And yet, some foolish part of me yearned for a hint of concern, a trace of a connection.
Shaking the thought from my mind, I turned and stepped into the hallway. As I climbed toward the third floor, the wooden stairs creaked underfoot, the shadows lengthening with the waning light of day. Each step echoed the tension coiling inside me, a prelude to the unknown that awaited.
When I reached the third floor, I paused. Through an open doorway, I saw Balthazar lying on a bed, his body writhing as he muttered incomprehensible phrases. His voice was strained, threading through the dimly lit space like a fractured melody.
Without hesitation, I crossed the threshold, my focus narrowing to the figure before me. In the corner of the room, Zara stood silently, her presence steady and watchful. Her eyes caught mine, and with a subtle nod, she gestured toward Balthazar, permitting me to approach.
“How are you, old friend?” I asked softly, though the words felt hollow as they left my lips.
Balthazar’s eyes fluttered open, flickering between recognition and turmoil. His features twisted with pain and despair.
“Why did you save me from Mathias’ dungeon?” he rasped, his voice a hoarse whisper laden with anguish. “You should have let the poison and fire consume me.”
Every syllable pierced through me like a knife, stirring up memories and emotions I had long buried.
“I saved you because you’re fighting for the wrong side,” I said firmly, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions. “You’re not the despicable man you pretend to be. Alina and Mathias—they’re the ones who twisted your mind and corrupted your soul. Alina, with her insatiable hunger for power, and Mathias, with his endless desire to destroy you. But before all that, before Alina came into your life, you were different.” My voice softened, carrying the echoes of old wounds and unresolved pain. “After you destroyed Mathias’ school of darkness, you were like a father to me. You took me in, nurtured me, and molded me into who I am today. You made me strong. You made me powerful. And then, one day, you turned against me. You abandoned me.”
The words cracked as they left my lips, a tremor betraying the tears that threatened to spill. The memory of betrayal was a fresh wound, raw and unhealed even after all these years.
The room fell silent, the weight of our shared history pressing down on us. Balthazar’s labored breaths punctuated the stillness, a stark reminder of the fragility of the moment. The air between us grew heavy with unspoken truths, the tension thickening like a gathering storm.
The tension coiled tighter.
“Don’t let this go to your head,” Balthazar growled through clenched teeth, his piercing gaze boring into mine with an almost physical intensity. He was a broken shadow of the man I once knew, yet his will remained unyielding. “Thank you, Malik, for saving me and pulling me from Mathias’ clutches. I despise that fucking man who took everything from me.”
His gratitude, twisted and cloaked in bitterness, left a sour taste in my mouth.
“You shouldn’t have gone after Olivia all these years,” I said, my voice slicing through the charged atmosphere like a blade.
Balthazar’s face contorted into a vicious snarl, his eyes blazing with fury. “I will not rest until every last descendant and offspring of Mathias and Alina, including Olivia, lies in ruin at my feet!”
“Then you’ll have to kill your daughter, Emily, too.” The words fell from my lips with deliberate precision, sharp and unforgiving.
The fire in Balthazar’s eyes faltered for a moment, replaced by a flicker of horror. His body recoiled, shrinking under the weight of his monstrous vendetta. The realization struck him like a physical blow, stripping away the veneer of rage to reveal something far more human—anguish.
The room’s shadows shifted, and Zara stepped forward, her presence emerging from the gloom like a specter-made flesh.
Balthazar’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Why do I keep seeing this ghost? She’s dead!”
Zara’s hand moved with the swiftness of a striking serpent, the crack of her slap resounding through the room. “I have never been a ghost,” she said, her voice laced with authority and exasperation. “I am very much alive. Flesh and blood. And I have been for centuries, you idiot.”
“Impossible!” Balthazar’s voice cracked, his words trembling under the strain of his fragmented psyche. “I saw Mathias kill you all those years ago!”
“You’re wrong,” Zara said, her voice unwavering, her gaze fierce and unyielding. “I’m not dead. I’ve always been here, always tried to reach you, even when you refused to see the truth. When Alina left you and poisoned you, it was me who set your house on fire. I took Malik from your dungeon and healed him when you thought he’d died in the flames.”
A sliver of hope dared flicker within me. There may still be a chance to salvage what remained of the man who had been my mentor and tormentor. With Zara’s return, there may still be a chance to salvage the broken man before me. Maybe redemption wasn’t as far out of reach as it seemed.
Balthazar’s trembling fingers rose, pointing at Zara with a mixture of shock and dawning comprehension. “It was you? All those times you appeared to me—comforted me during the darkest moments of my life—it was always you?”
Zara nodded, her eyes locked onto his, unwavering. “Yes, Balthazar. But how could you bring so much pain and suffering to Olivia and still want to kill her when you and her share a history and past together?”
“She’s Alina’s daughter and Mathias’ granddaughter!” Balthazar spat; the words were venomous, his face contorted with years of ingrained hatred.
“Enough of this revenge!” Zara’s voice cut through the charged air like a blade. “You need to wake up and remember who you were before this madness consumed you!”
Balthazar flinched as if her words had struck him physically. His voice rose in a roar, laden with anguish and fury. “How dare you speak of betrayal? You, who slept with Mathias and turned away from your husband? You betrayed me—us—everything we had together. He was our enemy! He took our family from us!”
The accusation hit Zara like a blow, her resolve crumbling under the weight of his words. Her body trembled as she fought to suppress the sobs threatening to overtake her, but the dam broke, and tears streamed down her face, her pain raw and unrelenting.
