Broken (The Captive #5.5)(92)

Atticus rested his hands on the arms of the chair as he bent down to peer into his cousin's eyes. "This is the way my father was before I lit his manor on fire. Unfortunately, I had to cover up the evidence of what I had done to him too soon, but you will be here for centuries to come. Remember though, that what I am doing to you is still kinder than the hell that I live in every day."

Releasing the arms of the chair, Atticus turned away from him. His shoes clicked on the marble floor as he walked to the throne at the end of the room. He settled himself onto the chair, lifted his goblet of blood and took a sip. Grim satisfaction filled him as he raised a toast to his first trophy.

The war and vengeance he had finally succeeded in accomplishing hadn't succeeded in easing the monster inside of him. Death and blood still did though and there was plenty of that to be found in this world. It was all he had left anymore.

***

February 11th, 2083, My dearest Genny,

Natasha was wed to Ashby today. It is a good match; his family is strong, but even more than that I sense that his family doesn't trust me. They don't like what has been going on and they are not as good at hiding it as they think they are. By binding Ashby to my family, his family will be forced to accept the situation whether they like it or not. Ashby seems like a fun loving sort but Natasha will beat that out of him soon enough. It will actually be amusing to watch.

It's time to start thinking of a match for Braith. I have my eye on a few women for him but I will have to wait and see which one will be the most beneficial to me.

***

July 20th, 2091, My dearest Genny,

The child, Melinda, was brought back to the palace today by Jericho. He uncovered her in a raid of one of the suspected traitorous villages. She's as beautiful as her mother was and her presence here is only a harsh reminder of the years I was forced to spend with that woman. It threw me into a fit of rage, and though they had told me that they hadn't seen the child when they went after Anna, the guards that killed Anna made a fine addition to my growing trophy room. They should have found and put the girl down too. They won't be able to make such a mistake again but I will get to look at them every day.

***

October 5th, 2091, My dearest Genny,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to write but some of the aristocrats decided to try and stage an uprising. Though there were heavy losses on both sides, it was rapidly squashed by my men. The aristocrats did not know that I still had weaponry stashed away from the war. All that weaponry has now been destroyed but it served its purpose. The rebellion lasted only a month, Braith was nearly killed, the rebellious nobles that weren't killed have scattered, but my power has been solidified even further.





CHAPTER 31


August 29th, 2175,

My dearest Genny,

The girl that Braith left the palace over has been captured and brought to me. She's a skinny little thing, a human no less, and yet there is a fire in her eyes. There is pride and a defiant air about her that I've never seen before in a human. I want to destroy her but in some ways, she reminds me of you.

If she wasn't human, I might even think that perhaps she is to Braith what you were to me, but after Merle told me about the bloodlink, I spoke with Khalfan and he confirmed Merle's information. It is a bond that is shared only between two vampires and this girl is most certainly human.

Braith cares for her though, that much is obvious by the fact that he turned his back on his family and ran into the woods after her. Obvious by the fact that even now there are men approaching the gates, looking for a rebellion.

I'm hoping he cares for her enough that when I destroy her, it will make him realize that the world is cold and cruel. That all good things will come to an end, that nothing lasts forever, and sometimes death is the far better option. It would have been for me.

I know not what I have become, maybe this monster of a man is always what I was meant to be, but a small fraction of me doesn't believe that. No matter what I've done, what I've accomplished by freeing the vampire race, I know this isn't who I was meant to be. It never was.

I'm hoping that even if this girl isn't his bloodlink that her death will allow Braith to do what I was capable of doing upon your death.

I'm praying it will give him the strength and determination to kill his father.

I've had enough my dear sweet Genny; I should have gone into that fire years ago to be with you. All of it would have been so much better. We could have been together in the afterlife if one exists. I wonder if we will be reunited now. After everything I've done I doubt I would be allowed to be anywhere near such a beautiful soul as you, but I hold out hope that we will miraculously be granted the eternity we were denied.

Today I thought of that conversation we had, all those many years ago, on the second time that we met in the woods. I've relived those days so often that I can still recall every vivid detail of them. When I look back at it now, I realize just how wise you were…

"Are you lost?" you had asked me.

"Sometimes I think I am."

"Sometimes we are all lost, at one point in time or another in our lives."

I was so entranced by you and your strange insight into who I was. "I suppose we are. What happens if we are never found though?"

"Well I like to believe that there's always something, or someone, that will help us find our way."