CHAPTER 379: NEVER GOING THERE

"What happened?"

The second Killian stepped in, Inez knew that there was something wrong. Because if he had even a shred of good news, then he wouldn’t look like that; he wouldn’t stare at her with those dead eyes like there was already enough wrong with the world, but it turned even shittier.

Inez didn’t think that she could take any more sadness today, but she still straightened up her back and inhaled sharply. In and out, she tried to calm her anxious mind.

"They were killed. Before Tracy or the rest of them could reach them. No one was able to escape from the massacre."

Even though Inez prepared herself for it, she still felt the air winding out of her. "All of them? How could that be—" She caught herself before she could continue that very question. Did it even matter how those people died? They were going to die anyway, in a much more peaceful way, but still. She swallowed her words right back before saying, "Was it—was it too cruel?"

"Do you want the truth or the lie?"

"The truth."

"Too cruel."

Inez closed her eyes, trying to block out the images that rushed to the back of her eyes. It didn’t work. She could already see the twisted and gnarly images. The blood and flesh. She didn’t even need to dial it down because she knew that if something made Killian spooked, it had to be something really, really gruesome.

"It’s my fault... if only I were stronger... if I escaped from that place on my own... then Tracy wouldn’t come looking for me, and she wouldn’t ignore the plight of those children—"

"No. You are not doing that," said Killian, his voice firm as he stopped her from spiralling into what could have happened and what she could have done right. "You will only end up blaming yourself even more if you continue down that lane, so don’t, alright?"

Inez bit her lip. Tracy had pushed the matter of these people because of her. She told her that they were not her priority. She was the one who left them behind, and she was the one who found them. Inez wondered if Tracy was hurting. She must be. Even if the woman was quite powerful, Inez knew that she was not without a heart.

She must be angry with herself, Inez thought with a frown.

Harsh lines of grief were etched on Killian’s forehead. He raised his hand and patted her on the head; there was nothing sensual about his touch or maybe her siren was just trying to process that more than a hundred people were killed because of their incompetence. She didn’t jump at Killian.

"There must be more," she murmured. A part of her knew that there was more to this tragedy. There had to be. How many innocents were killed because of the Silver Dawn Pack’s greed? How many more children were sacrificed? How many people were used in the research? Inez had no idea about it, and maybe she never would.

"I know, we will deal with one thing at a time," said Killian in a soothing voice.

"Thank you."

Killian dropped his gaze and looked at her in confusion.

"For killing everyone in the Silver Dawn Pack. They deserved it," Inez spoke with a strange tone. The words felt strange in her mouth. But they were right. In the past, she would have seen this as nothing but an unjust manslaughter, but now Inez felt that what Killian did was correct.

This was what one would call pack justice.

"Fortunately, you killed them before they could do any more damage," said Inez softly.

It had little to do with justice, but as long as those who killed those poor souls were punished, with the promise of never harming anyone again, Inez believed that they had at least done something for them.

"Inez."

"Hm?" She raised her head in confusion with her brows knitted together when she heard Killian call her out of nowhere.

"Can you sing for me?"

Inez could see the tension in his eyes and nodded. He had gone through so much for her; this was the least she could do for him. "What do you want me to sing for you?"

"Anything; my mind is feeling clouded at the moment. So anything that could help me calm down." Killian took a sharp breath and exhaled it through his lips. "Not too loud, just for me. I don’t want anyone to know about you."

"Alright," Inez said, letting the man lie down on her lap and clearing her throat. Until now, she had never sung for anyone. The lore of the siren being able to show the future to a person had stopped her from doing so; the last thing she needed was to awaken a power that she had no control over. But just one wouldn’t hurt, right? She thought.

And then she opened her mouth before singing the sweetest melody that she could think of. It was as if the essence of life had itself been released in the air, a song that Inez had written herself but never sang.

As she sang, Killian closed his eyes and listened to her song. There was something soothing about her voice, yet it stirred memories that he didn’t want to recall in the deepest part of his mind.

He opened his eyes and looked at Inez. A second later, he curled his lips as if he was amused by something that he had thought in his mind. When Inez stopped singing, he turned his head to one side and questioned, "Do you think that it would have been better if you had gone back to the sea? The place where your kind lived?"

"No. There would have been no point because I am not pure blooded," replied Inez. "I don’t think they would have accepted me. You know that I am an anomaly. What’s the point of going to the unknown only to receive the same treatment that I receive from the shifters here? At least I am used to this pain."