Page 17 of A Story of Sinners

I almost caught up to him, but I skidded to a halt as my gaze landed on the dungeon, my very own version of hell. My legs felt like weights, refusing to move as I remained locked in a trance, staring at the walls built beneath the palace and its iron gates. An abhorrent feeling clawed through my skin at the sight of it.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and my gaze drifted to Aiden’s blue eyes, softer and more compassionate than they were moments ago. “Come.” He hooked his arm through mine, and my breathing intensified as he led the way through the courtyard and away from the dungeon.

I’d spent winter under the earth, in that dungeon, and though we were on the precipice of spring, the temperature remained frigid, the sky dark. The trees and plants surrounding the courtyard were withered and bare. Rotten.

The residents of Cambriel would not survive the darkness, not this time around. They would succumb to hunger, to misery and death.

Upon returning to my room, Aiden called for tea. He had me sit at the small tea table and took the seat across from me, his arms crossed as we waited for the tea to be delivered. I shivered and stared at a point of peeling paint on the wall, refusing to speak.

The tea was soon delivered, but the silence remained. Guilt gnawed at my mind after seeing the state of the courtyard’s gardens and the withered fruit trees. What would the citizens eat if the crops refused to grow? How would the chickens and goats survive in a world without sustenance—without sun?

I’d played a large part in releasing the vast darkness stretching over the kingdom. Both Ryken and I had condemned its subjects to a slow death by starvation. All for what? He regained his powers and abandoned us, leaving me, his mate, and countless others to suffer.

The brutality expected from the shades had not come to pass, but this alternative seemed almost worst—a slower, desperate march towards death’s door.

I should never have shown Ryken where his powers lay.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“What’s that?” Aiden asked, placing the cup to his mouth and drawing out a lengthy sip as he studied me over the rim.

“You heard me.”

He placed his cup back on the table and leaned in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sorry for what, exactly? Lying to me? Betraying me? Cheating? Leading me on? For ending the world?”

A small chuckle slipped from my lips, though there was nothing humorous about the situation. “I’m sorry for all of that, but not in the way you think. I didn’t want to be with you, Aiden, and I was a fool to think I did. I should have spoken sooner. I should have told you I didn’t want you, that I wanted someone else. I don’t apologize for having magic. I was born with it and couldn’t do anything about it, but I am sorry for involving myself with you in the first place.” I met his glare and steeled myself. “Most of all, I’m sorry I played a part in releasing the darkness.”

Aiden snorted. “Do you want to explain what happened?

“No.”

Aiden tutted and took another sip of tea. “Always so secretive, Dahlia. There are always so many lies.” He placed his cup back down and leaned over, elbows propped on his knees as his eyes locked with mine. “Your reaction near the dungeon…I’m sorry too, you know.” His pupils scanned my face, as if trying to glimpse my state of mind, but my expression remained cast in stone.

He’d already seen my weakness—that dungeon—and he didn’t need further elaboration on how deeply disturbed I felt.

He leaned back and sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I thought that locking you away would rid me of this feeling, but it didn’t work. For three months, I left you down there, wishing I could forget your face. Since I first saw you all those years ago, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I tried to stay away, even then, but look where we are now.” Aiden waved his hand between us and snorted. “Do you remember how we first met? You were a scrawny little thing with cropped red hair. I thought you were a boy.”

Malachi had chopped my hair before I escaped to Cambriel, and naturally, Aiden, Brandon, and George had thought me a boy. Their confusion escaped my notice, but when Aiden mentioned how odd it was for a boy to be named after a flower, I finally realized why I’d been invited into his inner fold.

At the time, I was too scared to tell them otherwise.

“I remember. It took weeks for you to discover I was a girl.”

Aiden sighed. “And by then, it was too late to oust you. Brandon and George had grown attached.I’dgrown attached.”

My lips tilted at the memory. Everything had been so simple when they’d considered me a boy. Though their misconceptions lasted a few weeks, our relationship only grew more complicated afterwards, especially over the years that followed.

“I knew there was something special about you, even when I was fourteen. It was as if you had some light that glowed deep from within, yet I was the only one who could see it. I couldn’t stay away, no matter how much I tried. I still can’t, but my feelings have changed.”

“I know,” I replied. “For the worst. Because of what I am.”

I hadn’t realized Aiden discovering the truth of what I was would be such a blessing in disguise.

Aiden glared. “I’m bitter, sure. You led me astray. You cheated and lied. I want to forgive you despite all of that, but forgiveness is earned.” Aiden exhaled and leaned back in his chair. “I’m married now, and taking a mistress goes completely against my morals and beliefs, especially a mistress such as you. What you are—”

He never finished the sentence, but I knew what he was going to say. I was an abomination of the worse kind, especially considering his religion and the luminary god he worshipped.

“For the sake of appearances you will remain my mistress in title, but nothing more.”

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