Page 93 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

“Ah yes, a mundane mission such as robbing the Fae Realm of their greatest weapon and sole heir should only require you and a bad haircut. Smart,” I quipped, already growing angry with his vague explanation.

He turned, facing me head on. I could tell how little patience he had as well by the stern look he offered, though I could not imagine why. I was a joy to be around after all.

“I cannot tell you why, Henry. I promised Pino. You know how he is about risks when it comes to sharing—”

“Futures, as they are ever changing and evolving. Yes, yes, we know this. Now get to the part where you concede and tell me anyways,” I said, cutting him off from the tangent he would have surely used to get out of the conversation.

A brilliant idiot is still an idiot, after all.

He huffed, rubbing his hand across his face. One more look at my resolved face and he sat, leaning his elbows on his knees and smacking his head into his waiting palms. What could possibly be this stressful?

“You will not understand,” he said, voice wavering. I had him. I stared on, crossing my arms. Finally, he relented. “I love her, Henry. She is my future, our future. I need her. We all do.”

I froze.

Never, not once, had I heard him utter such a sentence.

I love her.

Who could he possibly love? He had never even said those words to Noe or I, and he has known us for over two centuries. Nearly his entire life.

Love?

I shook my head once more, as if I could weed out the thoughts. Bellamy did not love. Bellamy could barely handle himself, let alone someone else. I had told him as much to his face.

What was happening?

“Whom, may I ask, is the unlucky, and likely unknowing, female that is cursed with your unheard of affection?” I asked, not able to drop the sarcasm from my tone.

If I did, I might explode. I might tell him he could not be more foolish. I might say that whatever infatuation Pino had planted in his head was a fever dream at best, and a disaster at worst. I might say she was not worth the pain.

“The princess. Asher, is her name. She is, well, she is everything. Brilliant, funny, talented, strong, caring. Luca says she is an incredible monarch in the making as well. And she is stunning. Her magic is unlike anything I have ever seen. Incredible really. She is my future, and I am hers. I need her, as soon as possible,” he confided, letting loose a heavy exhale upon finishing.

I was swimming in the idea of Bellamy deciding to not only steal the princess to use as a weapon, but attempting to seduce her as well. It would not end well. It could not end even somewhat well. We would all die. This was the war I had fought for, because the fae rulers needed to be dealt with, but him stealing away their heir, that would be bloody.

“Let us say you are not being horribly foolish, and you do, in fact, love this Asher. What if she does not love you? What if your tricks only push her away from you? Will you tell her of the future Pino prophesized for the two of you? Or will you attempt to trick her and lie your way through a relationship you plan on fabricating? You must see how wrong this plan is. I understand taking her for her magi—wait. You said magic, not power. What do you mean by that? What are you leaving out, Bell?” I asked, panicking now at the thought of the unknown.

She was not demon, but we had also never heard of a fae with power like hers. He knew something, and he was keeping it to himself. I was livid, because never before had he done this. Withheld information vital to the lives of our race, of all the creatures in Eoforhild. Not from me.

Bellamy though, did not seem to care as he watched the hurt from betrayal cross my face. Nor did he apologize. Instead, he quickly stood, offering me a final nod as he called to his shadows. To the moon.

The last thing I heard as I lunged for that smoke and mist were two words.

“Trust me.”

That I would not do. Nor would I forgive him for putting our entire realm in danger for a dream as impossible as The Manipulator.

Chapter Fifty-One

Iwas stunned, reeling from the information. Pino had, what? Shown Bellamy a future where we were together? Had he really made every decision since to find me and bring me to him?

Henry had been right, it was ludicrous. The future was uncertain, a series of events that depended solely on the behavior and decisions of those it involved. Bringing me here could have altered that future he seemed to desperately cling to in the memory.

My head pounded, angry at my reckless use of power when I was already exhausted. Or, was it magic? What had Bellamy meant by that? I attempted to further search Henry’s memories, looking for anything that might indicate he discovered what it was Bellamy hid from everyone about my power.

The effort only bought me about three more seconds before I was swaying on my feet, power seeping out of Henry and back to me like a leak in a dam as the Sun forced me out with beams of light.I would see no more, though that did not mean I could not convince the lying demon to tell me anything.

“You were never meant to see that,” he whispered, green eyes distant and full of sadness. I tilted my head, curious as to what he would need to feel emotional about. Was I truly the beginning of the end for them? The rock that shattered their friendship like glass?

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