Chapter 129 Kaelen suspects 2

Chapter 129: Chapter 129 Kaelen suspects 2

Talia’s POV

The bird hung in the air between us, still frozen, with its wings still outstretched, and its eyes still wide. It was proof of what I had done, and proof of what I was.

I could not lie anymore, and I could not hide anymore. The truth was visible, and undeniable, and I could not take it back.

I looked at Kaelen, and his face was unreadable.

Kaelen walked toward me. His gray eyes were dark, and they were searching my face like he was looking for something he had missed.

"I have known something was wrong since the night we met," he said. "Your scent does not match your face, and you are not what you pretend to be."

I stood frozen at his words, and I said nothing.

"Tell me the truth," he said.

I looked at him for a long moment. His face was hard, but his eyes were soft. He was not angry, and he was not afraid. He just wanted to know.

So I nodded. "Come back with me to the room, and I’ll tell you the complete truth, and nothing less than that."

Kaelen looked at me, then he looked at the leaves scattered around, but said nothing. I knew he already understood. He looked at me again for a moment, then he nodded.

Before leaving, I looked at the bird that I had frozen earlier. “Unfreeze.” I whispered.

The bird almost fell, but caught itself before it reached the ground. Then, it flew away very slowly, even though it was obviously trying to fly faster. It swayed with the breeze for a while, before it became steady, and flew away faster, as if it was been chased.

I turned back to Kaelen, and nodded to him as a sign that I was ready to go, and he nodded back.

We turned to walk back, and he fell into steps beside me, and his hand found mine, warm and steady, and he did not let go.

We walked through the forest first, retracing the path I had taken to the clearing. The trees were quiet, and the birds were singing again, and the leaves I had knocked down were scattered across the grass like fallen confetti.

We walked back to the pack house in silence.

Kaelen did not speak, and I did not have the words to explain what I was about to tell him. My heart was pounding, and my hands were shaking, and every step felt heavier than the last.

Wolves bowed as we passed. Some of them glanced at Kaelen’s face, then at mine, and I saw the confusion in their eyes. But their eyes did not stay on us for long.

Kaelen opened the door to our room and stepped aside to let me enter first. I walked to the center of the room and stopped. My legs felt weak, and my chest was tight, and I did not know how to begin.

"Talia," he said. His voice was quiet and gentle.

I turned to look at him. He was still standing by the door, with his arms crossed over his chest, but his gray eyes were soft. He was patiently waiting, and he was giving me time, space, and the chance to find my words.

I took a breath, then I drew in another. My heart was still pounding, but I had come this far, and I could not turn back now. I had to tell him, and I had to trust him.

"Whatever it is," Kaelen said, "you can tell me."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he would not look at me differently, that he would not be afraid, and that he would not walk away or reject me.

But I had spent fifteen years hiding. So trusting someone with the truth felt like standing on the edge of a cliff and hoping I would not fall.

With my heart still pounding heavily against my chest, and my hands still shaking at my sides, I walked to my mother’s trunk. I knelt in front of it and opened the lid.

Then I reached into my mother’s trunk, and pulled out my mother’s journal from the hidden compartment. The leather was soft and worn, and the pages were still yellowed with age, just like I had found it.

I held it out to him. "I am a Silvertongue," I said. "My mother was the last one, and now, I am the last one."

He looked at me with confusion in his eyes, then he took the journal from my hands. He turned the journal back and forth, before he opened it, and he read.

The silence stretched between us like a rope pulled tight.

I watched his face as he read. His gray eyes moved across the pages, fast at first, then slower, like he was trying to memorize every word.

His jaw tightened on the book, until his knuckles turned white. His hands trembled, but he did not look away.

He read about the Silvertongues, about the hunters, and about the power that lived in my voice.

He read my mother’s warning. "It is addictive. So use it only when you must."

He read her apology. "I am sorry. I am truly so sorry."

When he finished, he closed the journal and looked at me.

He pulled me closer, and looked into my eyes with his gray eyes that were soft. "You are not alone anymore," he said.

I looked up at him, and my eyes were burning with tears I had been holding back.

"You are not afraid?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"You are not angry that I hid this from you?" I asked again.

His jaw tightened. "I am angry that you thought you had to hide it alone, but I am not angry at you."

He pulled me closer, and his arms wrapped around my back, and he held me against his chest.

"I promised to protect you," he said. "That promise did not change because of what is in this journal. It only became more important."

I closed my eyes and let myself breathe.

For the first time in fifteen years, I was not hiding, and for the first time in fifteen years, I was truly not alone.