Alina’s calm voice floated behind us. “My dear, I can hear you perfectly well.”
I spun hastily to face her, the sudden movement causing me to wobble slightly on my unsteady feet. My pregnant belly protruded outward, throwing off my balance and adding another layer of vulnerability to my stance. The group stopped behind me, their footsteps echoing faintly in the room’s stillness. Despite my physical discomfort, I stood tall and determined, ready to face challenges.
“I’ve been on a goose chase,” I spat, the bitterness stinging my tongue. “About you, the daggers, the journals, everything. While all this time, you were alive!”
Alina’s expression remained serene in the dim light filtering through the windows, as if our world hadn’t just tilted on its axis. She approached with measured steps, her hands reaching to bridge the chasm between us.
“Olivia, please?—”
“No!” I recoiled from her touch, anger flaring hot and fierce. “Before we start unraveling your web of secrets and stories, we need to find Marcellious. You must understand that.”
“And Marcellious is Emily’s husband?” Alina asked.
“Yes, and my twin brother, who Timehunters have taken,” Roman interrupted. “The longer he’s with Timehunters, the madder, the more insane, and the more poisoned he will be. He will spill secrets—oursecrets—if he survives.”
Her eyes held sorrow, but it was too late for regret or explanations. There was no room for anything else until we secured Marcellious’ safety. And so, amid the dust motes dancing in the shafts of light and the heavy silence of our entourage, we stood at an impasse, the weight of a mother’s absence and her daughter’s fury hanging thick in the air.
Mathias exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face before saying, “We should all go talk in my dining room.” His tone left little room for argument.
The oak door to the dining room groaned open, a foreboding echo to our heavy hearts as we filed in. The table, once a place of communion, now felt like an arena where secrets bared their fangs. We took our seats silently, the wood and velvet chairs providing cold comfort. I settled into my spot, unable to shake the sensation of my world unraveling.
Mathias clenched his fists as he spoke, his voice trembling with determination. “I won’t rest until we find Marcellious. My network of connections will be looking for him at once.”
Malik leaned toward Mathias.
“Maybe you know where he is,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper but laden with a venom I’d never heard from him before. “Why did you keep the truth from me that Alina was alive? You used me! You made me do all your dirty work. But you lied to me whenever I asked you about Alina’s dagger. You could have told me she was alive. I thought we were allies, Mathias!”
Mathias let a honeyed smile play on his lips as if Malik had merely commented on the weather. “You have no right to question my intentions. I had to keep Alina a secret for her protection and safety.”
Malik stood abruptly, fists clenched, his voice thunderous in the otherwise still room. “I have done everything you asked. I brought you the daggers. You could have told me why!”
All eyes snapped to Malik. Even Alina’s stoic facade cracked slightly at the edges. I flinched with each syllable.
“Now poor Marcellious is captured by those bloody ruthless Timehunters. He will become a lunatic under their influence!”
Mathias remained unflappable, his voice a calm counter to Malik’s storm. “Do not raise your voice to me. We will find him.”
Malik was panting now, chest heaving as though each breath battled the rage within. “You know everything. Like you said, you have connections. You shouldknowwhere he is.”
In that charged moment, the air thick with accusations and desperation, the world seemed to pivot on the axis of Mathias’ response. Would he reveal the threads that bound us all, or would he sever them, one by one, with continued secrecy?
“You forget who you’re talking to,” Mathias said, his voice low and laced with a threat that sent shivers down my spine.
Malik’s face contorted with fury.
“I could throw you in my dungeon and force you to inhale poison with Balthazar,” Mathias said.
“Is that a threat, old man?” Malik’s shout bounced off the high ceilings, his challenge hanging between them like a gauntlet thrown. The room, filled with the weight of unsaid truths and accusations, felt smaller, suffocating.
“Malik, please,” Roman intervened. “You need to breathe.”
Malik was a force of nature. With blazing eyes, every word he spoke was like a burst of lightning.
“You swore you were the most powerful darkness of all time. How could Marcellious be taken under your watch? You should have protected him.” He jabbed a finger toward Mathias, accusation sharp as a dagger’s edge.
The shouting escalated, voices overlapping into a cacophony of betrayal and confusion. Roman’s pleas, Malik’s accusations, Mathias’ denials; it was a mad family reunion where every member threw their grievances like punches.
Alina sat back, a slight smile creasing her lips, observing it all as if she had watched a chess match unfold. I stood there, helpless, watching the fracturing of our little trust.
