Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

MOIRA

I hadn't spoken these words to anyone ever. I swore that I would take them to my grave when the time came. The world would never know the truth, yet here I stood about to tell them exactly what happened all those years ago and how things came to be like this now. My son was mad with dark black magic, and I could no longer bear to see him like this. These powerful Queens were going to help him, and I truly believed they'd do everything in their power, which meant I had to do everything in mine.

"Piper, there's something I need to tell you. Actually, I need to tell all of you."

"You can tell me anything." She was so lovely, caring, and beautiful. The perfect soulmate for my son.

I glanced toward the dungeon door. "What I have to say cannot go beyond this room."

Serrina opened her arms wide and red sparks covered the walls. "Anyone outside this room will have the sudden desire to walk away and not listen to a word you speak."

The reassurance made me feel better, like I could trust them. "I am trusting you with the most delicate information of my life. And up until this point, I am the only person who has a memory of the events I'm going to tell you about."

Piper took a step closer to me and rested her hand on my arm. "Whatever it is, I just want you to know that I trust the Queens and Guardians."

"We want to save Gray as much as you do." Zinnia rose to her feet. "I swear it."

"Very well. What is it the kids say these days? Oh yes, buckle up." I knew if I didn't tell them the whole truth, they'd get themselves killed dealing with this curse.

200 Years Ago

The baby squealed and squirmed in my arms. He was so strong and held the looks of his father. Sometimes it was difficult to see those mahogany eyes staring back at me. Titus only had flecks, but Grayson had full, deep mahogany eyes. Even the tiny hairs on his head matched Graymont and Titus' hair. My heart sank at the thought that he would never know his father, the man I'd grown to love in so many ways.

Graymont stood beside me with his arm wrapped around my shoulder. He gave me a little squeeze. "We will see to it, Moira. We will have him back."

"The way he just killed those two midwives." I shook my head. "I can't put the image out of my mind."

"I've written to The Fallen, letting them know of our situation. They're on their way now."

Titus bellowed from the cell, the madness wracking his mind and body. He'd ripped most of his clothing from his body, leaving him only in his trousers. Deep scratches marred his body from where he'd hurt himself. Rivers of blood covered his body and flowed down the sides of his face. The bed I'd had brought down was smashed to pieces. They littered the cell. He paced around in circles, muttering to himself words I didn't understand. The sight would forever haunt my nightmares. Yet still I found myself willing to do anything to have him back. Grayson let out a little wail in my arms, and Titus charged the bars, ramming his head against them. His breath hissed through his teeth, and he bared his fangs at the two of us. I curled my arm over the baby and took a step back from the bars.

Graymont stepped between us and blocked Titus' vision. "Control yourself, Brother."

"Perhaps I should give the baby to the nurse?" I rocked him back and forth. "He seems to make him more crazed."

"Yes, let's get my nephew to the nurse."

We turned for the dungeon door, and there stood two of The Fallen. Matteaus was covered in battle armor from head to toe. Tristen was by his side in very much the same gear. They both looked down at me with grave expressions, as though my mate had died, but he hadn't, and I refused to accept this situation.

I froze. I hadn't heard them enter. They were silent, despite their hulking black wings and overpowering energy. I gave a deep bow to Matteaus. "Thank you for coming."

"I would always come for one I call a friend." Matteaus placed his hands on my shoulders and raised me up to stand before him. "And for you, Moira."

Tears sprang to my eyes, and I held them at bay. "Please, is there anything, anything, that can be done?"

They turned toward Titus' cell watching him in his madness. "If only I could. But you know we can not interfere with this."

"Please." I held Grayson tighter in my arms. "He'd only just become a father. He deserves this life."

"None more than I believe that he does. But this curse is based on love, and he loves you more than anything." Matteaus gave me a sad smile. "For most, a blessing. For you and Titus, a curse."

I'd only wanted to love him enough for both of us. In my selfishness, I'd done this to us. I'd done this to him. "So my love did this to him?"

"No." Graymont slashed his hand through the air. "That's a load of bollocks. Dracinda did this to him, not your love and not his love for you. It was done by a bitter, loveless hag."

Tristen nodded. "You are correct, and yet it was the love that triggered the curse to activate. I have never known love to be a blessing."

"Now who savors of bitterness?" Graymont ran his hand through his hair and pulled at the strands with a frustrated yank. "The Angel of Love who doesn't actually believe in love."

"If my love did this to him, then take it away," I pleaded. "Please, if you take it, if you make me not love him and him not love me, then he might come back."

Tristan gave me a sad smile. "Would you be able to live in such a way?"

"To have him back, I could live in any way. I would stand next to him as a friend day in and day out just to have him, for Grayson to have his father." Desperation made me want to make these promises, but deep down I didn't want to lose Titus. He'd been the best part of my life. But for my son to have his father, I would live as a friend. For Titus to have his life back, I would endure him being only feet away from me but never to touch him, never to love him again. "Please take it from me and be done with this."

Matteaus gazed at Titus, and his lips pressed into a hard line. He hung his head. "I cannot take this curse. It's in his blood so deep now it's got a hold on his entire body."

I didn't have the words to answer him. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. He was the most powerful being to walk the Earth, yet he could only stand there and do nothing. Anger ran through my body. I didn't know where to direct it—at him, at myself, or at the witch who did this to us all? The truth was that there was enough rage for me to aim it at all of us. I was angry for losing my love, I was angry at them for keeping this a secret, I was angry at how helpless we all were, and I was angry that my brand-new baby came into the world on the very same day that we both lost everything. It was no way to start a life.

I turned toward Tristan. "And you, what about you? Can you take my love and be rid of it? Will that end this?"

I had to think of something, do something. I couldn't stand by and watch him slowly descend into madness and eventually die.

Matteaus shifted from one foot to the other. "We cannot. I fear our presence here is only upsetting you all more. We will take our leave and check in at a more convenient time."

When would there be a convenient time? I reached out and grabbed on to Tristan's arm as he turned to follow Matteaus out the door. "Please."

"That's not the kind of magic I can do." He glanced over my head toward Graymont and stared at him for a moment before he turned and left for the door.

I felt my legs start to give out. How could they not have helped? They'd been friends for ages.

Graymont caught my arms and held me up. "Do not give up hope, Moira. Did you not hear what he said?"

"They said they wouldn't help us. How could they after they'd been friends for so long?" I held the baby a little too tightly in my arms and he gave a little cry. I loosened my hold and tried to sway to soothe him, though I myself felt as though the world was coming to an end.

"No, he said that's not the kind magic he can do. It doesn't mean someone else can't do it."

"But we barely have relations with the witches because of Alataris. How could we possibly . . ." My eyes widened. "You don't think he could, do you?"

"I think he could, and I think he would." Graymont perked with excitement. "Put the child to bed and meet me back here in moments. I will have him here, and we will see what can be done."

"Do you think this will work?" I didn't dare hope, not after what The Fallen had said to us.

"I think we have to keep trying and never give up." He hurried for the door.

I turned back toward Titus. "I know you're in there, my love. Please fight it for us. Please."

In answer he arched his back and threw his head back, bellowing toward the ceiling. His screams echoed off the walls and shook the castle. I hurried out the door and moved through the castle like a ghost. Everyone looked at me with pitying glances as I hurried by. They knew their King had gone mad and I was the dutifully wife who stood by him. When I reached the nursery, I went through the motions of handing the baby over and making sure he was okay, but my thoughts were already trying to get back to Titus. I didn't recall the walk back to the dungeon or anyone I'd spoken with. My mind was focused only on getting back to Titus and Graymont to see what could be done.

I arrived just as Graymont and Marius walked into the dungeon. I stopped before the two of them and held my breath. "Can you do it?"

Marius glanced through the bars at Titus. "The curse and the magic run deep. It will take dramatic effort on both your parts."

I reached for his hands and cupped them in my own. "I swear you will have anything you desire if you do this for us."

"As you know, I've kept my magic hidden. I would prefer Alataris not hear of this. It is why I've chosen to live among the vampires though my warlock power would love nothing more than to be used more readily." He glanced between the two of us. "I must admit it was a blessing to befriend you both in such a time of need."

"Marius, what we're asking . . . it could be dangerous," I tried to warn him. "They said the curse is in his blood."

"If that is the case, then we must be rid of that blood." He said it so simply, like draining the Vampire King was just as easy as that.

"He will surely die." Graymont shook his head. "We don't want to kill him."

"I didn't say drain him dry. We have to replace it with new blood, royal blood . . . family blood."

Graymont's eyebrows shot up. "You want to take his blood and replace it with mine?"

"In theory, if you exchange blood, then your body won't react to the curse. As lovely as Moira is, you're not in love with her." Marius motioned between the two of us.

"Yes, but once his blood is clean. what's to stop him from falling to the curse again once he wakes?" I didn't want to go through this again. I wanted to ensure my family was protected.

Marius steepled his fingers and pressed his mouth to them. "That's going to be the tricky part, I'm afraid."

" That's the tricky part? Not the blood exchange?" This all seemed so far-fetched.

"My particular magic is very strong when it comes to memory. In order for this to work and for the curse to not come back, we have to make Titus believe he never loved you. He must think you were only ever friends."

My jaw dropped. "You want to rid me from his memory completely?"

"Yes, it's the only way to ensure he won't fall once more." Marius nodded.

"And what about Grayson? He's his son. We can't just hide a baby from his father!" He was only days old, and this was his start. I wanted the best for him, and now he was getting erased from people's memories after barely coming into the world. And how would that affect him as he got older?

Marius nodded toward Graymont. "You tell her."

I looked back and forth between the two of them. "Tell me what?"

Graymont took my hand in his and held it while catching my eye. "We're going to make Titus think that Grayson is mine and that you were my wife."

"Have you both gone mad?" I pulled my hand free of his. "That is insane."

"Think about it, Moira. Grayson looks like us. Titus will remember you, and you can stay here in the castle. Grayson will be close to his father, even if he thinks of him as an uncle."

I slashed my hands through the air. "This is . . . Graymont, what of the life you want? Don't you want children of your own? A family of your own?"

"No, absolutely not." He shook his head. "Moira, you're my best friend. I love my brother. To me there is no choice left. You will have a life here, and so will Grayson. To me there is no other option. Let me do this for you."

"Of course, you will have to remain friends with Titus. You can never let him love you, and you can never tell him you love him," Marius added. "It is the only way to avoid this from happening again."

I turned toward Titus as he rammed his head into the bars once more. This time his skin split and blood trickled down the side of his face and into the corner of his lip. His tongue darted out and he tasted it. I couldn't imagine he would last much longer with the way he was abusing himself. Or worse, he'd hurt someone else. I wanted his son to know him, no matter what capacity that was in. But could I hide my love? Live a life at a close distance? For both my husband and son . . . I would do anything.

"Very well." Either way, I'd lose my husband, my love, tonight. But at least he would gain his life back.

Marius reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a hand full of blue powder. He walked over to the bars and kicked them, getting Titus' attention. When Titus charged for the bars, he lifted his hand and blew the powder into his face. Titus jerked back, rubbing at his face for a moment before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

Marius motioned to Graymont. "Help me get him into the other cell and strap him down before he wakes. That powder won't last long on him."

"We're doing this now?" My eyes widened.

"You'd prefer we wait until he actually kills himself?" Marius rushed into the cell and placed his hands under Titus' shoulders while Graymont got his legs.

I hurried to the other cell door and swung it wide open. "I suppose not."

They carried him into the cell and laid him on the table there.

Graymont took the thick metal bindings and wound them around Titus' legs and arms. He stood beside his brother and gazed down at him. "What next?"

Marius moved closer to him. "I need you to hold your hands over his heart and let your own blood magic flow. I will guide it where it needs to go."

Graymont held his hands over Titus and closed his eyes. Red mist drifted from one of his hands and Marius grabbed his wrist. White magic drifted down like spiderwebs from Marius' hand and wound around Graymont's wrist. They shot down toward Titus like an arrow and right into his chest. Titus' body jerked, and I found myself stepping closer, but Marius shook his head and I stopped, holding myself still.

Blood ran up his white web-like magic toward Graymont. Marius moved to his other wrist and placed his hand there. More of the white webs wrapped around Graymont's wrist and shot down toward Titus' chest. This time drops of blood flowed from Graymont into Titus. It was a give and take. Graymont looked as though he was going to vomit. His face turned a sickly pale and he staggered forward.

"Gray." I took a step forward.

Marius held his arm out to stop me. "He can hold on long enough. If you touch him, it won't work."

"He looks dreadful." I didn't want anything to happen to Graymont. He was my friend and Titus' brother. He brought light and fun to our world of duty and honor.

"He's filtering cursed blood with his body. Of course he does." Marius moved to stand next to Titus' head.

He leaned his elbows on the table and held his hands on either side of Titus' head. The magical white webs shot from his fingertips and right into Titus' temples.They glowed white and looked like little white drops of magic going into his head one by one, as though Marius were placing the thoughts into his mind and leaving them there. An eerie feeling settled over me and I couldn't shake the feeling something was going to go wrong.

When Graymont's body started to quake and sweat poured from him, I hurried to Marius' side. "Stop this now."

"It's too late. We can't." He spoke through gritted teeth.

Titus' eyes flashed wide open and every muscle in his body went tight with tension. Every alarm bell went off in my mind. I moved closer to the table, but I didn't want to touch any of them, not when they were all tied together with magic. Titus jerked in the chains and red mist exploded from his body. The webs that were taking blood from Titus snapped from Graymont's wrist. Blood poured from Graymont's other wrist and flowed right into Titus.

"STOP THIS NOW!" I screamed toward Marius, but Titus' blood magic was expanding.

Graymont fell to his knees and bellowed in pain. Blood flowed from him to Titus. He tried to jerk his hand away, but those webs of magic were more like chains. Marius' hands were glued to Titus' head. He tried to stand up and pull away, but he was pulled closer by the blood magic. The chains around Titus snapped and flew around the cell. Magic exploded out of Titus in a huge wave that shook the entire castle. Dust rained down on us all, and the bars cracked from the force of the explosion. Shards of chains snapped across Graymont's chest and face, cutting his skin wide open. Yet blood didn't flow from his wounds because Titus was draining him dry. Titus leapt on top of the table and the last drops of blood sucked from Graymont's body and went right into his heart.

Graymont dropped to the ground beside the table. His body lay there completely lifeless, with his eyes wide open but completely sightless. I ran to his side and dropped to the ground. "GRAYMONT, NO!"

I placed my hands on his chest and felt nothing, no heartbeat, no breath. Titus turned toward Marius and leapt off the table.

Marius backed away from him. "Now, Titus, we were only trying to help you."

Titus moved toward Marius, hunting him down. He darted across the room and wrapped his hands around Marius' face. He jerked him against his body and sank his teeth into Marius' neck. Blood trickled from the bite, and Titus pulled in greedy sucks, taking as much as he could. No! I wouldn't stand by and watch as he killed someone else in front of me. He was too distracted by his thirst and drinking. I ran up behind him and placed my hand on his chin and the back of his head. I jerked his teeth free from Marius and twisted as hard as I could, snapping his neck. Titus' fell to the ground at my feet. I stood there among a room full of bodies. The only one I knew would survive was Titus.

I ran to Marius and placed my hand over the wound on his neck, but he was too far gone. Warlocks didn't heal from things like this. I crawled to my hands and knees, shaking as I held them over his body. I called on my own blood magic and pink mist covered his wound. But nothing happened. "No! No, come on. No. Oh god, no."

His breath was shallow and soon he would be dead.I didn't know what else to do, so I bit my own wrist and held his mouth wide open. I let my blood trickle down his throat then forced his mouth shut. With his last dying breath, he swallowed it. I let him lie there on the floor as I crawled over to Graymont. I pulled his lifeless body into my lap and held him there, letting my magic flow over him and praying that he would heal from this. I rocked him back and forth as tears poured down my face.

"Come on, Gray. Breathe. Just breathe." I didn't know how long I held him there, but I couldn't let him go, couldn't stop rocking him as I held him and just cried.

Silence.

I waited for them to say something. But they didn't move, didn't speak. I tried to drown out the others and just focus on Piper. Her jaw dropped. She snapped it back shut and shook her head. Her eyebrows shot up, then she straightened her features. "I, um . . . What?"She held her hand up, stopping me from talking. "What I mean to say is WHAT?"

"I know it's a lot—" I started.

"A lot doesn't even begin to cover it." She started pacing. "So, Titus is Grayson's real father?"

"Yes," I answered honestly.

"And everyone thinks Graymont is really his father because . . ." She trailed off, waiting for me to finish.

"My theory is when Marius' magic mixed with Titus', it backfired and spread over the entire kingdom. I waited for someone to say something, anything. But they never did. They all just said their condolences for Graymont. For better or worse, I went with it. Because when Titus woke up, he didn't remember a thing."

Zinnia raised her hand, looking like she was about to explode with questions. "So Titus has no idea he's Grayson's father?"

I shook my head. "No."

Ophelia sauntered around me in a little circle. "Well, well, well, Moira with the surprises. Bagging two brothers. Impressive."

"I didn't bag two brothers." I threw my arms up. "Really, were you not paying attention?"

Ophelia winked at me. "Then you played friends for two hundred years? That's badass."

"It saved my son and my husband. What else was I supposed to do? There was no other choice. If I stayed, then at least I had some semblance of a family and Gray had his father."

"I mean, I get it . . ." She paused and her face fell. "I think."

"So Marius was a Warlock?" Beckett crossed his arms over his chest.

"And you're his sire?" Piper continued pacing.

"I buried him just outside the castle walls. I didn't know what would happen, if he would rise or not, but when he rose, I knew I was. I've been watching him, and I still can't tell if he knows what happened or not." I shrugged. "But he changed after that. He lost his magic and it did something to him in his head."

"It would do something awful to any of us." Serrina glanced around at the group. "Our magic is who we are. I would imagine he's been harboring some resentment."

"You think?" Piper rocked back and forth as she paced. "I mean, he's got two hundred years of resentment built up, and he attacked the castle on Christmas. I'd say he's pissed off."

I sighed. "But the truth is, it was all his idea. He didn't wait. He didn't think it out. He just acted."

Zinnia held her hands up in surrender. "Point taken."

"I don't know about you guys, but my mind is blownnnn." Piper hunched over and sucked in a deep breath. "Titus is Grayson's real father and your husband. Graymont is only his uncle and wasn't even killed by the curse. Marius was a warlock and now a vampire with a vendetta. And you have been holding on to this by yourself for two hundred years. Oh, Moira . . . I'm so sorry."

It was the first time I'd been able to talk about any of this. I blew out a long breath and tears fell from my eyes. "It feels good to get it off my chest. I mean it's so silly. Titus and I didn't even like each other when we first met."

"I somehow find that hard to believe." Piper waved her hand through the air. "You've been by his side this whole time and never even tried to tell him once."

"I didn't want to lose him to the curse again. And I knew if he knew he would try to make it right. And there is no making this right." I gave a humorless chuckle. "He used to sneak out of the castle and come to my home to find me wandering around in the forest to spend time with me. It was a lifetime ago and all seems so trivial now."

"No Moira, none of this is silly." She shook her head.

I hated to admit to any of this. "In truth, it has been very lonely."

Piper hurried toward me and wrapped me up in a tight hug. "I bet."She froze in my arms and pulled back. She quickly shoved me behind her and turned to face into the darkness of the dungeon. "There's something back there."

The others all let their magic flow around them, ready to attack. I sucked in a sharp breath. " What is that?"