Chapter 64
Michael hangs up the phone, his eyes scanning the small coffee shop. “She was definitely here.” He says, “and she was with the mortal girl. They’ve gone to school.” He laughs a little, “If all Elika wanted was to go to school, she should have said, we have plenty back home.”
Darkous watches every face on the street, “We wouldn’t have let her, I would’ve tortured her just for asking.”
He feels something in the pit of his stomach, an odd sick feeling, something that reminds him of regret.
He should’ve done things so differently, he should’ve been kinder to the girl, it wasn’t her fault that Darkous was at war with her father, and he shouldn’t have treated her like he did.
Well, maybe not everything, but he still needed to make her obey.
Whether she liked it or not, he had claimed her, and he wasn’t going to let her get away, no matter how far she runs.
It’s a shame really, to think he could have kept her if only he had changed the way he thought.
If only he had realised that she wasn’t like the others sooner.
She was brave, smart, and so, so gentle. Nothing like her mother, or her father.
Nothing like those who destroyed Darkous’s soul.
She was an anomaly, the only good thing to ever come out of their bloodline.
The dark lord wanted to cherish her innocence, hold onto it and never let go. But it might be too late for that.
He might have broken her beyond redemption, and if he has, he will still keep her, and once the war is over, he will find somewhere for her.
Somewhere she can live in peace.
Michael shoved his phone back into his pocket, “Are you really going to do things differently?” He scoffs a little, “I’ve never seen you be gentle with anyone.” He says. “Not one person.”
Darkous looks up at the grey sky, the clouds rolling over one another, trying their best to stay close, to stay as one.
If only his family were the same.
If only they didn’t kill the one he loved.
“I have to change, otherwise everything will remain the same.” He says, rubbing a hand down his face. “My brothers will never show weakness, they will never show mercy, but to the girl, maybe I can.” He turns to his comrade, “maybe I can convince her that her father is a monster.”
“You think showing her what Atlas is doing will change her mind?” Michael shakes his head, “her brothers know everything, and they haven’t even buttered an eye.”
“She’s not her brothers.”
“That’s true, but maybe she’s worse.” Michael insists. “Maybe doing all this will be for nothing, we should just lock her away and force her to help us.”
Darkous runs a hand down his face, the stubble on his skin scratchy, “that didn’t work so well last time, we need to try something different.”
“I’ve never seen you so hung up on being gentler.” Michael murmurs, “not once. Not for anyone.” He turns, eyes blazing. “So why for her?”
Darkous smiles, it’s small, and broken. It’s a ghost of what used to be, of what could have been.
“She reminds me so much of myself when I was young.” He laughs a little, “She wants things to change, she just doesn’t know how to accomplish it, not alone.” He says. “But that’s what she is, she’s all alone.”
The world is an insane place, it’s not a nice place, it breaks you down, destroys you from the inside out and burns all the tiny pieces that are left behind.
“I used to be alone too.” Says the dark lord, his eyes on the distant sky, “I used to think that it would always be that way, that I was born just to suffer at the hands of my father and Atlas.” He places a hand on Michael’s shoulder, “but we changed my fate, and now I want to change hers.”
Michael pulls out his phone, quickly tapping on the screen and placing it against his ear, “I’ll get an ETA from Joey, once the house is secured, we can move in and take her.”
Darkous nods, turning back to look in the window of the coffee shop, he can’t help but wonder what the last several months have looked like for Elika.
Has she changed the way she thinks?
Why has she gotten so close to a mortal knowing that it could put them in grave danger?
Maybe she was lonely, maybe she couldn’t stand the emptiness inside of her chest.
Darkous can’t stand it sometimes, he can’t stand the pain, or the hollow ache inside of him.
But maybe that can change too, he was so angry that she ran, so furious that she managed to outsmart his best men.
But now, now he was a little impressed. He was outmatched by her, and fear makes people do desperate things, even when they don’t seem like the best idea.
Fear can make ever the biggest coward fight back, and hope can make a broken heart stitch back together, even for a short while.
He wonders if that is what she’s feeling right now, does she hope for a different future away from the war?
Does she wish she was born a mortal.
Strange, unwelcome feelings thaw at his chest, it makes breathing more difficult, it makes his mind question itself.
He doesn’t want to be a monster anymore, not to her.
But he’s not sure that he can change, he’s never tried. He’s never wanted to before.
Maybe even the damned can find their redemption, even when the chances are slim, even when there is a pile of bodies behind them the size of a mountain.
One thing her knows for certain, one thing he will work towards, get her back; and show her just how ruthless her own father is.
Show her that just because she was born under his roof doesn’t mean she has to be the same, she can be different, she can change the family line for the better.
She might even be able to change Darkous
He doesn't want to hurt her, but he will, if that is what it takes to make her see.