Hybrid: The Prophecy

Chapter 10

"What did you do today?" Kai asks me.

We're both laying on our backs, my right arm through the bars of the cell so we can still hold hands. I'm staring up at the ceiling, but I can tell that Kai is staring at me. His gaze leaves an ignited fire in my body that I can simply feel.

"I hung out with Brynn. We went out for coffee and did some shopping. Well, I did some shopping. She got a whole new wardrobe since nothing fits her anymore," I explain softly.

"Why does nothing fit her? It's practically impossible for her to be gaining weight," Kai asks, and I realize that he doesn't know about Brynn's pregnancy. I bust out laughing, turning my head to face Kai. His navy eyes are full of confusion as he says, "I don't understand why it's so funny."

"It's funny because I assumed that you already knew, but it was stupid of me to assume that. She's pregnant!" I tell him. His eyes widen with shock before he grins. Then he frowns again. "What?" I ask, sitting up.

Kai sits up with me and says, "She was pregnant this entire time, and I tried to have her killed." His voice is somber, and I hate the guilt I hear. He refuses to meet my gaze, instead looking down at our entwined hands.

"Hey," I say softly. When he doesn't look back at me, I remove my hand from his, put my other arm through the bars as I shift onto my knees, and gently grab both sides of his face to make him look at me. He continues to look down, so I add a sharpness to my tone when I say, "Hey," again. His eyes finally meet mine. "You didn't know, and she didn't die."

"I wouldn't have ordered her to be killed if I had known she was pregnant," he says quietly.

"Kai, you didn't know," I repeat.

"I know that, Amara, but it makes me think about all the other woman I ordered to have killed who were pregnant."

"You didn't know about them, either," I say softly, but I suddenly understand why he's feeling so much guilt. Kai has killed hundreds of thousands of people in his seven hundred and eleven years with no regrets until now. He's beginning to feel all the regret and guilt at once, and there's nothing he can do about it.

His pain is making me physically hurt, and I want to make it stop.

I know the things he's done in the past are awful, and there's no excuse for them. I'm not making any excuses, but he's my mate. No matter how many horrible, awful, unforgivable things he's done in the past, I was always destined to forgive him. There's no way for him to reverse what's done, but he can continue to be the man he's been for me. That's the Kai that I know, and that's the Kai the rest of the world should know, too.

I have no idea how to convince him of that.

So, I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"Kai, I forgive you."

His gaze hardens, like he doesn't believe the words that just came out of his mouth.

"Amara, how could you forgive me for everything that I've done?" He sounds disgusted with himself, and I hate it. He pushes his hands away from my face and stands up, beginning to pace around the cell. I stand up as well, but I remain in place. I'm hurt that he pushed me away, but I know it wasn't personal.

"Because you're my mate!" I respond. I watch him walk back and forth along the bars, a hand running through his dark hair. I'm glad that the guards have allowed him to use the shower down here in the cells every other day. Today was a shower day, and his hair is nice and soft. It sits just right on his head, and I ache to run my hands through it.

"Is that the only reason?" he demands, stopping and turning to face me. After being in the cell for a week and unable to shave, he's grown a stubble, and I won't bother denying that I think it's incredibly hot. Even when he gets out of here, I hope he leaves it.

It's because of that sudden distraction of his stubbles that my voice is an octave higher when I say, "Of course not!"

I don't blame him for not believing me as he asks, "Than why else do you forgive me?" I wouldn't either with how I just sounded, but I know that I do. I'm betraying every single person in my life by forgiving him, but how could I not?

I look directly into his eyes to try and help myself focus. I don't want my voice to waiver at all with my next words, so once I feel sure that I'm ready to say them, I do. "I forgive you because you are not the same man you were a week ago. I may be the only person who sees that right now, but that's enough for me. I hope it's enough for you too."

Kai's eyes don't leave mine, and the intensity of his gaze makes me hate the bars separating us more in this moment than I ever have before. I know the hatred is only going to increase the longer they keep us apart.

"Do you really believe that?" he asks, his voice much softer than it was moments before. I know it's not him questioning whether or not I believe my words; it's him questioning how anyone could believe something like that about him.

"Kai, I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

"I know."

A silence settles over us. I sit back down in front of the bars, moving until my knees are pressed against the metal. I stare at Kai as he contemplates what to do next. Eventually, he sits down in front of me, keeping a good distance from the bars. I put both my arms through them to take his hands in mine.

"I know this has been really hard," I whisper, and he meets my eyes as I continue talking. "And it's not going to get any easier. But me and you. . .we're in this together. No matter what happens, I will stay by your side. I promise." I squeeze his hands.

The corner of Kai's lip turns up in a small smile, and it makes me smile. "You promise?" he teases.

"I do," I nod. "We're going to be the best aunt and uncle that child has, and trust me, we've got plenty of competition."

"Plenty?"

Just like with him not knowing about Brynn's pregnancy, I'm hit with the fact that he knows so little about all of us. Other than the fact that Brynn and Max are hybrids, Kai really doesn't know anything.

"Yeah. Brynn's the oldest of ten."

"Ten?" Kai gasps, his eyes widening in shock.

"Eleven, if you count me," I laugh. "Her dad met his second chance mate only a few months after her mom died. Their oldest is only a year younger than Brynn, and the youngest is five. They're practically my siblings too. I grew up with all of them, and I never had any."

"Do you wish you did?"

"Sometimes," I shrug, playing with our conjoined fingers, "But I like that I have so many when I go to her house and then go home when they get annoying."

Kai chuckles at my words and says, "I had a younger sister from when my dad met his second chance mate."

"Tell me about her."

I watch his eyes as he talks, noticing that there's little emotion. "Her name was Kiana, and she was the most amazing human I've ever known. She was kind to everyone, and even as a female in the thirteen hundreds, she never let anyone get in her way. Even though she was younger than me, she was always my inspiration."

"She sounds amazing. I wish I could have gotten to know her," I respond, meaning every word.

"I think you two would have gotten along well. You both have that drive to not let anyone get in your way."

I smile at the compliment and ask, "Do you miss her?"

Kai thinks about it for a second and eventually nods, "I do, but it's hard to feel so sad about missing someone when they've been gone for so much longer than they were alive. She lived a happy life and died of old age, so there's no trauma from a horrible death. Of course I miss her, but it was so long ago that I don't feel sad anymore. If that makes sense."

"It does, actually. Obviously I'm not in your position, but it doesn't sound like it's coming from a horrible place."

"It's not," he smiles, squeezing my hand. "Nothing is anymore."

I believe him.