Till Death Do Us Kill

Chapter 9 - Eleanora

Verona stood abruptly, her voice a shrill shriek. “Why…why am I not surprised…the first of all creation falling for the first f*****g murderer!! Mother, what in the hell possessed you to make him immortal, knowing what he has done? He’s leading humanity to their downfall, even the witches fear what he will do! He knows you, knows how you work, what makes you tick! He’s a jealous man from what has been seen, and once he finds out that you chose another man…mother help us all…what have you gotten us into…?” I sighed, staying close to Kieran, his scent calming my now fragile nerves. It had been so long since I'd heard his name, and just the thought of possibly having to deal with him again made me shake in terror. I had never let much scare me anymore but Cain? Cain was a whole other story, but I wasn’t just worried about the fear, I was worried my heart still harbored some warmth for him. When it came to Kieran I had fallen in love with the darkness within him, the savagery…the same thing I had fallen for with Cain. They were so alike and yet so different. At that moment, Kieran, sensing my discomfort, wrapped a hand firmly around my waist, whispering quietly at my ear.

“If what you speak is the truth then you’ll have me by your side…always. But I swear this to you, Nell…there can be no more killing. If we have to fight this war than so be it, but no more killing purely for your pleasure…and no more affairs, I can’t take it anymore. If you truly miss the man I was then I will do my best to become him again if that is what you desire. But I would hate to have to kill an innocent myself because you wound up in his bed.” I look up, a mix of shock and arousal evident in my features. I had missed the jealous side of him, missed the part of him that used to kill a man simply for looking at me in his presence. This…this was my Kier, the man I had fallen for, and he had come home.

Verona cleared her throat loudly, forcing my thoughts back to the matter at hand, blushing, I turned away from Kieran, pulling myself from his embrace. She spoke quickly, looking between us equally. “While I'm glad you’ve managed to reconcile your differences and make your marriage work, we still have an upcoming war on our hands. Cain will strike, that much is certain. We need to be ready for when he does. Mother…your abilities are still unrivaled, i’m not sure what Cain was like when you were with him, but his power has since grown…and Father…Father I very strongly recommend you get in touch with the side of you that she’s so fond of if you truly want to lead the humans in Cains stead. He is ruthless, and will bring a man to his death without a second thought. You have to be just as ruthless, if not more than in order to beat him. But either way, this war must end somehow, whether it be by Cain's hands…or yours.”

I looked down and away from Verona, the truth in her words ringing loud and clear. She was right, the war needed to end, over the centuries there had already been so much bloodshed, enough to last a lifetime. Yet still they wanted more, the humans fought to stop what they didn’t understand, and the witches fought to protect what was being put at risk. They were causing their own bloodshed, and it was a realization that baffled me. Clearing my head, I finally took a moment to speak. “She’s right, Kieran, the present you now is…well it’s not going to do much against Cain. Even from the beginning, Cain was vicious…I had never known a kind version of him unless we were alone, and even then, that side of him was very rare. But Kieran, you are stronger than he is, the side of you that fought by my side in the war? That is who we need. You and I? We were…we were unstoppable, us together, we could bring peace back to this world, i’m not saying it would be easy, but we could do it. I am curious about one thing however, Verona, what is your role in this war? You obviously don’t lead the witches in The Rebellion, and you don’t lead the humans, so what do you have to do with this war?” Verona looked away, not meeting our gazes as I asked the question. She began pacing, the action restless and leaving me concerned about what exactly her role in all this was.

“I…it’s true that I don’t lead the witches, and obviously I don’t lead the humans, but…my role in this is complicated. I’m not meant to be a part of it at all truth be told. That’s why I came to find you, Mother, if this war becomes inevitable, you have to lead the witches, no matter what. I know you’re tired from all the fighting, you’ve fought in too many wars over the centuries, but you have to lead them if we run out of options, because I genuinely don’t think that Cain will stop just because you ask him to. No one even knows what his motive is for fighting in the war now…the only people who have managed to see him up close are his personal guards, and the women he keeps for his…pleasure.” I flinched at that last part, the idea of Cain being with another woman still a painful thought in my mind. I couldn’t let him get to me, couldn’t let him consume me like this. I had Kieran back, and I was going to do whatever it took to make sure it stayed that way, but there was still something so captivating about him, just the idea of gave me some ideas of how we could figure out his motives. Verona got quiet before speaking the last words, words that made my blood boil. “My role…is to ensure that the war happens…and that you don’t survive it.”