Selfless Love

Missing Pieces

Author's note: This chapter is from Grayson's pov. He was Maxi's attacker in the alley. I wanted to do something different, a little challenging and write from a "villain's" perspective. Allow him to fill in the gaps regarding what was missing from the previous chapter. This is the final part of this arc, I promise we will get back to sweet and fluffy in the next chapter. As always, I appreciate your support. I also appreciate your feedback as it allows me to improve and provides inspiration. Enjoy!

It's their fault she's gone.

It's their fault she suffered.

It's their fault I'm alone.

The same three phrases had repeated in Grayson's head over and over for hours, maybe days, he wasn't sure. He did not know how long he had been in this strange prison. An asylum, one of the maester's had called it in passing. It was the most uncomfortable experience he had ever had. Someone was always watching. When he woke, when he ate, and when he slept. Hell, he was fairly certain they monitored him while he bathed. The guards claimed it was to make sure he didn't hurt himself or others. Even when he could not see that someone was watching him, he could feel them.

The maesters, the counseling, the scheduled exercise, it was supposed to help. But it wasn't. His isolation only made it worse. There were those who were always there, watching, but they did not care to speak to him or perhaps it was simply not allowed. When they did speak, he could hear the condemnation tucked beneath their cold instructions. His room was bleak. There was a small bed, if you could call it that. It was a mattress on the floor, as a bed frame was deemed too dangerous. It was more comfortable than the heap of rubbish he had slept on while living on the streets when his life fell apart but now he couldn't sleep at all. Four pale walls surrounded him and a small narrow window high above to allow in a sliver of sunlight, not even enough to provide warmth or hope. He asked for someone to be assigned to share his room but the priestesses in charge said that due to his violent tendencies he would remain in isolation.

Where had it all gone wrong? He had the perfect plan and it should have worked. He had accounted for everything, well, almost everything. He knew that in order to succeed he had to dampen the Lady's powers. Even heavily pregnant, he knew she would fight like hell for her children as any parent would. So he had found an underground dealer and acquired the necessary tools to keep her restrained. But the children, their power, never in a dozen lifetimes would he have expected power like that at such a young age.

...

In an instant everything had gone utterly and horribly wrong.

He had the Lady and her children restrained and had been generous enough to offer her a choice. Who would live and who would pay for the death of his beloved daughter, Isabella.

Lady Maximilian trembled in his arms, out of fear for the lives of her children and the life of the baby in her womb. He tried not to look at the young Calypse girl because she reminded him too much of his own daughter. She was fiesty and headstrong just like his little girl had been. Instead he focused on the boy, full of so much rage, and fiercely protective of his sister.

Maximilian shifted in his arms, a feeble attempt to escape. Grayson tightened his grip on her arm and pressed the small blade closer to her belly. He looked at her, her eyes shut tight, and lower lip trembling.

He was about to make the choice for her when a shout dragged his attention away from her. He looked back at the men who were supposed to be restraining the children only to find them both standing a few paces back holding their arms as though in pain.

"Why did you let go, you fools!" Grayson shouted furiously.

At first, neither man offered a reply, as though they were in shock, still trying to figure out exactly what had occurred. One of the men, Matthew, who had held Andrew, cleared his throat but moved no closer to the children.