51

                                    

                                          
51
SPENCER
I was growing tired. Tired of the endless waiting, tired of Marcus and his obsession with the Earth realm, and tired of the constant hunger gnawing at me—the hunger for power that had consumed me for so long. It felt like everything was slipping away, especially now that Marcus had lost interest in our real mission: destroying Annalise.
At first, we had shared a common goal—Marcus and I. We both wanted to break free from the chains that bound us, to take control of something far greater than the realms we had known. He wanted terror, power, domination. I wanted something more—knowledge, yes, but also the seat of the guardian. That was what I truly craved. The power that Annalise held should have been mine, and it angered me to no end that someone like her had been chosen instead.
I missed the quiet moments in our realm. I missed my old books, the ones filled with forgotten wisdom, with spells and rituals so ancient even the oldest of our kind barely remembered their names. But most of all, I missed the simple life before all of this—the life I had led when Annalise and I were together. We had been in love once, or at least I had been close to it. The truth was, I loved her as much as I could love anyone, but not as much as I desired what she had: the mantle of the guardian.
That had always been the difference between us. She was content with maintaining order, keeping the balance between the realms, upholding the laws set before either of us existed. But I... I was different. I wasn’t satisfied with balance. I wanted to push beyond the limits. I wanted to experiment, to test the boundaries of power, to see just how far it could go.
I remember how frustrated I had been with Annalise. She had so much potential, so much power, and yet she did nothing with it. I would bring her ideas, questions—ask her to explore the deeper mysteries with me. But she was too simple-minded. She always believed that the order of things had to be preserved, that the guardianship was a sacred trust to be upheld.
“Spencer, you know the laws,” she would tell me in her calm, steady voice. “The balance must be kept.”
I would stare at her, boiling inside. “And what if the balance is wrong? What if there’s more out there, beyond what we’ve been told?”
She would smile, that gentle, knowing smile that infuriated me. “There’s no need to question everything, Spencer. Some things are meant to remain as they are.”
It was maddening. She held all the power, all the knowledge, and yet she refused to push beyond the limits of her role. That’s when I realized—she was wasting her gift. She wasn’t fit to be the guardian, not like I was. I wanted that role, not just for power’s sake, but to unlock the secrets I knew were buried in the ancient traditions.
I had read about the Blackwood pack, how they had tricked a guardian into allowing them passage to the Earth realm. They had gone there under the guise of peace but had committed atrocities—forcing themselves upon the humans, corrupting their seed with their own vile bloodlines. The guardian had been furious and banished them to utter darkness, but the story fascinated me. It showed the limits of a guardian’s power, and I wanted to test those limits myself.
But Annalise… she wouldn’t listen. She was too blind, too tied to the rules. And that’s when Marcus came to me with his plan. He wanted to destroy Janet’s pack, the one Annalise had sworn to protect with her life. He hated that she had decreed their safety, and so did I. It was a weakness, a failure on her part.
I could see the frustration in Marcus when we talked about it. He wanted them dead, and I saw the opportunity in that moment. I knew Annalise’s weaknesses better than anyone. I had spent years studying her, trying to understand how her mind worked, and how to twist it.
Marcus and I sat in his chamber one night, surrounded by the swirling smoke of incense—his new obsession. The air was thick with it, suffocating almost, but I had grown used to it over time. He believed it helped him think, made his mind clearer. Personally, I found it distracting, but I wasn’t about to argue with him.
“She won’t bend,” Marcus growled, pacing in front of the fire. “She’s too loyal to the pack. There must be a way to break her.”
“There is,” I said, leaning back in my chair, watching the flames dance. “She has weaknesses.”
Marcus stopped, turning to me. “What kind of weaknesses?”
“Spiritual,” I replied. “She’s strong, yes, but there are forces even she can’t withstand. Certain incenses, certain spells—they can weaken her.”
Marcus’s eyes gleamed. “What kind of incenses?”
I hesitated for a moment, knowing the power I held in my words. Annalise had trusted me once, confided in me things no one else knew. But she had denied me what I wanted most. I was done with loyalty to her. “There’s one in particular,” I said finally. “A rare incense, found only in the deepest parts of the realm. If burned in the right conditions, it can drain her power, leave her vulnerable.”
Marcus grinned. “And you know how to get it?”
“I do,” I said, leaning forward. “But you’ll need to lure her in. She won’t suspect anything if I’m the one to prepare it.”
We hatched the plan that night, the firelight casting long shadows over us as we discussed every detail. I knew that with this incense, we could bring Annalise to her knees. It was the perfect betrayal.
The next day, I began burning incense around her, easing her into a false sense of security. She asked me about it, of course, curious as to why I had suddenly developed a fascination with such things.
“It helps me relax,” I told her casually. “Clears my mind for studying.”
She laughed softly, the sound grating on my nerves. “Just don’t get too carried away. You never know what kind of incense might weaken someone.”
I gave her a wry smile. “And how would you know that?”
She shrugged, the light in her eyes dimming slightly. “There’s one… but it’s rare. I doubt you’ll ever come across it.”
I pressed her, pretending it was all in good fun. “Come on, Annalise. You have to tell me. What’s the name of this mysterious incense?”
She hesitated, just as I knew she would. But I could see the trust in her eyes, the bond that still lingered between us. “Fine,” she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s called Thanis. But promise me you’ll never use it.”
“Of course,” I lied, already planning my next move.
That was how it began—the slow, methodical destruction of Annalise. I lured her in with incense, with words of comfort and false promises, and she never suspected a thing. When the time was right, I burned the Thanis incense, weakening her just enough for Marcus to strike. And when he did, she never stood a chance.
I should have felt guilty, perhaps, but I didn’t. Annalise had been too weak to handle the power she held. She was never meant to be the guardian—not the kind of guardian I envisioned, anyway. I wanted a realm where knowledge and power reigned supreme, where limits didn’t exist.
But now, with Marcus more focused on his domination of the Earth realm, I found myself restless. I had missed the point somewhere along the way. My desire for knowledge had turned into a lust for power, and now, I was trapped in a world I didn’t fully understand. Marcus’s games bored me. He was too fixated on terror, on ruling with fear.
I didn’t belong here. I belonged in the realm with my books, my studies. And deep down, I missed Annalise—not just the woman, but the challenge she had represented. The one person who had stood between me and my ultimate goal.
I had destroyed her once.
But maybe… just maybe, there was a way to do it again.