Chapter 289: A Silver Lining
Jacob~
I couldn’t shake the feeling of Mariel’s threat burning down my spine. Even hours after she disappeared into her violet mist, her words slithered through my chest like venom. Two days.
Two days to betray my children or lose Easter... and Rose.
I paced the darkened hotel hallway, silent as a ghost, my boots brushing against the worn carpet. My powers hummed beneath my skin like an angry swarm, clawing to be released. I could destroy Mariel with a flick of my wrist. I could unmake her existence, bend her mind into nothingness, but... the damned contract.
Gods above, I hated myself for signing that damn contract in a moment of desperation. Even back then, I’d known full well what she had become. Dream Weaver. Nightmare Crafter. She had long twisted her powers into something dark and vile, but I let my desperation win. And now, because of that cursed contract between us, my will was hers to command as long as she upheld her end of the deal.
And she did. As far as I could tell, anyway. The new reality she built for Easter was solid – airtight. No old memories could break through her woven illusions.
I clenched my fists, nails digging crescents into my palms as I slipped through the shadows. I was a god. Mist. Wolf Spirit. Father of all wolves. The night bent for me. Reality itself whispered at my feet. Yet here I was, forced into servitude by a witch with a parchment and ink.
I couldn’t leave Easter tonight. Not after what Mariel threatened. I shifted silently through the walls, weaving my essence into mist, until I stood in the corner of her room, unseen. The soft moonlight streaming through the parted curtains formed a gentle silver glow across Easter’s sleeping form. Her wild brown curls spilled across her pillow like an untamed river, framing her delicate face. Even in sleep, she looked worried, her brows twitching with some half-formed nightmare.
Beside her, little Rose snored softly, her chubby fingers curled around the edge of her bunny blanket. Donut lay at her feet, his orange tail flicking lazily in his dreams.
I let out a slow breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The sight calmed something in me. Despite the rot of Mariel’s threat coiling through my chest, despite the rage seething under my ribs, this room... this tiny hotel room with peeling wallpaper and a rattling air conditioner... it felt like home. Because they were here. My girls.
Hours passed in silence. I watched the clock tick by, every second tightening the noose around my throat. I was so lost in thought I didn’t notice Rose’s eyes flutter open until she sat up, blinking sleepily in the moonlight.
"Daddy Jacob?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists. "Daddy Jacob, where are you?"