Always Luna

deceit

noun ~ the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth

Cors stepped out of the shadows, his shoulders hunched forward as he approached us. I swallowed nervously, my every instinct coming alive. My visions plagued me, and memories of what his family said about him stuck in my mind.

Sean rose to his feet, Leo jumping to support him as they glared into the shadows.

"State your name and business." Sean snapped.

I swallowed, holding Cors' gaze. His eyes flickered over the males beside me before meeting mine with a begging plea.

Finding my voice, I never looked away. "He can't speak."

"What?" Leo scoffed.

"He is my uncle. He cannot speak." I whispered.

"Your uncle?"

"My dad's brother." I nodded.

Cors continued his advance when he realised we were not going to berate him. We remained silent until he stood a mere three feet from where Kelsey was recovering. I could feel pressure in my mind, and with a grimace, I let him in.

"How did you know we were here?"

His eyes flickered to Kelsey at his feet before levelling his gaze with me again. 'I knew this was going to happen.'

I recoiled, burning anger bubbling in my gut. "You what?"

"What did he say?" Leo whispered.

I ignored him, glaring hard into the side of his face.

'I have a lot of explaining to do. Please, just let me explain.' He begged, dropping to his knees.

I hummed, staring at him. "It better be a good explanation."

He nodded, staying close to the ground. 'I knew you were going to be here but not because I am the cause of it.'

"Then how did you know?" I pressed.

'In my past, I made bad decisions. Everyone has. But mine ended up getting people killed and I never wanted that.' He swallowed, glancing at Sean who growled at him. 'Your grandparent's death was inexcusable. They were only meant to take the blood... I did not know they were going to be killed. It was such a quick change of heart, even your Grandmother did not see it coming.'

I observed him, allowing Celimene to bristle and scan his psyche much like she did to Calida. He seemed honest and truthful, albeit a little nervous. But what he said made sense. In my visions, Celimene did not know she was to die, and neither did Angela. If what Cors was saying was the truth, then it did make sense.

But could I trust him?

How does that link into today? I questioned over the mind-link.

'In my past, I got into the wrong side of things. Rogues were recruiting, and they wanted to be on top of the world.' He continued. 'I was fed up with my family not standing up to them, so I thought if I got onto their good side, then I could take them down from within.'

But they killed my grandparents.

He nodded, frowning. 'And then your parents; my brother... I loved my brother, I did not want his death to happen.'

What happened, Cors? What went wrong?

'They had vampire friends. Rogues teaming up with vampires... was a crazy thought. But the longer I stayed with them, the more I knew. Then the witches got involved after your grandparent's death.' He shook his head. 'The rogues wanted money, wealth, and status. The vampires wanted the freedom to feed, and the witches wanted the power of control.'