CH.82

Enzo's voice was laced with pain. "Through that ritual that transcended the boundaries of space and time itself, Myra sought the immaculate spark of life that would one day be her offspring's next vessel upon her own tragic demise."

There was a sharp indrawn breath from Meredith at those words, though the elegant witch otherwise remained an impassive statue of poise and control. While Killian and Seven waited patiently for the man to continue.

"Meredith and I may have been forced into hiding, but we were not so isolated that we remained ignorant of the new monarchs' efforts to safeguard their ill-gotten reign through increasingly draconian measures of subjugation."

His chiseled features tightened with undisguised contempt and a visage of barely restrained fury.

"Of how the usurper queen implemented systematic cycles of slaughter to ensure that no one could ever gain enough power to threaten her tenuous grip on the throne she had taken through violence and betrayal.”

"That power-hungry woman was hellbent on getting rid of anything that could jeopardize her position - she knew that two-faced bastard couldn't keep it in his pants. She was smart to realize she couldn't let her guard down, even after achieving their goal together. F he could betray his mate for power, who was she to feel superior? So she had Isode look into the future. That's when the first prophecy about a child who would eventually be born to destroy everything they'd worked so hard for came." Meredith sneered in disgust.

"At that point, it wasn't clear who this child would be or when they'd pop out. But it was revealed the child would be nothing without his mate, who'd come from the Everton household. She couldn't risk letting that happen even though the Evertons helped the Eastons during the takeover, she ordered that every firstborn Everton daughter from that point on be killed, even generations later. That decree tore those once-allied families apart."

Meredith grinned wickedly. "They deserved it! Sure, I didn't have the power back then to fight against that son of a bitch and his father for betraying my family and the royal household. But Isode was no match for me. I had learned my skills from the best in our kingdom. It was easy to manipulate Isode's visions until that damn witch decided to level up by dabbling in dark sorcery."

Enzo chuckled at his fuming wife. "The prophecy wasn't completely off base, because Meredith got another vision about protecting the Everton line. I helped the last guy carrying that family name escape the evil Queen's clutches three generations ago. Made it look like they'd all been wiped out overnight. Then I had them relocate and start over fresh with a new identity."

Enzo's expression softened ever so slightly as he studied Knox's features. Despite the unanswered questions surrounding the boy's true lineage, there was no denying the inexplicable connection Enzo felt stirring within him at the mere sight of those amber eyes. And the undeniable resonance of energies that seemed to mirror his own in an almost eerie fashion.

And yet, he couldn't dismiss the traces of his late brother, Valerian's twisted essence intermingled within Knox's very being. Nor could Enzo ignore the streams of his former mate Minerva's life force flowing through those same threads.

He knew Myra's birth had been nothing short of a miracle.

Enzo believed that she was somehow conceived on that fateful night when he and Minerva had consummated, however fleeting and incomplete it may have been in the end.

The weight of memories seemed to bear down on him in that moment - the moments of passion, of the desperate joining of bodies and souls.

Although he had reversed time, it didn’t change the fact that he had slept with her first. He had gone back in time just before he could mark her. And they had already had their wild, intimate moment before that.

"This Ice Mountain couldn't have found a less troublesome family for his rebirth." Killian muttered, his piercing gaze settling on Knox's peaceful, slumbering form with strange emotions on his handsome features.

"He didn't have a choice," Meredith interjected. "Fate is not something any of us can ever truly escape, no matter how hard we may try to outrun its cruel designs."

She arched one perfectly sculpted brow as she regarded her husband with something indecipherable in the timeless depths of her fathomless stare. "Or perhaps it was simply blinded love that drove Princess Myra to make such a decision for her child," Meredith continued, her full lips curving into the ghost of a sad smile that seemed to hold sorrow.

She shook her head slowly, causing a few strands of lustrous tresses to spill over one elegant shoulder like spun starlight given corporeal form. “Love can make even the most rational of souls act in ways that may seem utterly incomprehensible to outside observers."

Enzo sighed. He could read Meredith like an open book and knew the woman was dejected by all he had revealed today.

"Well then, I suppose I should go check on my sister-in-law. She's been crying nonstop since...well, you know. And ideally, obtain her consent to kill her ex in the most torturous way possible. That jerk has been causing a lot of problems, along with her stepsister." Killian muttered.

“Another one?” Seven asked.

"Hmm. Dimitri just sent me a link a bit ago. It makes me question if my beloved sister-in-law still has feelings for that scumbag.”

Seven stared at Killian who was striding toward the door and shook his head. “I honestly need to start preparing to bid you farewell soon because that big mouth of yours will certainly be the death of you."

Killian shrugged. Before he could take more than a few steps, the shrill beeping of a phone drew everyone's attention.

All eyes immediately snapped towards the source of the sound.

Killian didn't hesitate. He quickly closed the distance to the bed in a few long strides and deftly extracted the device from Knox’s pocket.

His thumb swiped across the screen to open the latest message. An ugly look immediately settled over his face as he scanned the contents, his expression darkening with each passing second until his features were locked into a visage of pure, thunderous fury.

He turned and wordlessly held up the phone, displaying the message for all to see. One by one, matching looks of outrage flickered across the others' faces.

“How do we save Don?” Seven asked with urgency.

“There is a way out, but it will not be good to the girl. It will destroy their bond, just as it did mine. This is the curse that we must bear." Enzo exhaled. “Only the purest of love and the most merciful hearts are capable of forgiving that kind of betrayal.”

“We can worry about the consequences later,” Meredith stated matter-of-factly.

“Hell, no! You cannot do that to my sister-in-law. Everyone can see how the bond is affecting her, and she is quite possessive of him. Your grandson was already an ice block; what do you think will happen when an even more terrifying and ruthless side of him emerge? He would not even need to fear killing her with his mark because the agony of betrayal will definitely do the job."