Page 93 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Marcel shook his head. "The story gets worse. Later, I found out that he never physically abused her. He'd lashed out at her verbally on occasion, but it was well-earned. She loved to live lavishly, and she spent money beyond their means. She made up the abuse to make me get rid of him for her."

Sofia couldn't believe that Marcel had been played like that. How could he have been so gullible?

And where was that passion that had driven him to commit murder?

Had it been smothered by the guilt?

"How did you find out?"

"The way I should have done before I committed murder. I entered the minds of the servants. It turned out that I was just one more idiot in a long string of lovers, and that she told the same lies to all of them, hoping one of them would get rid of her husband for her. He was a couple of decades older, unattractive, and came from a wealthy family. She wanted to be a rich widow and spend his money without having to answer to anyone. The inheritance laws of the time were very different than they are today, and since they didn't have any children and he was much older, he put all his possessions in a trust so she would be taken care of. She must have manipulated him to do that as well."

Sofia let out a breath. "She was a sociopath like Igor. Why didn't you enter her mind to verify what she told you?" It suddenly occurred to her that he could have entered hers instead of having Eleanor compel her to tell the truth. "And why haven't you entered mine? You would have known that everything I told you and the others was true."

"It's not that simple. Memories are not objective, and people often believe the lies they tell. Also, if they are very passionate about the lies, it's difficult to differentiate. Besides, I was a Guardian back then, and I obeyed clan law which states that we are not allowed to enter a human's mind without proper justification." He snorted. "And then I went ahead and committed the worst crime imaginable."

"You must have been madly in love with her, and it clouded your judgment."

Pain lashed through her insides at the idea that he'd loved that monster so much, and it didn't matter that it happened three centuries ago. Worse, that love affair had tainted him forever and made him cold. He seemed to be warming up, but after what he'd told her, she knew that he was capable of much more feeling than what he had shown her.

Would she ever be able to scrape away the layers of guilt he'd covered himself with and uncover the man he used to be?

"I was stupid." He smoothed his hand over his hair. "Naive and trusting. I swore never to let myself fall in love again." He smiled at her. "And then you showed up, and centuries of building walls around my heart started to crumble."

Perhaps the outer walls were crumbling. The inner layers would take much more work to scrape away, but for that to happen, he needed to forgive himself first.

"From what Eleanor told me, there weren't any immortal females you could have hooked up with, so I assume that Cordelia was a human and is long dead. Do you know what happened to her?"

He shook his head. "I didn't keep tabs on her. I left on the first ship sailing to America and joined Kian's arm of the clan."

"Did you really never tell anyone but me about it?"

He shook his head. "I'm a murderer, Sofia. Why would I admit that to anyone? I didn't mind the whipping I would have gotten or even entombment, but I couldn't stand the idea of people thinking of me as an evildoer. I was supposed to be a good guy."

What a terrible burden to carry, and he was right. He was a murderer, and she had no right to absolve him of his crime. He'd made a terrible mistake.

"I don't know what to say."

Marcel sighed. "There is nothing to say. If you want to rescind your consent, I'll understand. There are many other immortal males who would be very happy to attempt to induce your transition."

As if she wanted anyone else.

Marcel looked so broken that all Sofia wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and tell him that it was okay, but it wasn't, and it would never be. He would carry the guilt of what he had done for the rest of his never-ending life.

Talk about suffering.

"I still want you, Marcel, and to be frank, I don't hold what you did against you. You did what you thought was right. I just wish there was something I could do to ease your guilt." She closed her eyes. "You've been repenting for centuries, and you've carried this terrible guilt with you, living half a life because you were afraid to let yourself feel. Maybe it's punishment enough?"

"I wish."

Suddenly, she remembered his explanation about who was deserving of a perfect mate, and it gave her an idea. "If the Fates rewarded you with a truelove mate, they must think that you are done with your penance, right?"

He smiled sadly. "Or they chose to punish me by dangling you in front of me but not making it possible for me to induce you. I really hope that's not their plan because it's not fair to use you like that."

"I've done nothing to earn their punishment."

A flicker of hope ignited in Sofia's heart. If she transitioned, Marcel would believe that he'd been forgiven.

Leaning over, she cupped his cheek. "Then I must transition to prove to you that your penance is over and that you’ve earned your right to live a full life again. You don't know the Fates’ grand plan. Maybe the husband needed to die to prevent some major bad thing from happening, and you and Cordelia were just the pawns they moved on the chessboard to orchestrate that."

One corner of his lips lifted in a sad mockery of a smile. "I wish I could believe that."

"Believe it. I was a pawn as well, so I know all about being used by forces greater than me. I felt guilty for coming here and manipulating you, and then I felt guilty for providing you information about the compound that might endanger my family. But after talking with Eleanor, I realized that my purpose might be greater than I've given myself credit for. She pointed out that the unassuming pawn is more powerful than most pieces on the chessboard. If the pawn makes the right moves, she has the potential to become a queen and lead her army to victory." She smiled. "In my case, I want to lead an army to liberate my people, and since I don't know much about strategy or about leading armies, I need your help. Can I rely on you?"

Marcel's eyes started glowing. "Always."

She took his hand and kissed his palm. "Then let's start working on that transition. I want to be immortal when I liberate my people."

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