17. Siderus

Ihad been more than ready to leave as soon as the celebration ended. The fear and pain on Amaya's face were almost unbearable and all I wanted was to get her far away from here. Of course, nothing could ever be that easy. Uncle cornered me as the festivities were winding down and insisted I stay the night.

So now we sit in his bed chambers at a table by the roaring fire. A pretty elf servant pours us drinks and leaves in a hurry. Uncle leers at her as she leaves and then winks at me. It's only from years of patience and my need to keep Amaya safe that I don't snap at him.

Uncle takes a swig of his drink and then gestures to my still-untouched beverage. "What's the matter? Can't keep up with an old man?"

He laughs at his joke, and I force out a small laugh. "I don't think anyone could keep up with you, Uncle."

It's obviously the right thing to say as he puffs up like a peacock. He takes another long swig as if to prove the point. "No, they certainly cannot."

The arrogance dripping from his voice makes my blood boil. Fuck. I want so badly to punch the bastard in the face. But I can't. Not yet.

Suddenly, his expression becomes serious and he looks me dead in the eyes. I go perfectly still and hope nothing in my face betrays me. "You did well tonight, putting that human pet of yours in her place. She is quite the prize."

Surprise and fury mix within me. I can count on one hand the number of times my uncle has given me praise aloud. Of course, it has to come now in this way.

Uncle smiles and looks into the fire. "To think the Marquis had a human welp for over twenty years. Oh, how I wish I'd known about her sooner." He laughs. "What a fool, keeping around such an obvious weakness. Then again, he's never been the brightest."

He turns to me once more. "I must give you credit, boy, you've stepped up. You found the Marquis's little weakness and used it to bring him to his knees. And the girl, you could have simply killed her. Instead, you kept her alive to humiliate her and her pitiful adopted family. A fate worse than death. I doubted you at first, but it was an inspired choice, I'll admit now."

My grip on my glass threatens to crack it. Is what I'm doing to Amaya truly worse than death? Am I being selfish just so I can have her at my side? I remind myself that she agreed to this, that she wants to live to see her brother.

I make a silent vow to spend every day for the rest of my life making it up to her.

Uncle raises his glass to me. "To Siderus, a worthy Slayer heir."

I force a smile and raise my glass to his, and we both drink. It feels like mud going down my throat. A worthy Slayer heir. He says it so casually as if I hadn't suffered to earn such a title.

Nothing can make me forget the years of torture I'd undergone because of him. Being beaten and left for dead on that cursed mountain full of magical beasts. I'd only been a boy then, expected to survive circumstances most men crumbled under.

Even now, I can vividly remember those frigid nights on the mountain huddled in the moss too afraid to sleep. Afraid that if I drifted off for even a moment, a beast would appear and tear me to shreds.

There had been other boys on that mountain, too. Being my parents" child didn't mean I was necessarily the heir. Slayers were the strongest, the best of the best, and that was something you had to prove.

I remember despising the other boys on the mountain. I blamed them for having to be there. Then one night while looking for a safe place to sleep, I heard a blood-curdling scream. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before and still makes me shudder.

I'd followed the screams and came upon a boy about my age, being torn apart by two beasts. I watched in horror as his limbs were ripped off of him and the life slowly drained from his face. I had felt like a coward just watching and letting him die.

My first kill was on that mountain. It was pure luck that a beast had caught its wing in one of my poorly-made traps. I'd been afraid to kill it, but then I remembered the boy, and it wasn't so hard.

I killed, fought, and climbed down the mountain to make it back. I was the only one to make it. And how had my uncle greeted me when I returned? He sneered and told me I'd have to do more than that to prove myself.

He taught me how to lie without flinching. How to kill a man slowly and painfully. How to blackmail noblemen into doing whatever you wanted. He taught me how to be utterly ruthless.

He created a monster.

My whole life was colored in darkness and red, all just to get to the top. All just to prove myself as aworthy Slayer heir.

Then I met Amaya. Just thinking of her puts such a peace in my heart I've never felt. Everything about her is bright, sweet, and wonderful.

I wanted to hate her. She was a human and yet she was given a life of love and peace. The life I so dearly craved.

And yet I couldn't hate her. Warmth and love exuded from her like the rays of the sun, and I eagerly basked in it. Love had never been offered so freely to me. Plenty of others were willing to share their bodies with me, but never their hearts.

I feel nearly overwhelmed by her presence sometimes. Everything dark and horrible inside me seems to flee when she's around. With her, I feel free.

She seemed like such a fragile creature when I met her. How wrong I was. Even now with everything she's had to endure, she still manages to keep going. To not break. All for the love of her family.

Her courage puts all the Dukes of Orthani to shame. Her, a human girl.

Amaya and my uncle do not know, however, that I met with Duke Carmichael a few days ago. I had to, after realizing how pitiful I look in comparison to Amaya. Bowing and scraping, scrambling to obey my uncle's every command. Being terrified to make any move against him. Being too damn prideful to ask for help.

I knew I had to do better. So I met with Carmichael, the man I had loathed and ridiculed for taking a human mate. How the tides had turned, because now I needed his help to save mine.

When we met, I told him everything and begged him for his help in defeating my uncle. Mercifully, he didn't taunt me or degrade me as I might have done in his position. He simply agreed to help take down a shared enemy.

An enemy I am currently sharing a drink with.

All we need is evidence of my uncle's crimes. We know a Duke was killed some time ago who was an advisor to the King and a friend of Marquis Liaric. That was why Uncle despised the Marquis so dearly.

If I can find proof of that, or any of the other terrible things I'm sure he has done, I can finally take him down and be out from under his thumb. I could live a life of love and happiness with my mate. I could give her the life she deserved.

I'm startled back to the present by my uncle slamming his now-empty drink onto the table. I just barely manage not to flinch. He looks at me for a long hard moment and then smirks. He stands and gestures for me to do the same.

"Come with me, boy. I have some business to attend to, and I think it's time you tagged along." He doesn't wait for me to answer before going towards the far end of the room. Setting my drink down, I stand and follow him.

We come to an ornate tapestry that takes up most of the wall. It's a terrible thing, depicting an array of magical beasts fighting and killing each other. It's always reminded me of the mountain. I always try to avoid looking at it when I'm summoned to his chambers.

He pulls back one side of the tapestry and lifts his hand to the bricks. They move under his touch as he rearranges them like a puzzle. Suddenly, the wall groans, the bricks pull apart, and a passageway reveals itself.

Uncle turns to me with that smug grin. "Come."

And without another word, he turns and begins to walk down the passage. Not even for a moment does he seem to doubt that I won't follow. I fight the grin off my face. He can believe I'm at his beck and call if he wants.

I just made the inner circle.