The Darkholme Gathering (Titus)

Anne glanced at me as I stepped into the room, before turning her attention back to the mirror, dress transforming. Of course she wasn’t ready. From the feel of the magic in the room she’d already tried multiple different options, searching for the perfect dress for the occasion, with that one being another failure from the look she gave it. Hence Thaddeus sending me up, because there was fashionably late and then there was rude. Rudeness was not an option when we were dealing with the Darkholmes.

“Colour or cut?”

She shrugged. “Do I even need to go?”

I crossed the room to stand behind her, hands resting on her shoulders as I looked into her eyes in the mirror. “You are a Lockwood.” The look she gave me was one I’d seen more times than I could remember, still my Anne even without her memories, and I couldn’t help the smile. “However you might feel about it there are certain expectations.”

Even though there was no longer a Council, that fell apart a lifetime after our deaths, there were still Greater families, and the Lockwoods had remained one. Somehow. I’d missed more than I wished during the time before our return, with the Lockwood house in the hands of Thaddeus’s older brother Emory. Protecting Anne, as it always had, came first, and without her memories it was a much more complicated endeavour.

We’d both inherited our mother’s hair and eyes, so we looked far more Tyrell than we did Lockwood, while Zachary, our unplanned older brother, had all the luck. Anne, the way she always had been, was beautiful. She suited it: shimmering red hair that curled down her back when she didn’t have it in some complicated updo, emerald green eyes, and a smattering of freckles over her nose. I, slowly, had come to terms with how much I hated my looks, fortunate enough not to have the freckles too, but I’d never be happy. Then again I hadn’t been happy as a Lockwood either. Everything I’d done was for her.

“Have you ever thought about leaving Marren Vale?”

From the very first day Anne was able to tell whether or not someone was lying to her. Alongside her empathy it made my task arduous at times, as the promise I made to Papa meant there was more I couldn’t tell her than she wanted, and that led us to a question she’d asked before, for different reasons. The honest answer was yes, I had, but lifetimes earlier, before the soulbond. Before I chose to be Anne’s protector.

“Not recently.” Enough of the truth, but without putting her in any danger, as, although Anne showed signs of potentially regaining her memories, all it took was one mistake for her mind to be flooded with our past lives. “Father believes in love.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Love is not a possibility if I stay, Titus. I’ve met every suitor, and connected with none of them.”

Unusual for Anne, but not entirely unexpected. The wards survived, magic hadn’t spread further, protecting those outside from the damage it might do. Only they weren’t as strong. Mages were able to leave Marren Vale, so magic had changed the rest of Taliesin, and certain souls hadn’t yet returned, Anne’s light lost to them during the years we’d been gone. With her alive once more they’d be drawn back, but by then, hopefully, it would all be over.

“No one knows what the future might hold.”

Even Seers. One thing I was almost certain of, there was still a chance it might change, was that the new arrivals would be Fitzgeralds, because of how much I couldn’t See. Dante returning, the way he was meant to. Anne’s soulmate. He’d convinced her to leave, and I’d… I knew how it would have looked to the two of them. Rather than let her go I’d killed us both, but I’d, as hard as it was to admit, lost control of the ritual. The price I paid was the possibility I’d lost her for good… which was going to happen even if she did remember.

She shook her head. “It’s unlike you to be so trite, Titus.”

I sent magic through her dress, transforming it into something similar to the one she’d worn for the last gathering we’d been to together, but in a slightly different shade of green, closer to her eyes. There was a shawl over her shoulders, sparkling the way she did for those who were able to see her soul. A smile touched her lips for the first time.

“Give it time, sweetheart.” I kissed the top of her head. “There’s still a few months before you come of age.”

“You still haven’t found anyone.” She turned to look at me. “Zachary’s been courting, but you…”

“There are those who aren’t meant to marry.”

“Maybe I’m one of them.” Without thinking I shook my head, and she raised an eyebrow. “Yet you are? Have you noticed the way people look at you?”

“Lockwoods are sought after.” I shrugged. “When they look at me, more often than not, they see the chance of having magically strong children. That doesn’t mean they’re interested in who I truly am.” Probably for the best, considering. “Or that they actually find me attractive.”

“Titus…” Anne stepped closer, eyes gentle, because she’d been the one to walk in on me multiple times as I stared at myself in a mirror, trying to accept who I’d become. “I know I’m just your sister, so it probably means nothing, but you are attractive.”

She took my hands in hers, the way she had many times before, and it felt the same, even though it wasn’t. Her words meant more than she should ever know, but the way she looked at me… I was her brother. Nothing more. Yes, the bond had an effect, just not that much of one, which was also for the best. Experience told me the way I felt about Anne would never change. We’d been siblings too long for her to ever see me as anything else, which was my choice. Maybe, without her memories, there might have been a chance, only I couldn’t go against what Papa wanted, with Dante finally in her life.

“Your kindness is appreciated.” Even I could hear how stilted I sounded, and I shook my head. “Anne, I…”

“Don’t apologise.” She smiled. “I understand.”

To her it made sense. Of course I’d react that way. She was my sister. Yet I’d never fallen out of love with her. No matter what choices I made, how many times I forced myself to do what she needed me to, there was still a part of me, one I’d never let have control, hoping she’d choose me. When the other option was her soulmate. Dante, then, had clearly been a Diaz, his eyes so like Gabriel’s, a reminder of the choices Anne made after Elias.

I didn’t know what to expect when he walked back into our lives. Dante hadn’t stayed. I’d seen him once after Anne died, staring at her portrait in tears, and I’d kept my distance, until he finally left the house. Then I strengthened the wards on the places I needed kept hidden, certain it would be some time before we lived again. Every so often I Looked in on Marren Vale, especially the people Anne cared about, with no sign of Dante. So the Fitzgeralds would be new magic, if I was right. I squeezed her hands, we needed to leave soon, my thoughts more of a distraction than I wanted them to be.

“Honestly, you do understand better than anyone.” I glanced at myself in the mirror. “Are you ready?”

“No.” She looked down. “Lockwoods are sought after.” There was an emotion in her voice I hated hearing, and I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into my arms. “I hate it.”

“Father wants you to be happy.” I kissed the top of her head again, one of the few safe ways I could kiss her. “We could dance.” She rested her head on my chest, breathing deeply. “If you’d be more comfortable.”

She didn’t move as she nodded. Without looking I knew there were tears, because she wasn’t wrong, and I wouldn’t have said any of the young men who called Marren Vale home were a potential husband for Anne. “Papa won’t be angry?”

“Of course not.” If he was I’d deal with it. “The only way you’d upset him now is if you made the family appear rude.”

Anne glanced at the clock. “Stay with me.”

I stepped back, wiping the tears off her cheeks, wishing I’d known sooner how uncomfortable she was. “For as long as you need me.”

With a smile I held my arm out to her, and she accepted it. “Can you tell?”

“Mother might be able to see it, but anyone who doesn’t know you won’t.”

“Good.”

Leading her down to the foyer, where our parents waited with Zachary, I did notice Marion’s worry, she’d seen the signs of Anne’s unhappiness, but it was a conversation they wouldn’t have right then. Thaddeus’s eyes met with mine for a moment. I’d succeeded, the way he expected me to. We stepped out into Marren Vale together. Stars bright in the summer sky, Dante’s return happening at a very similar time to his original arrival, I glanced at Anne, seeing her as she was for a moment.

Zachary walked slightly in front of us, the eldest son and heir to the Lockwood name. We’d never had a brother before. For lifetimes it was just the two of us, the way it was in our first life, when I learnt the truth about my little sister – she was the Heart of Marren Vale, her soul entwined with magic in a way no one else’s was. If anything were to happen to her there wouldn’t be magic, but when Papa asked me to be her protector neither of us cared about that the way we did about Anne.

She’d never known she was the Heart, although I believed Celeste could have seen the differences in her soul without understanding what they meant. It was from her Anne had learnt about the bond between us, something I couldn’t explain properly without breaking the promise I’d made to Papa, causing an even bigger rift in our relationship. Ever since our first life I’d asked her to trust me, without being able to answer most of the questions she’d asked. Now she didn’t even remember what they were, but she did at least live.

Marion struggled with her fertility, not a surprise in that house, but then she got pregnant again after years of impatiently waiting, giving me a chance to finally draw Anne’s soul into the new body. Fortunately the Heart was strong, and then my little sister was back once more, her memories clearly still missing the moment I first held her. That was why I’d been so protective of her through the years. I was the only one in Marren Vale who knew the whole truth about her, the bond more than it had been before she left with Dante.

On reaching the front door of the Darkholme’s, a building I knew better as it was when Cornelius called it home, Thaddeus knocked, and then we waited. Cornelius’s death meant they’d have lost their place on the Council for the first time, had it still existed, as none of the children were strong enough to take his place. There was a chance, albeit a small one, he might have become the father of Anne’s child, but that was one of the many possibilities that hadn’t happened. Instead he’d tried to gain more power after Julian borrowed his body, only to find he wasn’t strong enough to pass the wards I’d created. My only regret was Leonora chose to go with him.

Celeste’s devastation was something I’d never forget, or forgive myself for causing. The way she’d let me comfort her, because there was no one else, and how it led to me opening up to someone for the first time. She was the most powerful soul mage since Julian, able to see more than I wanted her to. I had regrets when it came to the friendship we might have been able to build, but my death made that an impossibility, so she’d probably ended up coming to the same conclusion Dante did – I’d killed Anne.

When the door was opened, another Lars Darkholme standing there to welcome us, I studied the man as he talked to Thaddeus. He was one of Sterling’s descendants, and took after that side of the family. None had the blond hair the Darkholmes had once been known for. That was lost with Cornelius. Following Thaddeus into the house, I could see the way Lars looked at Anne, likely seeing her as a possibility for one of his sons. She tightened her grip on my arm. I put my hand over hers, she’d never have to deal with that alone, as we made our way alone the hall to the room where everyone was gathered.

All the Greater families were invited, Thaddeus making his way around greeting everyone, the way I’d done in the past, back when I was the head of the family. Technically he wasn’t. It was Emory, but Thaddeus was the one who had the power, as well as being Gregor Tyrell’s chosen heir, so there were many within the Greater families who’d focused on their relationship with him rather than Emory. We reached Emory, hand shaking and smiles shared, Thaddeus’s work to reconnect with his older brother showing signs of bearing the necessary fruit.

Emory even gave Marion a brotherly hug and kiss on the cheek, something I’d never seen before, a surprised smile on her lips as she hugged him back. “I wanted to invite you for a meal. Brunch tomorrow, maybe.” Thaddeus glanced at me, and I nodded, because I’d been planning on something like that happening. “We have much to catch up on.”

“Brunch tomorrow sounds wonderful.” Thaddeus curled an arm around Marion. “I’m glad we’re at the point that’s a possibility.”

“I am too, brother.” Emory smiled. “You haven’t had a chance to meet my children yet, have you?” He gestured. “My daughters, Sarah and Emily, and my son, Finn.”

Thaddeus smiled back. “It’s a pleasure.” He looked at us. “My sons, Zachary and Titus, and my daughter, Anne.”

Slowly, thoughtfully, Emory looked at me, then at Anne, a flicker of interest in his eyes, which at least meant he also knew the history. “I hope the morning will bring with it a chance for us to all properly get to know each other.”

Whether or not that was possible we were at least one step closer. Thaddeus hadn’t been born in Marren Vale, so the relationships he’d built were much weaker, leaving me with limited options when it came to the ritual. Due to the magic used we’d lived far more times than Papa hoped, because I had to protect the family if we stood a chance of succeeding, his focus on Anne led to him missing certain warning signs. Maybe, if I’d made the decision to be honest with her originally, everything would have been easier, because then it would just be one of us who’d need a Lockwood body.

One thing I’d learned Emory hadn’t was the two daughters he’d just introduced us to weren’t his. Finn, fortunately, was, so there was a Lockwood, but Sarah and Emily were conceived during Georgina’s affairs. Luckily for her they took after their mother rather than their fathers. Georgina, a Galbraith, married for the Lockwood name, and the marriage vows were unsurprisingly weak. From what I’d Seen she might have loved her eldest daughter’s father, only he wasn’t a Lockwood. He wasn’t from any of the Greater families, and there were expectations, leading to a decision. Eventually the time came when he also married someone else, so there were others, Georgina desperately seeking an emotional connection, because Emory’s disinterest was clear to anyone who saw the two of them together.

Including his own brother. Thaddeus’s arm was tightly around Marion’s waist. Marion, I’d Seen, would never break her vows, even though she had no feelings for Thaddeus. He loved her, in the same way I’d always loved Anne, while Marion originally saw Thaddeus as a way to leave Marren Vale. Only then he met Gregor. An ill timed comment from Isaac led to an invitation being sent, and Thaddeus wanted Gregor’s blessing to marry his daughter, which he got, easily, when Gregor saw the way Thaddeus looked at Marion. A reminder of the way he’d felt about his late wife Clara. Gregor also introduced Thaddeus to a ritual.

My ritual, technically. At some point, I didn’t know when, a Tyrell gained access to the Lockwood house, where one of my journals was available for anyone to read, thanks to my mistake. Gregor inherited it, along with others written by the Tyrells who followed, while they attempted to succeed where they thought I’d failed, because what they didn’t understand was that it was the final ritual. Immortality took a lot of power, but, more than that, I had to wait for the right time. Like Gregor Thaddeus wanted immortality for the people he loved. So did I. Even though it technically protected the Heart, magic no longer at risk because it was safe, I’d cared more about the woman I loved, and that was why I stood with her arm in mine, being her brother once more.

Fortunately that journal didn’t hold anything more personal. The wards on that library stayed strong, so Thaddeus knew nothing about Titus Lockwood being in love with his sister. Unlike Papa. He’d worried I might weaken, but I‘d stayed strong, for her. Even after I’d lost control of the ritual, Anne’s death the most painful of all, because the day would come when she’d remember, and I couldn’t imagine her being able to forgive me. Not when I should have known better than to use such powerful magics when I was emotionally compromised. She’d become another scar, when that was the last thing I’d ever imagined possible.

After the ritual the Riordans stayed in Marren Vale for a time. I’d found myself Watching Celeste more often than I planned to, our unexpected connection one of the reasons I truly wanted her to live. Being the matriarch wasn’t what she wanted, but she hadn’t been given a choice, and I couldn’t help wondering how different things might have been if Leonora was able to see what Celeste could.

Leonora hadn’t hidden her opinion of me, the scars she was able to see on my soul a sign of the dark magics I’d used. She didn’t understand, and I hadn’t taken the time to explain anything, a choice that might have changed our future. By the time Dante arrived it was too late. Hence her decision to work with Cornelius, especially they’d all learnt about the soulbond. From the day it was created, before Anne came into her power in our first life, I’d hidden it from her, a necessity if things were going to work out the way Papa wanted. Unfortunately it was another sign, along with Anne overhearing my anger after Leonora told me she knew better than to be at the ritual, Marren Vale was better off without me.

Of course she’d read Sybil’s journal. The ritual then was different, created by Thaddeus for a specific task, and it hadn’t worked out exactly how I needed it to. After the first time I was more careful, but, no matter how it worked out, Anne would have known. She held Espen in her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks, wanting to understand. I’d been as open with her as I could.

When it came to the rest of Marren Vale it was simpler, I didn’t take so much from those in the ritual they died the same night, but the magics slowly drained them, their final moments appearing natural, albeit sometimes unexpected. Every death was a scar on our souls, a necessary evil for Anne’s to survive long enough for her to meet her soulmate, Papa’s final solution. The only exception were the Riordans born with soul magic, who were rare. When they saw us they knew, like Leonora, with her the first to actively work against me in lifetimes.

Since Sybil. My own daughter. From the blind spots I’d known she wasn’t just a soul mage. Inheriting both magics was even rarer, and she’d hated me, because I took the man she thought of as her father from her. I didn’t doubt for a moment she knew the truth. How could she not? Phoebe kissed me, and I’d gone alone with it, in the hope I might feel differently about Anne afterwards, which I’d realised too late was foolish. Unfortunately Phoebe did have actual feelings for me, with it having the potential to cause so many problems. Luckily she married Wolfgang when I suggested it, unable to be the man she wanted me to be, rather than become that problem. What I’d hoped was she’d have the large family she wanted, with a man who truly loved her.

Phoebe’s only child was Sybil. I don’t know if Phoebe made the decision not to have another child, or if there was some other issue, but I chose Wolfgang partly due to the mistaken belief she’d remarry… to find she’d never fallen out of love with me. With Wolfgang out the way, even able to see the scars on my soul, she tried to convince me we were meant to be together, when the reality was I’d never been able to see anyone other than Anne in my future. The only woman I could never have.

Now we were so close to the end I chose not to See my own future. I couldn’t imagine my life without Anne in it, yet that was the only certainty. Then one of the Darkholme boys, the middle of the three I believed, moved toward us, and from where I stood, not so lost in thought I wasn’t paying attention, I could see the way he kept looking at her. Rather than letting him ask the question I knew she wouldn’t appreciate I gently squeezed her arm. When she turned her attention to me I gestured with my head to the dance floor, and she gave me a nod, understanding I’d kept my promise. She had no interest in pretending, so we should make our move first.

Freeing my arm, I took a step, turning to face her as I did. “Would you do me the pleasure of dancing with me, little sister?”

“I’d love to, brother.” She accepted my offered hand, letting me lead her, silent until we were surrounded by other couples. “Thank you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for.”

She shook her head, but didn’t argue. Thaddeus watched us. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and I cared very little whether he did have a problem with me dancing with Anne. No matter what she came first. Always. She smiled, her eyes meeting with mine when I span her, showing skills I doubted she thought I had. Papa was the one who’d taught me to dance, before Silas shared a truth with me I never wanted to know – I wasn’t a Lockwood. Back then I was a Blackthorne, which made it my chance to be something other than Anne’s brother. Choosing the path I had wasn’t something I regretted exactly, but as she laughed, shawl sparkling in the lights, I found myself wondering again what being hers would be like.