Page 125 of Daughter of the Serpent

The echoes of her sister’s cries - still fresh, still raw.

The memories lanced through her, sharp and unwelcome. Her stomach churned. The bread sat frozen in her hand, her lips instantly pinching together. She placed the slice back on her plate, pushing it away in sudden disgust. "I… Ican’t."

Axel’s expression darkened, something flickering in the depths of his eyes. "Yes, you can."

Before she could protest, his fingers brushed against hers, barely a whisper of contact, but it sent a certain energy thrumming her.

"Youdodeserve this, Sylvie."

She shook her head fiercely.

How could she sit here, in this place, with him?

How could she even think of happiness - knowing what she had done?

Knowing Tara would never sit here beside her, knowing how she had likely ruined Haldor’s reputation, knowing her mother lay in chains - humiliated, broken, suffering?

A sharp breath rattled through her chest. Her vision blurred.

"How can I?" Her voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. Her hands clenched in her lap. "How can I push all that I’ve done aside?"

Her head bowed, as if the weight of her own shame was too much to carry.

Axel didn’t hesitate.

His fingers tilted her chin up, gently but firmly, pulling her gaze back to his. "What happened was not your fault."

His voice was strong, sure.

“If not for me, my sister would probably be alive.” She replied bitterly.

“You don’t know that.” He told her, and she could see the earnestness in his eyes.

“Ido.” She said between clenched teeth, trying to hold herself together. Tears began to form along the brim of her lashes. “Everything that’s happened, I’ve only hurt those I’ve loved.” She broke off, her voice cracking. “I should have never seen them that night of the rekindling. I should have known Rederick would use them to punish me - ”

“Enough.” Axel’s fingers brushed against her lips - gentle, yet firm. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

A tear slipped free, but his fingers caught it, brushing it away with the most tender care.

“You are innocent of this.” He told her, his eyes probing, capturing her in their depths.

Yet his words never reached her.

The ache in her chest swelled, pressing against her ribs like a weight she couldn’t bear. She clenched her hands into fists, fingernails biting into her palms as if pain might silence the thoughts clawing at her mind. "Perhaps it would have been better if no one had ever loved me at all," she whispered, the words barely there. "Then they would have been kept safe."

Axel stilled, his expression shifting. Something dark and unreadable flickering behind his eyes.

"Then they would have blotted out the sun."

The words struck like lightning, and Sylvie’s stomach twisted. She hadn't expected that response. She hadn't expected the weight of it, the sharpness buried beneath its softness. She glanced at him,searching for meaning in his face, but his gaze had locked onto her with an intensity that made her skin prickle.

“Sylvie, I have stayed silent long enough.”

Her eyes flashed to him, instantly taken back.

“You’ve given all your power to the temple, the people, to the lies of those who neither care nor love you. You listen to their words, their poison - telling you who and what you are - and you’ve believed them.” He inched closer, those two glowing eyes of flame, wrapping around her and pulling her forward in a certain ruthlessness. “But it is not the truth, Sylvie.”

She sucked in a breath, immobilized by the intensity of his words and how they thrummed through her.