Chapter 458: Revealing Truths 2
Nedra felt like her breath had been stolen from her. Zagan had seen Selah when she was here on the island? At such a young age?
"How is that possible?" She asked, feeling lightheaded. Selah could have been taken or killed or... so many scenarios erupted through her mind.
"Do you need to sit down?" Zagan asked, approaching her once again when he saw that she appeared to be dizzy.
She nodded, looking around her like she didn’t recognize her surroundings, and he slipped past her to open a door to the nearest room. There was a sitting area inside, and he gestured for her to enter. This was the same room where he had hid when his heart started beating the first time.
"I don’t understand," Nedra said after sitting in the chair, gripping the sides of it like it was anchoring her.
Zagan watched her silently. He didn’t realize revealing that he knew about her children would create such a strong reaction after all this time and now when he was no longer a threat.
"Why didn’t you take her from me?" She swallowed with some difficulty. She felt nauseous even though the threat was in the past.
"She was already here," he said. "You had given me another alyko child on the island. And I thought about everything you told me—about how the alyko do better when they are happy. At first my reason for leaving both of you alone was simply that. She was happy, and I assumed you were too."
"I was," Nedra said, recalling the time when Selah was here as a pup. Despite the constant fear that Selah would be taken from her, those were the very best days of Nedra’s life. "I didn’t give you anything," she growled at him.
"I know. That was how I thought of it at the time, forgive me. Or don’t forgive me..." he caught himself and frowned, struggling to convey the correct meaning. Now that he was looking at everything from a different perspective it was difficult to match his words correctly. He never had to worry about that before.
"Then when you had the second one and they both disappeared from the island..." he trailed off, thinking of what it was that kept him from pursuing them at that time and struggling to find the words that would bring understanding with them.
Nedra’s eyes went wide in fear at this realization that he had known about them both. She had been wrong. She thought she was careful and so clever, but Zagan had known about both of them this whole time.
"Nedra!" Seth called from the hallway, following her scent in a panic. It had started thundering outside again, and he feared that she was once again not okay. He should have never let her go back in the castle. Surely, if there were another vampire it would have revealed itself by now, but...
He skidded to a halt at the door where her scent entered to find her and Zagan inside.
"What is it?" She stood up quickly, seeing the panic on his face. What else could have gone wrong?
Seth panted at the doorway, bracing himself there against the frame. "Nothing," he shook his head before coming inside. She was okay. Thank the Goddess she was okay.
"Perhaps I should leave you two alone," Zagan said, nodding to his second as he straightened himself to leave.
He cast another apologetic glance Nedra’s way, but this time it didn’t fill her with fury. This time she accepted it, and she felt a small seed of gratitude take root in her chest like the first drop of spring rain.
For whatever reason, Zagan had not pursued her children. He had known about them all these years, and he had set them off limits for himself. It was hard to believe and much harder even to understand, but they had been safe from him this whole time.
Nedra gave Zagan a soft nod before he broke eye contact with her, a small, sad smile curving on his face when he did. He stopped at the door and turned to face them both once again.
"Oh, if it is not clear by now. You are both free to do as you wish," he said. "And Seth..." he waited for Seth to tear his eyes away from Nedra and meet his gaze. "I release you to feel everything for your mate."
Seth squinted at the vampire, not understanding, and then he shook his head like he was shaking off a troubling thought. He swayed on his feet and caught himself against the chair where Nedra had been sitting. She steadied him with her hands on his shoulders and frowned, looking back to Zagan who was still in the doorway, a mischievous smile now on his face.
"He was compelled, you see," Zagan answered the question in her eyes. "I couldn’t have a male mated to my most important alyko on the island. What a mess that would have been."
And then he just walked off, disappearing from the doorway after dropping that last bit of truth for her to gape at. She turned back to Seth who still seemed disoriented.
"Seth, are you okay?" She asked, placing a palm to his face.
Seth had been compelled all this time? What? Her mind raced back throughout the years, trying to trace evidence of this. How had she not realized it? Had it harmed him to be compelled all that time?
"Nedra?" He was still squinting as if there were a bright light that was keeping him from seeing clearly.
"I’m here. Are you okay? Do you need something? Some water?" She dreaded the thought of returning to the kitchen.
"Goddess, Nedra," he gasped, gripping her arms. "What happened?"
"I honestly don’t know," she answered, still shocked as her mind raced to understand everything Zagan just said. "Are you okay?"
He didn’t answer, but his grip softened on her, and suddenly something warm and bright bloomed in the space between them. "All this time," he whispered, tracing his hands up her arms and then down her sides, resting on her hips as he bent his forehead to hers. "Goddess, all this time. You were right here. And I knew it... I knew it. I just..." he shook his head. "I’m sorry."
