Page 135 of Taken By Touch and Torment

SCARLETT

Ispoke few words to Rune when we woke up the next morning. I’d barely slept, tossing and turning, processing what Isabella had told me.

What Rune had withheld from me.

I didn’t write to Kole and Brennan last night. My absence would only work in my favor, preying on their fear and heightened emotions wondering what had happened to me.

In the deliberation room, Rune, Mason, Uriah, Sadie, and Snow sat around me as I sat at the head.

The first thing out of my mouth had the whole table falling silent.

“Isabella’s reveal was what you all have been keeping from me, for weeks now,” I said. “How many incidents like this have occurred? How long have you known they’d been carried out in my name?”

I watched as all eyes moved to Rune.

“Since a week after you were taken,” Rune said. “Durian has been sending me letters.”

“Letters?” I balked. “Saying what?”

“The same as all the others, Little Flame—that you’re destined to be with him,” he said, face stony as he watched me. “He’s just considerably more unstable than your other men.”

Rune’s anger twisted my heart, even if I knew it was in response to my imminent departure.

“Kole is terrified of him,” I said, the lump of guilt only growing as all of Kole’s messages about Durian’s deteriorating mental state were given new light. My own anger arose as I glared at each person sitting here. “And you all just decided not to tell me? To keep allowing innocent mortals to die because you didn’t want to hurt my fucking feelings?”

“You knowing wouldn’t have stopped anything,” Rune snapped.

“I thought you should know,” Snow said softly. “But Rune is right. None of this is your fault. These were acts of terror carried out by unpredictable religious fanatics. And you’re leaving now that you’ve heard the truth, right? You weren’t ready before. I still don’t think you’re ready, but at least you’re stronger now.”

I bristled at her words, her lack of belief in me. It reminded me of Jaxon all over again.

“I’m so glad you all could come to a mutual decision on what’s best for me,” I said, bitterness coating my tongue.

I turned my attention to Sadie, choosing to be productive instead of stewing in anger. “You said you’ve been researching ways to see through Durian’s illusions.”

Her eyes had been flickering between me and Rune, assessing with all the sharpness of a wolf on the hunt.

“Yes,” she said, leaning back in her chair. Her nails were painted black now, her hands resting confidently on the sleek wooden table. “The visions exist only in your senses, so removing your ability to perceive is, of course, an impractical option. Unless you’re Rune and can remove senses by shadow.” She sighed. “I can provide clarity spells that can aid, but in the end, Durian is powerful, and you must learn how to see through his illusions by maintaining complete control of your consciousness. Similar to a lucid dream, there will be tiny hints indicating what you’re seeing isn’t real. An extra finger here, the wrong shade of eye color there. Pay attention to detail always. Durian is not a seer, no matter what he’d deluded himself into believing. He’s preying on our proclivity to accept what we perceive as reality, no matter the small inconsistencies. But he can’t make his visions completely accurate, or see into your memories. He probably avoids having his visions speak for precisely that reason. They might say something completely out of character, breaking the illusion.”

“My mind was cloudier when he was showing me that vision of you,” Rune said. He’d artfully boarded himself back up, playing the part of the impassive vampire lord. “He was capitalizing off my desire to believe. You have to be extremely careful not to let your emotions distract you, not to see what you want to see. A cloudy mind is another sign he’s priming you for manipulation, but as soon as you see through it, you’ll become sharper again.”

I watched the way Rune was avoiding my eyes, looking off into the distance instead.

“I should’ve noticed the way Millie, my shadowbird, had behaved. She’s wary of strangers. She should’ve at least sniffed the air and appeared surprised. But she didn’t react at all. She couldn’t see you like I could.”

Raw pain flashed in Rune’s eyes, for the briefest of moments, before it was gone without a trace.

I nodded, letting this intel about Durian’s magick sink in.

“I’m going to force Brennan to act,” I said. “I’ll be in Hatham by tomorrow night.”

Rune’s hand fisted against the table, the lights above flickering. “You cannot expect to accomplish anything by acting out of guilt and whim. You’ve barely trained, barely recovered, we still don’t even?—”

“I’m never going to be ready or strong enough for any of you,” I said, cutting him off. “Now that I know what Durian has been doing, I cannot sit back and let him continue. Everything is going according to plan. The born are fighting each other, and public perception of Durian is turning. Kole’s opinion of the born is lower than ever, and he’s itching to jump ship. Brennan is so close to turning on Durian.” I clasped my hands in front of me, burning with determination. “I’m going. Either you help me plan how best to accomplish that without getting myself killed…”

Rune winced, and Snow’s face fell.

“…or I’ll figure it out myself.”

---