*Eliza*
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing... Jared wasn’t just listening to Hestia, he was going along with everything she was saying. What was worse, it seed like he was actually going to do what she said.
He wouldn’t, would he?
I kept trying to catch his gaze, but he would only look at for short periods of ti.
Even when he asked questions about and my family that could have been out of concern, his voice was flat and emotionless.
I tried to signal him with my eyes, but it was hard to get him to look at .
What was he doing?
I tried to speak but the gag muffled my words. Jared hardly spared a glance.
Why wasn’t he looking at ? Why didn’t he understand?
Hestia was asking him to do sothing insane and dangerous....
“Destroying the bridge won’t be easy,” Hestia drawled. “Had you asked a few weeks ago, this would be a very different conversation.”
“Well, I’m not cursed anymore. Are you sure it is you want to help?” Jared asked.
Hestia smirked. “Of course. You are, after all, the one who should be sitting on the throne.”
Jared scoffed and hope filled my chest. That was the sa line Aries had given him, more or less, and he hadn’t cared.
“You see, Egoren has a true Dark King, one blessed by the original King Lycaon. And it isn’t the brother sitting on the throne.” Hestia’s eyes brightened.
Suddenly, I felt a shift in Jared’s presence. There was no longer a sense of indifference about him. Instead, he seed like he’d co to a decision.
I saw the gleam in his eyes and it chilled to the bone.
“What do I need to do?” he asked.
My heart scread in my chest. I sighed and bowed my head, despair creeping through my veins.
I needed to stop this madness. I needed to stop Jared, but he was definitely ignoring and his face was unreadable.
What the hell was going on!?
Maybe Jared was just playing along. That was possible. He could be trying to gain Hestia’s trust, but it was hard to tell.
“As I said, a few weeks ago, it would have been much easier. If you’d still had your curse shadow and the Cryptex....” Hestia trailed off.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Jared asked.
“Well, the curse shadow and the Cryptex together were a potent, powerful combination that could close the bridge. But you had to break the curse and destroy the Cryptex in the process.”
Hestia scoffed.
“Are you trying to bore to death? I guess there’s another option?”
Hestia smirked. I looked between Hestia and Jared, watching their strange interaction. Jared didn’t seem happy about following her instructions, but he was still going along with it....
“Yes, there’s another way. It is not as easy as the curse shadow and the Cryptex, but it will still work. Although... getting the relics required won’t be easy.”
“What relics?”
Hestia walked down the long table, dragging a sharp nail over the table top.
The sound, like tal grinding on tal, sent a shiver down my spine. I winced and cringed.
“Fortunately for you, Jared, the relic you’ll be looking for can only be used by a select few, and you’re one of them. You carrying the blood of the Dark King as his descendent.”
“Tell about this relic,” Jared demanded snippily.
Hestia had a way of dragging things out. She was grating on my nerves, and I was just a bystander at this point.
“You need to find the bones of the First Witch.”
I saw the crease in Jared’s brow.
“What the hell is that and where do I find it?”
The corner of Hestia’s lips curved up in a half-smile. She clicked her nails on the table.
“The bones of the First Witch can be found at the stone circle. It is a powerful relic that can amplify other relics and magical items.”
“Do I get any more information than that?”
Hestia pouted. “You’re a smart boy. You’ll figure it out.”
Either Hestia didn’t know where the relic really was, or she was playing more gas.
“Combine the relic with a moonstone that can control the flow of energy between the two realms. Add a splash of Dark King legacy blood and... abrakadabra, the bridge will close.”
“That’s it?” Jared arched an eyebrow.
“That’s it.”
He nodded and stroked his chin. I could tell he was thinking hard about sothing. But I still couldn’t figure out what.
Jared couldn’t really be considering closing the bridge between the realms, could he?
That was madness....
My mind raced in a million different directions. I couldn’t let Jared go through with this plan. Whether he was playing along or not. But how was I supposed to help him while I was tied up and gagged?
I chewed on the gag and tried struggling against the bindings. It caused to tip in the chair and I almost fell on the floor.
“Alright, I’ll find the relic and I’ll close the bridge. You can let Eliza go now,” Jared said.
My eyes snapped to him, but he was looking at Hestia.
“You have no need to keep her tied up. I’m here, I’m following you, and I’ll stay here.”
“And you’ll do what I say?” Hestia asked.
I noticed how she was hunching over slightly. She looked a little paler than when she’d first arrived. It was possible the strength she’d gained from sucking her last victims dry was fading already.
“I will do as you ask.” Jared confird.
My heart sank and I looked down. It wasn’t worth my freedom if Jared went along with Hestia’s craziness.
“Good enough....”
Hestia ca up behind and untied my wrists and ankles. She removed my gag last, but she continued to skulk around the banquet hall.
I rubbed my wrists and my cheeks. My jaw ached from the gag.
It would have been nice if I could have a mont alone with Jared, but I knew I couldn’t ask.
“Eliza, you’re free to go now. Thank you for your assistance.” Hestia waved an arm at dismissively.
I stood up and walked over to Jared.
He was tense and closed off. I noticed that he still wouldn’t look at directly. I tried to stand in his way and catch his eyes, but he was still avoiding .
“Jared?” I spoke aloud for the first ti. My voice croaked, hoarse and unused.
He must have had a plan. I wanted to stay and help him with his plan so we could defeat Hestia and Aries once and for all.
“I want to help you,” I said.
Jared sighed and looked at Hestia. “Can we have a mont alone?”
Hestia shrugged. “Don’t be too long. We have work to do.” She walked out of the room without another glance.
“Okay, Jared, what is going on?” I asked the mont we were alone.
Jared turned to , glaring. His eyes sharp and unfriendly.
I took a step back.
“Jared?”
“What are you still doing here? Hestia set you free. You should go!”
“What!?” I gasped.
Jared crossed his arms. “Eliza, you can’t help with this.”
“Why not? I’ve helped you before. Finding old relics and making sense of them is my expertise. Rember, I’m an archaeologist,” I reminded him.
Jared scoffed. “Then let rephrase this. I don’t want you to help .”
“I....”
My jaw dropped open. Had I just heard Jared right? My heart raced erratically in my chest and my palms started to sweat. I rubbed them on my dirty pants.
Aries and Hestia hadn’t given a change of clothes or anything since they’d brought here.
“You don’t want to help?” I asked slowly, enunciating each word.
“No. I don’t know how to make that any clearer. So go, get out of here!”
“Jared! What are you saying? We’re supposed to be in this together. Isn’t that what we vowed?” I held my left hand up, showing him my wedding ring.
Jared closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He gave an annoyed sigh and shook his head.
“Look, you’ve been helpful in the past. You know you have. You helped break the curse and I appreciate what you did.”
“You appreciate it?” I scoffed.
“What more do you want to say? You helped, now it is over.”
My mouth dried up like the desert and my heart palpitated. “What’s over?”
“This, us, whatever we had. I don’t need your help anymore. I need you to leave.”
“Why....”
Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked them back. I wasn’t going to cry. Jared had never been this an to before, at least not like this.
His words were so harsh. I couldn’t help but feel the sting of what he was saying, but I refused to believe it was what he really ant.
After everything we’d accomplished since he rejected , it was so out of the blue. I had to believe it was an act, for Hestia.
“I just can’t do this anymore, Eliza. You’ve beco... a burden, a headache, and it is too much for . I have real, major problems to deal with and I can’t be looking after you every step of the way.”
“When have you ever had to look after ? I’ve carried my own weight and been nothing but useful to you.” I poked Jared in the chest.
He grunted and stepped away.
“It’s the truth. I’m sorry if that is upsetting, but look at this ss... twice, you’ve been kidnapped. I always have to show up and rescue you.”
“Um... I believe the last ti I was kidnapped, I showed up to rescue you after you slit your wrists open and rejected !”
“And that’s where this all should have ended. And yet, you got kidnapped again and I’m here to clean up the ss. I have to save the Dark Realm, my realm, and I can’t worry about you getting taken again. Go ho!”
I thought over all of Jared’s words. He was going above and beyond with this act. He was getting aner and aner, and that just wasn’t like him. The only tis I’d seen him like this before were when he was trying to protect .
Was that what he was trying to do now? Was Jared being an so that he could save from whatever he really had planned?
I looped my arms around myself. If that was the case, more than ever, I wanted to help him.
My heart stopped racing and I took a deep breath, gaining control of myself.
My wolf hadn’t gotten upset at all. Did she know that Jared was just acting?
“I don’t believe you,” I said in a hushed whisper.
Jared threw his arms up and snarled. “That’s really not my problem is it!? Without the mate bond, I have no feelings for you. The mate bond and the curse were what bound us together, what held back. They are both gone, now. I can beco who I was always ant to be.”
“Y-you can’t an that....” My chest ached and my eyes stung with unshed tears. This wasn’t Jared. “You were going to restore the mate bond.”
“Until I realized it would be a waste of ti. My destiny is much, much bigger than you can imagine and now, without you, I can achieve it all.”
I looked into his eyes and held his gaze for a mont.
“Go back to the mansion. I have no use for you here.” He waved dismissively at .
Reaching up, I touched his cheek. He jerked away, but I put my hand on his face again. He didn’t pull away this ti but he still scowled at .
“Whatever you are really planning, I want to help. I’m going to help because that’s what we do for each other, okay?”
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