Rising Sun (Fate's Intent Book 9) (22 page)

I readied myself for the days ahead and told my son of my plan. He was sixteen now and furiously argued my reasoning but I wouldn’t listen. This had to be done. She had to be saved and as her father, I was the one to do it.

Entry VIII

Dawn. Morning. The sun’s awakening to a new day, birthing light to the skies as a sign of calming peace but not today. The dark gray clouds I awoke to mark the dread and despair of what I have to do. Every step I have taken has led up to this very moment. The years of planning will all seem to come to an end for me, leaving behind a legacy I can only pass to those of my blood; my pure blood; my children.

I am Bryce Theador Marcus Chamberlin, surviving son to the first Kings and this is my final entry.

Long have I hoped they could come to understand the purpose behind the sacrifice I’m about to make and see it not as a tragedy but a new hope for the future. My son, still young but has proven well to replace me in line and look after his sister. Too young. I have not the heart to speak the words to her or see the hurt she’s about to feel in the coming days but I strive to look passed that regret and save her from any and all future threat. My life, worth so little to me over hers, was an easy price to deal to make sure her future goes on in the way that it should. I’ve seen how my little girl will take it imaginatively and the suffering still follows me. Through her innocence, she should not have been exposed to the life I’m about to leave and won’t until the time is right. My last venture away will be the start of it all and she could not yet know it. What I’m about to do in all is for her. She is more important to me than the world and her place in it will become clearer as she grows. The world will change and give her the opportunity to be a part of it is everything that I could ever hope for. As my time ends, hers begins but I’ll never be far. She will never be without me.

PART III

Chapter 36

Troy

We were worried for her. It’s been days. Jaylyn’s had her eyes down on that journal for days, unaware that any of us even existed. She hasn’t eaten; she hasn’t slept; she hasn’t done anything but read.

We started gathering in the study instead of the lounge about a day ago, hoping one of us could get through to her but she never responds to our calls. Her eyes remain down like she can’t hear us. Even Bryce was worried, asking if his mother was okay. I didn’t know how to respond except for a simple, ‘yes, she’s just busy.’

We would sit and wait, watching her. She never even reacted to anything she read. It was almost like she was gone from us completely and her body just sat in that chair behind the desk. I didn’t know what to do but my heart fluttered when she moved a little more than the usual page turn and she closed the journal completely in front of her.

“Jaylyn?”

We were all to our feet, surrounding the desk but she hasn’t moved farther.

“Jaylyn?” Adele asked. “Hello? Are you okay?”

Jaylyn looked up for the first time. I didn’t know her emotion; she was completely still but spoke like it was nothing. “I’m fine. You didn’t all have to come up here to give me my meal.”

I looked at those next to me and it was clear to all of us; she didn’t know how long it’s been.

“Jaylyn, you’ve been in here for three days.” Adele said.

“Three days?”

“We were worried.” I said. “You never even knew we were here.”

She laughed. “Oh! I’m sorry. I guess I was just—” She put her hand down on the journal and her mood lowered. “It must just take a while to read the scripture. I’m still—”

Her head hit the desk and she began to cry which was the first reaction we’ve seen out of her about something she read. I hated seeing it. I walked around the desk and got next to her to let her know that we’re here for her.

“You need to talk about it.”

“I can’t! It’s too painful!”

“Please. Don’t lock yourself away.”

Bryce followed me and I picked him up so he could reach her. He put his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. “Mama, kay?”

Jaylyn lifted her head slowly. She wiped her eyes and took him in her arms. “I’m sorry. I’m okay, sweetie.”

“You know you can talk to us.” Adele said.

“I can’t. I can’t say it. I just feel like I’ve died a little from knowing. All these years and I’ve hated her without even knowing it.”

“Knowing what?” Ruby asked.

Her eyes started watering again and she opened the journal in front of her, flipping through some pages. She stopped and pointed at it.

“Ah, we can’t read that.” Zayden said. “It’s not in our language.”

“Okay.” Her eyes fell to the page and she spoke words we couldn’t see but I knew she didn’t want to. “My beautiful little girl was going to grow to be a killer. She thought of it as fun; I thought of it as just another added protection for her until I realized who she would be answering to. Anna; she would be answering to her own—her own—”

She couldn’t even end the sentence before crying again and everyone just wanted to get it out of her so she’d feel better.

“What?” Adele asked. “Her own what?”

Jaylyn shook her head. She couldn’t even come to say it. Instead she pointed to Adele repeatedly.

“Me?” Then she pointed to Seth. “Him?” She pointed back to Adele and moved her hand back towards Seth. Adele’s face went cold and she said the one thing that would make us all understand. “Mother. The Queen was your mother?”

Jaylyn’s head hit the table again and she began crying harder.

We didn’t know how to react to the news. It was definitely not what I expected to hear. I expected to hear that she found out she’s had her gift all her life or anything else she was never told about. The subject of a mother never came to mind until now and it seemed no one knew how to comfort her. Everyone hated the Queen; the world hated her. How could we possibly make her feel better about knowing she had some kind of bond to her? We couldn’t.

Even our son’s presence near her wasn’t working anymore. I picked him up and walked around the desk to the others, my eyes tracing for someone to step up and help her. I mostly looked at Adele but her eyes were watering too and she just shook her head.

Jaylyn continued to cry and I didn’t know if anything could stop it. That’s when I felt a cold hand lay on my shoulder and a voice that was all too familiar. “Mind if I try?”

I turned and met the longing stare of the green eyes that gave Jaylyn hers. Every ounce of my soul was telling me to let him through and try. I wanted to see her better but her seeing her father wouldn’t make it better. He’d only make it worse and as much as he could easily become scary, I had to deny him of his request.

“Bryce!” Adele muttered.

“No.” I said. “No. You can’t.”

With my son still in one arm, I pushed the man for whom he’s named out the open door into the hall. I wouldn’t let him in to see Jaylyn; I couldn’t. She’d fall apart more just because of it.

“Troy, do you know who that is?” Adele panicked like something bad was going to happen because I refused him but I didn’t back down.

“Yes, I know and he’s not going anywhere near her. I don’t care what insane reason he has for doing so but he’s not getting passed me. She’s hurt enough and no one here wants to see her be put through more because of you.”

Bryce chuckled in this vague kind of way that almost made me start to worry when I saw him watching me. “Trever was right about you, wasn’t he? You are very protective of her.”

“I care greatly about her well-being and you being here will not end well for her. You know that so I don’t even know why you’re here.”

“I can feel whenever my baby is hurt.”

“She’s hurt because of you and all the secrets that were kept.”

“Which were made to protect her.”

“Yet now they’re torturing her. There’s no use for you being here. We’ll take care of it as we have always done.”

“Always, Troy, really? You haven’t even told her what will kill her; what killed me. You can understand the reason for secrets.”

I was still now.  I could understand.

“Troy, what is he talking about?” Adele asked.

It was an easy question but I couldn’t say the answer. If Jaylyn found out that my father was responsible for her father’s death and she married me, I couldn’t even begin to think of the regret she would have. I couldn’t let that happen. I loved her too much.

“I see you haven’t told anyone. Not the greatest conversation starter, I suppose.”

“Just leave. You’re only making it worse.” I said it offensively and I meant it offensively. I just wanted him gone.

“I’ll give you a day to fix it on your own then.”

“A day?!” I was furious. “You’ll give us the rest of our lives to fix this! You’re not a part of this world anymore! You don’t get a say in it!”

I was proud of myself but the look on everyone else’s face said that I had just done something wrong. The air grew cold around me and I could no longer move my own body against Bryce’s stare. His hand lifted and my son was taken from me while I was removed from my feet as if being hung by my neck but I still couldn’t move myself.

Bryce leaned in, his pointer finger pushing up under my jaw like he was holding me there. It became hard to swallow and his voice was the most threatening I’ve ever heard. “I will always get a say in my daughter’s life and I’m saying you only have a day as your request because a day is how long your life will be if you don’t fix this.”

He tossed me backwards and that was the last thing I remembered of him. There was darkness and I was waking up in my own bed.

“There you are.” Zayden said. “Are you all right?”

I tried sitting up but my head; I’ve felt this feeling before while trapped in that damn bandit hole. It was heavy and throbbed like crazy. I must have gotten hit again.

“What happened?” I had an idea but I asked anyway.

“Bryce threw you into a wall but you’re okay.”

“Aside from this headache. How long was I out?”

“About eight hours.” Darius said it like it was no big deal.

“Eight hours! That means I only have sixteen hours left to fix this and none of you are worried?!”

Zayden laughed. “That was just Bryce acting out on behalf of someone he loves. He apologized to us after you went unconscious.”

“That’s great but he apologized to the wrong person. It should have been to me.”

“I planned it to be.”

It only took me about half a second to realize Bryce was in the room. I just hadn’t been able to really turn my head and look until he was in front of me.

“Well, forget it.” I said, forcing my aching head to get up with me. “I don’t believe it.”

“Please. I never really intended to put a deadline on your life. My little girl—”

“Is a grown adult and has little use for a father as I do patience. Now, where is my son who I am honestly considering a name change?”

“He’s downstairs safe with his mother.” Zayden said. “And you know you won’t.”

“I said I was considering it. Don’t doubt me.”

I walked out of the room, ready to make sure Jaylyn was really okay.

“Troy, wait!” Darius chased after me.

“What?”

“Just so you’re not surprised, she’s doing better because Trever is here.”

“He got here in eight hours?”

“No, he got here about seven hours ago with Bryce’s help and you think I’m happy about this? Ruby’s been locked upstairs all day just so she won’t see him.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Oh, and Ryon is here also so Jaylyn thinks he’s how Trever got here.”

“Thanks for letting me know. Have you seen Jaylyn much while Trever has been here?”

“Not that I wanted to but she seems okay now.”

“What does she think I’ve been doing for the last eight hours?”

“Sleeping because you’ve been up as long as her, worrying.”

It sounded completely believable like it was something I would have truly done. “Okay and she has no idea her atrocious father was here?”

“Cut him some slack, Troy. Killing you would just make her hate him and you should know he’d never want that.”

“So, I should be thankful? It bothers me that you like him so much.”

“Why? He really is a good guy just as much as everyone has been saying.”

“Well, I don’t believe it.”

“Okay, but he’s going to keep coming around here until you do.”

He went back up the stairs and let me go down the rest of the way.

I heard the talking but I guess you could say I still wasn’t happy about it. Trever sounded so much like his father that it almost made me start to hate him. It wasn’t right. I never had a reason to except for maybe one thing that I became eager to speak with him about.

I headed downstairs a little faster and met Jaylyn’s warming smile. “There you are. Sleep well?”

I tried to make it seem like it was what I needed but my mind was really still on one thing. “Yeah and I heard Trever got here. Mind if we talk for a moment?”

Trever’s eyes traced to Jaylyn and I knew he already knew what I wanted but he started to get up, acting like he didn’t. “Of course.”

“Troy, I’m fine, really.” Jaylyn said, trying to assure me that we didn’t need to talk but this was about something she could never find out about.

“I know you are and I’m glad. This is just taking precautionary measures to make sure it stays that way.”

She seemed unsure but kept that beautiful smile I loved so much and let us walk into the kitchen.

My smile was gone from me the second I turned from her and all I wanted from this was an explanation. “Well?”

“You’re the one that called me in here, remember?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know. Why didn’t you ever tell me the truth about your father?”

“You mean that he’s a possessive controlling tyrant with little care for anyone other than his precious little Princess?”

“Something along those lines.”

“How could I tell you? Would you have believed me if I did? My father was a great man—just not so much to everyone. He always expected too much, especially from me. When Jay was born, he kind of lost sight of me for a while and went a little crazy. The last time I saw him alive, we had a fight.”

“Has he always come around this much?”

“Only when he wants something or thinks he needs to guide me a certain way—his way.”

“Yeah. He thought he’d apologize for leaving me unconscious for the last eight hours.”

“Times like this will go away. Sometimes he feels this need to be near Jay when she’s truly upset. It’s not so much with the little things. It has to be stronger.”