“I mean which member of your family do I destroy first?”
“Marcus…” Celine began.
“No, Celine. You are correct, enough of the games. For centuries I have allowed you chance after chance, hoping you would realize your mistakes on your own. You have squandered your opportunities at every turn. You have run out of opportunities. Now you must be left with no other choices.”
“No, Marcus, do not do this!” Celine warned.
Marcus turned from her, pacing the floor. “Whom do I start with, Celine? Celeste? No, your dear sister isn’t punishment enough for your behavior. Besides, she may still prove useful to me.” He spun, stalking in the opposite direction. Celine set her jaw, seething inside. “Perhaps Grayson. Hmmm, no, he should suffer watching his family being destroyed one by one. Perhaps an easier target. A human one. Oh!” He smiled to himself. “What about dear Damien?”
Celine gasped, a tear rolling down her cheek. “Do not harm Damien, Marcus, I warn you.”
Marcus chuckled. “Have I touched a nerve, my dear?” Celine glared at him. “Never fear, Celine. I shall not begin with your precious Damien. No, I believe I’ll begin with Avery and her children, again.”
“Marcus, please,” Celine cried. “This will not help the situation in any way.”
“I disagree. I imagine it will be quite enlightening for you.”
“Harming my family will not endear you to me, Marcus.”
“No, I don’t expect it will. I have no illusions about what this will achieve. The intent is not endearment, but rather surrender.”
Celine swallowed hard. His threats were never idle. He had attacked her family many times before. This time she wouldn’t be there to protect them. Gray and Alexander would be alone to attempt to deflect any attacks. Marcus, far more powerful than either, was capable of destroying them. He wouldn’t destroy them outright. He would toy with them first, drag it out, make her and them suffer. A tear rolled down her cheek as she contemplated the dire circumstances.
“I will provide a report tomorrow evening. Good night, Celine.” He spun on his heel, stalking across the room.
“Wait!” Celine called to him.
He stopped halfway across the room. “Unless you have changed your mind, Celine, I am finished with this conversation.”
“I’d like to speak with Celeste,” Celine requested. Marcus ignored her, taking another two steps toward the stairs. “Marcus, wait!” Celine called.
“Celine, I will not continue to play these games. I warned you. You refused to heed my warning. The only way any of your requests will be honored is when you’ve made a show of good faith on your part.” He again turned away from her.
Celine swallowed hard, choking on the lump in her throat. “Fine,” Celine answered. “I am ready to concede.” The words stuck in her throat, difficult to speak.
Marcus faced her. He cocked his head to the side. “I’m sorry? I’m not sure I heard you, Celine.”
“You heard me, Marcus. Do not make me repeat it,” Celine spat. “Now, I’d like to see my sister.”
Marcus approached her cell. “While this is a positive first step, you are in no position to make demands, my dear.”
Celine sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Marcus, this is not easy. Please, do not make it harder than it already is.”
“I don’t imagine it is,” Marcus admitted. “All right, Celine. I shall arrange a meeting with Celeste.”
“And you will not harm my family?”
“Your former family, Celine.” A tear rolled down Celine’s cheek at the words. “And no, I will not launch an attack on them. But I do require a show of good faith.” Celine gazed at him, her brow crinkling. “Your wedding ring.”
Celine glanced to her finger. “Marcus…”
“Celine, this is not negotiable. He is no longer your husband. Remove your ring.”
“No,” Celine defied him.
“Then we have nothing more to say.” He turned away again.
“Wait,” Celine cried. She rubbed the ring around her finger, closing her eyes. She memorized the weight of it on her finger, the cool feel of the metal on her fingertips. A whimper escaped her lips as she slid the ring off her finger. She held it in her fingers a moment longer, vowing to retrieve it one day. She stalked to the cell door and held the ring out.
Marcus accepted her wedding band. “You’ve made a wise choice, Celine. I shall arrange the meeting with Celeste.”
Celine wiped another tear from her cheek, nodding. “Thank you.”
Marcus reached through the cell door, offering her a handkerchief. He wiped a tear from her cheek. “Do not cry, Celine. It will become easier.” Marcus pocketed the ring, leaving Celine alone as he crossed the basement and ascended the stairs.
Celine doubled over; her body wracked with sobs. She slid down the wall to a seated position. After a moment, she collapsed to the floor, weeping. Her mind replayed another moment when she had relinquished her wedding ring. Just over twenty-five years ago she had handed the ring back to Gray. Having been granted a new life by her adjudicator, she had given him her wedding ring while saying goodbye. She recalled the moment as though it were yesterday.
It was midnight. She stood with the adjudicator on the beach. She begged it for another life, a normal life. The adjudicator granted it to her: twenty-five years to live as a human. If she did not revert to her current state, she could live and die as a human. Relief coursed over her as she realized the second chance she was granted. Relief mixed with turmoil as Gray approached them on the beach.
“Celine,” he called as he witnessed the scene. She had no words for him, but he needed none. The tears shining in her eyes told him all he needed to know. “Celine,” he lamented again.
“Come, Celine Devereaux Buckley,” the adjudicator stated. “We must go.”
“Please,” she begged it, “give me a moment to say goodbye.”
The adjudicator glanced at her, its sideways eyelids blinking. “So be it.”
Celine walked toward Gray, who was trailed by Alexander, both of
