Witch’s Promise (Shadowguards #3.5)

18. Sean

Chapter 18

Sean

A s Sean settled onto the loveseat next to Gabe, he couldn't help but marvel at the surreal turn his life had taken. Twenty-four hours ago, he'd been gearing up for another mindless underground fight. Now here he was, about to drop a bomb that could reshape Salem's entire magical community. Funny how life worked sometimes.

Sean's fingers tightened around the warm mug, the ceramic a steadying presence against the tremors he couldn't quite control. The weight of Gabe's gaze on him felt like a physical thing, equal parts comforting and terrifying. He took a deep breath, trying to center himself, to find the right words to explain the clusterfuck that was his life.

"Whenever you're ready, Sean," Gabe said softly, his voice cutting through the tense silence of the room. "We're here to listen."

"Right," Sean said, clearing his throat. "I guess I should start at the beginning. Or, well, what I thought was the beginning for a long time."

He took a sip of tea, the warmth spreading through his chest, fortifying him for what was to come. "My mother died when I was ten. Heart attack, or so my father told me. I believed him at first - I was just a kid, you know? Grieving and scared and looking for any explanation that made sense."

Sean's gaze drifted to the fireplace, the dancing flames mirroring the turmoil in his gut. "But as the years went by, things started to change. My father... he wasn't the same man anymore. Or maybe he was, and I was just finally seeing him clearly for the first time."

"What do you mean, he changed?" Emily asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

Sean let out a bitter laugh. "He got colder. More focused. Started pushing me harder in my training, talking about legacy and duty and shit that went way over my head at the time. Looking back now, I can see what he was doing. He was molding me, turning me into the perfect little soldier for his cause."

"And what cause was that?" Lucas asked, his voice sharp with suspicion.

Sean's eyes met Lucas's, understanding the other man's wariness. If their positions were reversed, he'd be just as skeptical. "An assassin's guild," he said, the words tasting like ashes in his mouth. "A whole fucking organization dedicated to taking out magical targets for the highest bidder. And dear old dad was running the show."

The revelation landed like a bomb, shock rippling through the room. Gino shot to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. "What the fuck? You're telling us your family's been killing witches for money?"

"Gino," Gabe said, his voice a warning. But Sean shook his head, waving off Gabe's attempt at intervention.

"No, it's okay," Sean said, meeting Gino's furious gaze. "You have every right to be pissed. Hell, I'm pissed. Have been for years. But yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. My father built an empire on the blood of magic users. And he wanted me to take over someday."

"But why you?" Marcus asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I mean, no offense man, but you don’t seem to have any magic. How were you supposed to take on magical targets?"

Sean felt Gabe stiffen beside him, and he knew they'd reached the moment of truth. His heart hammered in his chest, guilt and fear warring for dominance. This was it. The final lie, the last secret he'd been carrying for far too long.

"That's the thing," Sean said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not. I mean I am still a human, but I also have magic.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Sean could feel the weight of everyone's stares, the shock and disbelief radiating from all corners of the room. But it was Gabe's reaction he feared most. Slowly, painfully, he turned to face the man he loved.

Gabe's expression was a complicated mix of emotions - hurt, confusion, a flicker of anger that made Sean's stomach twist. "What are you saying, Sean?" Gabe asked, his voice carefully controlled.

Sean swallowed hard, forcing himself to hold Gabe's gaze. He owed him that much, at least. "I'm saying that I lied to you. I have magic, Gabe. I've had it my whole life. I just... I got really fucking good at hiding it."

The admission hung in the air, heavy with years of deception and missed opportunities. Sean braced himself for the explosion, for the anger and betrayal he knew he deserved. But what came next surprised him.

"Why?" Gabe asked, his voice softer than Sean had expected. "Why hide it for so long? Especially from me?"

The hurt in Gabe's eyes was like a knife to Sean's heart. He wanted nothing more than to reach out, to pull Gabe close and promise that he'd never lie again. But he knew he had to get through this first. Had to lay it all out on the table, consequences be damned.

"At first, it was because of my father," Sean explained, his voice rough with emotion. "He hated magic users, saw them as a threat to be eliminated. I was terrified of what he'd do if he found out his own son was one of 'them.' So I learned to suppress it, to pretend I was just a normal kid."

Sean ran a hand through his hair, frustration and old fear bubbling up. "By the time I realized my father's true nature, by the time I met you it was too late. The lie had become so ingrained, such a fundamental part of who I was, that I didn't know how to let it go."

"But you used your magic to save Jessy didn’t you? ," Finn pointed out, his healer's intuition cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "What changed?"

Sean's gaze dropped to his hands, shame coloring his cheeks. "I got tired," he admitted. "Tired of running, of hiding, of pretending to be someone I'm not. I knew I couldn't stay on the sidelines anymore. Even if it meant facing everything I've been avoiding for the past twenty years."

He looked up, meeting each person's eyes in turn. "I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness. What I've done, the lies I've told... it's unforgivable. But I'm here now, trying to make things right."

The room was quiet for a long moment, everyone processing the bomb Sean had just dropped. He could practically see the gears turning in their heads, reevaluating every interaction, every moment they'd shared in light of this new information.

Finally, it was Emily who broke the silence. "What kind of magic do you have, Sean?" she asked, her voice gentle but probing.

Sean let out a shaky breath, grateful for the relatively simple question. "Shadow manipulation," he said. "I can bend shadows to my will, use them as weapons or shields. It's what made me such a valuable asset to my father's organization. He once said that I was a living weapon."

"Shadow manipulation?" Finn leaned forward, eyes alight with interest. "That's incredibly rare. There are only about ten known practitioners in the entire world."

Sean shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, fighting the urge to retreat into the very shadows he commanded. "Yeah, well, lucky me, I guess," he muttered, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"Can you show us?" Marcus asked, a hint of challenge in his tone. "Prove you're not just talking out of your ass."

He glanced at Gabe, seeking silent permission. Gabe nodded, his expression a complicated mix of encouragement and lingering hurt.

"Alright," Sean said, taking a deep breath. "

He focused on Marcus, on the shadow cast by the man's imposing figure. With a flex of will that felt like stretching a long-unused muscle, Sean reached out to the darkness. It responded eagerly, as if welcoming back an old friend.

Marcus's shadow began to move, detaching from his feet to dance across the floor. It stretched and twisted, taking on a life of its own. In moments, a perfect silhouette of Marcus stood before them, mirroring his every movement with eerie precision.

"Holy shit," Gino breathed, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fascination.

Sean released his hold on the shadow, letting it snap back to its natural state. The room erupted in a cacophony of exclamations and questions, but Sean barely heard them. His gaze was fixed on Gabe, searching for any sign of rejection or disgust.

What he saw instead was wonder, tinged with a sadness that made Sean's chest ache.

"You've been hiding this your whole life?" Gabe asked softly, his voice barely audible over the commotion.

Sean nodded, throat tight with emotion. "I never had any real training," he admitted. "Just enough to control it, to keep it hidden. The rest was all about how to use it as a weapon. How to kill."

The last word stuck in his throat, choking him with the weight of all the lives he'd taken. Sean dropped his gaze, unable to face the judgment he was sure he'd see in Gabe's eyes. He'd known this moment would come, had dreaded it from the second he decided to come clean. But nothing could have prepared him for the reality of laying bare the darkest parts of himself to the man he loved.

"Hey," Gabe's voice was gentle, his hand finding Sean's under the blanket. "Look at me."

Sean forced himself to meet Gabe's gaze, bracing for disgust or condemnation. Instead, he found understanding and a determination that took his breath away.

"You're not that person anymore," Gabe said firmly. "What your father made you do, what you were trained for, that's not who you are. Not now."

The simple acceptance in Gabe's voice threatened to undo Sean completely. He blinked hard against the sudden sting of tears, overwhelmed by a gratitude he couldn't begin to express.

"Touching as this is," Lucas cut in, his tone sharp with impatience, "we've got bigger problems to deal with."

Sean nodded, grateful for the chance to focus on something other than his own tumultuous emotions. "Right. Riley. He's my father's right-hand man. Has been for years. I always knew he was dangerous, but I had no idea how deep it went until last night.”

"What changed?" Emily asked, her maternal instincts clearly warring with her wariness.

Sean's jaw clenched, old anger bubbling up. "I found out he's been playing us all. I don’t know what he is but he’s powerful. HRikey has been manipulating his way to the top."

"And the attack on our family? Kidnapping Jessy? How does that fit into his grand plan?" Giana demanded, her protective fury radiating off her in waves.

Sean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It seems that it is all part of a bigger scheme to take control of Salem's magical community. The attack on your family was meant to destabilize one of the most influential covens in Salem. And Jessy was leverage. A way to force compliance from the Wisteria coven. Riley's planning to position himself as some kind of savior, the only one who can bring peace to a fractured community. And once he's in power..."

"He'll have control over every major magical family in Salem," Gabe finished, horror dawning in his eyes. "Fuck. We can't let that happen."

Sean nodded grimly. "No, we can't. But stopping him won't be easy. Riley's smart, ruthless, and he's got resources we can only guess at. Plus, he's got my father's backing, which means access to a whole network of trained killers."

He wasn't running anymore. Whatever came next, whatever challenges they faced, Sean was finally ready to stand and fight.