Chapter 568: Overwhelming emotions
Sebastian’s expression hardened as her words finally made him understand why she had flinched when he raised his hand to her face.
"He hit her?" he asked, disbelief and anger creeping into his voice.
There had been no mention of such a thing in the diary he had read. Vaelor had never written about striking the woman he claimed to love, nor had he expressed any regret over hurting her. It was especially difficult for Sebastian to comprehend when he remembered how tormented he had felt after hurting his own mate under the sea witch’s control. The guilt had eaten away at him, even though he hadn’t been in control of his actions.
When Viola nodded, he cursed under his breath, his jaw tightening.
"The bastard," he hissed. "He’s fucking complicating things for me."
"And I believe it didn’t happen just once. Nerrisa said she witnessed him shoving me, I mean Azmira, and you know what?" She asked, and without waiting for him to answer, she said, "Azmira had wanted to give up her tail and powers for him. Their love is confusing and...I don’t know what to do."
Sebastian pulled her into his embrace, gently stroking her hair. "You don’t have to do anything about it, because it wasn’t our life. We shouldn’t have to carry their confusion with us."
Viola closed her eyes, trying to relax in his arms and take his words to heart. She wanted to believe him, to stop worrying and let go of the fear that had been haunting her. But behind her closed eyelids, all she could see was Azmira’s blood and the man devouring her heart.
Her fingers dug into Sebastian’s shirt, but instead of finding comfort in his embrace, she suddenly felt trapped. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, and she struggled to draw a full breath. She knew Sebastian wasn’t Vaelor. She knew the arms holding her belonged to the man she loved. Yet her body refused to listen to reason, reacting to the memory as though the danger were right in front of her.
A strangled moan escaped her lips, and she abruptly pulled away from Sebastian, pressing a trembling hand over her mouth. Nausea surged through her so violently that she could barely stand it.
"I think I’m going to throw up."
She hurried toward the bathroom, one hand clutching her stomach as she fought to keep the contents of it down.
Sebastian followed immediately, worry etched across his face, but she managed to assure him that she would be fine.
He stopped at the doorway, torn between his instinct to stay by her side and the realization that she might need some space. In the end, he didn’t insist on going in with her, even though every step he took away from the bathroom felt wrong.
He wanted to hold her, to soothe her, to somehow make the images tormenting her disappear. But he couldn’t comfort her if even his touch had begun to frighten her.
She came back a moment later and smiled. "I should really check on the guests before we leave, and on your grandma."
"You don’t have to do that, I have assigned Laila to the task of handling the guests, and she was more than happy to help with it. Come eat the cake before we leave."
He went to the kitchen and brought the cake box he had gotten for her, opening it to serve her a slice on a plate as he filled her in on the matters with Darkbur, and how Price had wanted to play the smart card on him by including other packs so as to still take his promised land.
"Can he do that?" Viola asked, letting her mind focus on the conversation rather than wander to the past.
Sebastian handed her the cake, looking into her eyes and wanting nothing more than to ease her completely. "He can’t, because my beloved wife already made him sign a contract and won the fight. I’ve sent men to kick them all out, so we are free of their contract."
Viola sighed in relief, glad that they were no longer under threat from the Darkbur Pack. She took the cake, turning her gaze away from him, but her appetite had vanished so completely that even her favorite cake held no appeal.
It only made her stomach turn even more because it resembled blood, and as she began to force herself to eat so as not to hurt her husband, there was a knock on the door.
It was Ivy, who came to tell them they had to leave now.
"Let her finish eating..." Sebastian was saying, but Viola put the cake down and got up, cleaning her mouth as she said, "I’m done. We can all order lunch when we get back, let’s go now."
Sebastian felt the pricking sensation in his chest that wanted to come out as a cough, but he nodded at her and excused himself for a moment, going into the closet, and they heard him coughing inside.
"What did you do to him?" Viola asked her sister worriedly, and Ivy shook her head. "Nothing much. He will be fine."
Viola parted her lips to ask her sister to heal him, but before she could say anything, Sebastian came bounding down the stairs with an armful of clothes, announcing,
"We shouldn’t risk you in the cold, the waters will no doubt be freezing." He balanced the clothes in one hand and used his other hand to take hers into his, leading her out as though he hadn’t gone to cough in the closet.
Viola had thought only the three of them would be going, but Alex joined them, and they all rode in the same car to the sea. The silence inside the car was thick, but she could sense Sebastian’s restlessness. Reaching over, she placed her hand over his where it rested on his lap.
"Are you nervous?"
After all, he hadn’t seen his sister before she was taken to be buried, and it hadn’t been long since he accepted her death and allowed himself to grieve, and now he was going to see her. No matter how Viola felt about the past, she had to be present for this moment and push all that away.
He looked at her and nodded his head. "Maybe a little." He then looked out at the moving scenery beyond the car, to the snowflakes floating down softly, and his face turned bittersweet. "I am not that good with visiting the deceased, you know. It’s my first time." He turned to her and saw her frowning as she asked,
"Then you’ve never visited your parents’ grave?"
Sebastian shook his head, a look of embarrassed shame crossing his face as he admitted it. "Not once. I wasn’t there for their burial because I was held prisoner in Moonwillow, and when I came back, well, I kept my distance. I’ve never been to the cemetery," he confessed.
Viola stared at him, unable to imagine staying away from her parents’ graves if she had the chance to visit them. If her own parents had a grave on land she could visit, she would probably go there every day.
"Should we visit them after we come back? We can get them flowers, and you can introduce them to me."
Alex, who had been listening to the couple’s conversation as he drove, couldn’t help thinking that his sister-in-law was practically asking for Sebastian’s defensive temper to flare by suggesting he visit their parents’ graves. There was nothing Alex hadn’t tried to get his brother to visit them, but Sebastian had either lashed out at him or retreated further into his shell, pretending the suggestion had never been made.
Everyone had tried, yet Sebastian had never held a memorial for their parents or even set aside a day to remember them. Hearing the Luna bring it up again, Alex couldn’t help wanting to warn her to leave his emotionally fragile brother alone. He was therefore stunned when Sebastian finally gave his reply.