesturing around wildly with her hands, "Yes, and I fucking hate that I can't stop thinking about him all alone in that castle! A part of me wanted him to step through that portal with me and put a stop to this war here. To prove that he wasn't that same selfish coward anymore. To prove that he was worthy of having my heart!"
Ahh, I understood now. She saw pieces of him that were redeemable and wanted him to just snap his fingers and change right then and there.
"Men are fickle creatures, baby," I started, capturing her gaze with my words. "It sounds like there are some good qualities to him, otherwise you would have had no issue flipping him the middle finger or even hitting him in the head with your wing on the way out."
I’d had to add that last part to remind her of our first interaction and how far I had come. How farwehad come.
I wasn't quite sure why I was trying so hard to help her work through her issue with a new mate who had taken her from us and held her against her will. No, that was a lie. I was helping her because I knew this was tearing her apart inside, and I couldn't allow that. No matter what, I would ensure my mate was always happy.
"Ugh," she groaned, "But you didn't cause the near genocide of my kind or breed a hate so deep it's lasted thousands of years."
"Hey, give me as many years as Luce has had, and maybe I'd get up to some mischief." It was a joke, but I also wanted to point out just how long he'd been around as a reminder. "You said the reason this all started was because he was hopeful he would find his fated mate. I can't imagine just how lonely he has been."
Truly, I did sympathize with that aspect.
"Yeah..." she said, then trailed off as her shoulders drooped forward a bit. "I've been so lonely for my whole life despite having my dad and Zurie. He had no family once he was cast down to Hell."
"I'm sure that hurt as well. To have no family. No friends. No love in his life at all. Imagine living that reality for as long as he has," I gently said, not wanting to excuse his actions in any way, but rationalizing why he’d been driven to them.
"I just...I just want him to stop trying to defend himself for it all and acting like he's a different man now than he was then," she admitted. "Change is reflected through actions, not words."
She wasn't wrong there, but he had shown a very selfless side of himself.
"Baby..." I started, trying to figure out how to tactfully state this. "You said he's been waiting a literal eternity for the love of his life. His fated mate. He finally got you, and maybe it took him a bit to process, reflect, and accept that it wasn't working out, but in the end, he made a selfless decision in letting the one thing he has always wanted walk out of his life."
Her eyes widened as my words sank in, and her mouth parted slightly. "Yeah, he did," she agreed with a nod of her head as she looked up at the mountains behind us.
It was definitely a change of pace between us for me to be the voice of reason and help her work through this. I quite enjoyed being able to be this pillar for her right now. It also helped me show her that there was more to me than the self-centered jerk I’d shown her for the majority of our time together.
"He's an immortal being with what sounds like some deep emotional wounds," I surmised. "He probably needs more than a couple days to change and become the man you know he can be."
"When did you get so wise, bird boy?" she asked, a lightness to her that hadn’t been there before.
