Page 57 of My Salvation

The queen only gave a short nod. “For the time being. I have a demon to deal with.”

Outside, the light dimmed slightly, but remained brighter than it had been that morning.

With shaking hands Cord began pouring liberal amounts of liquor and tea.

“With the queen fading and a demon nearby, I will strengthen the other Guardians,” Abraxas turned to Priest. “Coll and Lia may have stumbled on a way to help us all. Good work.”

Behind her, Priest bowed. “It was an honor to help them.”

Abraxas, with a sour expression at first, which quickly morphed into a grin, stared down at Meryn. “Of all ways for you to take after your father,” he said, shaking his head. His hand cupped the wooden bracelet on her wrist, and it flared bright green for a second, then resumed its normal appearance. “Any demon will have a hard time influencing her now.”

He turned and walked back toward the courtyard. Along the way, he dropped a kiss on the queen’s forehead, causing her to blush furiously. “Grief can weigh down our branches, but your roots are strong yet. Do not be in such a hurry to leave.” He clapped a hand on Brennus’ shoulder, and the man visibly straightened with renewed vigor. “You all are not alone. The Guardians yet protect their children.” He met Darian’s eyes and bowed low before walking into the courtyard.

Brennus’ eyes swung to his niece. “I think you have some explaining to do, young lady,” he said in a firm voice.

“Fu-u-uck!” she exclaimed.

“Right now,” he ordered.

It took a few minutes to get everyone situated and with a recovery beverage. Priest introduced those she had not yet met, but soon all eyes were on Meryn.

“Well?” Brennus said, looking stern.

Meryn fidgeted in her mate’s lap. “So, he visited me. That time you couldn’t wake me.”

Aiden went from looking pale to grey with worry.

Meryn continued. “And he said that he wasn’t responsible for killing my parents, that he had only wanted to ask my dad about something he needed to have made, but the ones he sent wanted to kill both my mom and my dad. He didn’t even know what happened, the bad guy, Oron’s dad, lied to him, saying random ferals attacked. So, he offered me a deal.”

“No,” Aiden said, shaking his head.

“Gods above, you didn’t,” Brennus said, looking ill.

She nodded slowly. “In exchange for one memory which I got to pick, he would kill all those responsible for my parents' deaths and give me that memory in its place.”

No one said a word.

“Which memory did you not value enough to keep?” Aiden asked darkly.

Meryn looked up at her mate, shocked at his tone. “It was one of my happier ones from when I was a child. The day I got released from the attic and got ice cream.”

Ryuu stepped forward. “You gave him a happy memory?”

She shrugged. “He’s in a dry, hot box, like the attic. I remember how I wanted to die and go to my parents. I figured being locked away for hundreds and thousands of years had to be worse, so I gave him that memory.”

“All your memories are precious, Meryn. You should not be so quick to give them away,” Aiden reprimanded sharply.

Meryn wiggled until she stood next to his chair. With a furious expression, she unleashed on her mate. “You don’t get to judge! You don’t know what it’s like. You had a mom and a dad that loved you. You had a home and friends and food! You have no idea how that kind of heat saps the very life from you. How your dry lips crack and bleed. How the smell of your own shit and piss evaporating in a bucket in the corner makes you want to vomit, but you have neither the hydration nor substance to do so because you haven’t had anything to eat or drink in days. How bugs crawl over your skin to eat at the healing, bloody scabs from the lashes you got from the belt because you didn’t climb the attic stairs fast enough. He has had no relief, so yeah, if I had to give him a memory, I gave him one that could help him escape for a bit. While you were training and eating Marius’ food, I was praying for death, so you do not get to tell me about what memories I get to keep.”

Aiden slid from his chair, knees hitting the floor, and buried his face in her chest. “No more, my mate, I beg you.” He wept unabashedly in the face of her trauma and pain.

Meryn looked out at the room. “There are worse creatures in this world than demons.”

Cas watched Meryn carefully. Despite the terrible things she shared, she was glowing magenta, glowing with pride.

Cas clapped her hands. “Oh good for you! You should be proud Meryn. You had the strength to survive.”

Meryn turned to her, then blinked. “Oh yeah, you’re like a mood ring decoder.”

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