Mark of Betrayal (Dark Secrets #3)(139)
Author: A.M. Hudson

My chest lifted, moving my shoulders with each panicked breath. “By leaving me alone?”

“Perhaps to learn to cope without him—to see you do not need him to be strong.”

The tears broke past restraint. I cried into my hand, my shoulders shaking. “How can he live with that? How can he have known all this time that he’s going to die—going to give up our forever, and not tell me?”

“I imagine he would not have wanted to see you like this.”

“But that’s ridiculous! So, he was just going to go off and die, and what, someone else would pick up the pieces?”

Arthur sighed, sympathy warming his soft smile.

“That’s not fair. No! He doesn’t get to do this. He doesn’t get to just—”

“Amara, calm down.” He cupped both my shoulders, holding me firmly. “It doesn’t have to be that way. It won’t be that way.”

I shook, letting my head fall against his chest.

“And…you understand now, that I’m not the creepy uncle trying to fondle his niece in-law?” He stroked my hair gently. “My offer of a child still stands, but it may not be the prophecy child—if she is, indeed, possible. However, it will save your husband from certain death—a death he is only too aware he’s headed for.”

My eyes watered. “So, we have to stop the coronation from happening. If he gets crowned—”

“I believe that’s all he’s waiting for—aside from the dagger.”

“How do you know he hasn’t found it?”

“Because it’s still here, so, you needn’t worry. And he won’t find it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because that, my dear—” he nodded to the box, “—is not the dagger.”

“It’s not?”

“No. It’s a fake.”

“Where’s the real one?”

He smirked. “Only I know that. And it will remain that way.”

“Insurance policy, huh?”

“No. It’s to protect those who seek to protect you, from themselves.”

I ran that over in my head.

“By stopping David from using the dagger,” he clarified, “I am stopping him from letting it fall into Drake’s hands. Without that, your child is merely a child. He can kill her, but there would be little point.”

“Except to take revenge on me for being Lilithian.”

Arthur shook his head softly. “It’s not like that.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, Amara, I told you already; everything any vampire living today knows about Lilith is based on rumours created by Drake himself. Some people don’t even know what year this all took place. I once heard Eric reference the death of Lilith to have occurred in early thirteen hundred, and had to laugh to myself.”

“When was it?”

“Fourteen hundred and—I can’t remember the exact year. But I know she ruled for only twelve.”

“Twelve?”

Arthur nodded.

“So, Arthur?” I looked at him carefully, swallowing my nerves. “This child…”

“Shh.” He held his hand up, looking down. “Say no more. We’ve shared enough for tonight, my dear, and I do believe you have a lighthouse date with a certain nephew of mine.”

I smiled. “Yeah.”

He helped me to stand. “Go relax, have some fun; we can talk more about this tomorrow.”

“I’ll….” It all started to sink in. “Okay, well, I’ll give it some very serious thought.”

He nodded. “However, I know that mind-block of yours is getting stronger, but you must be careful to keep this from Jason, or we will have a fight on our hands.”

“What do you mean?”

He rolled his head to one side, smiling. “What do you think?”

“What, you think he’ll want to father the child?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Why—so he can die?”

“Yes.”

My heart turned hard inside my chest. “Why?”

Arthur stood staring at nothing, biting his lip a little. “This stays between us.”

I nodded.

“When the council brought Eric before them to question his whereabouts on the night several people had reported seeing David, he lied, told them he had been with Jason and his girlfriend. But when the security tapes were checked, evidence proved that the man in the tape was David. Eric was arrested and sentenced to six years hard torture.”

“Oh, my God,” I said into my fist.

“Jason panicked—told the council he and Eric had been following David, that they’d not reported his whereabouts because they suspected he would lead them to a pure blood Lilithian.”

“Me?”

“Yes. He had no way of knowing then exactly what he had set in motion, and he had no intentions of ever letting them catch you. I was there when he confessed to the king, and it is only that confession that saved both himself and Eric.”

“So, what did Drake do?”

“Nothing. He stood in the shadows while his World Council discussed our options and made plans for David’s arrest and your capture. I reported the information back to Jason each evening, and we devised our own plan—to help you escape. But we needed a back-up plan.”

“Which was?”

“We were only too aware of what would happen to you if they brought you in. One of us, who cared for you, needed to be approved as your persecutor. And I knew Jason’s good soul could not handle that. I offered to be the one, but he fought me on it—said that you were safe in his hands—that no one in this world could possibly love you the way he does, and in that, could not torture you delicately enough.”

My eyes watered, my gentle exhalations jagged.

“I put forward the request for this young Blood Warrior to be your persecutor, and strangely, Drake approved.”

“Why is that strange?”

“Jason was young, new to the army, not really qualified for this kind of mission.”

“If he’d been denied, would you have applied?”

He looked at his feet. “Yes, but, to be honest, when Drake approved Jason, I was relieved.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you. I’d seen your pretty face once or twice when I’d checked up on David, and it tore my heart out to even think of you suffering. I’m afraid I would have blown our cover in the first act. But Jason’s heart was stronger, as was his love for you, and he knew the importance of holding out until help came.”