Chapter 28

"Please..." I tried to plead, but he was no longer listening. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, his dark cape flowing behind him.

I felt the heavy stares of disappointment and anger of the people left at the table as I chased after him. I followed him in my dress as fast as I could, through the crowd of invitees. We ended up in the empty corridors and I still had not reached him.

Nova was as perplexed as I was. I could also feel the whirlwind of emotions that were raging havoc in him. Nova borrowed me her strength and I finally reached him and latched onto his arm just as he began to turn the knob of his bedroom.

He halted in his tracks. His arm in my clasp was hot, so hot that it was scalding my hand, but I refused to let go, afraid that if I did, I would lose him completely.

"Raphael, listen to me please. I know that what I did was unforgivable. I had no idea who Jameson was or what his family had done. I wish I did I would not have given all I had to him.". I blurted out my words in a rush. "I am so..."

"Of course, you didn't," his voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge in it that made my whole body itch with unease. "But when you knew who he was and what he had done," he turned slowly to me, his eyes glowing brightly. His face was a mask of hatred that I could not believe was directed at me. It was so visceral and raw that it could have seared off my head. "You kept me in the dark."

My ignorance was indeed not completely my fault, but my dishonesty was simply evil. It was vile and unfair to him. I broke down from the weight of the guilt, my tears drawing paths on my face as I looked up at him. My eyes filled with silent pleas.

"I cannot have a mate that I do not trust, Lucianne," he spat my name like poison. "I would rather have it killed. I would rather rip it to pieces with my bare hands. My family once trusted and it destroyed us. My father once made a vow and it ruined us. And now, I made a vow to a snake."

Every word was a punch to the gut and each time, I fought the urge to double over from the agony they inflicted.

"Please, I know what I did was heinous, but please..."

His face hardened impossibly more as he turned fully to me. "No, you don't, Lucianne," he growled, his voice revibrating deep in my soul. "You do not have a single idea what you have done." Then suddenly he grabbed my arms and pulled me to him, his grip hard and unrelenting. "But I will show you."

I watched in horror as the red spread from his irises to his pupils until there was no black, only a crimson spot that made him look so horrifying that I froze in place, unable to look away. "Raphael..."

Raphael's eyes blazed with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. He leaned in closer, his grip on my arms unyielding. "You will see," he whispered, his voice a dangerous promise.

In an instant, I was pulled into somewhere where I had never been before. Everything around me dissolved, and I found myself somewhere else. I felt as though I was not fully grounded. It felt as though I was floating in existence. It was an eerie suffocating feeling that made my throat tighten.

---

I stood on a hill under the glow of a full moon, the air thick with tension. Before me, two men faced each other, their expressions grave. One looked so much like Raphael but slightly older and without red eyes. I had a strange inkling that the man that I was looking at was Raphael's father. They are too similar for them not to be father and son. When I turned my attention to the second man, my blood ran cold. The other was a man who bore a striking resemblance to Jameson. I had seen his portraits at Jameson's castle. He was Jackson Hannes, Jameson's late father. What were the two doing together? Did they have a shared history, something that tied them together? Was I truly looking into that past? It was all too much, so overwhelming that I wanted to close my eyes, yet I could not look away as I watched the memory unfold.

"I vow to protect you and your descendants, to never harm you no matter what happens," Raphael's father declared, his voice earnest and familiar, as though he was speaking to a beloved brother. "We will stand together against all threats."

Jameson's father nodded before letting Rapheal's father pull him into a hug. He smiled and I recognized it. It was reminiscent of Jameson's cunning grin.

The memory shifted abruptly, and I was thrust into another scene.

---

Blood. The castle was bloodied and screams filled the air. I was inside a grand hall, chaos reigning as enemies in black tore through the place. Tearing down guards and nobles alike. It was a bloodbath.

"Come Raph, don't be scared," a woman pulled me to her side. I looked up at her confused, she looked tired with a baby in her arms. A newborn. She had just delivered. "I am here," her voice was soothing, in contrast to the despair etched on her tired, sweaty face. "He can't hurt us." Then I realized. I had replaced Raphael in his memories. The memories that he was now leaving me to witness. I could see it all from his point of view. And it was the most gruesome thing that I had ever witnessed. Bile rose in my throat. I watched as more and more men got cut down like animals by the masked men in black. They were formidable, they seemed to see the guard's attacks before they actually came, and they used it well to their advantage. No one could stop them.

By the time the assassins were done, the floor was littered with bodies and there was not a single surface that had not been splattered with blood.

The tallest masked assassin who seemed to be the leader caught my eye. He looked like what the legends had described. He was the silent reaper. He was the leader of the others, and he opened the door, and in stepped Jameson's father. Jameson's father preceded the masked assassin at his tail like a loyal servant. He proceeded towards us, each step bold and smug.

When he reached the foot of the bed, Raphael's mother pulled me closer to her. There were other children, all others hurdled together with us. They were Raphael's siblings. Two girls and a boy.

"Yelena, it is horrible that this is the way we meet again." He said, but there was not a single hit of regret in his voice. "I wish there could have been a better way."

"You fucking traitor!" She spat, pulling her children to her again. I could feel my heart racing. It felt so real. It felt as though it was not a memory. "He is your brother."

Jackson's face suddenly contorted to that of visceral hatred and scalding rage. "He is my half-brother. I am the illegitimate son of his father. I never had a chance to be the hero of the story. But I don't have to be the hero to matter. I can be the villain and still get what I want. What is truly mine."

"His throne is not yours!" Yelena growled. "You will never get your hand on it. He will kill you!"

"But you see, he can't. He made a vow to me." Jackson cackled.

Despair crossed Yelena's face before she morphed again. "He will find a way to destroy you. I promise you, you fucking bastard," her body shook with rage.

"We will see..." Jackson nodded to the assassin. The assassin grabbed one of Raphael's siblings and the bloodbath began again. Yelena scurried to protect her children, but it was no use. I could not watch. I closed my eyes, but suddenly I was pulled back. And when I reluctantly opened my eyes again, I was back in the corridor and Raphael was towering above me.

I stared up at him, everything fully sinking in. "You and Jameson..." I muttered, afraid to say the words. "You are related." I gasped.

He looked down at me dispassionately. "That much is obvious." He said curtly before lowering his head so that our faces were barely a hair apart. "History is a cold-hearted bitch, isn't it? Now, with the vow in place, I cannot reject you like the wretched thing that you are."

"That was not my intention..."

"Yet you kept me in the dark." He deadpanned. "It looks like your time with the Hannes has turned you into one of them. You think you have won and, indeed, I will stick to my vow. But I never promised to make your life as my Luna worth living." His tone took a savage edge. "By the time I am done with you. You will wish for death." With that, he turned away and entered his room. Then he slammed the door. I fell to my knees, unable to keep myself upright. I sobbed against his door, but I heard the turning of the lock. He wanted me to leave. I could not weep here, I had to go back. I rose and when I turned to make my way to my room, I halted in my steps as I spotted Aurora.

Contrary to the smug smile that should have been on her face, she was crying. Her face and eyes were red and puffy. Her pale skin was flushed. She was mocking me by mimicking my anguish. I could not take the sight, I wanted to be alone, so I tried to walk past her, but she suddenly held me back.

"I am...so...sorry," I said. If l was a fool, I could have thought that I heard genuine regret in her voice. I had no right to be angry at her but would not be able to endure her taunts. "

"Please let me go..." I said tersely.

"I...had to," she continued. "I wish I didn't have to do it."

"It's fine," I lied. I did not try to listen, I pulled my hand free and tried to walk off again.

"I love your brother," she blurted. "I love Logan with my life." Her weeping intensified. "I had to protect him."

My stomach sank lower than the ocean. Just like that, she had my attention. "What do you mean you had to protect him?" I asked, my heart slamming against my rib cage.

"If I don't marry Raphael, Logan will die." She revealed.

I blinked, the information settling heavily in my head. "Who will kill him?" I asked, my voice suddenly urgent. "Tell me!"

The despair in her eyes was raw and throbbing. She shook her head as though it was impossible for her to answer me. Like it was too hard for her.

"Please tell me," I begged her. "Please, who wants to harm my brother."

She continued to shake her head.

I try to pry the information out of her in desperation, but she does not budge. Until she sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Then she wiped her tears and looked at me through her red-rimmed eyes. Suddenly, the vibrance of her eyes had been replaced with something empty and devoid of hope. "I can't do this anymore. It is killing me. Lucianne, you have to stop him." She said before retrieving a small glass vile.

I continued to stare at her, confused and horrified.

"You have to stop him because I can't." She said.

"Who?" I asked.

"My father." She closed her eyes again, gulping. "My father is the Silent Reaper."

I had barely any chance to absorb the shocking truth before she downed the contents of the glass vile. It was poison.

"No!" I screamed, but it was too late.

She grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach. "You are a healer. Promise me, you will save my child. Please, save Logan's child."

With those words, she began to convulse.