Page 113 of Goldflame
I stand to pace the length of the room, energy buzzing through me like a live wire. “It doesn’t make sense. If Adrian wanted out, he could have just left. Why the elaborate deception?”
“Because he didn’t just want out,” Mother says softly. “He wanted to hurt us. To punish us.”
“I can understand punishing Lucian or the Consortium. But us?Us?”
She looks away, pain etching lines around her mouth. “You don’t deserve such treatment, but me… I think I understand. I failed to protect either of you from your father. Adrian never forgave me for that, I think. He always blamed me for not leaving, for not taking you both away from here when you were babies.” Her voice cracks and she hugs herself. “I’m so sorry. I should have left. I was just so scared of your father.”
“I know.” I squeeze her shoulder gently as she breaks down in tears. Then I suddenly remember something I must have buried. Adrian at seventeen, holding ice to my split lip after Lucian caught me sneaking out.“One day,”he said,“one day we’ll get away from him.”I thought he’dmeant both of us. But what if he’d only ever meant himself?
No… my brother wouldn’t… he couldn’t…
“He just left me to deal with this shit alone?” Bitterness burns in my throat. “Let me think he was dead? Let me spiral into fucking insanity with guilt and grief?”
Mother sniffs and regains herself. “I’m afraid so. He didn’t even care enough to let you know he was alive. It was all part of their cruel plan.”
The betrayal cuts deep and it’s all-encompassing. I remember being five years old, Adrian teaching me to tie my shoes. Eight, and him patching up my skinned knees after I fell off my bike. Twelve, and him showing me how to throw a proper punch so I could defend myself against our father if needed.
All those moments—were they real? Or was I just a burden he couldn’t wait to escape?
A harsh laugh tears from my throat. “So Aurelia was telling the truth all along. She kept saying she didn’t kill Adrian.”
“Technically, she didn’t,” Mother says. “But she helped. She must have.”
I move to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. Rain has started to fall, mirroring the storm brewing inside me. “Why try to pin his ‘death’ on you? You, out of everyone, are innocent in all of this.”
Mother joins me at the window, her reflection wavering in the glass. “To remove me and isolate you completely. She knows I’ll always be on your side, no matter what.”
The pieces click into place even though I don’t wantthem to. “They wanted me alone. With no one to turn to. No one to help me lead. So I can fail faster and they can get what they want—to see the Consortium fall.”
“Yes.” Her hand comes to rest on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. You poor sweet boy. You don’t deserve this.”
I close my eyes, letting the pain wash through me. Adrian is alive. Aurelia is with him. They’ve been playing me all along.
Even in my darkest moments—when I locked Aurelia away, when I drugged her, when I sent her to Lorenzo—I never once stopped loving her. Not really. But she… she’s been laughing at me, planning my downfall, waiting for me to crash and burn.
I don’t know if I can bear this; I can’t breathe and the world is quickly turning black.
“You know,” Mother continues, her voice breaking, “I’ve always loved you more because I knew right away that Adrian was so much like his father—so secretive and manipulative. He never stood up for me. But you did. You always did. I’m so thankful for that. Thank you.” A tear slips down her cheek. “I love you with all my heart, and I only want to see you happy,” she says, taking my hands in hers. “I know this is difficult, but you understand what you need to do now.”
Do I?
I know she means to kill them but… can I do what’s needed?
Fuck, this pain is like a fucking blackhole, sucking me in until there’s nothing left but memories that once existed.
Everyone I’ve ever loved has betrayed me. Everyoneexcept the woman standing by me right now—the one who endured decades of abuse to keep me safe, who’s guiding me through this nightmare of leadership, who’s never once abandoned me or tried to deceive me.
I turn back to the window, watching raindrops race down the glass like tears. Maybe I am getting sucked into the darkness, but that doesn’t mean I can’t come out of it stronger.
Iamstrong; I’ll show them I’m much stronger than they think.
Those stubborn soft spots I’ve always had for Aurelia in my heart finally turn to stone.
This is no longer about love, it’s about what’s right. What’smyright. And this game endsnow.I’m getting back what I’ve lost.
After a sigh that solidifies this new reality, I say, “Yes, Mother. I know what I need to do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
