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We’re quiet for a moment. Nothing but our breathing heard between us. I can see all the questions in his eyes. So many. Yet, he’s holding back on asking them.

Taking a breath, I speak first. “I’m about to tell you something. When I’m done, if you want to break the mating bond, I will understand.”

His gaze narrows. “There is no breaking this bond.”

I wish that were true, but when I reveal my truth, he will not keep that same energy.

I grab his hand and place a kiss on the back of it. It may be the last chance I get to touch him. “I just ask that you don’t hold Marley accountable for any of this. She has no idea. She’ll need your protection.”

He doesn’t respond, so I move on.

“As I told you, my childhood was not a happy one. I felt alone a lot. My parents saw no real value in me. When I went to the academy, I went hoping I’d find my place. Instead, I found something else.

“When I first met Markis, I was seventeen years old. He was one of the generals in charge of training us. Like most of the other young female vampires at the academy, I thought he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He was my first crush. He was already three hundred years old when I met him. For the longest, he didn’t notice me. I was just a speck in his big world. And then one day during training, I took down a vampire nearly ten times older than me.”

That was the first day Markis realized I was different. He did not know how different I was. At that time, I still didn’t know either.

“After that, he started to notice me. At first, it was just as normal as any teacher-student relationship. He was nice, yet hard on me. He always talked about knowing how good I could be. By the time I graduated from the academy, I was head over heels in love with him. He was married at the time.”

I shake my head. Thinking back on how young and naïve I was to ever think what we had was love.

“The night I walked across the stage as a new member of the legion was the first night he and I had sex. He was my first.”

I look down at Enzo’s hand, still clutched in mine. I felt embarrassed about this part.

“I spent a century as one of the most feared members of the legion. My record was outstanding. Yet even though I was respected by some of the highest members of our world, I was nothing more than a side piece to the man I thought I loved. He told me countless times that he could not leave his wife for me, but he refused to let me go. Not that I would have gone anywhere.”

His hold on my hand tightens, causing me to look up at him.

“What changed?” he asks. “How did you end up being his mate?”

I shake my head as I answer the next question. “I was a late bloomer. Where everyone else stepped into their gift early, I was late to mine. My father is the one that realized my talent. Even though I was a member of the legion, I was an unmarried royal, which meant my father still owned me. He would loan out my services to his friends and other royals for favors. Eventually, Markis picked up on my gift. It was then he left his wife. I didn’t think anything of it. He told me I needed to be protected. That I needed someone other than my father to guide me. I fell for the lie. Markis was given a divorce from his wife, and not even two days after it was final, he and I entered a soul tie.”

This is where the story takes its dark turn. I can’t look into his eyes for the rest of this. I was sure by the time I was finished I would see the love he once had for me fade.

“Even before Markis and I married, he would lie in bed with me after sex and talk of his beliefs. He talked about this new world where vampires ruled over all beings. He thought we were the more dominate race and that we should be the ones in control.” I don’t have to look at Enzo to know that he’s unhappy with this turn of events. The tension in his body is obvious. I push forward.

“He spoke of his beliefs so often and so passionately that I believed him. I’d seen firsthand some of the violence and hatred shifters and witches had for us. It was easy for me to believe that they didn’t deserve equal rights. I thought his plan was brilliant.”

“What was his plan, Michaela?” he asks.

I fight back the tears of him using my name. No more baby girl or baby, I guess. I knew this would happen, but he deserved the truth.

“Markis is a sifter. A very good one. In our world, he is considered a high master. He believed that with the right power source, he could control the minds of all mankind. With that power, he could make everyone bend to his will. He would makevampires the true rulers of this realm, and he would rule over the vampires.

“For twenty-five years, I helped him search for the power to do just that. I followed him blindly, slaughtering every person who stood in the way of his goal. We moved through the land like a plague. The Huntress and the Master.”

He gasps when I use my nickname. Though it was before his time, my name has been passed down in stories for centuries.

I keep going, burying this relationship deeper and deeper. “Something happened during the 26thyear. It was like a veil had lifted from my eyes. I saw the monster he was and not the man I was in love with. It still took me another year to finally break free. It was him fathering a child with one of his disciples that pushed me over the edge. On the same day I found out about the baby, I discovered he’d never truly loved me. I was just a weapon for him to use. He was no different from my father.” Tears track down my face, but I push on, spilling all my truths.

“I went to the union and told them of his plans. The union cut me a deal. If I helped them track him down and bring him to justice, they would exonerate me. It took me four years to finally find him. He’d gone into hiding once he realized I was after him. The union sentenced him to an eternity buried underground in a location unknown to many. It wasn’t until a few months ago when my father dug him up and brought him back.”

“What was he talking about when he mentioned a key?”

I figured he’d ask about that part. This is the part I’m most ashamed of.

“When we were searching for a way to expand his power, we were looking for a key. A source of magic left over by the fey. All I’ve ever wanted was to have my own family. To have people in this world that truly saw and loved me. I wanted kids.”