Page 24 of Omission: Part 2

An abomination, and not because of the mixing of species—our entire family is now blended and thriving and blessed—but because of her black heart.

“Don’t say another—” the asshole with my blade sticking out of his cheek tries to interject, but Tero strikes, wrapping himself around the enemy guard and squeezing. He’s shifted fully, his albino animal unhinging its jaw and swallowing the top of his head. Tero pauses when he reaches the hilt of my knife and gives a low hiss from the back of his opened jaws.

I step closer and pat the vampire’s uninjured cheek while removing the weapon from his flesh. My slap is a little condescending, a little unhappy about not ending him myself, but I nod at the serpentine shifter to continue after stepping back.

The vampiric king’s right-hand proceeds to fully encompass the head before using its serrated teeth to embed and then cut his head off. A little at a time. Painfully so. He doesn’t pause or adjust the man, simply removing the head before slithering over to the pyre and dropping the offering. Does the same with the body, but not in one go as I did.

First are the arms and then legs and lastly, his torso. The constrictor kept his eyes on me throughout, much to his lord’s amusement, as if to show me how it’s done.

My response—I snort at him and shake my head. “It’s not polite to show off, Tero.”

He tilts his head to the side and hisses at me before shifting his gaze to the lone survivor. Scales vibrate the longer he watches him, revealing the man underneath until his top half is human while the bottom coils, ready to attack. “Tell us everything, Giulio. How long have you known the traitorous bitch was that scum’s daughter?”

How the fuck did we miss this? All this time she’s been hiding with the Rossi coven. Did Christopher know?

How did she end up with them, to begin with?

Those questions roam my head in a constant loop. So much unanswered, my poor mate in danger—our entire family and kingdoms at risk—but then Giulio clears his throat.

“They came to me a few days ago.” His face is pallid, even for a vampire, as he looks into the fire. Accepting his future. “Jenco and Edo cornered me during a patrol shift change; I was coming and they were going. Said they needed a favor from me.”

“What kind?” I ask, and he shifts his eyes to me for a second, then looks away. More shame. Heavier fear. “Who did they want you to let through?”

“One named Chiara and then an older one. Don’t remember much about the latter; she kept quiet.”

“Was her name Lena?”

“Yes. That’s what I believe she called her, King Moore.”

“And you let them onto my lands?” Theodore thunders, chest heaving and eyes blood red, but he settles a bit when Gabriella takes her place beside him, her hand is on his arm, holding his beast back. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I didn’t.”

“What do you mean, Giulio? This isn’t making any sense.” Gabriella’s tone is gentle while she continuously runs her fingers up and down the vampire king’s arm. Too deceptively calm, and the man reacts to it. Sways toward her. “Explain yourself.”

“When they arrived, I was under the impression it was asexualkind of visit. What’s commonly known as a booty call now, and not the arrogant young woman who arrived demanding to know where every royal member’s chambers were. Where Princess Anaya slept.”

“Keep going, Guard. Tell your queen everything.”

“Stop,” I interject, staring at my sister and brother-in-law. Neither complain about the interruption. “Every vampire not kneeling needs to leave.”

The meaning behind that hits without my needing to explain, and their king whistles once before Tero empties the field. No one but the four of us and the guard kneeling are needed now, just to be safe. I’d do the same with my army, especially after proof of there being a few traitors.

Only then do I wave him on. “Continue.”

“I swear, I didn’t let that Chiara pass. Didn’t trust her, or the men I considered friends at one point, by then.” He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, body shuddering. “Chiara threatened me, ordering Edo and Jenco to bring my wife when I refused them, and they did, forcing my heart to kneel atherfeet. Bianca is an innocent, my queen. She was so scared as the woman held her near the southern borders, close to the tree line where the early-morning sunbeams are the strongest.”

“Then what happened?” He’s not picking up on the darkness in my sister’s tone but continues to respond to the call he’s under. “Help me, help you.”

At that, his head meets the ground as he prostrates himself at his monarch’s feet. Giulio is blubbering; you can barely understand him, but a few things come through clearly:

“I stood my ground, but they cut my beloved’s cheek. I begged them to leave. Warned them they wouldn’t get away with this.” Tero’s almost-white brows furrow, his face pinched tight at Giulio’s words as if remembering the day in question himself. “They grabbed me and forced me down beside my heart, but then footsteps drew closer and King Theodore’s voice carried toward our location. He was with Tero. I tried to scream, but Edo covered my mouth while Jenco choked my mate. Amid the attack, I lost sight of Chiara, and I have no idea where she went after that.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, Your Majesties. And I accept whatever punishment you deem justified; all I beg is that you don’t hurt my Bianca.”

For a few minutes, no one speaks but looks are shared. This man isn’t a traitor, but someone forced into a horrible situation, and while he failed to tell his king what happened immediately, that doesn’t negate Giulio standing his ground. He didn’t betray them by allowing the traitorous cunt entry.

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