“I thought I was helping him out of an abusive situation.” He spoke quietly, and he couldn’t hold Sammy’s gaze for more than a few seconds at a time. “Turns out he had been caught trying to steal from a necromancer. I didn’t know until after everything went down.”
Sammy winced. “What was he trying to steal?”
“A soul stone.”
“Oh.” His brow creased, and his mouth turned down at the corners. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds bad.”
It had definitely been bad.
The necromancer had also been the village healer. People came from miles in hopes of a cure, and the witch had always provided. For a price.
Those desperate enough, who couldn’t barter with gold or goods, offered something much more precious as payment.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. A magical vessel that houses a soul.”
Sammy’s frown deepened. “I’m assuming it wasn’t just some random soul.”
Dominic shook his head, but he didn’t continue right away. He owed his mate an explanation, but Sammy didn’t need a blow by blow. Instead, he settled on an abridged version with key highlights.
“Louis Cabrera was the biggest mistake I ever made. I thought I was rescuing him, but he didn’t need a savior. He spent weeks becoming exactly what I wanted—the way he looked, his personality, even how he talked.”
“Did you love him?” There was no judgement in Sammy’s tone. Just curiosity and maybe a hint of sympathy.
“I thought I did,” he admitted begrudgingly.
It had all been a lie, though. Everything about Louis had been a carefully curated façade designed to elicit a response, and he’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.
“He asked me to help him take back something important, something that had been stolen from him.” Dominic laughed, a sound filled with bitterness and self-deprecation. “Of course, I said yes.”
“The soul stone,” Sammy guessed.
He dipped his head. “I didn’t know it at the time. Once I realized what he was really after, it was too late.”
Too agitated to remain still, he released his mate and resumed his earlier pacing, his steps stiff and jerky. Sammy didn’t try to stop him. He didn’t follow. He just waited patiently while Dominic organized his thoughts and rearranged his emotions.
“He wanted to use me as a host to bring back his mate, the person he actually loved.” More than that, Louis had tried to erase him, to trap him inside his own mind while someone else wore his body. “He almost succeeded.”
He heard Sammy’s soft gasp, but he couldn’t look at him. He couldn’t bear to see what expression he wore in that moment.
“People died that day.” The magical blowback had ripped through the village like an explosion. “I almost died.” For a long time, he wished he had. “Thierry saved me, but it cost him everything.” He rubbed a hand over his face and growled. “He’s still paying for it.”
But that wasn’t his story to tell.
“If that happened to me, I’d probably hate changelings too. No wonder Thierry can’t stand the sight of me.”
No longer able to resist the urge, Dominic came to a halt and finally turned. He saw neither sadness nor condemnation in his mate’s eyes. No pity or anger.
Rather, he looked utterly defeated.
Fuck.
“Thierry doesn’t hate you. He—”
“Hates the idea of me.”
Not exactly, but close enough that he couldn’t argue. “He’ll come around.”
Maybe. Probably.