evermore || sebastian sallow

chapter 61 - Part 1: revelation

Y/n Gray

In a room full of family, there was none for her.

She did not walk down the aisle as one often would as a bride.

There was nothing traditional about it as her would-be husband led her straight to the front of a darkened, candlelit room, benches creaking as the very few selected members stood up and watched her tie herself into a lifetime of nothings, but full of ruins with him.

She kept her stare straight ahead, but from her peripheral vision, she counted three people on the Gaunt side, and only one from the Gray side.

To make a marriage bond work its full magic, there needed to be at least two witnesses. One member of any family was to perform the magic.

Erebus Gaunt. Ominis's father, Y/n recalled. He left his seat and proceeded to the front of the room. He was going to perform the vow.

Although Y/n had always had a certain flicker of uncertainty about marriage, she still dreamed of it someday if she ever met someone worthy of it. She was exactly like every little girl who dreamt of a fairytale wedding someday, even if she believed—as she grew up—that she might never experience it.

She never dreamt of one that took away all of that, forcing her, and almost dragging her across the room by her hand for she had no control of her mind and body.

Her black dress whispered against the polished wooden floor in warning of the tides changing soon if she did not stop.

And she wanted to stop. She wanted no part of it any longer.

But she had done this to save him. The one who made up her entire world. The only one who would have been worthy of walking down the aisle for.

So try as she might to awaken herself as she reached the front of the room, her hands clutched between malicious ones she despised, her fire had quieted down too much. She chose to bury her fire, but it was them who smothered it until it almost died.

Yet...

One.

There was one who could still awaken it.

And it wasn't her.

Sebastian Sallow

"Why the fuck would I help you?" Sebastian spat at the man who had tortured Y/n for countless years.

They'd moved down the hallway and into the correct door, pausing before they could go any further. Ominis and Sebastian have also taken off their enchanted masks, deeming them already useless and just bothersome.

"If you want to save my daughter from the madman who holds her captive, you will need me," Elias answered, a desperate tone to his voice.

Sebastian scoffed, taking out a wiggenweld potion from his pocket and drinking it within seconds. The cut on his arm—courtesy of Elias to break him out of the illusion—stitched itself back together.

Ominis spoke through gritted teeth, "All of this started because of you! You kept Sebastian and Y/n away from each other. This was your doing, so why should we trust you?"

"We're running out of time. Explain fast," Sebastian muttered.

Elias braced himself, thinking of the quickest way to explain. "Everything I did was to protect Y/n. She is my daughter. I only wanted to protect her."