Imperial (Insight #8)(27)
“Oh, stop it right now. Do not twist my words or even try to turn this into something that has to do with us.”
“This has everything to do with us!” He spoke his words so powerfully that I felt my being vibrate.
“You, my dear, sweet rush—you would not send one damned thought at your Fated Escorts—even if they destroyed the corporeal realm itself, you would let them be and smile with pride.”
“I would not!” he seethed “Do you think that lowly of me? That I would knowingly let anyone in my line bring harm to you?”
“He has not brought harm to anyone. For all you know, they provoked him.”
“They did no such a thing. That was done by Xavier and Donalt, the pair of them.”
“Then you should be striking them, not demanding that I end one of my own!”
“Exactly when did I demand that you do such a thing!”
“How am I not seeing this clearly? You told me not to go him—not to leave my flock—not to roam this Realm now that you had me back. Why now, Vade? Go ahead and say it.”
He balled his fist and the room responded—the flames of the candles were well over my head at this point. “You must learn to listen.”
“How dare you!”
He raised his finger to stop my words. “I said listen—not listen to me. You are saturated with wrath right now, and you are choosing to hear what you want to, not what I said.”
Okay, so he had a point there. I offered a sharp nod to tell him to explain himself.
“I would never ask you to end any Escort of yours, especially a Fated one. Your Silas is guarding something precious to the pair of us. Something that I cannot speak of until our Creator deems fit. I know you will reach him, and I know if by some horrid circumstance you cannot, that our Creator will move what I deem precious out of harm’s way and together we will grieve for your loss—for the end you must bring to your Fated.”
I stepped forward, holding my glare firmly on him. “What is Silas guarding, Vade? What did the Creator show you the day I perished?”
He clenched his jaw.
“Why would He take your words? Why would He not allow you to speak of something that clearly involves me?”
“The both of us.”
“The both of us. Therefore, I should be well aware of what is, has, and will occur.”
“Then you need to take that up with the Creator,” he said as his eyes became hooded. Agony was exhausting him, an agony that I could not see.
I threw my hands in the air. “Do you think that I have not called out to Him daily—hourly? That I have not asked Him what I did to deserve such a hardship?”
“Are you telling me that you were hurt in the Veil? That the Reaper was cruel to you?” he bit out.
That was not a sarcastic comment. He was sincere. How could he not understand what I went through?
“I was hurt. You hurt me. I yearned for you. I yearned for the bliss of the life we had. For the kingdom we dreamed of. For the souls under my reign that I lost. The Reaper was gracious, as always, but my thoughts imprisoned me. I thought I was forgotten. And now I don’t know what to think.”
Misery filled his eyes. “We shared the same prison.”
“I didn’t see you there, and still do not understand why now. Why you waited.”
“I assure you, the reason is precious. That if you were aware of it, you would have not only endured the Veil with a smile on your face, but you would have gladly extended your stay…the kings had to think you were gone. We had to wait for corporeal time to move. We had to plot for this day, as they have plotted for theirs.”
“I should be aware of such plots. You and the Reaper have no words, and the Creator refuses to speak to me.”
“He is not refusing you. His silence teaches us just as much as His words. You know that.”
“Nothing could be worth this agony,” I said with utter disdain.
In that instant, I was in his arms. I didn’t fight to move away. One arm pulled me against him as his other hand gently held my face. The smell of roses filled the air. “Something is…I swear to you it is.”
I held in the tears I was too stubborn to let fall and nodded once before I reached for his face to pull him closer. “I trust you…but you have to trust me, too…Silas deserves a chance. They all do. If I have to drag them all here and draw them a map so they can see how they all connect, I will do so.”
“In time, they will know. I swear.”
“In this time,” I said as I looked away.
His hand urged my stare to return with a gentle turn of my chin. “In this time, yes. I only meant for you to see your line first. They have suffered with grief. Let them know you have returned, that you are there for them. They will help us with this feat.”
“I ache to see my line, and doing so before I reach out to Silas is a request I can honor, but I will not send them to tell this soul that he is mine.”
“I would never ask that.”
I was so confused. Did I imagine that argument we just had, or did I truly not hear him correctly?
“Rasp will be with you. I want to ensure Mazing is cloaked as well.”
“Why can you not tell me why my return must be masked?”
“I can tell you that.”
“You just said—”