Chapter 82

Axel

After the meeting had been adjourned, Gabrielle gently squeezed my hand and stood up, following everyone out. They were heading towards the memorial service, where I would be meeting up with them shortly.

But first.

The conversation I had been dreading with Coyne.

He remained seated, anticipating my request. Between his fingers he toyed with the white lighter, repeatedly alighting the little flame and then flicking the lid shut immediately after suffocating it.

When it was only the two of us left in the room, he sat the item down and shifted in his seat. Those golden-almond eyes slid to mine. He cleared his throat and straightened.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to talk to you about this. I realize it had caused you a great deal of suffering,” Coyne said.

A great deal of suffering? Understatement of the year. But go on.

“I’ve looked into your mind and saw most of what had happened. It was unfortunate. And a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

My mind wandered back to the three of us, mere kids, sneaking out into the woods, knowing all too well we weren’t allowed to leave pack borders.

“Your sister, she is a very strong and,” Coyne searched for the right word, rubbing his brow uncomfortably, “uh-beautiful woman. Hale, must have seen it as an advantage and decided to use her in his game of deceit.”

Hale. Lord Hale the witch had said.

“He was one of yours?” I asked.

Coyne nodded gravely, “he was one of my father’s advisors. A very cunning, very clever individual. As old as the mountains. The Serpent Queen had negotiated with him, promising him whatever his heart desired in exchange for Lighthaven’s location. You see, he was sent out into the world to track down the royal family of Light and Lightning. He was a Host Crawler, which meant that he was dependent upon host bodies to sustain him, keep him alive as he went about his mission.”

“But you could have stopped him? He was part of your kingdom.” I stated although it came out sounding more like an accusation. Coyne cringed.

“It isn’t as easy as that.” He closed his eyes, took a breath. “Most of the time I was in an advanced state of intoxication. I couldn’t distinguish between right and wrong, hell I couldn’t even tell the difference between night and day.”

Pain flickered in his golden orbs.

I couldn’t imagine what he had been through. The torment that he had endured.

“I am truly sorry that I couldn’t save your sister, Axel. I was so lost.” Coyne’s voice was raw with emotion, pained. “I had no idea who I was, what was going on around me or if there was anything left to fight for in this world of immoral madness.”

My heart clenched and I found that I didn’t blame him for what had happened. He was like me. A kid trapped in a desperate situation, trying to survive and crawl out on the other side, hopefully in one piece.

He knew darkness, loneliness and despair just as much as I did. And guilt. Oh, the guilt, how it consumes.

People tended to say things like how they had changed, grown. But when I looked at the two of us, I could honestly say that we hadn’t changed a lot in this world, but a lot had changed us.

I stood, bracing my hands on the table before me.

“Axel,” he said as I stepped towards the exit. I turned, looking back at him over my shoulder. “Stop being afraid to let yourself be happy again.”

His words echoed through me, stirring something in my gut. He had been in my mind. Saw my hopes, dreams and worst fears.

I nodded, “you too, Coyne.”

The King of Shadows and Whispers looked away then, staring out of the window into the distance. Red rimmed his eyes, and I knew there was much more to him, to his story that we would never know.

My gaze traveled over him again. The haunted look on his face, the trail of blackness behind him and the unearthly power he brought with his mere presence.

It would be the last time I saw Coyne before he set off on his impossible journey.

A journey to find the missing pieces of himself, and hopefully, happiness along the way.