Marcus/Rocco
The final words lingered in the air long after I
finished reading.
If` you are reading this, my son, then I was right.
You lived.
I didn't realize my hands were shaking until the
chronicle slipped from my grip.
The leather-bound journal landed softly on the
basement floor. Nobody moved to pick it up.
Nobody spoke. The silence felt sacred.
Like saying anything too soon would somehow disrespect
the people who had written those pages with hope they would never live to see
fulfilled.
I stared at the journal. My father's handwriting. My
mother's name. their fears. Their love. All preserved in ink. And all because
they had refused to let me die.
A knot formed in my throat. All this time, I'd
wondered why.
Why it seemed like Valen had chosen me. Why my father
had handed the bracelet to protect me.
The answer was devastatingly simple. Valen hadn't
chosen me. My parents had.
They had chosen to save their son, knowing there would
be a price. And they had paid it themselves.
"Rocky?" Valen's voice was unusually quiet. I didn't
answer.
For the first time since meeting him, he didn't try to
joke. Didn't say something ridiculous just to lighten the mood.
He simply waited. I wiped at my eyes with the sleeve
of my jacket before anyone could pretend not to notice.
It didn't work. Callie noticed anyway. She always did.
She stepped closer, resting a hand lightly on my
shoulder. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.
Noah exhaled slowly from across the room. "So…" his
voice was rough. "Your dad knowingly made a deal with Valen."
I nodded. "Yeah."
"And he knew there'd be consequences." Another nod.
Nobody had anything else to add. Because
what could you possibly say to that?
Seraphina stood apart from the rest of us. She hadn't
spoken since I'd opened the chronicle.
Her eyes remained fixed on the old journal lying on
the floor. "I was angry with him." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
We all looked at her.
"I told myself I was protecting our family." She
laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh.
"I thought if I walked away… maybe he'd come to his
senses." She closed her eyes. "He never did."
The basement seemed colder. "When the manor was
attacked…" she swallowed hard. "… I'd been on my way to apologise… but I was
too late."
Nobody interrupted. "I don't know why I was ten years
late." Her voice cracked.
There wasn't a single person in the room who couldn't
imagine carrying that weight for seven years.
Livia quietly crossed the room and hugged her. For a
second Seraphina stiffened. Then she returned the embrace.
"I should've never left," she whispered. "I
should've…"
"It's not your fault, Sera." The words left my mouth
quietly. She looked at me. Confused.
"I read what he wrote." I gestured toward the
chronicle. "He didn't blame you for leaving."
"No-" I shook
my head. "He loved you."
For a long moment, she simply cried. Just silently.
The kind of tears that had been waiting years to fall.
Behind me, Darren cleared his throat. "So…"
Everyone turned toward him. He looked almost
uncomfortable.
"I've been thinking."
"That's dangerous." Noah muttered.
Darren rolled his eyes. "What I'm trying to say
is…" he adjusted his glasses. "If Aldo
was tracking Marcus because of the contamination…"
The room became still. "…then this was never just
about the bracelet and Valen."
No one answered. Because everyone had reached the same
conclusion.
It had been me.
Cassian and Vespera words echoed through my mind.
Why do you smell like him?
Doesn't he smell like him?
At the time, I'd assumed they meant Valen.
Now…
Now I understood. They weren't talking about Valen at
all. They'd been talking about Aldo.
I suddenly felt sick. I had the blood of the thing
that killed my parents.
"Valen…" my voice sounded strange. Small. "You knew."
Silence.
When he finally answered, there wasn't even a trace of
humour. "Yes."
"Since when?"
"Since the time I healed you." I clenched my fist.
"You didn't think to tell me?"
"Would it have changed anything?" I opened my mouth.
Then stopped. No, it wouldn't have.
I still would've fought. Still would've protected
everyone. Still would've become a hunter.
"No…"
"I know." Another silence between us. This one
different. Less painful and more honest.
Finally, I asked the question that had been bothering
me. "If you knew…" I looked down at the bracelet. "Why save me the second
time?"
Valen didn't answer at first, but when he spoke, his
voice sounded older than I'd ever heard it.
Older than memory itself. "Because no child should die
for the mistakes of those before them."
Nobody in the room heard him. Only me. But I knew
everyone would have understood anyway.
I let out a slow breath. Then looked around the
basement. The ancient seal beneath our feet still glowed faintly.
The tear above us remained contained. For now.
There was still a war waiting outside. Still demons.
But before any of that…
There was one final truth left to uncover. Valen spoke
again.
"I believe," he said, a familiar hint of dry amusement
returning to his voice, "the chronicle has told Alessandro's story."
I looked at him. "And yours?" there was a pause. A
long one.
Then Valen sighed. "I suppose." His tone carried the weight of centuries.
"it's finally my turn."
The golden light around the bracelet shimmered softly.
And before I knew it…
The entire place was covered in bright golden lights