Sebastian
The winds blew cold, mirroring the icy void that consumed my heart after her departure. Standing before her grave, my hands trembled and my breath quivered. The lingering warmth of her scent clung to my senses, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare. The boundaries of time and space faded, leaving me stranded in a collision of heaven and hell. Darkness permeated everything, blacker than coal.
Her name etched on the tombstone intensified the rapid thumping of my heart.
No, she couldn't be gone. We had vowed to fight through it together.
I did not know where I was. The surroundings, though unfamiliar, held a tangible weight, leaving me unsure of where I truly stood. In this uncertain realm, everything felt strangely real.
In the midst of the suffocating silence, a cry shattered the darkness—the cry of an innocent newborn.
Startled, I frantically searched for the source, my eyes darting through the enveloping blackness.
And then, her voice pierced the air, a haunting reminder of my failure. "You could not save me, Sebastian."
I staggered back, desperate to distance myself from the spectral presence. Confusion mingled with the pain in my chest, intensifying my anguish. Each breath became a struggle, a battle against overwhelming guilt and regret. I teetered on the edge of emotional collapse.
This couldn't be real. It had to be a nightmare.
My gaze darted in every direction, searching for any sign of light or hope within the suffocating darkness. But, it was just the darkness and me. Yet, amidst this oppressive darkness, flickers of light danced sporadically, illuminating fragments of my surroundings. I noticed the grave, bearing my mate's name, a chilling reminder of her absence.
And then, as if awakening from a trance, I realised my hands were stained with blood.
"It's her blood," a voice, eerily similar to my own, whispered accusingly, its words slicing through the desolate air. "You killed her."
"No, I didn't!" I vehemently opposed it, desperately attempting to wipe away the crimson stains that clung to my hands, but they stubbornly refused to fade.
"Yes, you did," a figure materialised before me, emerging from the shadows. Cradled in his arms was a newborn, its face concealed from my view. Yet, I could see the tiny, bloodied claws, and droplets of blood falling from their grasp. "You are the reason she's dead. You failed to save her."
As my gaze locked with my doppelganger, leaving me bewildered and shaken. It was an exact replica of myself, staring back at me with accusatory eyes. It was...me.
And the baby in his arms... it was our child.
"No, this can't be real. She's not dead," I stammered, my voice quivering with a mixture of denial and desperation, "She promised that she would never leave me."
But the haunting echoes of my own voice pierced through the darkness, taunting me with painful truths that I only asked myself in silence, "You also promised to protect her. Did you protect her? Tell me, did you protect her?" it hissed, forcing me to confront the weight of my failures. The realisation hit me like a thunderbolt— I was the reason our child had been driven to become a monster solely for survival and I was the reason Athena had met her tragic end at the hands of our own offspring.
"She can't be gone. She can't be..." I gasped for air, my breathing turning frantic as I repeated the words like a desperate mantra. My eyes fixated on the blood staining my hands and the tiny claws of my child, the stark reminder of the irreversible tragedy that had unfolded before me.
The moment I'd thought this nightmare was not actually a nightmare but a reality, my eyes flew open breaking me from the painful slumber that'd summoned me to the depth of a never-ending darkness.
I sat upright, my heart pounding in my chest, a cold sweat coating my forehead, I took in deep breaths to steady myself. The nightmare had felt all too real, the despair threatening to consume me.
But as my gaze fell upon Athena, peacefully asleep beside me, a wave of relief washed over me. She was safe. She was still here with me. Yet, the guilt that gnawed at my conscience only intensified.
I couldn't shake off the knowledge that I was the one responsible for the perilous situation we found ourselves in. If only I hadn't insisted on sending her away that fateful day, perhaps everything would have unfolded differently. My own fear clouded my judgement, putting my mate and our child at risk.
Unable to bear the weight of my remorse any longer, I swung my legs off the bed and made my way out of the room.
Only pain could fix me now or else, I'd fall apart.
*****
Athena
The empty space on the other side of the bed sent a pang of longing through my chest, even in the depths of my slumber. The absence of that precious presence, the warmth I yearn for all the time, was palpable. I opened my eyes, realising that Sebastian was not by my side.
Did he wake up already?
Glancing at the clock, its glowing numbers indicating it was three in the morning, I couldn't help but wonder why he had awakened so early. Last night, we had fallen into a deep sleep, and it seemed unusual for him to rise at this hour without a specific reason.
A sense of concern washed over me. The possibilities raced through my mind, and I couldn't shake off the worry that had settled in the pit of my stomach.
Where could he have gone at this time?
God, this man!
With a sigh, I reluctantly left the comfort of the bed and stepped out of the room. Fatigue weighed heavily on me, but the need to find Sebastian and bring him back to bed overrode my exhaustion. I hadn't slept so well in ages, and his presence was crucial for a peaceful night's rest.
As I wandered through the mansion, my mind filled with a mix of curiosity and concern. Every action of his now sparked worry within me, even a simple disappearance. God knew what he was up to.
I decided to start my search in the library, a place where Sebastian often found solace. However, it was empty, devoid of any sign of him.
So, I ended up moving from room to room, noticing the mansion's emptiness. The reduced number of guards suggested that Sebastian had made progress in repairing his relationships and appeasing those who held grudges against him.
As I meticulously combed through each corner of the corridor, disappointment settled in. There was no trace of my mate as if he had vanished. Frustration mingled with my concern.
Just as I was on the verge of surrender, a resounding noise pierced the air. A distant reverberation of a keen-edged implement colliding with an object.
My steps halted abruptly, and the drowsiness that had been shrouding my eyes mere moments ago dissipated instantly.
I was all too familiar with that sound. The merciless auctioneers who had traded me away to Sebastian had wielded the belt frequently, branding its impact into my memory. It took me more than a fleeting moment to fathom that this auditory assault was not a mere fragment of my imagination.
It was actually happening, at some corner of this mansion.
A few seconds elapsed, and there it was again—a forceful echo, no longer distant. It was the distinct sound of the belt meeting flesh, causing an icy shudder to race through my veins. Deep down, a tremor of dread resonated within me, for I feared I knew the recipient of that cruel punishment.
With a quickened pulse, I pivoted on my heel, tracing the ominous trail of those disquieting sounds. The tendrils of fear that had been coiling within me reached their zenith as I apprehended the inescapable truth—I was gradually being led towards his sanctum, his office.
Despite the unmistakable sounds that revealed the harrowing truth, I found myself grappling with disbelief. I had heard about his self-inflicted pain, yet I had naively assumed that it would cease now that we were together, convinced that my presence would help him shed his past transgressions and forge a brighter path for us.
But now, from what I could hear, I was wrong.
With trepidation weighing heavy upon me, I reached the threshold of his office, cautiously nudging the door ajar. What I beheld at that moment seared itself into my consciousness.
My breath caught in my chest, suspended for an entire minute as I bore witness to the blood tracing its descent along his back, where a tapestry of scars marred his flesh. The floor beneath him bore the testament, his blood staining it with each new laceration inflicted by his own hand.
Silence enveloped him, an eerie hush that hung in the air. Not a single word escaped his lips, he was deadly silent as he subjected himself to the cruel lashings, each strike etching a fresh wound upon himself.
My limbs, devoid of any agency or strength, betrayed me, rendering me powerless to intervene. I yearned to halt his self-inflicted torment, but I remained immobilised, my voiceless plea lost in the depths of my being.
He persisted, relentless in his pursuit of catharsis, while I stood there, a statue of anguish, my eyes widened with horror. Every strike he inflicted upon himself wrung my heart with pain, witnessing his desperate attempt to exorcise some inner demon.
I had to break free from my paralysis.
"Sebastian!" I finally managed to summon the strength to utter his name.