The Supremacy (15 page)

“No,” I heard Declan breathe in exasperation, “Don’t talk like that. You will get better.”
“Just to get sick again. Son, we all must go. That is the circle of life. I am at peace knowing that I have brought up two sons that are capable of preserving our way of life.”
‘Son
,’ My head began to swim as I grasped that Tarant was not using the word as an endearment, but that Declan was really his child, his flesh and blood.
And his own child blood was plotting to kill him.
That facet was hard for me to grasp.
The reason could not have been power. Declan would have already been in the works to inherit his father’s rule. I was beside myself, never in my wildest dreams would I have put those two puzzle pieces together, never could I imagine a son wishing to kill his father.
“I know you won’t allow this planet to go into ruins again.” Tarant continued his rant, “The way those
heathens
nearly destroyed her with their greed. You will serve our people proud. The same way you always have.” Hacking coughs echoed through the large space as Tarant tried to catch his breath.
“Here,” I heard Declan press, “Drink this. You need to keep your strength.”
“Thank you.” He choked out between heaves, “Where is the girl?”
My breath caught, my heart dropping into my stomach. Tarant wanted to know about
me.
“She remains chained, just as you ordered.” Declan answered his father’s question without wavering, “Whoever tried to kill her almost succeeded. I’ve been healing her, only taking from her as she strengthens.”
“The one has already been disposed of.” Tarant answered tersely, “One thing you must always remember is that you must
never
show mercy. Mercy is a sign of weakness and your enemies will exploit any weakness you show. You are my son, my successor, everything I have done, I’ve done for you.”
“And I will be eternally grateful.” I heard Declan profess.
“I have to go now. Keep the girl here. I cannot risk anyone else seeing her.” He paused on a deep inhale just to begin another fit of hacking coughs, “I will be back again, maybe next time I will receive a decent supply.”
My rigid body did not relax until I heard the front door close, signaling the beast’s retreat.
Walking to the towering floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the courtyard, I watched as the black cloak of Tarant floated above the cobblestones as he proceeded toward a black car. It wasn’t until a second Keeper opened the back door for him that my heart stopped.
The woman that greeted the Head Supreme with a kiss was dressed elegantly in a long flowing dress, the midday sun glinting off the jewels that hung from her neck and ears. She smiled lovingly at the man that held her in his arms. Her petite frame leaned into his embrace with familiarity as his withering hand caressed down her cheek. 
I stood at the window, frozen, as I watched Tarant slip into his car and drive away. My mind, already filled to the brink, felt as though it may explode at any moment.
I remained still, even as I heard the bedroom door open, even as Declan’s cold hands rested gently atop my shoulders. I could
feel
nothing. I was numb.
“So he’s your Father?” I asked him without turning from the window.
“Yes.” He whispered as if talking to a corned wild animal. His precaution was unwarranted. I did not have the energy to fight.
“And Corina is your Mother?” I asked flatly, the image of her kissing the cheek of Tarant threatening to break the barrier that had constructed itself around my emotions, leaving me in a pleasant state of detachment. It felt like I had been missing a piece to the puzzle, and maybe that was it. Maybe I wasn’t singled out by Declan for his father’s mealtime poisonings; maybe I was singled out because I was the wretched stepdaughter of his mother.
“
No!
” He gritted his teeth with a snarl, “Why are you asking about her?”
“She was in the car waiting for Tarant.” Even to me my voice sounded vacant.
His voice lowered an octave and he removed his hands from my shoulders, “I didn’t know she was coming with him.”
Almost too casually, I pulled away from him and made my way to the bed, “I think there is more to this story than you have told me.”
“You’re right.” His hands went up in front of him, “You wouldn’t have believed the truth unless you saw it with your own eyes. It’s still not the time for you to hear it.”
I looked at him and stared blankly into his cold blue eyes, “I think it is the perfect time.”
“How much more can I throw at you before you break? I can see it now! You’re already on the edge, and you’re teetering.”
“I deserve the truth,” I breathed in calmly, “You can keep me prisoner, you can take whatever you want from me, I have no choice either way, but it will be by your hands alone. You will have to
take
it. Without the truth I will not willingly do anything for you.”
“
No!
” He screamed, falling to his knees in front of me. “
Please
, Erin, You know it would kill me to do that.”
“Then tell me the truth.” I demanded flatly.
“It’s too soon. You need more time.” He moaned, “
Please
, Erin, look at me.”
“I am looking at you.”
“No. I mean really,
look
at me.”
He was kneeling in front of me. His strong arms draped over my thighs as his eyes pleaded with my own. Pain, torment and regret swam through those sad eyes, but none of it mattered, I could not feel for him, “Start talking, Declan.”
“It’s a long and very complicated story.” He exhaled in a rush, “I didn’t want the truth to come out this way.” He shook his head as he stood, “I’m so sorry.”
“Apologize later. Those words mean nothing to me right now.”
He walked to the window, peering out as if lost, “We aren’t so different, you and I.” He breathed softly, his hands clinching the floor length curtains in frustration, “I grew up without my mother too.”
“How would you know that?” I had never told him about my mom.
Ever
.
“Because what happened to yours, also happened to mine.”
My fists clenched at my sides as I watched his back tense. I could not find the will to speak. I wasn’t even sure that I believed him at the point.
“Before we seized power, we worked along-side the leaders from all the super nations. We sat back and watched as humans depleted their environments’ natural resources and crippled their economies through their own greed and surmounting consumerism. We waited until the end, when there was nowhere else for them to turn. It was easy.” He sighed, “The masses welcomed us with open arms, all but begging for a new ruler and a system that would not fail them again.”
“I already know this, Declan. I am not hearing where we compare. The prince and the pauper, we are as alike as fire and ice.”
“
Please
,” He begged while turning to me, “Listen to everything I have to say before you make your judgments. I
promise
that everything will make sense when I am finished. But to hear, you must keep an open mind.”
“Got it.”
“Alright,” He huffed as he sat down next to me, “My mom was compassionate,” A smile flitted across his lips as he stared off into space, “She opposed my father’s unrelenting search for power. He craved the riches around him with a fury, neglecting everyone and everything that could not promise him what he desired. My mom fought him. She couldn’t see justifying the enslavement of an entire race for selfish gain. She was content with what we had, with our family.” Declan paused, grabbing my hand in his and squeezing it gently, “Tarant was never satisfied. Corina appealed to him. She worked for him, shared the same ambitions as he did.” His entire body shuttered next to mine and his gaze dropped to his lap. “Shortly after Corina took over Tarant’s treasury, my mother became ill.” Declan turned to me, his eyes heavy with emotion, “She died two weeks later.”
My breath caught as his words sunk in, “Corina is one of you?”
He nodded, “Yes.”
“And she killed your mom?” She killed
our
moms. My body began to tremble as I pictured my own mother, healthy and vivacious only to be dead shortly after my father met Corina. A lone tear broke through the barrier that held off my emotions.
Declan’s cool fingers brushed the side of my cheek only to have me pull away from him once more. “I can’t prove anything,” He continued, “but I don’t need proof to see the truth.”
No, you do not.
The dam broke when I looked over his desolate face. I had seen it there before, fleeting in a moment of clarity, but I had seen it nonetheless. The mirror, the way his pain reflected my own. We were polar opposites on the outside, yet mirror images within.
He held me while I cried. He did not speak; he just wrapped his arms around me and waited.
“H-h-how?” I stuttered out through tears, “What could Corina want with my father?”
“
Shh
,” He crooned, rubbing my back, “That part of the story I’m still not sure you’re ready to hear.
I
wasn’t sure I could handle any more insight, but that wasn’t going to stop me, “P-p-please,” I begged him, pushing away so I could look into his eyes. I wiped the tears from my face and begged for the answers I wasn’t yet ready to hear, “I
need
to know.”
“I will tell you the truth,” He whispered as he tightened his grip around me, “But I think knowing will break you.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.” I was already in pieces, shattered, and broken beyond repair.
He nodded, knowing me well enough to realize that I wouldn’t give up until I knew the truth, “Corina knew my father’s number one enemy. He was a man that had the ability to unite the masses. He was a man loved and trusted beyond disparagement. A man that was passionate about civil liberties. This man saw The Supremacy for what it was long before we made any real changes. Corina knew this man.” Declan breathed deeply. Tightening his hold on me, he pulled my stiff body to his chest. “Because her sister was married to him.”
My body convulsed and my head spun.
It wasn’t possible.
It couldn’t be possible
.
“No
.” My breath rushed from my lungs. I was barely hanging onto the edge of my sanity.
“Yes.” Declan’s hand rubbed up my trembling back, “Corina is your aunt.”
I shook my head not wanting to believe it, “My mom was…”
“
Yes
.” He breathed out, “Claire was a Supreme.”
My vision faltered as the room spun. It tilted on its axis and crumbled to the ground around me.
“And Trent?” I muttered, teetering on the precipice.
“My brother.”
 

Chapter Sixteen
I could hear it, the sound of humming through the darkness. A familiar melody I knew well. My mother’s lullaby filtered through the empty recesses of my mind, pulling me toward it. To a light I did not want to see, to a consciousness I could no longer handle.
                              
“Hear the whispers in the wind.
                               That’s when time begins again.
                                     See the colors of the ocean.”
Running from the hypnotic voice that sung to me was an impossible feat. The light called to my body, lured me to an unwanted consciousness
                      “
Hear the songs played in the moonlight
                                 as the night comes rolling in.
                           It’s the ravens crying ‘it’s midnight!’    
                              That’s when time begins again.”
 
I was warm, wrapped in the arms of my Siren as my mother’s lullaby spilled from his lips, “Erin,” my name floated above me as brilliant light tickled my face. Strong arms held me tight as the words of my mother continued to pull me, “Erin, you are safe with me.” The hypnotic voice whispered, nuzzling my ear, “Please come back to me.”
My eyes fluttered open to Declan’s worried face, his lids heavy and red-rimmed as he peered down at me, “There you are.” He breathed in with a smile, his arms tightening around my torso, “You were gone for so long.”
I pulled myself up, freeing my body from his hold. I did not want to see the face of the man that within a few moments had taken my world, turned it upside down, and shattered it into a thousand indiscernible teeny tiny pieces.
My entire existence was a lie. I no longer knew who I was,
what
I was. Half monster, a hybrid of the very species I despised. The memory of my mother forever tainted by the beast that now watched me, waiting for me to break down in front of him, but he was waiting in vain. I was an orphan, alone in a world where creatures roamed waiting to make meals out of the humans that were once top of the food chain. And I was one of those creatures.
I had no one to care for, no one left to worry about. To some that might have felt lonely, but to me it felt like
freedom
. Everyone I loved had died at the hands of The Supremacy.
I vowed then and there to be a part of the demolition crew, starting with Tarant and Corina.
Looking out the window as the light streamed in through the open curtains, I wondered idly how long I had been asleep. The sun was higher in the sky, much higher than it had been when I watched the floating black cloak of Tarant retreating.
“You’ve been out for about twelve hours.” Declan answered my unspoken question still watching me intently, seemingly afraid to move a muscle.
“Were you singing?” The question left my lips while I continued to watch the brilliant sun rise into the morning sky.
“Yes.” His answered warily, climbing from his four-poster bed, still wearing the same clothes he had yesterday. He came to stand behind me.
“How do you know it?” My tone was flat, void of any emotion. My mind seemed to be working on autopilot, asking questions now, facing the consequences later.
Placing his cool hands atop my shoulders he pulled me backwards to lean against his chest, “I know everything about you, Erin.”
My breath left my lungs in a rush, “So everything that has happened up until this point was all a part of your little plan? Did you ever sit back and think about how it would affect
me
?”
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt me, but I had not the energy. Everything I knew had been pulled away from me. Nothing was real to me anymore. Nothing made sense to me anymore, “Did my Dad know what my mom was?”
“Yes.” He breathed from behind me, “and he loved her more than life itself. We are not inherently evil, Erin.”
“What am I?” I asked when I turned to face him.
“You are one of a kind,” He smiled, cupping my face in his hands, “The only one of your kind.”
“And you knew this. Tarant knew this.” I fell to my knees in front of the window, “Corina knew this.”
“Corina thinks you are dead.” Declan’s voice came in a fury from behind me, “She ordered your death to be the first.”
That was the only statement Declan had ever said to me that I instantly believed. Corina had always hated me. I thought it was from my father’s unending love for my mom, and maybe part of that was still true. I
was
a constant reminder of her, of the sister Corina murdered in cold blood. My father refused to allow her memory to die, forever reminding Corina of what she had done. I looked into Declan’s worried eyes, but finding a way to care was impossible. Staring back at him blankly, I spoke without feeling, “With me dead, her deeds would vanish with me.”
“Who you are,” He kneeled before me and pulled my hands into his, “Has saved you. You are unique. When Tarant saw you for the first time, he could not deny himself a taste.” His fingers brushed down the side of my cheek, “You are strong, stronger than you believe.”
“None of this makes sense.” I shook my head, trying to dislodge the surmounting ache that his declarations caused me.
“It will,” He sighed, “In time.”
That was Declan’s answer for everything, ‘
time’
. But not even time could heal my wounds. I didn’t feel strong, I felt broken. A fraction of the girl I once was. Lost in the discovery of what I really was. How could anyone expect me to be able to cope? Declan did.
“If my father knew what I was, why didn’t he tell me?”
“To protect you. To protect Claire.” He intertwined our fingers while we sat together on his bare floor. I did not pull away from him. His touch meant nothing to me. “Your mom ran. She wanted no part in what The Supremacy had in store for the human race. Your dad fell in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her.”
“‘
Our kind are easy to love.
’” I repeated his words lifelessly.
“Yes. Claire remained in hiding, living inconspicuously with a commoner, staying undetected until Max’s name grew in popularity as a rebel.”
“And that’s when Corina showed.”
“She thought seducing Max would be easy,” He chuckled distractedly, “That’s what she does. Men fall over her. When your father refused her, she…”
“Killed the one holding her back.”
“Yes. Corina didn’t know Max had a child. She had never seen you. It wasn’t known our species could breed with humans.”
“Because being with one was against the law.”
“At the time
,
it was an unspoken rule. Our kind are superior to humans,” He shrugged as if that fact was obvious, “There wasn’t many that wished to have relations with one anyway. The law stands
now
because we know interbreeding is possible. They want to keep our race pure.”
“But it’s common knowledge that Keepers ‘have relations’ with female commoners from time to time.
Unwilling
female commoners, I might add.”
“Yes, and those females soon go missing, don’t they?” He said somberly.
Declan sat up and pulled a vial from his back packet, “
Please
take this.” He begged, placing the vial onto my shaking palm.
I spun the tiny tube over and over in my hand, watching the contents dip back and forth, “How could you poison me?”  I asked while watching his anti-venom bob inside the clear vial.
“You remain a mystery.” He crooned close to my ear, “I wasn’t sure that I
could
. It took a lot, much more than it would have taken the average human.”
“Am I venomous?” I smiled up at him, baring a toothy grin.
His immediate cathartic laughter shook my entire body, “I’m not sure. Would you like to find out?”
I was afraid of what he might have meant by that. Did he want me to infect another human?
No.
Even if I were venomous, the half-breed of a Supreme, I would
never
live as one of them, or feed as they fed. “No.” I spat harshly, and pulled my hands free of his.
“
No
.” He pulled me back, “That’s not what I meant. I have a chemist that has been studying your cells.”
“So I’m a science project now?” I interrupted.
“You’re unique.” He corrected as he pulled my stiff body to his chest.
Needing the distance, I pushed away from him and stood, then downed the vial that still rested in my hand. “My turn,” I chimed once I made it to the door.
“Your turn for what?”
Riffling through the drawer in the kitchen, I found what I needed. Popping the cap as Declan walked through the entryway, I smiled the moment the needle slowly pierced my skin.
“You really don’t have to do that.” He protested, coming to stand in front of me.
Ignoring him, I filled three tubes, popped the cap on the syringe and hopped on the counter, and kicked my legs in front of him, “So, when you drink from me.” I smiled at him once he reached for the tubes, “Is that like some form of cannibalism?”
“I’m not sure,” He grinned as he brought the first vial to his lips, “But I wouldn’t care either way,” He downed it without taking his eyes off me, “Because you taste
so
good.”
I had to fight the urge to vomit as I sat there and watched him drink.
“Are you hungry?” A smile took over his lips before he turned pointed toward the fridge, “There’s plenty of food in there for you.”
“Not after watching
that
.”
“Well, then, if you won’t eat why don’t you go relax in the bath, you have to be tight after last night.” He grinned once he finished off the last vial. “There are more clothes for you in the closet. A friend of mine will be here shortly, and he’s dying to meet you.”
I cut my eyes at him as I hopped from the counter, “Will I be the main course or the appetizer?”
“Neither,” His arms wrapped around my waist, “You are all
mine
.”
It felt strange, his touch, and even more-so that I was becoming accustomed to it. Even when all my senses told me I should run from him, that I should hate him. And sometimes I
did
hate him. But it seemed the more time I spent with Declan, the harder denying him became, “‘
Our kind are easy to love
.’” His words flitted through my mind.
Was that what was happening, was Declan putting me under his spell? I never had anyone look at me the way he did, touch me the way he did, and a small part of me never wanted him to stop. And at the same time, a part of me revolted at the thought of him being so close to me. It was wrong, I
knew
it was wrong, but I could not stop myself from wanting more.
I found myself debating the feelings that were welling up inside of me as I made my way to the washroom, “‘
We aren’t that different, You and I.’”
His words rang clear, holding
some
truth. We both knew what loss felt like; both of us grew up without the touch of a mother. We were the same… on the inside.
I dialed the water in the bath to a soothing temperature, my muscles craving the warmth of the water. My entire body was tight, but sleeping in the arms of a Keeper for twelve hours would do that to a person.
As I sat, I allowed my mind to wander. Every time I thought I was close to the brink of my sanity, Declan found a way to bring me back, even to smile when all I felt like was crying, “‘
I know everything about you
.’” How he could know anything about me seemed odd. I couldn’t imagine Corina giving her stepson a play-by-play of my life. Other than what I was genetically, I was unable to see how anything else mattered.
I don’t know how long I soaked in that bath, time ceased to exist as I bathed in the warmth of the pool that never seemed to chill. It was hard denying that feeling of ecstasy.
I laid my head against the brim of the tub and began humming my mother’s lullaby. 
“You have a beautiful voice,” Declan’s voice sounded next to my ear, “I hate to disturb you,” He grinned as he took in my shocked expression, “But we will be having company soon.” Grabbing the black silk robe that hung from the door, he held it up for me, “Come on. It’s time to get dressed.”
“All men are the same.” I grumbled, splashing water at him, “No matter the species.”
With quick fingers, he wiped the water from his face and bent over the tub, leaning in close. My heart started to race as his piercing blue eyes pierced mine. His nose rested on mine and I watched his hand disappear between my legs, “Can you blame me?” He breathed shallowly, his nose rubbing against mine, causing my breath to hitch.  His smile was infectious as he unplugged the drain and stood up, “Stand up.”
Shaking my head, I stood in front of him naked without a care to what he thought. Slowly, he wrapped the robe around me, kissing my bare shoulder as he pulled the garment tight, “What are you doing to me?” He sighed once our eyes met.
“I could ask you the same question.”
He led the way to his bedroom, his hand at the small of my back, “You have everything you’ll need in the closet and your underwear is in the top drawer of the dresser.”
As we came to a stop at the threshold, I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes, wanting to see them, to read what they could tell me, “Are you doing all this,” I waved my hand dismissively around the room and up my body, “because I’m the key to your plan?”