Page 69 of Vardaesia
Alex didn’t know what to say, what to do. She knew Bear had been grappling with his grief for days, but what he’d just witnessed… It must have pushed him over the edge. She had to believe that once he had a chance to process all that he’d seen, he would understand the truth: that while her time in the past had led to their future, there was nothing she could have done to change things.
She wasn’t responsible for William’s death—Avenwas. And while he might have ventured down a dark path because of her influence in his life, that choice had only ever been his. She wasn’t liable for his actions.Anyof them.
Trying one last time, Alex said, “Bear, I—”
Before she could finish, Jordan interrupted. “Because of you, I’m a murderer.”
Alex spun around to face him, unable to do anything but again whisper, “What?”
He held her gaze, his tone just as ravaged as Bear’s. “Aven came after me because of you, Alex. You’re the reason I was Claimed. Everything that happened to me, everything Idid…” He trailed off, his voice too hoarse to continue.
Alex curled in on herself. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to respond around her constricted throat. “You don’t mean that,” she finally managed to rasp. “I know you don’t.”
Unlike Bear, there were no tears in Jordan’s eyes, but the look on his face… She’d only ever witnessed such an expressionfrom him once before—after he’d learned the truth about King Astophe. For the second time in a week, he was looking at her as if she had betrayed him in the worst possible way. Betrayedallof them.
D.C. stepped forward, and Alex turned to her, desperate for her intervention. But when the princess spoke, her voice was little more than a tremble of sound as she said, “What we just saw… Our families dying, our friends being killed, ourowndeaths… You should have told us. You should have warned us.”
Alex swallowed. Then swallowed again. “The vision has already changed. It doesn’t have to come true. I’m doing everything to make sure it doesn’t. We’realldoing everything— that’s why we’re here.”
“You should have told us, Alex,” D.C. said again, her words brimming with both pain and fear. “But you didn’t. I’m your best friend and you never once thought to tell me about Aven. You never once mentioned that all this is happening because he fell in love with you.” Her eyes were full of hurt, full of betrayal, just like Jordan’s. “You’re the reason Aven hates mortals so much. He’s killing us, Alex. Because of you.” A tear ran down her cheek as she repeated in a whisper, “You should have told us.”
Alex pressed a hand against her aching heart. D.C. was right—she should have told them. But she’d never wanted them to know the painful truth, that she was the driving force behind everything Aven did, everything hewas.
That she was the reason he had become a monster.
“Please,” she breathed, looking from D.C. to Jordan to Bear. “Can we just—I think we should talk about this later. If you’ll let me explain once we’re back in our room, once we’ve all had a chance to—”
“The time for explanations is over, Alex,” Jordan said, his broken voice so much worse than any yelling. “From the very beginning, we’ve been by your side through thick and thin.We’ve always been there for you, always believed in you. But with everything we’ve learned in the last few days… and now all of this…” His throat bobbed as he trailed off into nothing.
“The Alex Show,” D.C. whispered, drawing Alex’s blurred eyes again. “You said it yourself—that’s what it is. Everything has always been about you. You’ve hidden so many things from us, kept so many secrets… Friends don’t do that to each other. They don’t.”
Something deep inside Alex unravelled at her words, at the doubt and accusation edged into D.C.’s pale, anguished features.
Struggling to draw air into her lungs, Alex turned teary eyes to Kaiden, finding him already looking at her, his gaze filled with compassion. And yet, when he spoke, it was to whisper, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but they’re right. About everything. You know they are.”
Alex closed her eyes. But Kaiden wasn’t done.
Still whispering he said, “Niyx gave his life for you, Alex. He’s dead because of Aven, but Aven killed him because of you. You were there—you know it’s true. You even told me as much.”
Alex kept her eyes closed, the image of Niyx leaping in front of her to save her from Aven’s blade replaying across her mind.
“And Niyx isn’t the only one who lost his life because of Aven,” Kaiden went on, still quietly, still gently. “Lady Mystique. Skyla. So many others and more still to come. All because of Aven… but also because of…”
He didn’t say it. He didn’t have to.
“Me,” Alex finished, reopening her eyes. “Also because of me.”
Her tears overflowed, flooding down her cheeks.
She understood what was happening now. But that didn’t make it any less painful, any lessreal.
Even if it wasn’t.
The moment Kaiden had mentioned Niyx, she had realised the truth.
There was no way he would have used that memory against her. Never in a million years.
She should have clued in before that. Bear might have been struggling with his grief, but he never,everwould have blamed her for the death of his father.
